New Hunting rifle for Child

[Sakoman]

I am looking for suggestions for a rifle for my 12 year old. He is on the smaller side so size, weight and recoil will be a factor. As for Gun and calibre I am open to opinions as I have researched a few but cant seem to figure out of there is a clear winner.

[Dweb]

Weatherby vanguard 243

[obsessed1]

My wife has a browning micro midas in 243 that my 12 and 10 year old boys shoot quite well. Its actually a decent little rifle. What my wife found with other youth sized rifles was only the length of pull was shorter. The midas has a shorter grip to trigger spacing for smaller hands as well. It seems to fit the 4'5" - 5'5" sized people very nicely.

[Crabby cat]

When my son was 12, I bought him a Remington youth model in 7mm-08. A few buddies wives had the same rifle and loved them.

It worked well for him and we still have it waiting for a grand person addition to the family someday.

[wallz]

Any of the youth models will be great, and you can usually upgrade most of those stocks as they require, or just sell it, as they are always in high demand.

Calibre: I went with the 7-08. You can start them in the 120gr bullet and go up from there as they get good shooting habits. This caliber is good for most big game in north america, while still sporting low recoil.

I can say this, even though I grew up using a 243.

[Positrac]

I’d go Browning X-bolt Micro-Midas in 7mm-08. Can’t beat them for the price. I had one for my son for a while. He ended up showing no interest in hunting so I sold it off, but before doing so I knocked down a little bull moose and a few deer. All the features of any other X-bolt but made for little people.

[Jerry D]

Browning xbolt micro is where I would look first as well.

I’d look at the .243 to start and then in a few years when they get bigger they can step up to something larger on their own.

If they aren’t recoil shy. Then standard short action cartridges in a 6.5/7mm shooting 120-140gr bullets at 2700-3000fps are quite potent and recoil friendly.

Also look at the ruger American youth model for an economical choice.

[liketoshoot]

Started my kid on a sako a7 243, nice economical great shooting rifle

[fordtruckin]

First off what’s your price point? You can go from a 350$ savage axis or Ruger American on one end to a 900$ browning micro Midas very quick. The vanguards are pretty stinking good for the $$. I’m not a browning guy but a buddy just got a micro Midas in 6.5creedmoor for his fiancé and that is a slick rifle! Few others have mossberg patriots and the list goes on. I’d probably avoid Remington model 7s just because of their issues right now being bankrupt and all.

As far as cartridge nothing wrong with a .243win, 260rem, 6.5creedmoor, 7mm08 or even a regular .308 win for a kid. Any of those will allow a kid to grow into them especially with the light recoiling loads for .308 which would be on the heavy end for recoil out of those choices.

[58thecat]

Might consider a lever action in 30/30?
Won’t bust the bank if you shop around and find a used one even with a scope….just to get him a start then if he gets hooked and grows a bit upgrade say to a nice bolt action and then he has two rifles which is always a good thing.
Good luck!


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[wallz]

I would suggest staying away from the ruger american. Did that, in an all weather and nothing but problems with the magazine, and feeding properly. My daughter ended up missing out on a few bucks because of that. Needless to say it is gone, and replaced.

[360hunt]

Originally Posted by Sakoman

I am looking for suggestions for a rifle for my 12 year old. He is on the smaller side so size, weight and recoil will be a factor. As for Gun and calibre I am open to opinions as I have researched a few but cant seem to figure out of there is a clear winner.

I recently owned a fabric national produced Winchester featherweight compact.
The fit and finish of this rifle was absolutely outstanding.
They have a 13" length of pull for smaller statures.
Blueing and walnut were excellent. Jeweled bolt with control round feed.
I'll get flack for saying this... but it simply out craftmanship any new haven produce model 70's
Perhaps a 243 win would be a good choice.
Good luck
360hunt

[fatboyz]

Started my girls on a Remington Model 7 in 243. Any of the youth models in 243, 260, 7-08 would be excellent.

[6.5 shooter]

.257 Roberts in a youth model rifle. Milder than the .308 family of cartridges and more knock down energy the the 6mm family.

[Conky]

The Tikka T3x compact has a 12.5" length of pull and includes spacers as your son grows.

[Mayhem42]

Stock shortens well in the chop saw and it’s not very hard to make a new stock or buy a replacement
Great guns, carbine has a 18” bbl and the kids can handle them with ease.
We made a thumb hole stock for my step son so he can grip it tight.
I shot my first black tail with a 243 ... in the mid 80’s, my youngest has that one now - he’s 12 as well.

[vance]

My son started at 13 with a 6.5x55. Voere M98 from tradex with a shortened stock. He was also small for his age. Very mild recoil and took down deer and hogs with ease.
Tradex are great to deal with and have lots of choices in that chambering
Vance

[barsik]

take a look at the Howa mini action rifle chambered for the 6.5 Grendel. very light recoil and quite effective on deer sized critters out to 250-300 meters.

[Jerry D]

Originally Posted by barsik

take a look at the Howa mini action rifle chambered for the 6.5 Grendel. very light recoil and quite effective on deer sized critters out to 250-300 meters.

