gun for son?

[Baylian]

I am interested in getting an introductory rifle for my 13 year old son. We have .22's. He's 5'2" and weighs 120 pounds. I want him to start getting used to centerfire and be able to hunt for deer. I don't want to break the bank on this rifle since he will probably beat it up a bit. Please make caliber and rifle suggestions. What kind of scope?

Thanks in advance, TJ

[270man]

Baylian,

Within the next few days I will be guiding a 14-year-old grandson, his 11-year-old brother and another 11-year-old grandson on a youth deer hunt. It will be the first big game hunt for the younger two. One of the younger boys will hunt with a Remington Model 7 in 243 Winchester. The Model 7 is a little steep unless you can find either a used one or a discounted price on a new one.

The older grandson will use my Rem 700 in 6mm Remington, about the same as a 243 Win. The last boy will use my Marlin 336CS in 30-30 Winchester. I bought this one used at a great price. The only drawback for the Marlin is that doesn't have the range of the Remington bolt guns.

My recommendations for caliber includes the 243/6mm, 260Rem and 7mm-08 Rem. The 6mm and 260 (and maybe even the 7mm-08) ammo might be hard to find if you live in a small town or rural area. If you handload, no problem.

For rifles, I would recommend a used Remington 700ADL or BDL but you probably won't find them in anything but 243. Remington now has the 700 SPS model, which I think is superious to the old 700ADL. It is available in either 243 or 7mm-08.

Best wishes for finding the right rifle for your young shooter, and kudos for introducing him to a wonderful sport.

270man

[PJgunner]

H&R makes a pretty neat break open single shot rifle that comes in a fairly wide range of calibers. In new rifles, that would probably be about the least expensive way to go. While I am not all that fond of the .243 as a deer rifle, (No flames please, it's just my personal opinion.) it should work, and if they make one on .260 Rem. or the 7-08 Rem., then that would be an ideal way to go. Reasonable power and a break open single shot would be a safe firearm for a youngster.
Paul B.

[rickjordan]

270man is right on the money, although I don't put much stock in the size of the kid, all three calibers he suggested are excellent for kids.

[Dan Morris]

After the pellet guns and .22's, I gave my son and daughter both 30-30's. They rapidly went to 30-06 and a .270. After the
30-30's I had a line on several pre 64 M7o"s. As they will last them the rest of thier lives, they take supprisingly good care of them! No real dings, just normal hunting wear.Scopes, I had a shelf full of Leuipolds...just put them on w/old Redfield bases and rings.
Dan
:)

[Aim to maim]

The most important consideration should be the fit of the rifle. He can't learn to shoot well if he is not comfortable holding it. It has been my experience that this is a far more important factor than the choice of caliber.

This will probably require that you purchase a youth model or shorten the stock of a standard size rifle. Giving a kid a poorly fitting firearm with the intention that he "grow into it" is not a good idea.

Good luck and good hunting.

[Andy L]

It all depends on the size of your son and what he can shoot comfortably.

I started my son off with a Youth Handi Rifle in 243 at 7 yrs old. He had to use shooting sticks, dont we all, to be very accurate, but the recoil was tolerable. I just didnt let him shoot alot of targets. Just enough to see that he could handle it, then they dont notice it when a deers out there. I also had him shooting 80gr bullets for less recoil. He killed 5 deer with 5 shots in 5 years. It served well to say the least. And they are only about $200.

Hes 12 now. And, even bigger than I previously thought. I had him at the doc last week and he was just over 5'10" and weighed 148lb. He has way outgrown that youth handi rifle. As you can see in the other thread, I bought him a CZ 550 American in 6.5x55. Its perfect for him.

The cartridge speaks for itself. I think I will be shooting one as well, very soon. The gun is pretty big. Its got a 25.5" bbl, I think, and weighs around 8lb. If your son is small, it might be a bit big. But, it will be a well made gun that he can shoot the rest of his life. Even if its marginal, with shooting sticks needed, I would consider that route. Kids that age are growing fast and it may be perfect by next year. That way you would have something that lasts forever instead of a two year toss away....

