Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What are my Youth Rifle Options?

I am so proud of my boy, he started shooting his single shot 223 yesterday and loved it. He is only six but loves to go to the range. He shot the 223 about two months ago and then shyed away from it. I didn't push him and he has come back to it because he wants to shoot a deer next year.

I am going to buy him a better rifle. He needs as short of stock as possible. Does Thompson Center offer a shorter stock for their single shots?

Seems Browning, Ruger and Remington all offer 12.5 length of pull, does anyone know if anyone offers anything shorter?

Thanks.

Don`t know of any factory rifle that would offer a shorter than 12.5" LOP in single shot or otherwise.

If that is the case and if you want to get him shooting now, then you`re going to think longer term as he "will" grow into the rifle.

If you get a more compact rifle and then cut down the stock to fit, you just might have a far more difficult time selling it in the future should you decide to. And if you do any kind of stock cut down, eventually that shorter LOP will be to short for your son anyway. But you could always change out a stock.

Imo and for now, go with the shortest available factory LOP, don`t do a cut down, and eventually he will grow into the rifle that will last him a lifetime should he wish to keep it. In the meantime and until he grows, your son will adapt and get use to a 12.5" LOP.

At 6'3", the 12.5" LOP that my Ruger Frontier compact has isn`t too short for me. If I need a longer LOP when wearing thinner clothing, then I just slap on my Limbsaver slip-on recoil pad and in 3 seconds my LOP gains an inch to 13.5" or I quickly do the reverse if needed.

With a little creativity, a compact rifle with only a 12.5" LOP, is a very adult rifle.

Later on when your son grows bigger and if you don`t want the future expense to swap a cut downed stock for a stock with a longer LOP, then just let him adapt and grow into a factory 12.5" LOP.

Howa has a package deal with 2 stocks. A full length one and a youth. My buddy bought one and it slung 85 gr Sierras very well! (243 Win)

There are quite a few good youth options out there. After shooting an SPS ADL 7mm-08 with Remington's Managed Recoil loads, I knew that was the route I wanted to go with my kids. Handloaded 100gr Sierra HP's can get down close to 223-territory regarding recoil. The current model, which wears the spacer system and Supercell pad, goes closer to 12" LOP than the printed 12.5" LOP. Kate started shooting hers in October, just before deer season. She's 7 years old and 70lbs. We painted her's burgundy with silver and black webbing.



I later swapped on a 3-9x40 and she's killed three deer with it this season. Also, she should be able to hunt with it from here on out, without having to move up to an "adult rifle".

My sons T/C Contender .357 max has a 11" lop

I cut it down myself and added a grind to fit recoil pad on it.

Wood TC stocks aren't hard to find to chop, as said above do a grind to fit pad and rock on. Just make sure you have a full size put aside in case trouble arises down the road to replace it

Get remington sps and cut the stock to desired length.

Don't forget about AR's.


Travis

If you are looking for a ss, look at H&R, they are inexpensive enough to cut the stock to the desired LOP and shoot very well. Many options in bolt guns by Savage, Remington, Weatherby, etc either with a shorter stock or a stock with removable spacers

I'm definitely in the fit the gun to the kid camp. My dad wasn't and I paid for it with a pretty deeply ingrained flinch.

Tom264 - how is his cheek weld? Did you consider doing anything to raise the comb like something from here? http://www.accu-riser.com/categories/Accu%252dRiser-Cheek-Pads-and-Comb-Raisers/

I had a Ruger M77 MkII with the light contour barrel. Instead of cutting the boat paddle stock, I bought a Ramline Cadet stock, which are very cheap, and just cut it back to 12.25" with a Limbsaver Pad installed. Daughter has used it since 7 yrs old. She's now 13 and is using the original boat paddle. The scope choice makes a HUGE difference. Stay as small as possible. 1.5-5x32, 2-7x33, etc.

Thanks for the suggestions. I found a Remington SPS in 223 that has a stock of about 12.3 inches. I think I will go this route unless I find something else that would work better.

All the Rem 700 style actions inlet the same, so try to find a cheap ADL stock that you can cut down to size, then add a thicker recoil pad as necessary until he is up to standard LOP. Then you can toss the stock when you're done and not lose much or pass it along to a friend in the same situation.

Bob

I did bascially the same thing for my son. 7mm-08 LSS barreled action in a stock with 12.5 LOP. He shoots it like a champ. The managed recoil loads shoot decent, and the recoil doesn't bother him.

Haven't done anything to the stock regarding his cheek weld but in all actuality when he's shooting off the bench he does really well and drops right down into the stock unlike the pic shows.

If you buy the SPS Youth rifle, look around the Internet for a takeoff SPS adult stock and just swap them out when he/she grows up. I bought the adult stock and just swapped it this year. Now his .308 has a regular LOP while being fairly short and compact it still handles great. It grew up with him and he appreciates that.

Mine grew so fast that I wish I had not bought them "youth" models. We have one model 7 .243, one Weatherby combo youth/adult 7.08 and one Left-handed 700 youth 7.08. If I had it to do over again, I would have done it differently. Don't know if you have other kids behind this one, but if you do, consider a cheap "youth" model and then move up to a nicer "adult" model.

My sons LH youth 700 in 243 will get a new McMillan and maybe a new barrel when he grows out of the youth stock. Actually, the McMillan got ordered Dec 31st!

That's what I'm worried about. My boy is showing all the signs of being a lean version of his Sasquatch-like father. By the time he's ready to start hunting, he may be 6' tall!

It just so happens that useful idiots in the enemy camp have done a lot of the work for you.


VPC Pukes