quote:

Originally posted by thecanadian:
It -10 outside right now and I am stuck in the house with nothing better to do then to dream up my next gun project. With boredom setting in, I though about building a rifle for my middle daughter. With the recent changes to Wisconsin hunting laws, my 8 yr old is now eligible for the mentored hunt. My issue has been fitting her for a gun, factory options are too big for her. I though of making her a 'tiny' rifle to fit her 'tiny' frame. Here is what I was thinking:
Howa 1500 short action
17" barrel chambered in 6BRX or 6x45 with a 1 in 8.4 twist?
richards microfit stock chopped down to a 10" LOP
Top it with a vortex strikefire II Red dot

This is my personal experience with rifles for my small daughters and some other young, small shooters: For one I bought a Savage Model 10 FM, 7mm-08, with 20' barrel and cut the stock down until it finally fit her to her liking - 11 3/8" LOP! Mounted a fixed 4.75x scope. She shoots it like a house-a-fire and has become an excellent rifleman. Conclusion is that it's perfect for her (she won't outgrow it) but the 7mm-08 proved a little too much recoil for some other small, inexperienced shooters.

The star has been the CZ 527 Carbine in 7.62x39 (18" barrel) with a 1-4x scope. I have doled out several of those and they are wildly popular: small, light, east to shoot, accurate, and drop deer quickly and cleanly. The best hunting load has proven to be a Barnes 123 gr. TSX bullet at over 2,500 fps using Accurate 1680 powder (it's a published load and chronographed).

Have just obtained a CZ 527 Carbine in 6.5 Grendel. I think it is going to be great, too. It has a 24" barrel, so maybe some would think about shortening it to 20" or a small shooter but I plan to leave the barrel alone for now and see how it goes.

A final note on stock fitting for a small shooter: it is often not just an issue of LOP. To really make it fit it is often necessary to modify the pistol grip to move the shooters hand forward for a more natural reach to the trigger.

Good Hunting!

When fitting a stock for a small person along with length of pull the grip size and distance to the trigger is important. With a wood or laminate stock it can be ground down to fit and as the Shooter grows built back up with Bondo.
I like the Howa mini action but not the magazine. I would prefer a flush Mag.

I have the Remington 799 mini Mauser in 7.62x39, the concept is what attracted me but it is poorly made. The chamber was rough so the barrel was set back and rechambered, the action required a lot of work to make serviceable smooth. It has an extractor issue. If they had just had a little craftsmanship when manufactured it would have been a great lightweight rifle.

The biggest mistake I see and ive raised a bunch of hunters is most that dads want the kid to shoot more power like the 243 7-08 and action size too big and bulky for a 5 lb. or less scoped rifle. The old Sako L series in 223 makes a great 6x45..The 6x45 kills as well as a 243..Sometimes daddy wants a gun he can use too, that's naughty daddy...243 and even my favorite of all the 250 savage can be too much recoil for a little person..stocks can be cut and later on the cut piece can be screw back on after a while they can get by with a std. stocked light rifle, and graduate to a 243 or 250 savage, a creedemore, what have you, but you owe it the to never let them shoot too much gun or they will quit on you..