I looked at the Model 7 Rems and was very tempted. If he wasnt big enough to handle a CZ, I probably would have went that route. Probably still with a 6.5 of some sort. But Im very disenchanted with Remington nowdays. I was a diehard for them too, but they leave alot to be desired. IMHO, CZ by far makes the best affordable rifle on the market today.

Thats my experience with my kid. Hope it helps.

Andy

[SD Handgunner]

Probably one of the best deals out there today in a new rifle is the Stevens Model 200. AS per caliber / chambering they are offered in both Short and Long Action versions. Short action calibers include .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington, .243 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington and .308 Winchester.

Everyone was talking about the Stevens Model 200 so last year at Christmas time I picked up one chambered in .223 Remington. This is a no frills rifle with a dark Grey Synthetic Stock that has alluminum pillars insert molded when the stock is molded so they are like they are part of the stock. The metal work is a matte blue. This Rifle is basically a Savage without the Accutrigger (uses the old style Savage Trigger System).

I picked my Stevens Model 200 up at Sportsmans Warehouse for $259.99. I then mounted a 3x9x40mm Nikon Buckmaster Rifle Scope in Warne Rings and Bases. Prior to shooting the Rifle I did the normal things I do to a new rifle. I tuned the trigger which ended up quite crisp and smooth at 2 3/4 pounds. I then Hand Lapped the Bore (it seemed a little rough) with FLITZ Bore Polish followed by my usual shoot-n-clean barrel break in procedure.

For Barrel Break In I used Ultra Max Commercial Reloads that were loaded with 55gr. Winchester Pointed Soft Point Bullets. Right off the bat this Rifle was printing sub 1" 5 shot groups at 100 yards. Throughout my 50 round barrel break in I shot 8 - 5 shot groups at 100 yards and the largest came in at 1" and the smallest came in at 5/8".

Not long after I had started shooting this Stevens a young lad from town here was admiring it one day. This young lad is an aspiring Coyote Hunter and despirately wanted a .223 for a Coyote Rifle. Well this young lads father weakened (as did I) and purchased this Stevens Model 200 from me for his son.

I guess what I am trying to say is that for a bare bones Hunting Rifle at a reasonable cost I think the Stevens Model 200 is a lot of rifle. For a Deer Rifle Cartridge everyone has their own opinions as to what they like and dislike, and I am no different.

Back in 2000 & again in 2001 my right lung collapsed. In 2001 it was surgically repaired (the lung was glued to my chest wall so it will not collapse again), and my Dr. cautioned me about shooting guns with too much recoil so as to not irritate the bond between my lung and chest wall.

Well I have long been a huge fan of the .243 Winchester Cartridge. I use my .243's year round for everything from small varmints, to coyotes to whitetail deer. For whitetail deer I wanted a load that would produce a lot of shok to the animal so as to eliminate tracking if possible. I have tried several different bullets and have settled on the 95gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips. I handload these with H-4350, and the accuracy in my Ruger .243 is amazing. Muzzle velocity averages 3071 FPS.So far all ofthe whitetail deer I have shot with this bullet / load combination has been a one shot kill. The farthest any of these whitetails have traveled after the shot was about 50 yards (and that was in a circle). Most have either taken a single leap or dropped in their tracks.

Recoil of the .243 is quite mild and my recoil shy wife even enjoys shooting this load in my .243 (she's 5'4").

Probably the best advice I can offer is to take your son to a gun shop and have him handle all the rifles you can find that are in your price range. Like has been stated don't overlook the used rifle racks either as at times really good bargins can be found when a person trades in a rifle for no other reason that to try a different chambering and there may not be anything wrong with the rifle they traded in.

Good luck with your quest and good luck to your son.

Larry

[pistolchamp]

One of our grandsons turns 9 this weekend and we bought him a new Stevens Model 200 in 243. I fitted it with an Optronics 3x9 scope. Now I am not a fan of cheap rifles and especially not cheap scopes, but, this thing shoots like crazy.

Best group so far is .790" using Hornady 75 grain hollow points over 41 grains of H-414.

Everything worked perfectly, the trigger is a bit rough, but, completely useable and this kid is gonna go nutz.

He is a wonderful hunter and a very safe gun handler. But at nine he's a little clumsy, so the cheap deal. I'd happily recommend this gun/scope combo to anyone.