Youth rifle suggestions?

[BIF]

My 9 year old son, soon to be 10, was drawn for rifle deer hunting this fall. I need to get him a rifle. I was thinking about the Remington 700 youth, but can't decide if I need to look at something else. Its kind of confusing as Remington has so many sub-models and different packages at different retailers. I shoot a Remington 700 XCR, pretty good rifle, but I read a review on the youth model (although not sure what package it was) and they said it was not as good as quality as the full size rifles. Don't know what to make of it.

My son is fairly tall for his age, about 56" tall, 85 lbs. Any suggestions on rifle brand, model, and caliber? Thanks!

[2OArchery]

I don't know if you can go wrong with Remington. You can buy him a regular adult rifle and cut the stock a little. When he outgrows the stock, replace the stock with a factory stock and he has a rifle for life. Any gunsmith worth his salt can cut one down to fit your son in short order. In fact, most DIY type guys could do it with a little work.

Also look at Browning, I still shoot my very first rifle, a Browning A-bolt in .270. I've killed a pile of deer with that rifle.

As far as caliber, a .243 or .25-06 is plenty. If he's an active shooter, maybe even a .270. Don't get caught up in the great caliber debate. If he can shoot comfortably, the rest will fall into place. Teach him the importance of shot placement, and find a well constructed bullet, as these are the most important factors.

[cnelk]

I would consider I rifle that your son could use other than for big- game hunting.
A .243 or 25-06 would get him many rounds of comfortable shooting smaller critters too.

[planebow]

Another caliber to look at is 7mm08, I have 2 Reminton 700's, you can not go wrong with them

[BIF]

I was thinking a .243, don't know if he can handle larger than that at this point and should work great on deer. That's an interesting idea about buying the full size model and having the stock cut down. Like I said, I read somewhere that the youth models were of not the same quality, although not sure if its true. If it was the case, then a full size 700 would be the way to go.

Another question, what about the scope? I see some of the youth rifles come pre-packaged with a scope, but again I read the scope and mounts are kind of cheap/junky. If that were the case, would you guys invest in a good scope for a kid's rifle? I guess I could always take it off and mount to new rifles as he got older.

[2OArchery]

Don't go overboard on a scope. A good 3-9 in the $3-400 range is more than enough. I think that kids are hard on stuff, even if only by accident. (speaking from experience) if you buy anything top of the line, it will likely get scratched/dropped/dented or otherwise dinged up. The simpler the better.

I put a Bushnell Elite 3200 on my wife's .243. I think I paid around $300 for it. It is more than enough scope for her. Its a great scope for the money.

[cnelk]

Look into the Mossberg 'Maverick'
I bought one for my daughter in the .243 recently
Mossberg just came out with it.
Composite stock,blued barrel and wont break the bank

I put a 3x9 "Banner' scope on it, worked up some reloads and she can smoke coyotes out to 300+ yrds

[JohnFitzgerald]

I bought my 10 year old son a Rossi .22/.243/20. I intentionally gave him a single shot so he will value the importance of the first shot. He already has a 1" group at 100 yards.

[Harmy]

I fully support the .243 as a great all around gun for kids and adults. When I was 10 my dad gave me a Rem 700 .243 with a 3x9 redfield scope. 40 years later it still shoots 1/2 inch groups. Last year I gave the gun to my oldest son (now 11). He can shoot it well but it is still a bit long for him in off hand situations. He actually prefers shooting my 30-30 lever action and seems to be much more comfortable shooting this slightly shorter rifle from standing and field positions. I suspect this will be the gun he chooses to use for his first deer hunt. He also seems to prefer the peep sights to the scope as he can get on target much quicker.

[Vanish]

I also support the idea of a full size gun with a different stock, but I have another way to go about it.

1.) Buy the standard adult rifle.
2.) Find an old stock that will fit it, and cut THAT down. Kids generally abuse equipment, why start them out with something pretty?
3.) When he gets older, you put the original stock, still in perfect condition, back on.

