Youth Model Rifle

[rayman]

Thanks again for all the great input. A lot more youth model rifles out there than I thought.

[Big58cal]

There's a ton of them out there these days. I remember when I was growing up, my first shotgun was just a cheap Springfield 20 gauge. We took it to a gunsmith who cut several inches off of the stock and installed a recoil pad on it so it would fit me. Rifles, I just had to make due with whatever I could get my hands on.

When my boy was either 2 or 3, my step-dad got him a Red Ryder BB gun one year for Christmas. I think at age 5, I got him a CZ 452 Youth Scout .22 rifle. I looked at several youth .22 rifles and finally decided on the CZ mainly because it could accept a magazine (it comes with a plastic blank in there that makes it a single shot, but you can buy the magazine for it). This year I got him a Mossberg 500 Bantam 20 gauge for squirrels and doves.

I've got several rifles that he "could" use, but none specifically for youth. The others have given some pretty good recommendations on different types. If you're only going to get him the 1 rifle, I'd look at getting a .243 caliber. With some of the others, ammo availability and cost may be an issue. You should be able to get .243 ammo about anywhere. A .223 is adequate, but I think I'd want a little more if I were you.

Just to throw something else out there.............. If you can find it, a little lever action carbine in .44 mag or .45 Colt may be the way to go also. Since they're pistol calibers, in a carbine they won't have much recoil. But the main thing is that they both start with a "4".

[bartbouse]

I've put a lot of thought in this over the last two years, especially concerning rilels. That said, why not start with a Vixen II now? They are lighter than most rifles, no bang, no recoil. I bought pink ones for my 6 yr old and 10 yr old girls. The ten year old has already killed one deer with hers. The 6 yr old is ready to start shooting. The Vixens have truglo red dot sights on them. These are tiny girls. My 10 yr old weighs about 65 pounds at most. She shot four deer last year with a kel-tec su-16 in .223 with a red dot sight. They weigh about 5 pounds and cost about half as much as an AR. She has the Vixen II but is also stepping up this year to an AR in 6.8 mm for rifle season that starts this weekend. It has a light match trigger in it. Obviously, you may not want to spend the money on an AR. Her set up with pink Tapco stock and Leupold Mark 4 CQT would run about $2,000. There are much cheaper options. However, I'm buying them guns and scopes they will use for the rest of their lives if they want to. I'm currently putting together a TC Encore for the 6 yr old with the pink FlexTech prohunter stock as sported by Tiffany Lakosky in her show The Crush. I've chosen .243 caliber and will probably use reduced loads for some time. I chose the Encore instead of something else as she is a lefty. Still, with a Zeiss Conquest 3-9 x 40 this is a bit expensive set up, about $1,000. A Rossi is probably a good way to go. I almost bought a Rossi trifecta in pink but couldn't get WalMart or the local dealer to find and order one in. I think I'm glad I went with the Encore. She'll always feel like she has a really nice rifle no matter what anyone else is carrying. I'm trying to make my girls like hunting for a lifetime and know I could lose them to boys, etc. in a few years. So, I'm willing to spend the money on flashy pink guns. In summary, you have several choices depending on budget, etc. Start with a light gun with little recoil and a red dot sight versus a scope. Dumb it down to start with. Keep your hunting place where shots are 40 yards or less. Make target practice fun - shoot fruit, cans, balloons etc. Kids love killing fruit. As they get older, get them away from the .223 as fast as they are comfortable with it as the .223 is just a poor deer round. The cheapest route, and not a bad one, is a Rossi. But, you may want to get them something they'll be proud of in five or ten years.

[rayman]

Done a lot of online research and made a couple of calls. Will be close to a BassPro over Thanksgiving and plan to take Robert to see what they have and what fits him. They have a Weatherby youth rifle in .243 listed at $429 right now that I would like to look at. It has a stock piece that you can take off when young and put back on later as kid grows. They have several others also including Savage and Remington in youth models. May not have H&R or Rossi and would like to look at them also. Want to let him get in some good practice with my little 22 mag Marlin first too, maybe shoot up some fruit or nickles at close range or something.

Thanks again for all the great input. One of the things that makes this forum great.

[Cossack]

I reload 18 chamberings and work on guns as a hobby. Savage is undoubtedly the best value for the money. with a reputation for out-of-the-accuracy that's hard beat. I'd go with a 243 or 7/0-8. The latter will serve him for life. Make sure to get one with the Accutrigger...safest, shooter-adjustable trigger made.

[bartbouse]

My 10 yr. old shot a small buck this morning with her new AR in 6.8 mm that I mentioned in the previous post. Very satisfied with the 6.8. It is as pleasant to shoot as an AR is .223 but the 6.8 mm does a much better job on deer.

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Also, I was at Academy in OKC Thursday. They had the youth model Rossi in .223 OD Green with scope for $199. Can't beat that price.

[rayman]

Update - settled on Rossi youth 410 & 22 combo for Xmas present. $139 at Walmart. Don't think he's quite ready for even a small deer gun. Lots of practice and squirrels and deer gun will come soon enough. It's supposed to be fun and I don't want him to fight a flinching problem his whole life like I do. Would like to find a good recipe for Brunswick stew made with squirrel though.

[Crossbow225lb]

I would get an h&r 410 with a 26" barrel and have a gunsmith cut the choke off so it becomes a cylinder choke the get some Brenneke 114 gr slugs.

Crossbow225lb

[Meat Hunter]

I am a 68 year old and my rifle of choice these days is a diminutive and relatively inexpensive and soft shooting Remington Mod. 7 youth rifle chambered in 7mm 08.

Besides being the perfect rifle for this old’ man in his advanced state of decay, it also serves as the primary deer hunting rifle for my young niece and nephew. And, the Remington Core-Lokt ammunition that I use is not only extremely accurate (1” groups at 100 yds.) -- it is also inexpensive.

[DuckHunt]

Though they may be a little higher priced that what you are probably looking for, I've had great luck with the Remington Model 700 youth models. They fit most kids very well. I have one in .243 for my daughter and one in .308 for my son. Their accuracy is superb. We double checked the zero on my son's .308 at the range yesterday. We fired two shots. I hit dead center of a 1" bulls-eye at 50 yards. Then my son sat down and did the same thing.

The .243 is light on the recoil and has more range the most marksman.

If I was on a tighter budget, I would consider one of the single shot Rossi combos with a .243 barrel. A single shot is a great gun to learn the basics of safety.

DuckHunt

[rayman]

Took Robert around to look at different models to see what to ask Santa for. The Rossi 223, H&R 243, and other youth models like Rem M7 were a little heavy yet. The Rossi 410 and 22 combo only weigh 3 lb. We can work on the squirrels, rabits, etc, around the house and get a lot of cheap practice, also work on safe gun handling. Can't believe what 410 shells cost though. Probably put a scope on the 22 barrel from one of my older guns so he can get used to shooting with a scope, although he already does good with my little 22 mag. Maybe in a year or two we'll be ready to look at deer guns again.

Not too far from me, a 12 yr old kid shot himself in the stomach while climbing down from the stand and died this season. I think many people don't emphasize safety, but it really makes you think about it when you see this stuff in the paper.