That’s a great mild cartridge and howa makes nice quality rifles

[buysellwithmark]

I have narrowed it down to the tikka compact 7/08 for my son, just turned 13, and a bit of a smaller kid. I love the tikka's and the sako's so going that direction since they have never let me down.

[huntingfamily]

https://www.browning.com/products/fi...cro-midas.html

[Smokinyotes]

Tikka compact, Rem model 7, or a browning micro Midas. All will work well.

[vance]

I am just restating much of what others with more experience have said before:

Another important concept is to get them used to shooting a centre fire with noise and a little recoil. Ear protection of course at all times. We all learn to shoot with 22lr, and that's important, but a good chunk of practice with the economical to shoot 223 or 7.62x39 really helps them when they are lining up to pull the trigger on a big game animal.
I am recoil sensitive to a moderate degree, so I would be cautious for a young shooter of small stature. I wish recoil didn't bother me, but it does when too much. I hunt with a 30/06 and a 20" barrel 9.3x62 for the bush and find both comfortable to practice with. Neither is on the light side. The 9.3 has a well designed stock and a good recoil pad
In bolt-actions, a 243 is a no brainer in terms of recoil. 7mm-08 might be upper end (or 7x57 if one found a classic rifle)?

Lots of felt recoil depends on stock design. I remember feeling unpleasantly beat up by less than 20 rounds from a Winchester m70 featherweight in 308. Sold it. Also a Mosin Nagant was the same, but another that I have in a Boyds stock is pleasant to shoot.



They won't feel recoil when shooting at game, but at the range its a different story. Flinching is real for some.....likely more than will admit to it.

Vance

[shooter55]

I love the great responses and advice posted so far
I started my young fellow out with a 308 and his buddies dads 270 and I was very regretful. He shot them like a champ, but in hindsight a 30-30 or a 243 would have been exactly the starter rifle for him...we have both now but back then it would have been a great help to him starting out with the larger centerfires

[Faststeel]

Originally Posted by 6.5 shooter

.257 Roberts in a youth model rifle. Milder than the .308 family of cartridges and more knock down energy the the 6mm family.

250 Savage is what all my friends children have started with, cause i have one and the recoil is ultra mild. mine is a Savage Model 14 American, seems to fit children well.....FS

[tranq78]

My then 12 year old started with a "youth" Remington 700 SPS with adjustable spacers for changing stock length. 20" barrel (?) and 7mm-08 caliber.

He shot twice at a running deer the first year, missed. He got a small WT buck his second year on first day out.

He's 18 now and switched out to a full size Rem 700 CDL also in 7mm-08. He also has a Weatherby 30-06 but he always reaches for the 7-08.

In hindsight it didn't matter what gun or caliber I got him. It's the memories he has of going into the woods with his dad and a rifle in his hands that he'll value for the rest of his life.

But that Rem700 youth model was a great rifle in a good caliber.

[brianscott]

I started on a 30-30 bolt action and then moved to a .308

When I was younger and smaller(125lbs) I was shooting a 300WSM, that was silly and I soon sold that for another .308. I would recommend a .308,300 Blackout, 7mm-08, 260 Rem, 243, 25-06, 6.5 x55 or even the super overhyped 6.5 Creed.

I will caution that some of the above calibers can beat you up if you have too light of a package. My .308 Rem 700 Titanium weighs 5.25 lbs naked and a hair over 6lbs scoped, with a sling and 4 shells. It kicks far more than a regular .308 due to the light weight.

Shooting off a bench can scare kids with recoil and associated pain, make sure he is set up well and not raking his elbows on the table or ground when he shoots. I sight in on a bench and that's it, I used to shoot my old bosses .338RUM but I would never get behind it on a bench. Shooting position dictates felt recoil, but shooting at an animal makes all recoil magically disappear.

Good luck with your search, I am actually considering re-barreling my .308 to a 7mm-08 or 260 Rem, maybe even the AI versions to improve ballistics and reduce recoil. I have other .308 cals so no reason for multiple.

[Bigmountainrider]

My opinion would be 243 for the cost and ease of finding ammo, because it’s a kid a budget low risk gun would be a youth Savage Axis. If you wanted to make the whole package a bit better, send the barrel out to be threaded for a muzzle brake. The recoil will be super low, and will allow for practice without consequence.

[elkhunter11]

Although I started with a lever action 30-30, I don't recommend one myself. I find that the stock design produces more recoil for a given cartridge, the stocks are not well designed for scopes, and the tubular magazine requires cycling every round through the action to empty the magazine. They are functional, and economical, but there are far better choices to start out a new shooter.

I actually prefer a bolt action rifle in a cartridge like the 6.5CM, or 7mm-08, you can load those cartridges down to produce very little recoil, and with full power loads, they work well for most big game, under most situations. As well, the stocks are usually designed to work well with scopes, and the triggers tend to be much better for teaching proper trigger squeeze.

[catnthehat]

I started with a .22, then .22 centerfires then started shooting Lee Enfields , II think I was about ten then . However, we did not shoot off the bench, everything was prone or offhand.
My son started with a .22 LR as well, then to .22 centerfires, then to the 257 Roberts and bigger cartridges.
Cat