Youth rifle suggestions

[Big Squeeze]

What would you pick for a pre-teen girl and boy to get into deer/predator hunting before they can fit a larger stocked rifle?

So far, here are a couple combos that I'm thinking about but welcome anything else from you guys that have been there, done that!

6.8 SPC, 243, or 260 Ruger Compact (12.5" LOP, 16.5" barrel
- concerned about muzzle blast outside of 6.8 option)

Remington 700 SPS Youth 243 (12.3" LOP, 20" barrel)

243, 6.5x55, or 260 Encore (own 2 frames) cut down barrel to 20" and cut down and size stock to custom fit and LOP

Your experience, suggestions please

..........................Imo and given the same cartridge outside the 6.8 SPC option, I don`t think that the differences in muzzle blast between a 16.5" barrel vs a 20" er are going to be all that great. Still gonna be loud regardless.

Happen to love my Ruger Frontier carbine and I`m 6'3" @240 lbs with almost the same length of reach. If I want a longer LOP (when wearing thinner clothing) than its normal 12.5", I just put on my Limbsaver slip on recoil pad and in just three seconds, I have a LOP of 13.5 inches. On the flip side when wearing the thicker stuff, a 12.5" LOP is really fast to shoulder with fantastic handling. Imo, as long as a slip on recoil pad is in the equation, there is no need to change the stock as kids get older and grow into adults. As your kids get older and depending on the clothing, they might find that having that 1" add on or leave the recoil pad off option, a very good idea.

Because of its shorter 35.5" OAL, for handling, carrying, speed, hunting from confined stands, in brush, in timbers, or wherever, no bolt rifle will handle quite like the Ruger compact. The 260 would be my top pick followed by the 7/08.

And aside from losing about 5% in overall velocity to the longer 24" barrels which is a non factor in the field, the little Rugers don`t give up anything in terms of killing power to the fully sized rifles. A 5% loss of bullet impact speed on game won`t make any difference.

 

[BK]

.260 might be even better... loaded with 100 grainers it does an excellent .25-06 impression ... and stoked with 140s at 2600 it can put a serious dent in the heavy beasties. Seems it may be a better mix of "all-around".... damn, those Swedes are visionaries.

If you could just find it in something other than a Remington M7. I've yet to see a Savage .260 in the wild, and I don't really like Savage rifles all that much anyway.

 

[Guest]

46gr of H4831 behind a 100gr NPT gives 1939 lbf
my "kids load" of 56.5gr H4831 behind a 130gr NSB give 2671 lbf, so it's a 40% increase.
Of course as they grow I can take the 270 up to max...just like you could with the 7mm-08
I could borrow a page fm Wubyam.....and load the 110 AB's.

If you handload, there are so many options available to introduce young shooters to centerfire rifles. If we consider the 243Win as the standard, and thus roughly 10lbs of recoil as a goal for any "youth" loads, as one generally would get with a 90-100gr 243Win load, there are a number of cartridges that can be loaded down to that recoil level and still give 150-200yd capability on white-tails. My dad didn't handload, and we started me out with a 30-30WCF, which with 150's gives about 12-14lbs of recoil, depending on the factory loading. When I started looking for a rifle for my son, I looked at all the available youth load data, and what I thought would work with my constraints of needing a left-hand rifle for my left-eye dominant son. If I'd have been looking for a right handed action, I'd have had a number of other options, starting with 243Win in my dad's Browning BAR, and moving up to and including the 7mmRemMag or the 300WinMag or WSM. Any of these can be loaded down with known, published loads, to provide for 9-11lbs of recoil. Once the kid is used to shooting the rifle, it's also very easy to step up gradually, which is not possible if you're moving from 243Win factory ammo to 30-06 factory ammo. Even though for those of us who have shot a bunch that step is not huge, for a novice shooter it can get their attention.

And the suggestion on another thread of wearing soft earplugs and earmuffs is a wise one. I shoot that way at the range just about every time. It's too easy to develop a "noise flinch" from continued muzzle blast. Even for a veteran. My son will definitely shoot with double coverage at the range.

