Youth rifles

[TradLife406]

My kid turns 10 next summer and her great uncle wants her to come to the ranch and do some doe patrol.

Not worried about caliber.

But she's not a big kid. And I really want to take advantage of how rifles these days are made to fit the shooter. I want her to have a kid that'll fit her and her siblings.

I thought about building her a 6 Creed with a short carbon barrel with a can. But that's not realistic with my budget.

Kind of looking at a Sig Cross because I think with the stock sucked up it should be short enough. Then the barrel is threaded. And it's only like 6.5lb so it'd be light enough she could carry it. How are the Sigs? Not crazy about the Creed but it should be about perfect for a deer gun and lots of ammo available and I hand load. Then the stock folds to the side too right so she'd have an easy time carrying it to our vantage points on the crick bluffs?

Also looking at the Tikkas. They have their compacts or I could get a full size gun and drop it into a chassis and thread the barrel for her.

Also Savage 110 have an adjustable stock now too.

Just remember being a kid with grandpas rifles that didn't fit and weren't zeroed. I missed so many deer. I don't want her to have to struggle!

 

[541hunter]

I bought my 9 y/o (now 10) the savage ultralight chambered in 6.5 creed. It has the accu stock so the lop and cheek weld can be adjusted. The rifle shoots lights out. With a Zeiss v4 4-16 and suppressor I believe it weighed around 8lbs.

 

[Tower]

I'm starting to think about this myself, and my son is only 4 . Have you looked at the Ruger American Compact? It's available in 308, 243, 7-08 and 6.5cm, all are around 6lbs and some come threaded. You can also buy the Compact stock separately and drop in any of the American actions. I have a couple of Ruger Ranch's in 300bo and 350L and I'm thinking of ordering the compact stock to have when the time comes for my son to try a centerfire.

Henry also makes a compact youth single shot if you want to go a traditional route.

I don't have any experience with the Cross or any other chassis rifle but I can definitely see the draw to them. Seemingly endless configurations, limited only by budget.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Do not overlook the Savage 110 Lightweight Storm. It is a bit lighter than the Ultralight as well as a bit shorter. Nothing wrong with a T3X either (have one myself - just not adjustable).

If recoil is still an issue, replace the pad with a Limbsaver.

 

[tyeager2964]

I would buy any of the youth rifles available from a reputable manufacturer and go from there. When my son was 8 I bought him a Mossberg Patriot Youth model in 243 for whitetail hunting. Remington, Mossberg, Ruger, Browning, and Tikka all have lightweight youth models. The only reason we settled on Mossberg was for the camo pattern that he liked. For reference he is now 10 and still weighs all of 68 lbs.

I can easily shoot it as well. The difference in LOP is only 1"

I wouldn't over think it to much

 

[hunt1up]

I bought my 9 and 11 year old a Tikka Compact in .308. I started with reduced recoil rounds and now they're shooting regular factory 150s. I love that little gun. I've got my "adult" guns but I really enjoy shooting and carrying the stubby Tikka. It comes with stock spacers so it can basically become a full size Tikka with a 20" barrel. Or you could throw it in other stocks down the road.

 

[bmart2622]

I went with a Ruger American compact with the stainless barrel in 243 for my kids. Its sub moa out to 300 yds with factory ammo, plenty for kids to shoot deer without breaking the bank

 

[MuleyFever]

I wish some of these manufacturers would put out some compact models in the 6mm CM.

 

[TradLife406]

I wish some of these manufacturers would put out some compact models in the 6mm CM.

Yeah! I really like the 243 and mild calibers. But the 243 seems to be very picky on what bullets put the deer down quick. But the 6 Creed with the heavier bullets should be money. Also lots of cheap factory ammo all the time.
Almost tempted to just rebarrel my 308 in 6 Creed...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[2-Stix]

I am starting to look also for my 9 year old. I had very bad luck with Savage LW Stainless, I had to mail them back. I sold them, and went tikka and could not be happier. Tikka for the cost is an unbelievable value.

