well, we just got back from a wonderful vacation in texas at a little ranch we bought. the 11 year old son got a compact ruger 77 in 223 and did great on deer down there. little sister really hasn't been into it, well she spent a week straight with me down there one on one. and she is HOOKED! she used her brothers gun to take 3 does and id like to get her her own gun.

so far i have come up with a thompson G2 with a .223 barrel that is 16.5 inches long. you can buy a kids stock with a 13 inch LOP. i cant find any other lefty bolts? she is a tiny 8 also about 50 lbs. any thoughts before i lighten my wallet?

thanks
jeff

I would recommend the Encore over the Contender G2 as it will give you more cartridge possibilities down the road.

You can get a little more oomph with a .22-250 which is what my daughter started with for deer.

You could try a left-handed Ruger Hawkeye in .270 or .30-06 with managed recoil loads but would need the stock cut back. There are probably other left-hand bolt-action options as well.

There are also the inexpensive single shots like the NEF that I think you can get in a youth or compact version.

Look at the inexpensive Savage 110s, etc. Very accurate out of the box, and since the wood is usually pretty bad, taking a bit off to fit won't be a great loss. Later, you can always restock it with a better grade of wood or synthetic.

First of all, congrats on getting your kids involved in the outdoors. Too many of today's youth spend their free time with cell phones and video games.

Both posts above offer good advice. If you reload, however, the Contender/G2 platform you mentioned would suit her just fine as there are many calibers that offer low recoil and are good deer killers.

The .257 JDJ, .25 Bullberry IMP, 6.5 JDJ, 6.5x30-30 AI (aka 6.5 BB Imo), 7-30 Waters and 7mm Bullberry quickly come to mind for possibilities once she graduates from the .223.

Beyond that, there are plenty of possibilites for larger game as well.

Much of my hunting is with the Contender -- both in rifle and pistol format -- and I have never felt undergunned.

Below are a couple of shots with my 7mm Bullberry, which has a 20 1/8th barrel. It is light, sweet-handling and deadly on deer and hogs.

quote:

Originally posted by Outdoor Writer:
Look at the inexpensive Savage 110s, etc. Very accurate out of the box, and since the wood is usally pretty bad, taking a bit off to fit won't be a great lose. Later, you can always restock it with a better grade of wood or synthetic.

+1

quote:

i cant find any other lefty bolts?

Left handed CZ 527 American in .223 Rem.

On Gunbroker for $580.

2-7 Leupold in Talley rings and shes all set.

everyone has their favorites, i might as well toss mine in for this application:

6.5x55mm or .260 are very "shootable" and will provide utstanding performance at the range or in the field. i personally would also not hesitate to try the 7x57; it was good enough for eleanor o'connor, it should be a pleasure for your daughter to use as a life-long shooting and hunting companion! any of these, and i am sure several others in that "range" will work for any shooting or hunting, from antelope to elk.

as far as the rifle, i would say to line her up in front of as many as possible and then get the one that "speaks" to her. it might also be necessary to do this lining up over the internet, as southpaw rifles are not as available as they should be.

my own feeling, and i do not expect anyone to share it, is that it borders on patronizing to get a light "beginners" rifle (cut-down stock/barrel, extreme light calibre/chambering etc.). my opinion is that a nice, versatile rifle can be a treasaure that a youngster can grow up with and not only love, but keep using into their adulthood.

just a few suggestions from a dude with 4 kids (none of them left-handed, though).

Being a lefty myself, here are your main options for left handed bolt actions:

Remington 700
Ruger M77
Browning A-Bolt
Savage 110
Wincester Model 70
Tikka T3
Weatherby

There are others as well. I have quite a few built on MRC 1999 actions. There's also Dakota, the old Kimber of Oregon, Sako, Cooper and others.

If you want something in the 22-.24 caliber range that's compact and lightweight, I'd look at the Browning A-bolt Micro-hunter. I'm not usually a fan of Browning rifles, but I have one in 22 hornet that I've been really impressed with. The Tikka T3 lite would be another good option. The Savages are also a good deal for the money, but I don't know if they make a lightweight, compact version of the rifle in LH.

Good luck!

Pete

There is a LH Youth Remington 700 in .243 on GB right now ...

Search on "youth left".

A Contender or G2 in .223 will kill all the deer she cares to shoot. Get one with or get a plastic stock for it, and cut it off to somewhere around 11 1/2 to 12 inch LOP. Unless you reload, the 64 gr Winchester Powerpoints are excellent deer killers. Using the same rig, my and other's kids have killed 7 "first" deer with it, all one shot kills. Unless she is big for her age, even a .243 will have more recoil than I think she should start with. It is critical that she shoots it enough in practice to be confident in placing her shot on game.