[hornart]

I started my son with an H+R in 7mm-08,,he was small also,,then you can buy other barrels for it to have rifles for other critters,,being a single shot made him more careful to make his shot count,,at 10 years old he shot his first mulie buck and his first cow elk with it,,one shot each,,second year he shot his second mulie buck and a 6x6 bull elk,,also one shot each,,great little rifle and not very expensive

[huntnfolk]

You might take a look at the Tikka T3 light. It's lighter and shorter than some standard rifles. I got the 30-06 for my son to use. The first two years I got reduced recoil loads which made a big difference on the recoil. Have had no problems with the deer they shot. Potential for longer shots on elk this year so switching to full loads.

[>>>---WW---->]

I think your idea of a .243 is an excellent choice. Like someone else said, buy the adult version and cut the stock down if need be". You can always put another stock on it as he grows. Besides, the .243 will make him an excellent varmit rifle when he decides he needs something bigger for big game. Just about every .243 I've ever seen were all tack drivers.

[BIF]

I ended up getting a Rem 700, compact model in .243. It was on sale, came with a 3x9-40 scope, which isn't too impressive, but the package deal was the same as the rifle by itself.

What grain bullet do you guys suggest for deer, 85 or 100?

[Harmy]

Most of my reloads are 95 gr hollow points but I have used 85 and 100s as well. Most of my deer have been taken with the 95s. With all my other calibers I have pretty much switched to Berger Hunting VLD's and when I next reload for the .243 I will work up loads for the 95 gr. VLD. But I need to shoot up a few hunderd left overs first...

[baddaddy]

Remington Model 7 in 7mm-08 or Howa Youth in the same caliber

[dreamhunter]

winchester model 70 270cal. great all around gun

[Jahnke76]

For whitetail at 150 yards or less I would choose the 100 gr. I have shot a few with a .243 and didnt have good luck with the 85's. I shot one with the 100's and broke the shoulder and dropped it right there. Just my .02

[eriks.]

The bad part about buying the adult version of a rifle and either cutting down the original stock or a replacement is that the barrel is still a full-length and unless it is a one with a taper, it will be very heavy on the front end. It can be overcome with a shooting rail on your stand or a good tripod, but is not nearly as handy as a rifle the shooter can easily hold offhand. My kids have all taken their first deer with a Remington 700 in .243 and I have shot a couple with it also, so I know it will do the job.

If I had my choice though, I would buy a Remington Model 7 or the Tikka in 7mm-08. The parent cartridge for the .243 and the 7mm-08 is the .308 so the powder charge will be similar. The difference in felt recoil between the .243 and the 7mm will be found in the bullet weight difference. The thing I like about the 7mm is that you can shoot bullet weights ranging between 120 and 175 grains which gives you a lot of flexibility. Either way you go, I would want to make sure that the gun fit the shooter as best as possible.

Worst case scenario- Your kid grows out of the gun. Then you can either save it for a grandkid or sell it to someone else who is trying to pass on the tradition to their kids and buy another full size gun as a Christmas present!
Just something to think about.

[mlauber]

I own a 7mm-08. In my opinion this is a great rifle for a woman, or a youth.

I hand load it with 140 grain Nosler AccuBonds, & Partitions. Both shoot about the same at 100 yards. I found the Partitiuons shot about a .500 of an inch lower as opposed to the AccuBonds.

Little recoil. It is essentially a necked down .308.

It shoots really accurate. For knock down & punch it really is a sweetie!

It is however not a 30 caliber.....my 2 cents.

[foxvalley]

My wife shoots a 7mm-08, what a sweet cal. Works awesome on our whitetails. A higher end youth,small person rifle would be the browning micro medalion. Light ,short,fits most small people,and is one of the best looking rifles I own.

[Curvebow]

BIF - for the 243, I suggest either a 95 or 100 grain. One of my 243's likes Federal Fusion 95 grain with a moly coating. Its a bonded core bullet (core and jacket don't separate), cheap (on sale $20 a box or so) and accurate. My Browning A-Bolt shoots tham into 3/4" groups.

My Remington Model 7 favors Hornady Supeformance 100 grainers. Uses SST bullet and is about a 1" gun. I have shot Remington 100 grain Ultra Bondeds well, as well as 100 grain Nosler Partition handloads with IMR 4350 powder very well too with this gun. I just don't have time to handload a lot these days....

Like WW says, most 243's are accurate guns! Good luck to your daughter with it!

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