My baby boy is going to turn 11 this fall and I'm going to buy him his first deer rifle for his birthday. I'm thinking 25-06 or 7mm-08. I had him at the range shooting my 25-06 and he shoots it well, but from what I've read the 7mm-08 is almost the perfect deer round and a good cartridge to start a kid off with? I've never owned a 7mm-08 so I don't have first hand experience.
I'm having more trouble with what action to buy....single shot or bolt. He has a single shot .410 that he shoots and works just fine. The thing I like about the single shot is that when its broke open you know its safe. When I finally let him hunt by himself I can watch him from a distance and tell if he has it boke open or not...hauling up to the treestand, walking to and from. He's going to have a very strict set of rules for the first couple of years or until I feel comfortable with him hunting with his own rifle. He's good kid and listens well...I'm probably a little more paranoid than I maybe should be, but you don't usually get second chances if you mess up.
The thing about buying the bolt is that it would be more permanent...something he could hunt with untill he handed it down to one of his kids. The other thing would be to get him acustomed to the bolt right out of the gate because thats what he says he wants to hunt with. So if I get the single shot eventually it would be replaced with a bolt. I know alot of you guys on here have already been down this road so I'm looking for your opinions.

get a bolt that he'll have forever. you never get a second first rifle!

I bought my first son a Remington youth model 308. Remington did not make a youth model in 7-08 which they do now. My second son who is now 11, I bought him a 6.5 X 55. The 7-08 would be good too. You can make that bolt action a single shot. Give them one round.

+1 for 7mm-08, a great round! The 257 Bob, is another great cartridge to start kids out on.

The cartridge is secondary to the rifle. No matter what, be sure to get him a rifle that fits him well. "Youth" rifles usually are smaller and the stock can be replaced with a larger one as he grows. Even a light caliber will kick like the dickens, and perhaps make him develop a flinch, if the rifle does not fit him right. Single shots tend to be lighter, which makes their recoil greater than with a bolt gun.

Bingo.

And, either the .25-06 or the 7-08 will be just fine.

I bought my son a Youth Model 7 in 260 for a first rifle. It served him well until 4 years later when he took my 280 Mountain Rifle! I'm keeping it for the daughter and grandchildren someday. I just bought a full size stock for it on the classifieds here, and will make a little more family history with it.

Weatherby used to sell a youth package vanguard in .243, .7mm-08 and .308. they come with a cut down wood youth stock that is painted black AND a ful sized synthetic stock.

Seems i gave in the neighborhood of $450 for the gf's sons 7mm-08 and its been a great rifle

There are many things to consider when buying a 1st rifle for your son or daughter.

How big, physically, is he/she? You ought to buy a rifle that fits the shooter, rather than buying a rifle that the shooter will need to grow into.

How mature is he/she? Mature enough to hunt at arms length, alone from a stand, or by himself/herself within a specifically defined area?

How much do you want to spend? I have been recommending the Marlin XL-7 and XS-7 for new adult or nearly full grown teen hunters who are just getting into hunting.

Jeff

Me too........Me too...

Their is a stainless sps 25-06 in the classifieds for $500. Also a 708 cdl for same.

Buy something you can have restocked later on as he grows; in fact, kids grow so fast that you might just buy a rifle with a full size stock, cut it to length, and then just add spacers as needed. A Remington 700 ADL with a synthetic stock would do the trick, just cut, install a pad and glue it all together. Then hit it with Krylon in whatever color the kid likes. When he outgrows that length of pull, add a spacer and repeat.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...lat/Number/2945481/page/2/gonew/1#UNREAD

Keep your eyes open, there are several companies that offer a youth/full stock package and as it gets closer to hunting season, the dealers will offer them on sale.

I got a Remington 700 SPS for my son. Cabelas had them on sale for $450, Remington had a rebate ($35?, $50?) and I had a Cabelas bucks coupon for $150 if I spent $500. Bought the gun, then used the coupon to buy a scope and mounts. It's a 30-06 (I loaded some mild ammo to start with) so he's set for most anything.

Pa. requires the adult to be within voice range of junior hunters and I usually share the stump with him so I don't see a safety advantage to a single shot.

Dale

And get it in 22-250. Schooch the scope back a little and zap things!

Ruger #1 in 7x57 Mauser. Shorten the stock to fit him, put on a Pachmyer Decelerator pad. When he grows near man size in a few years replace the butt stock.
Use regular slow poke american 140 grain factory ammo to start. When he's ready for more recoil use the faster Hornaday Light Magnum ammo. If he ever thinks that he needs more velocity and heavier bullets he can have a gunsmith rechambered the rifle from 7x57 into a 280 Remington.
Good luck...

I like the 7mm-08 suggestions. Great cartridge. I personally think it makes more sense than 25-06 in this case.

Any idea what HE wants? What's his fantasy rifle/cartridge, just out of curiousity.

My kids are pretty hip on the 700's in .243, and 85 Grain TSX's.

Easily converts to an 87 grain Vmax varmit duty rig, or so I've heard.....

I personally don't see how a 25-06 could ever not make sense as a "deer" rifle. I started with a 243 and 270win and shot them fine. I'd think any 7 or 700 in 308 or less would be great.

It kills me when these dad's get their kids these little dinky guns and say "it's good enough for a first gun". Thank you for getting him a good one and putting a little thought into it.

I agree that you should get a bolt gun for him. I would also go so far as to say that the rifle will be more important than the cartridge it is chambered for.

My son will be 12 in September, and although he is tall and skinny, he still struggles with the LOP on his Ruger 77mkII Ultralight. I bought that rifle for him when he was 8, I think, and haven't regretted that I set him up with a .257 Roberts. He would be better served to shoot the SPS Youth model I bought for him to try though. He has confidence in his .257 and shoots it well, it just takes him a little longer to get set up for a shot.

A kid's first deer rifle should be something that he can make an heirloom out of.

If I was your son and I liked your 25-06,then I'd rather have that for a first gun than anything else.

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!"