When I read the title of this thread, I thought you were about to burn the entire forum down
I’ve got a 12 and 14 year old, and I’m still going back and forth on what I think is best for them. Between the two of them, they’ve killed over 25 big game animals in the last five years, using calibers ranging from .22-250, .260, and 6.5 PRC to .300 WSM and .300 PRC (couple archery kills as well)
You’d think I would’ve started them small and worked up as they got bigger but I did the opposite. My older boy’s first year hunting, he killed everything with a .300 WSM. My younger boy’s first year, he killed everything with a .300 PRC. They both started hunting at 10.
Everything I own, with the exception of the .300 PRC is a Tikka in an XLR chassis (the .300 PRC is a full custom in an XLR). I even bought them a Tikka T1x .22 LR and dropped it into an XLR, and they shoot the piss out of that thing. All summer they shoot the .22 LR, .22-250s, and .260, and then we’d send 1–3 rounds downrange with the bigger guns each range session just to keep their confidence up.
Two years ago I decided to try a 6.5 PRC, and I haven’t touched any of my .30 cals since. The boys love it and will shoot it all day long, suppressed, with ports on the end to help reduce recoil.
This past year I’ve been feeling my older boy out on what he’d want for his first “own” big game rifle. Every time, he says .300 WSM because that’s what he started with and he thinks it’s cool. I hope it doesn’t break his heart when he opens a new Tikka 6.5 PRC on Christmas morning in a couple weeks, but I just couldn’t bring myself to buy him a .300. If he really wants to take a .30 cal on an elk or bear hunt, he can grab one of mine but I know he’ll enjoy the 6.5 a lot more during range sessions.
As far as optics go, we’ve run a lot of glass over the last few years. The NX8 eyebox wasn’t very forgiving, and they struggled with it in field shooting positions. My older boy would probably be fine now, but after his first season I sold the three I had and switched to NXS scopes with a much more forgiving eyebox.
We’ve also had Zeiss V4s and Vortex LHTs. I had trust issues with the V4s, so I sold them. I had a VX-5 as well, but after the drop test on here, that one went too. The LHT was the 4-22 FFP, and the boys didn’t care for FFP at low power when calling coyotes.
Their two favorite scopes right now are the 5.5-22×56 NXS and the 3-18 Trijicon Tenmile. They’re still on the fence about the FFP Tenmile for low-power predator hunting. For low-light and bear hunting, my older boy prefers the NXS, where only the center of the reticle illuminates instead of the entire thing.
He also helped me dial in a load for a buddy’s 6.5 PRC this summer that had a Trijicon Credo 4-16×50 on it. He really liked that scope as an SFP option but was worried it might not have enough top-end magnification. Both boys prefer the NXS turrets, hard to argue with the solid clicks on a Nightforce.
I’d try to get your son behind as many scopes as possible. If you post what optics you’re considering and your location, I’m sure there are guys on here who would meet up for a range session and let your son look through their setups. Looking through scopes in a store just isn’t the same as using them in the field.
I bought him the rifle, but I want him to have some ownership in it, so I’m going to have him pay for half of whatever scope he chooses. I’m really curious to see what he picks and I’d bet it’ll take him a month or two because he really thinks things through.
Same deal with the stock. If he wants an XLR, I’ll split the cost with him. If he wants to try a HNT26, Rokstock, or something else, I’ll split that too. When they first started, I pulled the folders off the XLRs to shorten the LOP and ran the heavier TR-2 buttstock to help manage recoil.
