Youth Rifle Selection

[Bryan11]

Going to have my 10 year old hunt with me for the first time this year and trying to decide on which rifle to start practicing with.
My Options:
Rem 700 BA 25.06
AR-15 in .223
Buy a 300 BLK Upper for my AR (Would love some information on this option
Or buy a cheap youth .243

Range will likely be capped at 50 yards for him until he proves he's ready to move further out.

[ca1219]

I personally started with a 243, which is the same caliber my oldest son started with at 10 as well.

[RifleBowPistol]

If I had a kid now day, I would get him or her a Howa 1500 mini action in a 6.5 Grendel, as a starter rifle, or maybe a 6.5 Creedmoor. I still think that the smaller bullets, should be left to people who have shot a lot of game over the years and are very good consistent shots. Starting a kid off with a small caliber, with a small bullet that the shot placement needs to be perfect, to me is not the best idea. I really think if you have at least a 6.5/264 with a 120 to 130 gr. bullet, you have a good minimum, deer round. Then it needs enough velocity to get that bullet to expand reliably.

I would say something like a 7mm-08 or 308, but not sure how well a 10 year old would do with either as a first deer gun. If you spent some time with the kid and let him shoot it a 100 to 200 times, and he had no problem with it, I would say that would be a great first deer rifle round. I know the smaller Grendel and Creedmoor cases, and smaller, lighter bullets will result in less recoil, which would intimidate a young kid less.

I know when I was 10 years old the idea of shooting my step father's 308, scared the crap out of me. But when I finally shot it, I was like ok, no big deal. I think I first shot it, when I was 12. I killed two deer in a row with that gun, dropped them dead where they stood.

The other side of the first rifle deal, I have to agree, that it is probably best to start a kid out with a single shot or a bolt action. Once they have shown they can be responsible with that gun, then allow them to use a semi auto. But I realize now days, at least haft of the pictures I see of young kids with a kill, they have a AR in their hands. My grandfather would have flipped out, if he were still around and seen what all goes on today. I have been around multiple guns that went off accidently, most every case, the gun was in the hands of a kid. There were multiple close calls, will scare the crap out of you. But all it takes is one round going off at the wrong time, to create a bad situation. I have seen bolt actions go off and almost create very bad situations. There are a lot of ways of looking at the whole deal. Just be safe, preach gun safety, over and over, but not in a manner, the kid finds the info boring.

My first gun was a semi auto 20 ga., followed by a Marlin semi auto 22 LR. The 20 ga. was a blast, the Marlin jammed constantly, was more of a single shot, once you got the jammed case out of the gun. My grandfather was POed at my step father for buying me a semi auto and starting me off with semi autos, I was supposed to start off with a single shot 22, that's they way yours supposed to do it. Then my first deer rifle was a Ruger 44 Carbine, loved that gun, wish I had it back. So I know it's possible to start a kid out with a semi auto, been done successfully many times, but still best not to start a kid out with a semi auto. Just teach good gun handling and safety.

Hopefully y'all get something this year.

[coach2]

Savage .243 with a quality scope.

[T-roy66]

I would let him start shooting the AR15 at targets. Adjust the stock to fit him. As far as hunting I like the 243 option.

[Bryan11]

Sounds like several votes for the .243

I have a .308 as well but i'm surprised no one finds the 25.06 a decent option. Looks like i may need to offload that rifle and pick up a .243

[dirtybay]

I started mine on the cva 243 from academy. Single shot, easy to use and just performs well for the money. Small too

[The Crippler]

My 10 year old received a Model 7 in .243 for Christmas this year. Awesome rifle, I like shooting and hunting with it as well. Killed his first buck with it.

[Zjesse22]

243 will work just fine or the 25/06

[JackRyan]

My daughter started with a Savage 243 and it has done wonderfully.

Sent from my LG-M430 using Tapatalk

[Tatom]

My 8 year old daughter shoots a savage axis xp. I took the piece out of the stock and shortened it up for her. The Hornady custom lite ammo is the way to go.

[McLovin]

If you are worried about recoil, Hornaday makes a reduced recoil .243 round

[McLovin]

[ The Hornady custom lite ammo is the way to go.[/QUOTE]

What he said

[ColinR]

Another vote for 243.

[gvick]

Shot at and killed my first one with a, will never mind what that one was. It was many moons ago. But after that one it was a 22-250 that filled the freezer many many times.
Both of my kids shot their first ones with a single shot 223. I never did and still dont like that particular gun but I hold onto it for just because they shot their first.

But before either of them shot their first deer they were knocking squirrels out of trees with 22s. Son was 5 on his first deer, daughter was 6 on her first. Both were neck shots at 100 yards.

All that said I would get your youngun a 22-250, or 243. for there first deer. After i had them on a 22 long enough for them to be able to hit were you tell them to. All 3 of these are fun for them to shoot. Also I do not have a gun in my safe that we use regularly that has more than 2#s, of trigger pull. That helped them more than anything I think.