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Beloved 18" Flyweight 270. Hint.




Fhuqking LAUGHING!.............

Them Montana's sure do seem Skookum. Hint.




Fhuqking LAUGHING!............

Shot my first deer with a single shot 16 gauge using a slug. Nope didn't like shooting that light shotgun with slugs but it hit close to the bead the way I held it and worked like a charm. I was 11 and this was outside Wurtsmith AFB in Michigan. Pretty big deer I thought for a doe. However were I to pick a deer rifle for a kid today the current choice might be a 350 Legend 16 inch barreled AR with the muzzle brake replaced with a linear comp topped with either a red dot or a low powered scope.

BB gun
Pellet gun
.22 LR (bolt)
.223 Rem (bolt)
Downloaded 7mm-08
Downloaded 30-06
Back to the 7mm-08 but full power loads.

No flinch and he’s a good shot.




P

For us it was the Ruger American ranch in 300 bo. Shooting the 110 gr Barnes at 2400 fps was great on deer, and the kids shoulder. Effective well past the ranges I would let the kids shoot at a deer and low recoil/report.

I let the kids choose between a bolt gun or AR. The kids liked the AR platform for low recoil and self loading. I started the oldest with a 223 but had some less than stellar results even with good bullet placement. I built a 12.5" 6.5 Grendel "pistol" to shoot suppressed and it is great.


I also added a tripod to help them make good first shots.

I've upgraded to a Bog Death Grip now.

The period of time they need a little gun is a few short years and now they have graduated to full size bolt guns.

I guess I took a more non traditional report...My son started hunting when he was 10, but from the age of 5 I had him shooting 22s, 223s, so by the time he was 10 he had lots of trigger time.

He took his first buck at 10 with a Tikka CTR 6.5 shooting full bore 139 scenars...no problem at all for him.



The next year he wanted to shoot elk so I started him shooting a muzzle braked 7 rem mag. At first we had some milder loads but after a summer of shooting, he was shooting full bore 150 scenars at 3150 FPS with no issue at all. Since that time, its the only rifle he has wanted to use and has killed more elk and deer with it.






Ironically, this fall as 14 year old, he has returned to a custom 6.5 creed in a more traditional Mnt Rifle Type build. But from 11-13 he had no issues at all with a 7 rem mag.

One of my biggest takeaways is whatever rifle you go with, put quality optics on it that have good eye relief and that will help them feel way more comfortable shooting...My son has been spoiled with NF ATACR and Zeiss Rifle scopes...Even the 10/22 he shoots has a $400 3-9x zeiss conquest on it...

For sure this! I’ll be sending a montana 223 to the west coast in few days for a new 1-7” Lilja. Maybe it will be back in time for the girls to get a deer with it.

A Howa Mini, pick your chambering, with a stock and bottom metal from Wayne York is a nice way to roll for sure.

My 10 yr old grandson starts hunting this year (next week, actually). I bought him a Ruger American compact 243 and put a 1-4x scope on it. The action is pretty rough/gritty but he's doing pretty well with it...

My son started with a SA 700 mnt rifle in.257 Bob. I stuck it in a shortened classic stock with a gooshy deceleraror. That worked well for a few years until he graduated to a TI stocked lvsf in 7mm-08. My daughter was more picky and ended up with a ruger 77/.357 mag. She's 17 now and confiscated one of my 7mm-08 Montana's.

Sure would like to see a Howa chambered in 6mm ARC. For now A Howa in 6.5 Grendel could be a good compromise. Worth a look at the very least. Or if you should stumble in a CZ527 in 6.5 Grendel another consideration I like. Sure would be nice to see Tika do a mini action.

If you should go the AR rout, give 6mm ARC or 6.5 Grendel a hard look.

6.8 SPC has been perfect for my kiddos and other’s.

Legacy Sports International is listing the Mini in 6mm ARC.

6.5 Grendel is definitely a mild manner killer. I think this might be a good choice for a kid. CVA Scout II pistol, converted to 16 1/2" rifle with pinned & welded muzzle device and adjustable stock. 7lbs even as shown. Great trigger and accurate.

My oldest daughter has been laying them down with her Howa Mini 6.5 Grendel using Federal Fusion ammo for several years now. The recoil is very light and the performance has been impressive.

We started with one of those little savage .22s with a red dot after reading that suggestion here a while back…great recommendation btw. This past weekend I let my 7 year old shoot center fire for the first time using the
.260 rem model 7 I took my first deer with. I put it in a stock with a shorter LOP an had it downloaded with 100gr NBTs from a suggestion on here. Worked like a charm- he was grinning like a fool and kept reaching for another round.

I have an American I got from DeanA
I have been waiting for a kid for the youth hunt to need one has a Leupold 2.5 to 8 I think with the right ammo this would be a winner for a kid or someone that is recoil sensitive
Hank

I’d go with a 6.5 Grendel. Very low recoil and enough power for deer out to 250-300 yards.

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.