Originally Posted by Coyote_Hunter
Originally Posted by sbhooper
That is about as good as you can get. The rifle will recoil very little, shoots great with factory ammo and kills way beyond what its ballistics say that it should. Buy Hornady factory ammo and go hunt. Get him shooting out to 300 yards, just to be sure that he can score. That cartridge in whatever rifle you choose, will serve him well for as long as he wants.

Put a decent scope on it. Optics are more important than the rifle, usually.


I agree with your first paragraph and with getting a 'decent' scope. Not so much with "Optics are more important than the rifle, usually."

A great scope won't make an inaccurate rifle more accurate and I've found cheap scopes to be adequate for every shot I've taken at game (487 yards max). Had a $39 (I overpaid at a gunsmith) Bushnell Sportview 3-9x with crappy light transmission on my 7mm RM for 20 years. Never liked it but it took a beating and never failed me, either.

Lots of decent scopes for under $200. Most of my rifles have Burris 3-9x Fullfield II scopes with Ballistic Plex reticle. You can get them for about $180 online.

I would counsel against buying a good rifle and then handicapping your son by putting inferior optics on it. As an experienced hunter and shooter, you have an advantage over a young man who is just getting into hunting. I will agree with your Burris Fullfield II with. the BP reticle however. It's good glass and very reasonably priced.

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