..........
He's been shooting the .223 AI bolt gun for years. Very little recoil, simple action, great trigger, easy to manipulate, scope on 6x. He likes it a lot but it's a known gun to him. I think the "new" on the 357 Max and the little more recoil (without being to much) was kinda a draw for him. The low muzzle blast and thump on the steel probably added to the attractiveness. He'll probably hunt with it this year.
Surprised me as I was expecting him to prefer the standby .223 AI bolt gun that he's been shooting for years. Leads me back to the recommendation to let your nephew shoot as many as you can (without over doing it) and see what he shoots best and prefers.
Another thing to consider for a young shooter. Single shot hammers and break actions aren't the easiest actions to manipulate. A CVA Scout was eliminated from the shooting session before it ever started. The Contender was no problem for him to cock/de-cock and open the action. The Scout was quite a bit tougher to open the action on. I couldn't tell a difference opening the Scout or Contender myself....but it was a difference for him.
Single shots may be a shorter, really simple action, but they may be one of the most dangerous actions for a kid to use. I've almost talked myself into moving him back to the bolt gun....will try to get some more shooting in this weekend.
