Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Advice for kids rifle

I have a $500 credit at my local gun store and with 3 kids coming up the ranks, I think I will use it to add a rifle to the stable. Currently I have a 300WSM bolt for myself for elk, a BAR 7mm Mag and a Ruger American .243. I have a 11 yo girl and twin 7 yo boys. I plan to take them on western big game hunts throughout their teenage years. We will hunt antelope, muleys and maybe some elk as they get older. So this rifle should be the most versatile at this point. The plan is to start taking them when they are 12. I figure I can control the 12-18 years, but once college hits...then careers....then families....I have 7 years to enjoy hunting with my kids for sure and have made myself a promise to take them every year. Starting with antelope with my daughter when she turns 12 all the way up to a potential elk hunt with big, strapping 18 yo boys, given my current stable, give me some ideas on calibers please!

I have considered 30/06, .270, 7mm-08, 25/06, .280, etc. I do not reload. Recoil will be an issue for my daughter during the early years (although she shot a deer with her 20 ga last year). I have stared at ballistic charts and looked up felt recoil. I want something that offers a lot of bullet choices over the counter. I certainly may need to buy another 1 or 2 as well. Maybe that is the answer....3 antelope/muley rifles and 3 muley/elk rifles (in addition to mine)....but that is a lot of doggone cashola. I am spinning in cirlces! Any helping thoughts would really be appreciated.

Palmetto State Armory is closing out Marlin XS7s in 243 for $250 wholesale. The Marlin X guns use the same barrel shank specs as most Savage 110 series barrels, so the barrels can easily be swapped. Buy an XS7 for each of your kids and buy/fit Savage barrels chambered for different short action cartridges as necessary. The XS7 stocks and Savage 110 series barrels are easy to find on eBay.

I have XS7s with Savage/Stevens and Adams & Bennett barrels in 22-250, 250-3000, 257 Roberts, 260, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 7mm-08.

Whatever you do, no muzzle brakes! The reports will make them flinch more than the recoil.

What you're talking about sounds wonderful. I've no gun advice for you but I'm sure you will get plenty of that here.

I'm wondering how you're planning to take them on out of state big game hunts. Just skip a week of school?

.223.

If they like hunting later in life, let them upgrade on their own.




Travis

There are lots of good choices.

243 is a good starting place. With 100 grain Partitions or some of the Barnes bullets, you've got a good combination. It was news to me that you can buy ammunition already assembled, but I suppose that a combination you'll like is commercially available.

Don't neglect the 30-30, using LEVERevolution ammunition. The recoil is relatively mild, and with the new flex tip bullets and the new powder, you get quite a bit better trajectory. It will probably do just fine for you out to 200 yards or more.

I'm also partial to the 260 or 6.5 Creedmoor. Those are mild recoil rounds with very capable performance.

I'd 2nd the 223/5.56 for a 'starter' caliber. One model that might be appealing is the Mossberg 'Flex'. 18.5" barrel, 5 round mag (but accepts AR mags), adjustable trigger and best yet, a collapsible stock a la the AP-4 style stock on an AR. The rifle could be used by all three at this point.

I'd also 2nd the Marlin close-outs mentioned above in a 243. That would be large enough to take out the antelope and mule deer and yet easy enough on the shoulder of a 12 year old.

As they reach say, 16 or so, you could 'graduate' them to something like the 7mm-08. Large enough to drop any elk yet able to load for a lighter recoil if needed. Maybe not as light as the 243, but not so much heavier as to induce flinch.

Be prepared for one or all of the kids to want to take 'their' gun when they go out.

But no matter WHAT your choice(s) are, the main thing is to enjoy the time with those kids. It will be many memories for both you AND the kids.

Pay it Forward.

Start with a 9 twist or faster in 223.
Get an identical second when needed in 243.
Get an identical third when needed in 270.

It is easy to find good deals on nice used guns, such as Rem700, Win70 pushfeed, or Ruger77 including tang safeties. Don't buy junk just because it is cheap.

You could go with all Ruger Americans if you want a consistent platform, but I don't think too many kids are going to have the "proud factor" going on with that level of quality. I know mine don't. They know the Americans are for throwing around and blazing away, but not one of them has asked for that to be their rifle. They all want blued/walnut for their own gun.

Amazing that folks suggest rifles for "kids" that they wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.....

Having taught quite a few kids, boys and girls, and having them shoot every rifle/combo thus far mentioned, there is a recipe that works and a bunch that fail consistently.


Travis is a meany, however he is correct- you need a 223. The 223 is a certifiable murderer with good bullets because it promotes fun, which promotes practice which promotes dead things.. Hitting and killing animals is about round count (away from the bench). Round count is about fun. Solid 223's setup right are the funnest guns around and ammo is cheap.

