Youth deer rifle suggestions

[Shot]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to get my 7 year old boy a deer rifle. I haven't been in the rifle game for many years (bowhunting) so I have very limited knowledge of what's out there.

I have a ruger 22 that he has been shooting and learning the fundamentals. But wanted to get a rifle with some knock down power for deer. Yet, I dont want him over gunned at the same time.

The 243 and 7mm-08 keeps coming up on my searches. Any thoughts on these two? Any specific rifle maker suggestions? I've been looking at the savage axis.

I know caliber choice is very personal and opinions vary but I'm open ears to any recommendations.

Thanks

 

[Lxhuntinpa]

My first rifle was a Remington Model 7 .243 wood stock using 100gr Core Lokts. Killed a lot of deer with it. When my son gets older he will be using it as well.

 

[16Bore]

243. Picked up a muddy girl Savage Axis for cheap, kid loves it. Price was the only reason I went Savage, otherwise it’d been Ruger American.

Then you start shooting these things and wonder why there’s so much rifle fuss. Pretty stupid accurate.

 

[TBossHSauce]

If you are going to purchase the Savage make sure you spend the money on one with the AccuTrigger. The Axis trigger can be awful and for a young person learning to shoot, nothing is worse than a flinch developed by a poor trigger. Just my $.02

 

[03mossy]

I started my daughter on my Savage wood stocked 16 lightweight hunter in 6.5 Creedmoor and she shoots it great. Her first hunt with it I jokingly said you kill a deer with it today and its yours... Yeah you guessed it she killed a doe at 110 yards and I lost a rifle lol.

 

[mtman]

Take a look at the Tikka T3X Lite compact. It's small, light and maneuverable for a young hunter to handle and carry but has a modular stock that uses spacers to adjust LOP out from 12.5". Full disclosure, I don't have any personal experience with this rifle, but I really caught my eye when considering a rifle for my two young sons.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

I got my small 11 year old a ruger compact in 7mm-08. It fits him much better than a standard rifle and shoots well.

 

[TripleJ]

My boys are older and bigger now, but they have killed a pile of deer and an antelope with a Remington Compact 700 in .243, out to about 250 yds.

 

[SD Hunter]

You could always get an AR with an adjustable stock. 6.5 Grendel would do the trick. Then when the kids grow up and move out you still have a useable gun. This is the route I went.

 

[TREE ‘EM]

I got a Ruger 77/357 for my daughter when she was 8. Pretty near ideal proportions for her although I did cut the stock down.
38 Spl ammo makes cheap, low noise, zero recoil fun practice.
Plenty of power and trajectory out to150 yards.

RAR 350 Legend is ballistically similar at half the price but klunky for a kid to handle.

Tikka T3x compact in .243 is a decent choice, but again klunky for a kid to handle.

 

[Motown]

Take a look at the Tikka T3X Lite compact. It's small, light and maneuverable for a young hunter to handle and carry but has a modular stock that uses spacers to adjust LOP out from 12.5". Full disclosure, I don't have any personal experience with this rifle, but I really caught my eye when considering a rifle for my two young sons.

I do have first hand experience with this rifle and you will not find a better youth gun for the money.

Bought one last year in a 7/08 for my son and with Hornady reduced recoil loads it will shoot around 3/4”. The recoil is next to nothing and when my son was 9 last year he had no issues with the recoil either.

Another great thing about this rifle is the you can pickup a full size factory stock for it for around $75 - $100 and will be set for years to come when he gets older.

 

[manitou1]

At that age you might consider reduced recoil loads if you go 7mm08. I have had, and still have one 7mm08 with pretty stiff recoil. My wife won't even shoot it and she has shot rifles for over 30 years. My kids grew up on .243s and wife still shoots one. Never lost a deer with them.

 

[BCD]

I bought my son the Savage Axis 2 in 243 and it is an absolute tack driver. He killed his first deer (a buck) with it this fall on his very first hunt. There are better rifles, but why pay more for a youth rifle they will only be using for a few years. I also recently bought a Ruger American and wouldn't hesitate to buy one of those as well.

 

[Rich M]

My experience with 243 shows a cartridge that isn't made for shoulder shooting. Will kill any antelope, deer or elk you shoot int he boiler room tho.

7mm08 is a great round and has diff bullet weight options. I can't find any ammo for this caliber around here.

6.5 CM is another low recoil round with bullet weight options.

The lighter the bullet, the less recoil.

 

[Marcjr47]

I have a Ruger American in .243 compact for my kids and it shoots great and recoil is perfect.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

May want to consider one of the newer Savages that allow you to customize the fit. This way the rifle can "grow" with your boy. I'd look at 7mm-08 or 6.5 CM and look at using reduced loads like others have said. If recoil is still an issue, look at replacing the recoil pad with a Limbsaver.

 

[Lowndes]

I bought my 8 year old a Model 70 compact in 7mm-08. He had never shot anything other than a .22 before this gun and seems to handle it fine shooting Hornady reduced recoil loads.

 

[Bsnyder]

Bought my nephew a Ruger m77 compact with a muzzle break in 7mm-08 he is 8 and shoot it’s well. I will add I did load the 110 grain Barnes ttsx

 

[Titan_Bow]

I took a little different path for my sons first rifle. I put together an AR-15 for him, chambered in 6.8SPC. I went this route for a couple reasons. One, the AR platform is lightweight. The one we put together is around 6.5lbs with scope. The AR platform with M4 stock and 16 inch barrel is also very compact. The collapsible stock is perfect for small kids, and can be adjusted out as they grow. Another reason I chose this platform is recoil. In 6.8SPC, the rifle has almost no recoil at all, especially compared to something like a bolt gun in 6.5, .243 or 7mm-08. My son was shooting it lights out when he was 10, but he was scared to death to shoot the 6.5 creedmoor or 270 I have. That is another plus, a little kid is likely to shoot a carbine AR platform with way more confidence. The 6.8SPC is a great little deer round too. My son has since shot 3 deer with his AR, and all three dropped pretty much in their tracks. Finally, one major benefit that I didnt even realize until he shot his first deer, the ability for a kid or inexperienced shooter to make a quick follow up shot. His first buck he shot at about 75 yards, broadside. He took his shot, the deer ran up a hill about 30 yards and stopped. We had known we needed to anchor the deer as we were pretty close to the public-private boundary. My son took that first shot, never came off the scope, followed the buck in the scope and quickly made the followup shot. I'm pretty certain he would never have been able to do that so effectively with a bolt gun, especially one that rocked him with a fair amount of recoil. All in all, for me and what we've used the rifle for, its been a great little gun. I wouldnt take it elk hunting, but for deer or antelope its a great little rig. You can put one together with good components for about half what a complete rifle would cost. Dont skimp on the barrel or trigger. Ours will shoot 3/4" to 1MOA all day long with SSA 110gr. Accubonds or

 

[wyosam]

Take a look at the Tikka T3X Lite compact. It's small, light and maneuverable for a young hunter to handle and carry but has a modular stock that uses spacers to adjust LOP out from 12.5". Full disclosure, I don't have any personal experience with this rifle, but I really caught my eye when considering a rifle for my two young sons.

The other nice thing about this choice is that when the LOP gets out to standard size as they grow, new take t3x stocks are cheap and plentiful. It becomes a full size for about $75.


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