Yes a big mistake. While we as grown men think that the 30-06 doesn't have much recoil...to a child it does. I know somebody's going to come along and say when my boy was 6 he killed a moose w/my .358Norma Mag. but it's really tough on youngsters. Knowing young people are so excited to get to go hunting they often times hide the fact that the recoil on a certain rifle is too much. All we have to do is watch their faces while shooting and see how they close their eyes, yank the trigger and grimace w/their face. powdr
