Youth Rifle

[cabwiz2]

I am thinking about buying a rifle for my 9 year old son. I was wondering about pros and cons of guns some of you guys have used. He is probably a little tall for his age, but also a little on the thin side. He is very athletic and think he could hold most guns, but I really dont think he can handle to much of a kick. I never had an opportunity to hunt at his age so I have no thoughts on where to start looking. He will hunt with me in a box blind so proping up the gun wont be a problem. I can also move the feeder to accomidate him if range is an issue. I probably wont let him shoot at a deer till either late in the season or next, but I do want to at least get him used to the carrying the gun and safety with a firearm. Thanks

[wtretrievers]

I see you live in Lafayette. Go by Lafayette shooters & ask to see the Ruger Compact. I have 2 of them in a 7mm-08, one is my sons & the other is my wifes. Its something they can use for years to come if not forever. It's small "compact" & easy to handle. Finfeatherfur can tell you about them also. Awesome lil rifle.

[Ray]

I hunted with a .243 at that age. When you see the deer until the day after you shoot it, you don't have no idea it even kicked. Every time I killed a deer, I was on cloud nine at that age. That was also before I knew anything about girls too. All that was on my mind was killing something and eating it.

[LaAngler]

remington model seven is another option

[wtretrievers]

Originally Posted by LaAngler

remington model seven is another option

Yes....good lil youth rifle.....Barrell is a couple inches longer, which gave it a lil more front end weight. My oldest was so small that I went with the Ruger compact to cut down on some of the front end weight.

[cabwiz2]

Thanks guys I will look into those.

[mikedatiger]

Here are my 2cents. I started my hunting career with a winchester youth model .243. While it was a decent gun and served its purpose I had to upgrade as I got older due to the shorter stock, plus I wanted more pop.

I own a ton of rifles and will say hands down that my favorite gun is a browning a-bolt in 7mm-08. I put in a custom order to have the boss system installed and it was well worth it. This gun is accurate as all heck and has almost no recoil. An absolutely pleasure to shoot and the 7mm-08 is a great little round. Only drawback is that the gun is very loud with the boss system.

[cabwiz2]

Well, I would love to buy him a Browning and make it last, but I really dont think that he has hit the maturaty level to use something in that price range. I am fine with buyng a youth model gun that is short enough for him to learn the basics with then pass it on to his younger brother when the time comes for him to need/deserve a bettter quality gun. So I will remember what you said about the Browning for his next rifle. Thanks again

[wtretrievers]

That's a lot of the problem with youth guns. Being that they normally have a shorter barrell, results in them being louder. Boss makes it even worse. Main thing is ear protection while sighting in & target shooting. That's the main problem with young hunters I've seen. It's not recoil that normally gets them, it's the loud bang that spooks them.

btw.....a little info that you may find useful. There is only about 2ft lbs of difference in recoil between the .243 w/ 100gr & 7mm-08 w/ 140gr. The .243 is around 10ft lbs of recoil & the 7mm-08 is around 12ft lbs. With the 7mm-08 you get alot more bang for the buck! Plus they also make a 120gr in 7mm-08.

[huntin fool]

30-30...i started with it at 9...i weighed 60 lbs and 4'6 (i think) i was athletic like him, Didn't havee much recoil.

[yak'em-n-stack'em]

30-30 was my first rifle to shoot

that and a 44 mag

[wtretrievers]

Originally Posted by huntin fool

30-30...i started with it at 9...i weighed 60 lbs and 4'6 (i think) i was athletic like him, Didn't havee much recoil.

That's your height & weight now!

[Jordan]

*****... nuff said !!!