Found one of these at the LGS for $450. Nice little rifle with a 16.5” barrel. Has a Bushnell Elite 3-9x40.

I’m considering getting it for my nephew. He’s 11. Wondering if these are good shooters and if recoil/muzzle blast would be an issue for a kid shooting 130 grain TTSX for deer.

I had one for a while.

It was certainly light and compact, easy to carry all day.

That made it slightly harder to shoot from a rest, but at woods ranges it wasn't an issue. Mine had a horrible trigger but a Timney fixed that. With full-power loads, it was flashy, loud, and had a rather spirited recoil, but that would be reduced with a lighter bullet and load.

As described, there are two things I might do different. Something like a Leupold 2-7X33 would make the rifle less top-heavy and its size would be a better fit to the rifle. Second is that I'd be inclined to load something like a light flat-point for a .30-30 or a Nosler 125 grain Ballistic tip, which would better accommodate lower velocities from lighter loads, which would help reduce recoil and blast. TSXs thrive on velocity, and I use the Nosler in my 14" .30-30 Contender and have found it to be accurate and more likely to expand properly at reduced velocities.

The rifle would be ideal for a young person, and as he grows you could step the performance up.

Good on you for considering the young man an possibly influencing him towards outdoor pursuits.

This is exactly the rig I run for deer, except I replaced the stock with a black laminate from Midway. I also topped it with a 2.5x8x36 Leupold scope. I run the 130 ttsx and have been considering dropping down to the 110gr ttsx. If recoil is a issue grab a limbsaver slip on pad and rock on. I also had my trigger slicked up by my smith. This is a solid handy little rifle especially if you hunt out of an enclosed elevated stand.

Not my choice for your use, but at $450 id buy it.

450 is a good price for that. the scope is worth 150-200. i'd pull it and put a smaller one on it. i have two of the ruger frontiers and they both shoot like a SOB.

....................There have been a few posts on other threads showing kids using the Ruger compacts. My Frontier is a great and handy carry all day type of rifle.

I had mine bedded and floated along with a trigger assembly swap. With reloads it prefers it is quite a shooter.

I don't know your nephew, but in my experience it has been easy to see that short barreled, lightweight 308's aren't the best choice for new young shooters. If you proceed then I strongly suggest looking into one of the reduced recoil ammo options, or handload the same.

My kids shoot a stainless compact 77 in .243 and the recoil is manageable for my bigger kids (starting about 12 or 13) with an 85 TSX handload. The rifle was finicky at first but after messing with the bedding and trigger I got it to shoot around 1 to 1.5 MOA. Factory config didn't shoot great and a free float turned it into a shotgun. Ended up going with a full length glass bedding and it really settled down.

With my littler kids I started loading up 58 and 60 grain bullets over Trail Boss at around 2200 FPS. Very little recoil and I can get them on target at 100 yards without adjusting scope settings from their hunting loads.



The pic below is my eight year old. He was having a blast busting rocks at 100 yards with the pop gun loads.




I had the identical rifle in 7mm-08 and it was a handful. So much so that I didn't want my kids behind it getting flinchy. I picked up a Ruger Frontier in 7-08 and it is MUCH easier to shoot with the heavier barrel and mine shoots everything well. My daughter has killed deer, antelope, and elk with it.

I hear you.

A friend of mine started his son on a Rem 7 in 308. I suggested reduced recoil ammo, even offering to put it together for him with 4198 under some 125 grain bullets. "Nah, it's only a 308 and it will be fine." Well, after the first shot with full power stuff it was easy to see the kid was put off by it.

Yep, even the 20" barreled ultralight Ruger in 308 is pretty snappy. The 16.5" would be too much for most kids with factory 308 loads. Even with 300 Savage level loads it may still be too much. I would load all the way down to 30-30 levels and used a 30-30 bullet with a fixed 4X scope. It will get the job done at any range new shooter has any business shooting at a deer and he wont be tempted to twist the power ring out of boredom and have it on 9X when a deer walks out 15 yds in front of him.

"he wont be tempted to twist the power ring out of boredom and have it on 9X when a deer walks out 15 yds in front of him."

That sounds like the voice of experience!

I've got one of those in a 223Rem. That's all the powder I want in a cartridge with a barrel that short. I had a model 7 in 260Rem with an 18.5 inch barrel that convinced me I never wanted a rifle in a 308-based cartridge or larger with less than a 20 inch barrel.

My 223 is an accurate little rifle after I bedded, floated, and replaced the trigger spring on it. It likes 62gr Barnes TSX over Varget. I get about 3/4 inch with that combo.

Yep, my own experience from when I was about 16 and had a brand new Tasco 3-9 atop my new Marlin 35. The deer appeared about 15 yards in front of the stump I was sitting on. I threw the rifle to my shoulder and could not find the deer at all. I lowered it and watched the white tail flagging away.

Run it with very reduced loads using the Barnes 110 or 120 black tip bullets meant for the Blackout. They are outstanding at any velocity down to 1500fps, though we've only killed deer with them down to 1800fps from a downloaded 30-06.

That short barrel will be way too "blasty" for a kid to want to shoot with full-power loads, or even with somewhat-reduced loads. Use very light 4198 loads, or 5744, or Blue Dot, and it will be a joy for him.

That's a good suggestion. You'd get great bullet performance with a reduced load. I might try some in my .30-30 Contender.

Great guns...I could use that rifle for 100 percent of the hunting I do and not be overly handicapped.

I would load it down to 30-30 levels with the 170gr RN bullets and commence to killing things. When he gets a little older and tougher move up to 308 levels with appropriate bullets. Loaded to 30-30 velocity that would be a pussy cat in both blast and recoil...and you could kill anything upto and including moose

Have you shot a short barreled 30-30?

Indeed...have owned a couple. They suck as much as long barreled 30-30s lol

I disagree with your muzzle blast comment. Sure, it's not like a full blow 308 but a short barreled 30-30 still has beginner bothering blast IMO.

the .308 is a pussycat ...... in a 10 lb 700P w/ 26” barrel

Try it in a 40X with a 27+ inch straight taper barrel.

Thanks for the responses. Although it would fit him well I decided to pass on it if it will be snappy with a lot of muzzle blast. And the scope is a Banner not an Elite.

I have a Model 70 ultimate shadow in 243. I might just put that in a stock that fits him and he can learn on that.