 

[super-7]

Like most things with hunting and shooting there are many many options. For the original poster looking for a youth rifle it would really be hard to say your wrong going with any of them. I guess for me the 243 win and the 6mm rem are rifles I so called cut my teeth on , I know what they are capable of and I have no hesitation using one for deer, or black bear. My buddys daughter shot her cow moose last year with a sako in 243 win loaded with 100 gr game kings, 75 yrd 1 shot kill. She has also taken a decent wt buck and a couple of mule does. She is now 15 and stepping up to the 270 well her little sister takes the tryed and true 243. My nephew is 12 his first year for biggame was this past fall, in AB you have to be within arms length of anyone under 14 at all times, in other words your calling the shots, watching for safe handling, checking background and so on. If he gets a chance at a black bear this spring either I or his dad will be at his side with a so called more appropriate caliber though I doubt we will need them( better prepared and not need it then be unprepared and be in a crunch.) All shots will be LRF and kept under 200 with them more then likley being kept to 150 from a rest. We want to instill a few things on this young shooter first and foremost saftey, identify the target and beyond, muzzle control and be aware of the surroundings. The second is proper target aquasition, hold and squeeze, with a light recoil good fitting rifle this becomes easier and more natural. The third is follow thru which includes reloading, keeping an eye on the target, and marking a land mark in which to start looking for blood if tracking is needed. It is alot for a 12 year old to comprehend so we do it little by little . Saftey, shot control, follow thru.

 

[SJB358]

I think we are all saying the same things more or less. Everybodies statements make alot of sense, and shot placement does trump everything for the most part. Scotty

 

[FOTIS]

When one says youth there is one cartridge that always comes to my mind.
7mm-08 Good for everything.

 

[Gm weatherby man]

Songdog, I'm with you, this is why, being a bow hunter, gun hunter and ran with plent of guide friends, and hunting with family for 34 years which accounts for a least 100 moose, close to 400 deer. It's not what you shoot them with, it is taking the shot that has the best chance of true success at the best angle, distance, obstacles and of course confidence in ones ability. I have learned the hard way on my own and threw others mistakes. I have had seen more pass throughs in small guns with the right bullet for the speed than big fast guns with the wrong bullets. More game lost to big guns than lost with the so called little guns. Man there is a huge following using hand guns killing everthing that walked on this planet. So When it come Down to a youth gun get something that fits the person buying for, buy the best bullets offered and practice as a family activity. 8) :idea:

 

[C.Smith]

When one says youth there is one cartridge that always comes to my mind.
7mm-08 Good for everything.

+1

Friend of mine had his son shoot a very nice bull elk with a 7-08, killed it just fine. His son was 10 at the time.

Corey

 

[onesonek]

When one says youth there is one cartridge that always comes to my mind.
7mm-08 Good for everything.

I agree if considering bigger then deer
Going beyond the OP and game in ?,,,,I would say the 7-08 is most sensible and likey the most underrated if distance is kept reasonable.

 

[3006]

YS
I bought my small 12 year old a Ruger compact 243, the gun shot like the wind .2" (yes point 2) groups for the first three shots, every time. The gun has a 16" pencil thin barrel and heats up very fast so the forth shot is always high and right 4". That being said he never needed more than three shots even on elk. You have to use a very well constructed bullet for these heavy critters. As soon as he could handle the recoil of a 7mm I moved him up to a 7-08 in a Remington 700. This rifle loaded with 140 AB or 150 partitions will send any elk to the freezer ( 11 to date)( here in Colorado the youngsters can get a couple a year). Last May when he graduated from high school I bought him a Remington 700 DM in 300 WM with a HS precision stock and a Leupold 4.5-14 CDS scope. I now have grandchildren using both the 243 and 7-08.
For elk or bear I think the 7-08 is a better idea if the young-un can handle it.
I have instructed youth in the shooting sports for many years and it is always the little boys who develop bad habits because dad bought them a "man size" gun or sent them out in the woods to shoot their BB guns without much guidance. Little girls in the 12-14 age group have, in my experience out-shot the boys in the same age group because of the simple fact they do not need to relearn the correct way to shoot. Good luck this is the good stuff, CW