Gun for my son

I talked with John Wooters this week and John recommended an 7mm-08 as a good gun for a 11 year old boy, Since John retired from Peterson�s he admits to being out of step with a lot of the rifles. Mike has a big hunt coming up soon in South Texas on the TPWL youth hunt on the Chaperral ranch and may have to shoot my 270 Remington bolt action Right handed.

We discussed getting a SAVAGE LEFT HANDED RIFLE. Good accurate rifle and not as expensive as many.

The question for those who are Savage fans is which one to get. I was looking a JSC�s price list and there are too many choices.

Mike is gone now but I might have to get the wood stock and cut it down for him? I will wait on this.

I need
Left handed
Probably no sights
Questions:
Would you get the model with the removable clip?

Stainless? 116FSS?

Can someone tell me the difference in the model 10, 11 and
111? I can find nothing to differentiate them apart?

Is one better than the others? Are they bedded differently?


Is there a better kid�s gun out there?

fwiw I have other rifles but Mike is completely left eyed dominant so I am back into acquiring guns again.

Thanks,


Jim

Jim, Welcome to the forum! I do belive the 7mm-08 is a great cartridge to start a kid his age off with. As the recoil is more of an issue to a smaller person and you dont want him to get into the habit off flinching. You might also want to look at the .308 Win. as is has a lot more bullet selection than the 7mm and recoil isnt that much more, in my opinion. The Savage is a great gun and is one of the most accurate rifles ive handled out of the box.

On Christmas my nephew will be opening up his new Savage model 11G Model in 7mm-08(the left-handed version is the GL). This model comes with the new Savage AccuTrigger that everyone is talking about. You can do to http://www.savagearms.com/11gl.htm and see it for yourself. I did the stock alterations on it for my sister and sighted it in somewhat(just so he will be on target when he first shoots it), mounted the scope and added the sling QD swivels. My opinion on the rifle is it is well worth the money. Accurate. Lawdog

The 7mm-08 is a great choice for most hunters including new hunters.

I'll second (third?) the 7mm-08. We're looking for one for my girlfriend at the moment, she's 5'4" 110lbs and very petite, but very athletic. The low recoil and small muzzle blast seem to do the trick for her. Imagine it would work for an 11yr old boy too.

in the mean time she'll be shooting an old sportized Lee Enfield #4. For the $99cdn these rifles go for she can make all her rookie mistakes on it and not have to worry about destroying a nice new Ruger compact (what she has her eye on) Might be worth a try if you're on a tight budget, but no lefty,

Good Luck.

Don't get the 7mm-08, recoil is too much, the .243, or .260 is a better choice.

Before I started cutting on the stock, I'd see if there is a "cadet" sized after market stock available for the rifle. I know there is for the various Remingtons and the length of pull is an inch or so shorter. That way you can put the full sized stock in a closet and bring it out when he grows into it. I believe Midway is one of the dealers.

DrJim:

You seem to be thinking along the lines of a bolt action rifle, which isn't a particular favourite of mine, however it may be OK as a starter rifle to teach the young guy proper procedures.

If you aren't dead set on a bolt, you may want to look around for a used Savage 99 lever in .250 Savage. This is a cartridge that has always been known as an over-achiever in that it produced much better on-game results than one would expect just looking at the numbers. This cartridge delivers a 100 grain bullet at about 2800 fps with very little felt recoil. Also, being a lever action, the '99 can be used easily by lefties.

Rick

My wife is a lefty , she got a 99 Savage in 243 Win . Ended up rebarreling it . It does a fine job shooting , somewhere in the neighborhood of 1" at 100 yards . Those new compacts from Ruger sure are nice , I wish they made a left handed version . I'd think about a HIS & HERS in 7-08 but they gotta make em first . Good Luck , and let us know what you decide .

I reckon a lefty in 6.5x55 would be an excellent centerfire with low recoil and the ability to take game much better than it's ballistics state. Top with a leupold Vari X 11 2-7x in warne or talley's.

