My dad graciously wants to buy one for my daughter in 260 or 7mm-08. He asked me to check it out and give him my opinion, as he thinks they are really neat little guns. I do handload, so light "powder-puff" BlueDot or 4198 loads would be in order for now. My concern is noise and blast. Both of my girls have very sensitive ears and the first thing my oldest asks when we hunt is "how loud is that gun?". We bring electro-muffs but sometimes have to do a quick, fingers-in-ears job when things happen fast. I could see that little 16.5" barrel on the Ruger being really snorty and am thinking about pointing him to a 20" 700 instead. It seems to be a bit more flexible platform. Any thoughts?
My friend had the 16" Ruger compact laminate in .308. At the shooting range, the noise and blast were obnoxious (to me). I didn't care for it at all, or even being near it when some else was shooting it!
This range had concrete benches under a roof (typical gun club arrangement, nothing fancy or any weird baffles) and I think that the noise and concussion got directed back to the shooter with the sloped roof. So maybe this exaggerated the noise and blast compared to shooting in the field but typical length barrels (22 - 24") never seemed annoying like that Ruger.
I did have a AR10 in .308 with 16" and the noise and concussion never seemed as bad as the Ruger. I'm not sure why, but maybe the flash hider directed the blast in different directions, or maybe the buffer tube noises were distracting enough to keep me from noticing the blast, or the gas pressure profile in the barrel was different with the semi-auto action compared to a bolt action. Don't know, but one of my other friends said that the blast on that AR10 was horrendous. It seems to affect different people differently!
I think that the pressure inside the barrel when the bullet leaves is an important consideration. If you handload some low power rounds, the low pressures should help make it have less bark. To me, the 7.62x39 is very pleasant even out of a 16" barrel and this is a relatively low pressure cartridge.
I more or less agree with both of you guys. The local BassProShops has the ADL Youth 20" models in 7mm-08 and 243win for $449 with the adjustable LOP/Supercell setup and camo handle. I'm leaning that way. The idea of lower pressure making the shorty Ruger more bearable would certainly make sense and I think lighter loads would help with that. I'd just hate for a kid to dislike their rifle later on when we move up to full-power loads, which might take the blast to an uncomfortable level. 20-21" barrels just make much more sense to me on a kid's gun when they start burning 45gr of powder with 55-60K PSI adult loads.
I've got one of the Mark II compacts with the 16.5" barrel in 223. Mine is stainless/laminate, pretty heavy for the size. Muzzle blast is horrible to say the least. Mom shot at a yote with it off of her covered concrete carport one time without earplugs, she said her one ear still wasn't back to normal a month afterwards. She's not one to stretch things, either.
I've shot foxes/yotes at night with it, the fireball is impressive.
Yet it's one of my favorite rifles, rides in the truck/tractor with me all the time and has yet to get knocked off zero. Action's pretty rough, but that probably has to do with the 1/2 lb of dirt/mud it accumulates between oil changes.
God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy...
Both of mine have been shooting Ruger 260s since they were 9. No issues. Load 'em up with 85 grainers for practice and rock on. 140s for elk... I do the sight in and load work up, neither has ever complained when elk tip over... 11 and almost 13 and both have slammed multiple ungulates.
"Your range of experience runs that gamut from A to B, plus you're a nitwit. That's a hard combination to overcome, though some people try." - JB
I really liked the gun, except the added noise. It was LOUD with full power loads.
My oldest boy shot it well at the range. I took four animals with it. It was a nice rifle, but then when my boy finally shot it without earmuffs (at a jack rabbit while we were coming back to the truck from a deer hunt), it REALLY hurt his ears.
When I shot the animals I took with it, I didn't notice the noise. Maybe I've already hurt my ears from years of shooting or was just excited. But after thinking about the damage I might do to my kids' ears with that rife. I decided it wasn't worth it.
Now the kids shoot my 308 Montana. So far only with reduced,loads but they both say they like the rifle a lot better.
Three years ago when I bought the compact, I asked about it here. Dober also told me I might want to try the 700 youth. I didn't because I wanted a safety that would lock the bolt. I would have saved a lot of money just getting the 700 in the first place!
If I could afford it, I think a Montana in 243 or 260 would be the perfect youth gun if they can handle the longer stock.
