Overthinking kids first rifle; .223 or bigger is better

[hereinaz]

A Howa Mini in .223 is a nicely sized rifle for kids. And, they get to learn how to run the bolt at the same time.

 

[gbflyer]

Going through this right now and I would say consider the kids size and personality that's going to be shooting it. Borrow a friend's rifle in different caliber and let the kid try it.

I bought a cva hunter in 243. I have 3 boys shooting it ages 11, 10 and 8 all hunting for the first time this year with it. All three kids are small for thier age. Doesn't seem to be a problem for the younger 2. The oldest is recoil shy. He had an opportunity to kill a buck and didn't want to squeeze the trigger because of the kick. Same day my 10 year old put a perfect shot on a doe at 80 yards.

I may be borrowing a friend's 223 to let him get some more range time. And see if it's more manageable for him.

This is true. I’ve said it here before…built my youngest son a sweet custom 6.5 Creed with a spacer system to grow into. He liked the Rossi lever gun .357 mag better

 

[Bert01]

I just started my 9 yo daughter on a 223 bolt this year. Silenced and a cut down Tupperware stock that I painted pink for her, she shot her first deer Saturday at 150yds. Go with the 223 so that they will shoot it. Getting them shooting and not scared of it or the recoil is key. Once they can shoot, either see how they do with 223 or borrow a larger caliber for them to try.

 

[goalie]

I have had great luck with the neighbor kids shooting my recently acquired Ruger American Ranch gen2 in 5.56. It takes about a minute to switch the stock from "adult" to "T-Rex arms" and has almost no recoil or blast suppressed.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I feel like a bot because of how often I drop this link into kids rifle threads, but it is worth reading if you haven't yet. And then read the .223 for everything thread to quash any doubts about with it can do with the right ammo.

E

Thread 'Kids rifle manifesto'

Feb 24, 2024

I've chimed in on so many different "what rifle for my age XX kid?" threads that I thought I'd try to consolidate my thoughts here.

My oldest son is 14 now, started shooting centerfire rifles at 9. My younger kids started shooting centerfire rifles at between 5-7 yrs old. 5 kids shooting now, and a bunch of their friends that I have been involved or around as they learn to shoot. probably 20-ish kids? Here's what I've learned in the last 5-6 years.

Recoil matters, a lot. "Handles it pretty well" is way way different from "ideal for building skills as a rifleman." My oldest loves to...

• eric1115
• Replies: 237
• Forum: Firearms

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We need a bot to do this, it's tiring linking the same thing 5x a week

 

[SloppyJ]

I was in your shoes and I started mine off with a 16" Tikka 223. If I could do it all over again, I'd do the same exact thing. I had the same thoughts as you and was talked out of it. The comfort level my son was able to build with that rifle was amazing. Bonus, it doubles as a really sweet truck gun. Another big factor is that we only shoot suppressed. The report from an unsuppressed rifle might be worse than the recoil for the little ones in my opinion.

 

[Remington1]

Started my boys and grandson with a Tikka compact 7-08. Downloaded the 120gn sst bullets to reduce recoil. Tikka compact now has short LOP but comes with a spacer so when they get bigger you can lengthen it to 13.5”.

 

[wind gypsy]

I cant help but like the idea of a 6 ARC better than 223 but 223 is probably the right answer.

 

[Ozarkansas]

Would a .243 be a bit more forgiving on game animals for a beginner?

The .243 will be more forgiving only in the sense that it is more “bullet agnostic”- in that you can buy pretty much any hunting .243 bullet and be confident it will work well. In terms of shot placement, a bad shot is a bad shot whether it’s a .223 or a 7mm magnum.

I will say that i’ve had great success with certain .243 bullets that reliably exit and leave good blood trails while still doing plenty of internal damage, something that’s harder to pull off with the .223. Good blood trails help a lot in thick brush or if a kid single-lungs a deer, doesn’t take note of where it was standing, doesn’t watch where it ran, etc.

