L.O.P. and Kiddos

[clayg08]

while i've searched and researched, i wonder if i'm overthinking

i have a 7 and 8 year old at home that i believe will be ready this fall to take their first animals. they both know safety, listen fairly well, and have some experience with rimfires.

while i'm not getting into the caliber debate, i am concerned about making sure the rifle fits them correctly. i've done what i believe to be correct math on their L O P, and, both are between 9.5-10".

what are my options ? ( NOT asking calibers )

my initial thought is to buy a solid bolt rifle with a wooden stock and simply have it cut down for them. i can always get a replacement stock later.

i've seen pic after pic after pic of small kiddos holding what appear to be full length rifles and killing deer. i've watched my kiddos shouldering these and they can't get their heads in the right place to see the scope properly and no solid field of view. i don't want to discourage them by doing this and also taking a chance on bad shots on live targets. am i missing something here ? am i showing them wrong ?

i do have an AR with an Aimpoint. with the stock fully collapsed, it actually seems to be a pretty good fit for both kiddos. i know this is a great option at this point ( again, not debating calibers ), but, still interested in a bolt gun.

thoughts / opinions please

[Drycreek3189]

Find a load with a PREMIUM bullet that shoots well in your AR, keep the shots fairly close ( less than 100 yd. ) and let them shoot. Start on pigs, work up to deer ( if possible ) and they will be ok. The bullet is the key to quick, humane kills with small calibers, assuming good shot placement. Good luck !

[Schweino]

.50 BMG deffinetly the way to go... jejeje

just kidding... .223 with collapsible stock is fine, but i agree with Drycreek.. another weird option would be to get an offset (45 deg) mount for the scope.. the same way canted backup iron sights work.. i have seen it on large rifles... that way they can shoulder a full size stock and dont need to wrap the head around it...

[Schweino]

Canted Scope

something like this

[clayg08]

Find a load with a PREMIUM bullet that shoots well in your AR, keep the shots fairly close ( less than 100 yd. ) and let them shoot.

i have 3 different choices in my ammo box at home ( Non-FMJs ) that i can consider should i go the AR route.

Barnes Vor-TX - 55 gr. ( maybe too light )

Federal Fusion MSR - 62 gr

Hornady Match - 75 gr BTHP

and, yes. shots will either be from a bow ground blind at 20 yards, or, a box blind at roughly 50 yards

[Mac]

I wouldn't hesitate at all to let them use the ar especially at the distances you are talking about. Out of those choices I would go with the barnes. I've never seen good results with the hollow points and the last thing you want is your kid to lose their first animal. And if you would like to go the bolt gun route they make several youth guns with shortened lop. Browning makes a very nice one you may look into. There are also extendable butt plates that can be added to any gun that way a simple turn of the adjustment and the gun can grow with your kids. Either way good luck to yall and post up some pics when they kill something.

[Shane]

I bought a little Rossi .223 for Zach when he was 6. He killed several animals with it, even though it's far from what I'd call a nice rifle. But it fit him, and he could shoot it well. I then bought a relatively cheap Savage 110 in .22-250 and cut the wood stock down a couple inches to fit him when he was 7 or 8. He killed a BUNCH of deer with that over the next few years.

An AR would be great too.

[randal]

i think buy a bolt rifle order a aftermarket stock from boyds ($100) and cut it down.. that way you will always have to original stock to go back to..

[Lungbustr]

I think the obvious choice for now is the ar15 and on ammo Id go with the fusion. But I wouldnt hesitate to use the vortex ammo. I believe it is a lighter for caliber bullet to keep velocity high in order for it to expand correctly. If one round was quite a bit more accurate than the other I would go with it.

[Gummi Bear]

An AR with collapsible stock is a great idea for growing youngsters. My daughter loves to shoot mine, in 300BLK and 223.

I just bought her a Savage Lady Hunter for Christmas. It is actually a shorter LOP than the "youth" rifles in their lineup, and a much nicer all around rifle. It is a solid wood stock, and looks great. I developed a reduced recoil load for her, and it feels about like shooting the 223 AR (even though it is a 7mm-08). Pretty impressive, and a good looking rifle that she can use forever. As she grows, I can develop some hotter loads for her, and she can reach out.

[Drycreek3189]

I think the obvious choice for now is the ar15 and on ammo Id go with the fusion. But I wouldnt hesitate to use the vortex ammo. I believe it is a lighter for caliber bullet to keep velocity high in order for it to expand correctly. If one round was quite a bit more accurate than the other I would go with it.

I agree with this^^^^^ and will add that two of my ARs group the 75gr Hornady Superformance BTHP Match very well, and I've killed several pigs and coyotes with it. Terminal performance in a thin skinned target seems to be utter destruction of the lung area but not great on penetration. If I had to pick one of the three for a kid, it would probably be the Barnes. Pretty sure of an exit hole with that one. Good luck !

One other thing I would suggest, and you probably already know this, but for shots that close, turn the scope down to its lowest power, the kids aren't used to finding the target as we are.

[999]

while i've searched and researched, i wonder if i'm overthinking

i have a 7 and 8 year old at home that i believe will be ready this fall to take their first animals. they both know safety, listen fairly well, and have some experience with rimfires.

while i'm not getting into the caliber debate, i am concerned about making sure the rifle fits them correctly. i've done what i believe to be correct math on their L O P, and, both are between 9.5-10".

what are my options ? ( NOT asking calibers )

my initial thought is to buy a solid bolt rifle with a wooden stock and simply have it cut down for them. i can always get a replacement stock later.

i've seen pic after pic after pic of small kiddos holding what appear to be full length rifles and killing deer. i've watched my kiddos shouldering these and they can't get their heads in the right place to see the scope properly and no solid field of view. i don't want to discourage them by doing this and also taking a chance on bad shots on live targets. am i missing something here ? am i showing them wrong ?

i do have an AR with an Aimpoint. with the stock fully collapsed, it actually seems to be a pretty good fit for both kiddos. i know this is a great option at this point ( again, not debating calibers ), but, still interested in a bolt gun.

thoughts / opinions please

I think you 9-10" LOP maybe too short even at that age. I cut my kids deer rifle down to be 12" with a grind to fit limbsaver. This is the same length as the CZ scout (.22 youth) he was used to shooting. This was when he was 6-7.

[999]

Although he has a 22 open site savage with a lil shorter length of pull, I had him spend a good amount of time on the CZ that I scoped with a 2-7x28 with low rings to get used to the eye relief of the scope. the. The transition to the deer rifle was easy.

[clayg08]

I think you 9-10" LOP maybe too short even at that age.

My Princeton edyoukayshun failed me again. I pulled out several rifles tonight and I'm thinking 11"+ a hair.