I am looking at the tikka compact in 6.5 CM also.

 

[Pharmseller]

I started my boy out at 9 with a Tikka in 7mm-08, using light loads with 120 gr Ballistic Tips. I lightened the trigger pull to about 2 lbs and replaced the hockey puck recoil pad with a Limbsaver. Minimal recoil but plenty of juice to kill anything within his skill level range.

Whatever you get, make sure the trigger is excellent. If not, he’ll use his whole hand to squeeze, and we all know what happens then.

 

[mt100gr.]

The progression of rifles for my daughters has been:
1) Savage Rascal .22LR, open sights. Something they can completely control and learn the mechanics of a bolt gun and how to point it down range. Easy. Safe.

2) Ruger American Ranch 5.56 with a DIY youth sized LOP stock chop. Suppressed. Worked really well and super accurate with good ammo. Similar trigger to the Rascal but mag fed. Small enough for kids to manipulate.

3) Tikka T1x .22LR (20") with SWFA 6x, vertical grip. Suppressed. More precision, big rifle feel.

4) Tikka T3x Lite Compact .223 (20") with SWFA 6x, vertical grip. Suppressed. Very accurate and capable rifle with 77TMKs. Identical to the fun .22 and a host of other rifles in the safe that will feel familiar if for some reason the .223 doesn't fit the bill....but considering the performance we have seen with the 77TMK, I am pretty happy the Lite Compact has a LOP spacer so I can use it! It's a killer!

 

[rookhawk]

My kid turns 10 next summer and her great uncle wants her to come to the ranch and do some doe patrol.

Not worried about caliber.

But she's not a big kid. And I really want to take advantage of how rifles these days are made to fit the shooter. I want her to have a kid that'll fit her and her siblings.

I thought about building her a 6 Creed with a short carbon barrel with a can. But that's not realistic with my budget.

Kind of looking at a Sig Cross because I think with the stock sucked up it should be short enough. Then the barrel is threaded. And it's only like 6.5lb so it'd be light enough she could carry it. How are the Sigs? Not crazy about the Creed but it should be about perfect for a deer gun and lots of ammo available and I hand load. Then the stock folds to the side too right so she'd have an easy time carrying it to our vantage points on the crick bluffs?

Also looking at the Tikkas. They have their compacts or I could get a full size gun and drop it into a chassis and thread the barrel for her.

Also Savage 110 have an adjustable stock now too.

Just remember being a kid with grandpas rifles that didn't fit and weren't zeroed. I missed so many deer. I don't want her to have to struggle!

I just followed the internet sites until I could find a pre64 win 70 featherweight in .243. The collectors hate restored guns so look for one that had a recoil pad installed or linseed applied to the stock, ruining value. then put a pair of quick release NECG pads on the gun to go from 12” to 13-1/4” as the kid grows and you’re fine. A lot of kids have killed deer with that rifle starting at 6 years old. By ten or eleven my kids all migrated into other guns but there is nothing wrong with that one. They just wanted to pursue larger game so their next guns were 7x64 brenneke and 375HHs.

I’ve built a lot of savages over the years and the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze. To get them dialed in with the right fit, finish, trigger, stock, mounts, and rings, you’ve spent more than a vintage winchester and its still a plastic and laminate abomination.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

If you can live without stainless the tikka compacts are great rifles, with no qualifying statements. If you have to have stainless, finding a takeoff tikka compact stock can be a challenge, though diy cuts or the krg bravo can help shorten the lop.

Given the scarcity of 77 tmks for a 223, and the strange factory rifle shortage for 6 creed, you might also consider a howa mini in 6 arc as a viable alternative to rebarreling your 308.

 

[rookhawk]

I guess we should ask. What’s the budget? What animals is the kid going to hunt? What’s the height of the kid today and what’s a guesstimate of adult height range?