I started my two sons and one daughter on deer with the 222 Remington M-600 trimed down a good deal...They each shot 3 or 4 deer with it, then went to larger calibers a little at a time...

I used the same gun for my grand children...All have met with 100% success and all one shot kills..I restricted them to broadside 100yds or less shots..I use the Hornady 60 gr HP and it will btw break both shoulders on a deer and exit about half the time...

None of them had to deal with recoil until the time was right and they made that transition very easily because they never had any fear of recoil...My 12 year old grandson used a 6x45 this year and he has shot 3 deer now and will shoot a bison and perhaps an elk this year..He talked me into shooting my 30-30 for one shot this year, I obliged him and he said that it didn't bother him at all, and then proceeded to shoot up a box of shells and now owns that gun. He didn't know it but he shot 125 Gr. Feds, and later I just let him shoot the 170 gr. and he never knew the difference.

Start them out slow and easy if you want a hunter in your family, knock him around just a little and he will abandon you.....

My wife started with a 22-250 and loved it...then graduated to a 243 with 75 gr. X bullets, that worked well for her, but she got old on me and decided she doesn't like to shoot things anymore..Thats OK too.....

My hunting buddy started his grandson deer hunting when he was 9. He bought him a H&R single shot in 223, then the youth stock for it. That gun shoots under MOA with almost everything. Lots of range time and a shooting rest later, the boy bagged his first, a nice 8 point. He has taken 2-3 deer a year for the last 4 years with it, and several hogs also. He limited the range to no more than 75 yards or so and broadside shots. This year he turned 13 and his grand dad bought him a Savage 110 in 243.
I have the utmost respect for Savage rifles, they are extremely accurate out of the box, but would not own a detachable magazine rifle, one more thing to lose, the way I see it. So dont overlook the 223, its a great gun to start with and used properly will be sufficent.

Good luck and good shooting,
Eterry

I'd say a ruger m77 in 06, for the boy, I had one, and it was just the cats meow, with light loads up to 150-60 grns the kid can hunt anything in the lower 48 short of elk, and with 180 or 200's he can take everything in NA short of maybe brown bear with no problem, and it weighs enough to keep recoil down and yet not be too heavy.

7mm-08 is a great choice for a first deer rifle. Thats what I'm gonna buy mine, he's only 22mo so I got a while to wait.

CZ is apparently coming out with left-handed actions in both the 550 and 527 series in 2004. That company is VERY responsive to E-mails and phone calls, you might give them a call after the holidays. www.cz-usa.com

Someone mentioned the Ruger 77CR......ours is in 223, and it is VERY accurate with loads it likes. My nephew bench-fired it recently, and his much better eyesight enabled 200 meter groups at and just over 1". Not in port-side trim yet, but these little rifles sure fit my wife and daughters well. They even let me shoot it once in a while.

well gee whiz Jim - I thought for sure someone would tell you the difference in the Savage models...
they were all to keen to tell you what they use/d, their kid/s use/d or some other rifle they think you should get.
I don't think they ever even read your question?

Hey Jack,



Kayak board is slow it seems.



I know what you mean. I felt like I was home with the wife giving me all the advice I ever wanted. I want a big enough gun to drop them quick and sure. I have shared with the coyotes before on dead deer that were just off the sendero dead. Next day makes it easy to find but not pretty for a first trophy.



I fig out the guns but can not decide on the triggers.



Go with the old Savage trigger that is consumer safe or get the new one that is probably built just like my glock 23.



Funny thing in their book Savage gives you everything but length of pull other than the youth is 12.5".



CALLED SAVAGE- The new trigger is the only trigger offered for regular rifles in 2004. Std length of pull is 13.5 inches.

JimD

go with the new trigger- you won't want to change it later
just call Savage and ask them the length of pull on the youth stock

I happen to side with the folks who suggest slightly less cartridge to start out with. Nothing worse than developing a flinch early in your career. Try him out on a couple of rifles, if he is comfortable shooting a .270 then the 7mm-08 will be fine, otherwise there are great choices below the 7mm-08 (.250 Savage, .223 - what was suggested above).
- mike