Youth rifle?

[gutsnthegrass]

My 11year old son wants to get into hunting with me and I am sold on the 7-08 for his needs.  I'm just not sure on the rifle.  Anybody have any suggestions on what rifle I should get him.  I would like a rifle that he can grow with, one that comes with a youth and a regular stock.  I want him to be able to shoot offhand if need be and he can't quite hold my model 700 mountain rifle steady, it is a .260 and he likes shooting it off the bench, thus the 7-08 so he could hunt elk with it too.

Thanks

[JustinC]

I built this rifle for my daughter to shoot.

It is a 700 ti in .260 (the best all around youth caliber imo)
I ordered a youth stock and cut it down then had the break installed.

[MHWASH]

My 11yo and his buddy have used a Marlin youth XS7 7-08 the last two years on deer and one moose. It's just a no frills, accurate rifle that if it gets beaten up a little bit now big deal. I think I paid $350 for it new with a POS Trashco scope that I switched out. I liked this rifle well enough I bought a full size .223 for a truck gun.

[gadwall]

I have a 700 mtn rifle in 260 that my daughter has shot since she was 12.  It is plenty for elk to 350 loaded with the 140 Accubond and IMR 7828.  It may be the most accurate rifle I have and she has had no trouble with it offhand.  Nothing wrong with the 7mm-08, but my daughter loves that 260.

[huntnphool]

Ruger American Compact, 6 pounds, Rugers adjustable accu trigger version, 18" barrel, recoil pad. http://www.ruger.com/products/americanRifleCompact/models.html

[redi]

My sons 7mm-08 has taken deer,  elk, bear and shiras moose with one shot successfully. It has my vote in any rifle you like. He started with a tikka and a muzzlebreak to reduce recoil. Now he is 12 and the break has outlived its need due to noise. Good luck

[carpsniperg2]

Perfect choice 7mm-08!!! I love all of mine Tikka or Ruger American.

[Kittman]

Lots of choices.

http://www.mossberg.com/product/rifles-bolt-action-centerfire-atr-bantam-super-bantam-short-action/27246?u_field_prod_caliber=7MM-08+REM@189&nodeRef=2513,2514,2191&redirect=1&lastnode=1&filterNodes=2191

[Hornseeker]

Boy, that 18" barrel on that Ruger would SHORT...

[huntnphool]

Boy, that 18" barrel on that Ruger would SHORT...

My daughter uses a Ruger M77 Hawkeye 7mm-08 compact with a 16.5" barrel, killed her whitetail at 285 yards, one shot! They are surprisingly accurate little rifles.

[cohoho]

My kid (11-14 at the time) shot everything he killed in AK with a .243 including Caribou, Black Bear and a Moose...  Not much of a difference between that and 7mm-08...

[huntnphool]

My kid (11-14 at the time) shot everything he killed in AK with a .243 including Caribou, Black Bear and a Moose...  Not much of a difference between that and 7mm-08...

Nope, only difference is a larger selection of better BC bullets.

[Jolten]

I'm a huge fan of savage myself. I currently have a .243 savage edge/axis with a cabelas alpha series rifle scope that I absolutely love for my deer rifle. Lightweight and mild recoil.

[Machias]

You cannot beat an H&R single shot for kids in a .243. They struggle with accuracy on alot of guns becasue they can't hold up the weight in the front.  .243 single shot in a synethic stock, kids shoot like experts.  Great first gun and they can still use them to whack yotes after they get bigger.

[Bob33]

My kid (11-14 at the time) shot everything he killed in AK with a .243 including Caribou, Black Bear and a Moose...  Not much of a difference between that and 7mm-08...

A 7mm bullet has 35% more surface area than a ,243 bullet. That is quite a difference.

[gutsnthegrass]

I ended up picking up the Savage model 11 youth with Nikon 3x9 package in 7-08.  Seems to be a decent little rifle, hope the boy likes it for Christmas.

[HUNT]

Take a look at the Remington Model 7.  I have one in 7mm-08 that my kids have grown up with.  Its shot antelope, deer and moose.  Its also one of my favorite rifle to shoot. 

[jackmaster]

my daughter hunts with a 7mm-08 my son has hunted with his synthetic savage 30-06 since he was 10. he wasnt a big kid at all and he would shoot it all day back then if i would have let him.... i am seriously looking into the rossi single shot rifles, the 243 up to the 270 only weigh 6,25 lbs up to 7.25 lbs which is super light, they are bad boy westside guns and did i mention they are SUPER LIGHT  that will be my next purchase 

[BOHNTR]

There was a time that Savage sold a youth version 110, rifle & scope combo, and offered a full size stock coupon for when the kid got bigger. I don't know if they still do that or not. They did when I bought one for my son when he was 9.... he is 21 now

[skeeter 20i]

You cannot beat an H&R single shot for kids in a .243. They struggle with accuracy on alot of guns becasue they can't hold up the weight in the front.  .243 single shot in a synethic stock, kids shoot like experts.  Great first gun and they can still use them to whack yotes after they get bigger.

Agreed that's what I started my youngest out on and it was a great gun for his age.

[724wd]

You cannot beat an H&R single shot for kids in a .243. They struggle with accuracy on alot of guns becasue they can't hold up the weight in the front.  .243 single shot in a synethic stock, kids shoot like experts.  Great first gun and they can still use them to whack yotes after they get bigger.

Agreed that's what I started my youngest out on and it was a great gun for his age.

i'm looking at the H&R survivor in .308 for my kids.  my daughter is for sure lefty, and my son is leaning that way!     i have no lefty guns!  the survivor has a bull barrel, making a 6.5 lb gun (7 with scope) so recoil is mitigated a bit, and with reduced-recoil rounds should make a handy package!  i'm not a fan of offhand shots for kids, so my shooting sticks will be the order of the day.  heck, I won't shoot without them unless absolutely necessary! 

i want to redo the stock in electric blue laminate and make it adjustable so i can shoot it, too!   

[huntnphool]

You cannot beat an H&R single shot for kids in a .243. They struggle with accuracy on alot of guns becasue they can't hold up the weight in the front.  .243 single shot in a synethic stock, kids shoot like experts.  Great first gun and they can still use them to whack yotes after they get bigger.

Agreed that's what I started my youngest out on and it was a great gun for his age.

i'm looking at the H&R survivor in .308 for my kids.  my daughter is for sure lefty, and my son is leaning that way!     i have no lefty guns!  the survivor has a bull barrel, making a 6.5 lb gun (7 with scope) so recoil is mitigated a bit, and with reduced-recoil rounds should make a handy package!  i'm not a fan of offhand shots for kids, so my shooting sticks will be the order of the day.  heck, I won't shoot without them unless absolutely necessary! 

i want to redo the stock in electric blue laminate and make it adjustable so i can shoot it, too!   

As a kid it was natural to hold the gun as a lefty for me but my dad taught me to shoot right, which didn't take long and I'm now glad he did it. Way more options for shooting right and kids can learn rather easily since they have not yet developed habits, you might consider it as well.

[724wd]

As a kid it was natural to hold the gun as a lefty for me but my dad taught me to shoot right, which didn't take long and I'm now glad he did it. Way more options for shooting right and kids can learn rather easily since they have not yet developed habits, you might consider it as well.

even with heavy left eye dominance?  i worry about shotgunning or pistol.  my daughter already shoots a left handed bow.

[Swatson]

My 9 year old killed his first buck this year with his Savage youth model 11 7mm-08.  It's a tack driver with 37 grains of H4895(Barnes TTSX 120gr) with minimal recoil.