I know they cost a little more but Kimber 84s have come down quite a bit and (IMHO) they're a lot of gun for the money. I have one in 7-08 and absolutely love it. It's definitely a dream to carry and would fit both you and your son. Lou

That weatherby vanguard's barreled action is made by Howa. It is a fine choice. But being a remington 700 fan, I must say go with the remington. Way more aftermarket goodies avaliable for them. And I also noticed on thing that wasnt mentioned. For a recoil pad...SIMS LIMBSAVER. My 12 yr old will not hesitate to get behind my 300WSM with that pad on it. They work wonders for reducing recoil. Matter of fact I have em on all my rifles except my 7-08AI. It has a decelerator on it. But then again a 15lb rifle of that caliber wont back up much anyway.

Talking about comparisons, its amazing what you can discover with a chronograph. I was at the range one day with a buddy who was shooting his 7mm Rem Mag. I had my .270. We discovered that his rifle was shooting 100 fps slower than mine at 100 yds., each with 150 gr. bullets. In other words my lowly .270 was outgunning his "mighty-mag". (He was strangely silent when I persisted in mentioning this conclusion.) All the comparisons in the world mean little if you're not comparing apples to apples.

Mr. Bill,
re: Browning micro medallion.

I love bolt guns, can't get enough of them. I have kimbers, mausers, remingtons, savages, sakos, weatherbys, and winchesters. I even have highwall and low wall brownings. However, I have never owned a browning bolt gun until recently.

About four months ago I walked into my local gunshop where I trade. The manager saw me and called me over to look at a rifle he had just taken in on a trade. It was a browning micro medallion in 7-08. Who ever had owned it before had replaced the factory barrel with a heavy contour fluted stainless barrel cut at 20", then had both the barrell and action black teflon coated. The stock was oil finihed not polyurethene. The stock had been glass bedded and the trigger adjusted to break at 1.5 lbs. It was lust at first sight. I didn't even ask the price. I told him i'd take it on the spot.
I typically a long heavy barrel nut. However, between this rifle and my Kimber 8400's I may have to change my mind about light rifles. It is so handy and so accurate that it has become one of my favorite, if not my most favorite rifle. Ive taken an axis, two hogs, a whitetail spike and a javelina with it since october.
In fact I've got the guys at the gunshop looking for another micro medallion. I want to build a 358 winchester on the action.
Ya gotta love it
kTrout

If you are a Rich guy here's the one that you would like to buy your kid.....

http://www.dakotaarms.com/youthProgram.html

.......DJ

KTrout,

After my first deer hunt here in CA with a 444 I realized it wasn't as practical as it had been in FL. It wasn't really practical there either but I didn't know it, I was still learning. I like to research and shop almost everything I buy, especially if it costs more than $100. With my limited knowledge and information at the time I had boiled my selection down to; a Rem Model 7, a Win Model 88 or the Browning Micro Medallion. I passed on the 7 because at the time it was only offered with the 18.5" barrel and I also wanted a detachable mag. The only 88 I found in the local stores wasn't in very good condition and the price wasn't appealing either. Besides it was a .308 and I really wanted a 7-08, funny because some friends had told me the 7-08 was going to be short lived, and I didn't know about the .284 Win then. So I sucked some wind and bought the brand new Browning Micro at an inflated price. This was before the internet was so popular and I was pretty much limited to what was available in the local stores. I took it to a master gunsmith and had the trigger tuned to a crisp 3#'s and the Leupie 2-7x scope with Leupie mounts installed. This rifle, like yours, was instant love. The only thing about it that I didn't like was the finish, way to shiny. I wanted a finish like the Micro Hunter has but, like with the 20" barrel on the 7, it was offered then. I have clothe type camo bow tape on it. I couldn't bring myself to alter the factory finish. This has and is my go to rifle. Love it at altitude in the Sierra Nevada's. Accuracy is outstanding. I've since acquired many other rifles but I always pick this one first. The others are either back ups for the Micro and loaners or are Varmint and DG calibers. I'll try and edit this post with a link to a picture of it. No one has ever recognized it with the camo tape on it. Oh, the year before last I bought a nib Micro chambered in .284 Win for my display collection. I agree one would make a nice .358 too. It'd be and excellent black bear rifle.

Bill

Link to photo:

http://www.reloadersnest.com/photoalbum/Mr%20Bill/7-08%20Micro%20Medallion.jpg

Here's the tack I took in your shoes. I bought my 11 year old son a Model Seven in .243 with a wooden stock and had it cut to fit his very small frame. As he grew we added recoil pads to adjust length until we needed to put on a new composite stock when he was about 15. I used it as a light rifle myself a couple of times with good results. My son is now a tall 22 yr. old and is still shooting the .243. If I had it do over, the things I might consider doing differently are switching to 7mm 08, trying to find gun used, and maybe going stainless steel for less upkeep. A Savage with the accutrigger looks like a lot of gun for the money or if you want to spring for it, Browning is once again making an A-Bolt Stalker in .243 with a BOSS muzzle brake. When you've found the sweet spot the BOSS equipped A-Bolts shoot really, really well. Your son could use the BOSS with ear protection on the range to avoid picking up a flinch, and then use the CR compensator to hunt. It's what I do with my Model 70's. The aimpoint does not change. The rig would have next to no recoil and picking your shots the son could use it for a variety of game for the rest of his life. Let us know what you pick.

This is almost exactly what I did for my fiance. I got a Stainless Model 7 in 7-08, bought a new take-off wood youth stock (off this forum...thanks to J Bennett) and replaced the synthetic stock. She loves the way the wood/stainless looks and it fits her perfectly. Not to mention I can swap the synthetic stock back on and I've got a nice light gun myself...

-Dan

This thread reminds me of another quite some time ago. One gentleman asked the forum for advice on what to get his son, lots of really good replies. In the end he settled on a little used Mauser sporter in 7X57 and seemed very pleased. I think he was well advised.