Ruger compact in 260, he's 11 now, been shooting it since he was 8. Heck, I even take it out some times. I do love a 708, he has killed a few with my M7 ss/syn with limbsaver on it. Recoil/size is not an issue.
I went the 223 and 300bo with my sons starting out, but at 10....they can handle bigger calibers. Nothing wrong with a 243, I shot one at his age, but with a 260/708 you arent getting that much more recoil sending a 120 down range. You'd definitely have a better shot at walking in a store and finding 243 ammo than the others.
this year 2022 my small grandson will be using a 223/556 AR-15 i like the ability to adjust the stock with a button and these AR-15`S have a excellent safety too ,plus this rifle is accurate and when he is a little bigger he can use his Ruger #1 257 Roberts 1B that i gave him . another nice thing about a AR-15 is once he grows some i get my home defense rifle back too.
this year 2022 my small grandson will be using a 223/556 AR-15 i like the ability to adjust the stock with a button and these AR-15`S have a excellent safety too ,plus this rifle is accurate and when he is a little bigger he can use his Ruger #1 257 Roberts 1B that i gave him . another nice thing about a AR-15 is once he grows some i get my home defense rifle back too.
one thing I did with mine was install an ambi safety and a magpul bad lever so I can close bolts or take safeties off for him if I end up sitting on his right. We used the 62gr federal fusions, i think we took 6 deer with them, all fell within 75 yards if not right on the spot.
My local shop has the 62 Fusions on the shelf. That's probably how I'd roll also if having a kid shoot deer at close range with factory ammo. Sounds like they worked well for you guys.
I'd also put a soft pad on the AR for the kid, not that the 223 jolts that much, but it tones down the transmission of the pulse to the shoulder. Insulates it a bit.
My 11 year old boy is also on the smalller side. He’s Strong but still on small side. ( 2nd shortest in his class) Anyways he will be shooting the kimber hunter this year when he come elk hunting with me .
Last weekend we loaded up some 130 game changers, Reduced loads. Right now 38 grains of big game Made a 20 rd box to see how he likes it. He was ringing 8” gong at 200 yards of the bench. He said I can go up in charge a little if I want. so I’m Thinking maybe a grain more, Hoping 39 grains be around 2700 He likes to shoot the tikka 223 and wants to try the cz 527 in 76239.
Last edited by Dre; 10/19/22.
All of them do something better than the 30-06, but none of them do everything as well.
Any 308 loaded with this and a can on the end, something they won't outgrow...Hornady Custom Lite Ammunition 308 Winchester 125 Grain SST Polymer Tip Box of 20
6.5x47 18” eight twist hart barrel. Barrel was originally a heavy varmint and was turned down to about a #3 contour. 40x repeater action and BDL stock. Photo is a once in a lifetime ND elk. My son drew it on his first try.
I went with a M7, rebarreled to 223AI 1/8 at 21" in mt contour. Finished/bedded a Bansner M7 stock with 12.5" LOP which ended up being around 19 oz. Went through a few different ring/mounts/scopes but finally stuck with using Burris XTB bases with Ken Farell rings to get the scope as low as possible. Also tried a Manners EH8 for the higher comb but the grip was a bit more open and this didn't help.
Eventually picked up an MDT LSS chassis for the M7 and let them shoot it a lot in the off season. Unless they're shooting offhand and need the lighter rifle, I think the chassis is hard to beat even during hunting season.
Were I doing it now, with hunting as the focus, I'd go with the Howa Carbon stalker mini in 6.5 Grendel and probably pick up an LSS chassis for it as well.
A couple of things that were helpful that it took me a while to catch on to: Neoprene stock stickers or beartooth comb kit to raise comb - this and low mount height can help a kid out. Short LOP is the obvious and everyone thinks about it, but cheekweld can still be lacking. Their face ain't as fat as ours. Using a slim grip on the chassis. Kids hands and fingers ain't ours. A slim/vertical grip helps them with trigger pull.
I went with the moe-k one the last chassis 6.5 mini. The grip fits him well. I just put a lighter weight carbon bipod on the front too. Just haven't seen a buck since the first few days. I thought about letting him use my ar with the red dot but I think I need to stick with some magnification in this area. It's got a lot of wide open sage and things are rarely really close. I want him to be able to see antlers so he doesn't shoot the wrong one. I've got to get him rabbit hunting a bunch before next year.
I went from age 14 to age 28 before I ever missed a shot on big game. I had the fortune to grow up hunting lots of rabbits so field shooting deer seemed easy. I've let my kid down by not getting him out shooting more. Try as I might to get the right gun nothing beats trigger time. Hope to be out again Tuesday because the hunt ends this month.
I broke out the Adirondack in 300 bo and got some 110 Barnes because it's such a light weight little rifle. Unfortunately it doesn't feed from the mag worth a crap. I've tried to tune the mag spring but the back ends still keep bobbing low. May have to put out the bat signal for stick. He probably knows how to tune a kimber mag box.
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6.5x47 18” eight twist hart barrel. Barrel was originally a heavy varmint and was turned down to about a #3 contour. 40x repeater action and BDL stock. Photo is a once in a lifetime ND elk. My son drew it on his first try.