 

[Brack28]

223 all the way. Just make sure and use the right bullet for hunting.

 

[omicron1792]

I cant help but like the idea of a 6 ARC better than 223 but 223 is probably the right answer.

You old fud! Ha

 

[rking453]

I'm planning on a 30-30 single shot for my kids when they are old enough, not much recoil, plenty of energy for deer under 150 yards. Single shot makes it easy for kids to keep track of loaded or not and easy for me to check safe.

 

[dsotm]

I cant help but like the idea of a 6 ARC better than 223 but 223 is probably the right answer.

I've got a Howa Mini in 6 ARC I picked up for my niece and kid when she's old enough. It's a fun gun to shoot.

 

[goalie]

I'm planning on a 30-30 single shot for my kids when they are old enough, not much recoil, plenty of energy for deer under 150 yards. Single shot makes it easy for kids to keep track of loaded or not and easy for me to check safe.

I hunt a lot with single shots. Handi rifle, Contender, CVA. They are not safer than a bolt IMO with kids. Lowering the hammer safely is not nearly as intuitive as opening the bolt

That said, 30-30 with SSK barrel and Gemtech Tracker doesn't suck

 

[gbflyer]

I have a Savage Axis Pro 2 Lefty Compact in 6 ARC inbound for a friend of mines kid then we’ll pass it along to grandkids etc. I’ll have a report this week hopefully. I have the 108gr ELDm factory ammo to try in it. We may get a deer or two in yet, got another month to go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

To follow up on this:

I haven’t fired it yet. The PDI found one side of the barrel channel touching, the pic rail not tight enough, the action screws not tight enough, and the bore dirty. Those things were quickly remedied. Function test for feeding with 108gr Eldm factory rounds. The mag is hard to load (a kid will struggle with it) and it’s a little temperamental to seat in the mag well. It feeds and extracts with no issue. In order to mount a 1” scope that isn’t 14” long, one must use medium rings or scope objective hits the pic rail. It’s not difficult to get behind even on mediums, which is good. Weights around 7.5lbs with a 2.5-8 Leupy on steel Warne rings. The trigger was adjusted to minimum pull weight and it is still heavy but usable.

I suspect accuracy will be like most every other Savage, which is usually quite good. It’s front heavy, will not be good for a kid for offhand shooting. Barrel should be a lighter contour. The stock is 12.5 lop, the trigger is pretty close to the vertical grip. I find it oddly comfortable even at the short length.

In closing, I would recommend. It will take some close supervision to manipulate the magazine to start with, but in my world that’s perfectly fine. Will need to fire from rest. It is a modern looking rifle, a kid will probably really dig it, especially with a tactical scope.

 

[TechsanHunter]

To follow up on this:

I haven’t fired it yet. The PDI found one side of the barrel channel touching, the pic rail not tight enough, the action screws not tight enough, and the bore dirty. Those things were quickly remedied. Function test for feeding with 108gr Eldm factory rounds. The mag is hard to load (a kid will struggle with it) and it’s a little temperamental to seat in the mag well. It feeds and extracts with no issue. In order to mount a 1” scope that isn’t 14” long, one must use medium rings or scope objective hits the pic rail. It’s not difficult to get behind even on mediums, which is good. Weights around 7.5lbs with a 2.5-8 Leupy on steel Warne rings. The trigger was adjusted to minimum pull weight and it is still heavy but usable.

I suspect accuracy will be like most every other Savage, which is usually quite good. It’s front heavy, will not be good for a kid for offhand shooting. Barrel should be a lighter contour. The stock is 12.5 lop, the trigger is pretty close to the vertical grip. I find it oddly comfortable even at the short length.

In closing, I would recommend. It will take some close supervision to manipulate the magazine to start with, but in my world that’s perfectly fine. Will need to fire from rest. It is a modern looking rifle, a kid will probably really dig it, especially with a tactical scope.

I really appreciate it!