The never-ending flight Of future days. Paradise Lost. Book ii. Line 221
I recently considered the 16.5 Ruger for a small adult. Looked at Weatherby and Howa youth rifles also but did not care for the bulky stocks. Eventually settled on a M70 Featherweight compact with a 20" barrel in 7mm/08.
I would not want the barrel any shorter because of the blast. A 20" barreled 223 is a noisy little bugger and hearing protection is needed. Since hearing loss is cumulative over time; it is best to equip young ones with good hearing protection no matter what caliber or barrel length is used.
"It is wise, though, to remember above all else: rifle, caliber, scope, and even bullets notwithstanding, the most important feature of successful big game hunting is to put that bullet in the correct place, the first time!" John Jobson
I agree on the hearing protection bit. We bought several sets of the cheapy Caldwell battery-powered muffs from Midway when they were on sale for less than $20. They work really well for the money. I also bought her a set of those silicone earplugs on a plastic headband. She has started wearing them around her neck when we are hunting and they are quick to get in her ears before I shoot. I missed a shot opportunity last year trying to get her muffs on in time.
I've got 2 compacts .308 & .243, and the new GSR. Yeah, they're louder, but certainly not unbearable. If loaded down, that problem would be reduced a bunch. I use them exclusively for hunting out of vehicles where the convenience of the short length far outweighs the other minor issues.
That being said, if "how loud is that gun?" is the first question, I'd opt for the 20". If dimensions become more of an issue, then the 16.5".
If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!
My dad graciously wants to buy one for my daughter in 260 or 7mm-08. He asked me to check it out and give him my opinion, as he thinks they are really neat little guns. I do handload, so light "powder-puff" BlueDot or 4198 loads would be in order for now. My concern is noise and blast. Both of my girls have very sensitive ears and the first thing my oldest asks when we hunt is "how loud is that gun?". We bring electro-muffs but sometimes have to do a quick, fingers-in-ears job when things happen fast. I could see that little 16.5" barrel on the Ruger being really snorty and am thinking about pointing him to a 20" 700 instead. It seems to be a bit more flexible platform. Any thoughts?
.............Everything has tradeoffs and compromises. You like the OAL of the Ruger compact, but fear the added noise. That happens to be one of the tradeoffs.
I don`t think you`ll have a problem with loading it down as you mention above using powder puff loads. Doing so will reduce the noise levels. And as your daughter gets older and becomes more accustomed to the Ruger compact (should you choose it) the load levels can increase. Given the same loads and cartridges, imo, there really is not all that much of a noise level difference between a 16.5" barrel vs a 20" barrel.
As for their size, they are great little rifles for the yuuuuts and for the much bigger kids too. I enjoy my little Ruger Frontier "pea shooter"..........
If you decide on the 260 Compact, Seafire gave me a great reduced load with Blue Dot. A Speer Hotcor 120, Rem case, CCI 200, 2.8" and 20 grains of powder gave me about 2100 and was very quite.
It has super light recoil and very low noise. For a whitetail I think it would have been fine. That would have gotten around the noise issue. It really is a nice little rifle.
I bought a M77 7mm-08 compact for my son's first centerfire rifle. Fit was good but muzzle blast made him flinch and it was quite apparent that he was not enjoying himself. I ended up getting him another with a longer barrel.
Don't be so sure. When AR15's are being fired a few positions down from me, it's easy for me to tell without looking when someone starts in with a shorty.
I have a ruger in 338 fed with a 16.5 barrel. Blast is quite noticible*. Loaded down for kids it would be alot less. Personally, the choice between the handiness of the little rifle, compared to the noise, I'll take the handiness everyday. A decent set of muffs would protect their ears just fine.
EVERYBODY is pro-gun, some just don't know it. When an anti-gun person is in trouble, the first thing they do is call 911 and demand that they send somebody with a gun!
Shame its got to be a 260 or a 7mm-08 I waas looking for a light recoil ,light weight ,compact deer rifle and bought a CZ 527 .223 Weighs less than 7 pounds with a Leupold 2.5x scope loaded ready to go. Thinking the Federal premium 60 grain partitions will do the trick as well although I haven,t had a chance to try the rifle on game. Barrel twist stabilizes the load as well with 3 shot groups running 1-1/2 or less at 150 yards(the farthest I have had a chance to shoot it yet) blast is mild and recoil light.This with a 18 inch barrel. Trigger is nice as well BUT it Really gets nice if ya want to use the set feature ! Forgot to add this is the 527 Carbine .
