Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles FIRST DEER RIFLE

Well said.......

You should be paranoid Brian. Having a gun in their hands for the first time, while actually hunting makes all kinds of excitement and emotions. Good for you for even thinking about it. As a hunter saftey instructor, you wouldn't believe what some parents teach the kids before the class even starts.

To answer your question, any of the calibers are good for deer hunting. I hear the 7-08 has quite a following. .

You can still have him walk, and climb with a bolt. If the action is open it shouldn't be that hard to see unless your a good distance away. I'd recommend the bolt. Caliber is up to you.

Brian,

I would recommend something in short action. 7mm-08 is great along with .243, .257 Roberts, or 260 rem. A short action for a younger kid could be much easier to work and easier to carry. A model seven, vanguard compact, or that new Ruger compact would be good choices to start out with. The type of rifle you buy would be related to how big your son is.

CLB

I'd go for the Bolt Brian.

I think you have good ideas on caliber choices.

Not that it means anything but I can't help but mention it, there is a smoking hot deal on a Ruger MKII brown laminate with the barrel & action in that gray finish ruger does. That thing is very cool, I love the look of that rifle and they have it priced at like $470!! God that thing would be in my safe right now if it wasn't in a caliber that I already have too many of (30-06)

I don't know that you are really a big 30-06 fan, not sure if you are a ruger guy either. But I had to mention it because that is the smokinist hotest deal on a very nice rifle that I know of currently.

My boy shoots 30-06, your boy got more meat on his bones than my boy. We shoot factory reduced recoil loads in his, you could home brew your own low spank loads since you reload.

Then he'd be set for deer, bear, elk.

Just a thought man. I just wish I had a reason to buy that brown lam/gray steel MKII. I think you know where it's at, and I know he'd give 25 bucks on the price so you'd be into it for $450 and it comes with rings.

Brian,

You can have Dave do another bedding job and put up more pics...

Brian is fully capable of doing that task himself.

I started mine with a SS 22 bolt gun as I wanted him used to the action. Discovered he was left eye dominant and bout a youth model 22 lh bolt gun(son 2 now uses the ss). He will be turning 11 and I'm considering his 1st "big" rifle which will be a bolt gun. Gave him the options and that is the one he likes. I have my first "big" rifle given to me by my Dad at 12, a lever action 30-30 which I still have now at almost 40(ouch). If push came to shove it would be the last gun I would give up.

For cartridges..257 Rob, 25-06, 260, 6.5x55, 7mm-08, 308 are all good choices. I know the 243 kills deer but not a big fan. It may depend on what Dad has in the reloading room. With today's "managed recoil" factory ammo and handloads that can be made, recoil of all these rounds can be very mild.

Good luck with choice and I agree, let Jr. take a role in picking it out as it will be fun for both of you

Dave, If I bed the new 700 I would prefer to have you do it. I'd be willing to give you a few bucks too....I don't expect you to keep doing it for free. I'm going to see how she shoots first. I'm going to follow the "if it aint broke don't fix it rule"!!
Excellent post on the DIY bedding!!

Well with your 700 being a composite you don't have as many reasons to float & bed but if you decide that's what you want we better get her tuned up before Oct Wapiti season.

Hey guys, Thanks for the advice! I really wanted to get a bolt in the first place...you guys just reassured me. I'm thinking about a model 7 CDL in 7mm-08.

that would be very cool, he'll keep it for ever. very classy rigs.

BW Brian..........One of the rifles I own and use exclusively for a combo of large hogs, deer and elk, is a bolt Ruger Frontier compact in a (not for kids) 300 WSM chambering.

Even for my size at 6'3" 240 lbs, this rifle is still not too small for me.

For kids growing up, this rifle`s dimensions are ideal for shouldering, freehand shooting, are fast to point, quick handling, great to carrying around, are light weight and are just alot of fun. And BTW, very accurate too. Because of their smaller dimensions, no other bolt rifle on the market is going to offer the great handling and carrying ease that these Ruger compacts do. You can handle them all, but nothing else will quite compare. Great for the plains, woods, brush, mountains, timbers or wherever. It doesn`t matter.

Their LOPs are 12.5" with an OAL of 35.5"

Ruger has available many chamberings in their M77 Hawkeye compact line. I reco either the 260 Remy or the 7mm/08 for your son.

And, you`re still going to retain 95.5% velocity of the 24" barrels, which means the rifle will perform just as well on the same game, given the same shooting distances. No animal will ever know the difference.

My son's first one was a .30-30 Model 94. His second was a .243 Model 7. He got them both when he was 10.

Now he has three sons and they'll start working their way through those very soon. Gonna' have to give them one more, then I'll be doing the same thing you are, deciding which one.

I completely agree with your decision to get him a bolt-action deer rifle.

I'd buy him a Model Seven CDL in 7/08, stash the original stock away for later and look for a beater stock to cut off. Add a 2x7 Leupold and he's set.

Here's mine in .223. They are NICE lttle rifles!

My oldest received a Ruger Compact SS in .260 Remington for his 11th birthday and killed his first deer with it that fall. That's the only game he's killed with it. His next two deer fell to a Barrett 6.8 SBR as it caught his fancy. His interests changed first to trap shoooting and now women and having fun in college.

My youngest killed his first deer with a Rem 7 CDL in that great kid's caliber: .350 Remington Magnum when he was 12. Kick didn't bother him at all after three years shooting trap. He's up to five deer now with variety of calibers .22 CFs, .308 and the .350, but still hasn't decided what he wants his 1st deer rifle to be.

There's a lot to be said for the .260 with 120 or 100 loads for relative newbies, but if your kid is a shooter chances are recoil may not be an issue. Let him read, shoot and decide at his own pace while packing the fridge with venison.

OTOH, if you are set on getting him his first rifle, think hard about a .270 Winchester w/shorter LOP stock, a Leupold 6X scope and a diet of managed recoil loads until he gets bigger.

If he's pragmatic he'll probably never need another centerfire rifle for big vermin up through elk. Won't even really need a longer stock, truth be told...

P.S. On reflection, I might just get my youngest a .270 set up just the way I described and tell him, "after this you're on your own, young rifle loony!"