Recoil bothers them soo much more than it does adult males. What's worse is to "make daddy proud" most try to fight through it, which drops the fun meter, which drops the round count, which drops hiring. When put in an environment where they can freely shoot at will any/all guns and cartridges lay'd before them it's quickly apparent that good setup 233 bolt guns and AR15's get smoldering barrels while every other cartridge isn't touched but once. Bigger than 223, 243's are the next thing and get shot 10-1 over any 260/7-08/308. The 243 with good bullets is a MONSTER and will kill every animal in NA without issue.

High end is a Kimber Montana in 223, but you've expressed concern over price, so Tikka T3 are awesome shooters and children seem to prefer them as much or more in my experience. Most find it easier to load the mags, than top loading an internal. That's important because the only kids that I have been around that develop a life long true passion for shooting and hunting all had things in common- namely that they were encouraged to do everything themselves (and were able) without a parent or mentor just handing them a rifle and saying "shoot that one".

If both the Kimber at around $1k and the Tikka at $600 are too much, than the Ruger Compact All Weather is where I'd land. Those rifles have proven to do well, they're sized appropriately, are lightweight, typically quite accurate, and a bunch of fun at less than $400.


Top it with a straight 6x Leupold or SWFA SS. Kids REALLY get into dialing turrets and ringing steel or popping balloons at 400-500 yards.


In closing, for shooting and deer/antelopes/etc I'd be in Montana/Tikka/ RAR all weather compact mode in 223 with a SWFA SS 6x. They will wear the barrel out, and more than likely you will too.


When ready for elk an identical setup in 243.

Man those are some good replies so far! Some differing opinions too. I have thought of most of these thoughts. I will respond to taking them out of school tomorrow when I am not on my phone. I am not too price limited. I have a $500 credit but can add to that certainly. I was leaning Ruger American but that is a good point....they work but are not a gun to be in love with. I didn't think about a 223. I certainly missed that point. I will noodle on that.

I don't like the fact the Tikka doesn't have a 3 position safety. For a kids gun, that makes it a nonstarter for me. Possibly Sako though. I don't know much about a Kimber.

223 is a great choice, I will also throw in a

CZ 7.62x39

I'm gonna say 7mm-08. Can start with managed recoil rounds for the tikes.

Personally, I'd take a 22-250 over the 223 (but, I'm a little biased on the round). I love those 60gr partitions for whitetail (full disclosure: legal in Texas).

Your a newbie here. Stay around for a while and we'll talk you into liking the .223 rem better.

I have given a lot of thought to both the 243 and the 7-08. When I think 7-08 I then think well why not a 270. Then why not a ...!

Hell, sounds like you need a 6mm rem then.... ... or a 257 Roberts... Stay away from that damn 7-08, it will just get you in trouble with the wife...

To the OP: were I you, I'd buy a Ruger American in 223, and spend the rest on quality ammo. Then go shooting. Because you don't reload, you'll need to factor in the cost of keeping three kids in ammo (that'll get expensive! but more than worth the cost) and that's where the 223 begins to shine. Even if they choose to hunt with a larger caliber, the trigger and bolt-manipulation skills they'll learn with the 223 will serve them well.

Why is that?

I know why, but I would like to hear your reasoning.

Berettaman,

I have been down this road and went .223. IMO it is a good choice for all the reasons noted by Formidilio. This despite his being a habitual cyber-bully.

I have yet to meet the kid that will shoot 50 rounds straight out of a 7-08 or .243. Not saying they aren't out there, but I've yet to meet them.

I don't like my children very much but I will admit they shoot pretty damn well.



Travis

Why I don't like the 3 position safety
By Berettaman

This report is for Mr. Formidilosus' 9th grade firearms class.

Kids are kids. My kids are shaping up to be pretty darn responsible, but they are still kids. If you have to put the safety in the fire position to unload the gun, there is a period of time that the rifle will fire if the trigger is bumped. As a firearm safety instructor, I always preach muzzle control. But kids are kids. I keep coming back to that and while unloading it is certainly possible they get distracted. With many quality guns on the market, why buy one that doesn't offer the utmost in safety when it is MY kids?

My dad has a Tikka. Great gun for responsible adults (notice I didn't just say "adults"). My elk gun is a Sako A7. It has the 3 position safety.

The boys are shooting 22 LRs now. They do a good job for 7 years old. 3-4" 14 shot groups at 20 yards. We dont have an easy place to shoot much over 100 yards (at least until the crops come off in Oct). So in some ways, the 223 will be wasted. Although there is talk of a new range in town....

We have a week in Mid-October where school is out for a Thurs/Fri. That is the week I will take the kids out. Getting good grades and doing well in school are prerequisites in order for them to go. This both gives them a fun incentive to get good grades and it is easy to remind them they better behave if they want to go. Sure worked for me. Also, when I think about life in the big picture, where will they learn more about life that week, in school or on that trip? Which is a better lifelong experience they will always remember?