Rifles for Youths

[The Gipper]

Ok i am going to get my son a new rifle. I am thinking between a 6mm, .260 or a 7mm-08 any opinions on the three guns? I am also thinking about getting it as a full size gun to help with the recoil. He will be shooting it off a rest anyway.

[SolocamShooter]

Out of those 3 I would lean more toward the 7mm-08 or the .260. The 25-06 is also a good youth caliber. You could also get him a "adult" caliber and have him shoot the reduced recoil loads out of it.

[oktx]

My son has a Handi youth 243. It's perfect for him. Little to no recoil.

[DaveC]

Is the stock length of an adult gun going to fit him?
(will he be able to see through the scope while shouldering the rifle without his neck contorted in an odd shape?)

I'm looking at getting (gotta find one LH) the Remington SPS youth 7mm-08 for my wife. It has a 1" shorter stock and a 20" barrel.

[The Gipper]

Well the stock of a youth rifle i think is 12 1/2" an adult is 13 1/2" when you put one of those larger recoil pads on it it takes it back to 13 1/2". He has a little youth rifle rossi .243 now that has the extra pad so its the same length and he seems to shoot it fine. I Just dont like the gun seems to be striking the primer light causing missfires.

[Snakelover]

This is a topic that's been discussed quite a lot. You might start by perusing these threads....

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69747

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65421

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62589

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31352

[Tommyh]

all three rounds are capable, but ammo is scarce for the 260 on normal days without O scares. Everything is in short supply, and, for some reason, the mfrs are claiming they can't keep up with demand.

[dbaio1]

Academy has a pretty good deal on a 7mm-08 youth model from Howa. It's a Howa 1500 with youth stock and you can change out to full size stock later. Howa got the rights to produce the 1500 on the Vanguard specs. Not a bad rifle for the money.

[maglite]

7mm-08 is what my 2-9yr olds shoot! Great gun

[Nate Riley]

I like the 7mm-08, based on some recent study. I would like to replace the 25-06 barrel on my encore with one. If you look through those posts that Snakelover posted you will find some actual data. The data seems to say that the 7mm-08 has recoil and ballistics similar to the 25-06 with a 140 grain bullet compared to the 120 in 25-06. Since my wife and kids will be shooting the gun as well, I like the idea of the additional bullet mass and diameter with the same recoil.

[coop2564]

http://www.weatherby.com/product/rifles/vanguard/youthcompact

I would get a 308 in above. Let him use reduced loads a yr or two if needed. It comes with a full size stock he could switch too when needed. You can find them for $450 if you shop around. Very very good gun.