Tikka caliber for kids

[ResearchinStuff]

the tikka compact stock has an adequately short LOP and can be moved around to any T3 you have. I lucked into a compact stock, bought a t3x takeoff to cut down, and what he actually sent was a compact. Big win on my end, the compact stocks are normally in higher demand on the used market.

 

[2-Stix]

Did you find a factory 6.5 Compact or order the stock? I'm only seeing the compact in 308, 7-08, and 223 locally. They have a compact tactical in 6.5, but I'm not interested in that gun. As a question for the crowd, what youth stocks are you putting on your tikka rifles?

My oldest is 4.5 and I have a sparrow 22 and AB 8 on order. Plan to let him shoot a quality suppressed 22 a whole bunch for the next 2 or so years and then switch him over intermittently to the suppressed 6.5 with low recoil loads. Would like to go with a 6.5 over the 223 or 7-08 to hopefully come along on a black bear and moose hunt in 2025 if his shooting is ready.

I bought a regular T3x stainless and found a compact stock (you can see the seam on the tan rifle) for I think $125 bucks. Here is my set ups from the custom Tikka thread, I just copied and pasted it here.

7rm veil wideland w/ Luepold vx5 3-15 boone crocket
6.5 cm compact stock on a lightweight stainless - had the barrel cut 2", threaded and timed with a Holland break w/ Luepold vx3 4.5-14
.308 win lightweight stainless - had the barrel, bolt release, bolt shroud and bolt handle knob cerakoted w/ Luepold vx3 3.5x10

All (3) have painted stocks (used the ultra flat, then the rough texture specs then matte clear), limbsaver, talley lightweight low, Mountain Tactical; recoil lug, bottom metal, action screws, mags (not in photos), bolt handle knob (except the 7rm), bolt release & bolt shroud (except the 6.5), tikka vert grip, 2# set trigger pull, talon rubberized grip tape (need to add to the 7rm)

I got my bases covered for my species I hunt for me and my kids as of now. They are young so I just have one kid set up. He is 10, will start shooting .22 this year, a little 6.5 next year and hunt the following. He is an animal in the hills. Been hiking hard since we was 6, 7-8 mile days, started to back pack at 8 with me. He's a grinder in the hills and handles 10-12 mile days on trails. His understanding of the mountains is just as important as shooting to me.

 

[Vern400]

If you handload most any rifle will do. I loaded a few hundred 30 cal subsonics with trail Boss and recoil was minimal. It was so fun to shoot with my daughter. She enjoyed it. The 30 is not the best choice. Loaded down with light bullets, 7 mm will work fine, 6.5 will work fine, 6mm will work fine. If you stand back and look at it, the muzzle blast might be just as bad at scaring a kid as a little bit of recoil. 223 and 243 might not kick but they sure Rock the world with full power loads. Once again if you hand load the 6.5 and 7-08 can drastically reduce felt recoil AND muzzle blast.

Then, if you want to step it up as they get older, you can. I can kill all the deer I want to with a 22 magnum. And not lose any. I can write an article about how great it is. But the fact will remain that I have to be extremely careful about shot placement. I've just seen entirely too many deer run off after getting shot with a 223 or 243 because they were shot by people that didn't have the discipline to wait for shot presentation, or just plain couldn't shoot, or had something to prove and took a shot that was not advisable. I think most anybody would agree the 6.5 and 7-08 certainly don't have that limitation. You can take a Texas heart shot and drop a deer in its tracks with either. That's the main advantage of loading down.