Take a kid hunting or fishing and you'll change their lives forever!! I keep my boys in air rifles and .22s punching paper, sparrows, cans, and feral cats until they were 8 years old. I helped them to learn correct form, ethics, and appreciation for the outdoors.
At age 8 they got their own guns each got a used 870 Remington combo kit. They shoot trap, dove, ducks, rabbits, more feral cats, pheasant, and the occasional coon, or possum that got into the barns.
At 13 they went on their first deer hunt being licensed and armed! Illinois state regs. but now they both hunt, fish, and enjoy the outdoors. I am so very glad we did this back then!

10-4 except the sparrows. roger

By all means the sparrows and toss in grackles and starlings. I have purple martin houses and sparrows are a real nuisance --about like a mouse or rat in your own house. My grandson started shooting about age 7. Was shooting .22 centerfires. Age 9 his first deer--with .22 centerfire. A few more and a couple years later he moved to a .243 and when he 16 I gave him a .308--didn't need more than the .22's and .243 was plenty, but I had a .308. ,

I like the idea of the classic 250-3000 Savage as well.

Both my girls started with a 257 Roberts. They both killed their first deer at age 9. No problem with recoil. They were shooting a 87 gr sp. Good luck and enjoy hunting with your kids.

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
We are talking about a rifle for a 3 1/2 year old. Some of the choices offered why not go ahead and start him on a .300 magnum or above and really develop a flinch? A .223 or .222 placing a bullet in the right place is all you need.

He is that old now the gun is for when he is a bit older. I say no matter what you get to fit a kid under 10 he will not take it with him as he gets older. I would set up a starter centerfire for the youngins. Let them all start with it till they grow into a full sized rifle. Good Christmas present for a young teen! I am a fan of the 30-30 or .308 downloaded for a kid. Put it in a small rifle that fits them.

Thanks I a, planning on using it with my kids for a decade and after that I am sure some friends will borrow it and then hopefully my grand kids will start on it. It's an investment. I bet there are a lot of guys on here that spend thousands of dollars on a rifle and don't get that much use out of them.

Raider, I know you are not reading comprehension-impaired, and understood I was not necessarily advocating a .300 Mag for a 9 year old.

I am, however, very much with Don Nelson on this. A larger diameter bullet that can give a better blood trail is a better option as cover gets thicker. It is really no trick to load a .30 down, using an appropriately constructed bullet.

And, again, depending on circumstances (open vs thick terrain) a .22 cf may work fine. It would not be a good choice behind my house, though.

Sam

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:
From kindergarten to coffin---.250-3000 roger

Hard to argue with that!

quote:

Originally posted by Raider2k3:
Thanks I a, planning on using it with my kids for a decade and after that I am sure some friends will borrow it and then hopefully my grand kids will start on it. It's an investment. I bet there are a lot of guys on here that spend thousands of dollars on a rifle and don't get that much use out of them.

OK, let's go all out then. Get a 308 and good quality suppressor. Something that has a built-in muzzle break design. The suppressor can be registered to a trust instead of an indiviual so you can designate the new trustee upon your passing or sooner of you want, without re-registration. Now you have a useful, easy-to-shoot heirloom hunting package with little or no recoil, hearing-safe and versatile from subsonic to 2800 fps. Suppressors have a lot of vaious benefits not the least of which is reduced muzzle blast and noise when you're introducing a child to shooting centerfires.

22 Magnum!! The ORIGINAL "Power Bow"!! Seriously, Thge 250-3000 mentioned here several times is an excellent choice. With the bullets available today, shooting whitetails out to 150 yards, one could load VERY EFFICIENT projectiles in the 222,223 and such. MY favorite "youth calibers" are the 260 Remingtonand 7-08 shooting the "Managed Recoil" ammo available from Remington. Call me "ill informed", thick headed, narrow minded, whatever but I believe either of those two are SUPERIOR to a 243 Winchester!!! I know a lot of deer are killed with 243's but I also know that sometimes, especially with youth or inexperienced marksmen, that shot placement is less than optimal and the projectiles in the commonly encountered 243loads do not perform to "optimal" levels as far as delivering initial shock and leaving "adequate" blood trails!! Most of the commonly available offerings in the 260 or7-08 offer performance that deliver more initial shocking ("knockdown power ifyou will") power and also TYPICALLY more "just plain bleeding" than the 243 projectiles! This post was not meant to flame the 243Win, 6mm Remington shooters out there! SHOT PLACEMENT, SHOT PLACEMENT,SHOT PLACEMENT is the first priority but when dealing with youth/inexperienced shooters, give them a little more initial "shock and awe" and a little more forgiveness with a better projectile and maybe save some anxsious moments and possibly a lost animal due to no blood trail or absence of the "DRT" factor! Or you could just resort to the 22 Magnum Power Bow!!! GHD

All good points.

An extremely important factor is fit of the rifle. Make sure it's not to big.

For smaller frame kids, like girls, a Ruger Compact or Weatherby Vanguard Youth are perfect. I have both for my girls. One in 223, one in 7-08.

In fact, some of the "junior" size rfiles come with a coupon for a full size stock at a discount for later.

Didnt know that. Thanks!

Leaning toward a brownin x-bolt micro Midas 7mm-08.

I started my son on a 243, near mistake as despite well placed shots the deer walked away ( found 12yrds in the brush, but he thought he was a bad shot. This was with a TC and youth stalk; the next year he used a 260rem with reduced loads and moved up on loads as he aged. he never wanted anything different til he got older and my 264wm disappeared to his hands and I have to fight to get to use it. The 260 has so little recoil and is so efficient that has been a cartridge well serving my son.

Bronzepig,

I learned on a borrowed Winchester .243 and had similar results, but since my dad wouldn't buy me a rifle I was thankful for what I had. The minute I was big enough to shoot my dads .30-06 BDL that was all I used until I was able to buy my own .270 in high school. I still use both of them today.

I plan on sending all 3 of my sons out the door with a deer rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, but this youth rifle will stay mine so I can one day use it with my grand kids and so on.

260 Faux Ti


If he's got a Montana in 308, he might be able to talk me outta this one.

Very nice.

IF you are a handloader, guess I have to agree with everone who has advised starting with a bigger cartridge than a .22 of any variety.

Much as I like the .250 Savage (I think it is a GREAT cartridge), I'd pick the more modern .260 Remington because it is such a piece of cake to get and convert .308 Winchester brass to .260 Rem if you (or your son) ever need to.

Plus, I like a round which normally handles bullets from 120 grains or less all the way up to 160 grains. Would even make a good cartridge for the occasional elk or moose as he ages. The .250 Sav will kill those animals too, but I'd rather use something at least 6.5 m/m and 140 grains of bullet or more for them.

The only problem would be that if I got him a .260 rifle I'd probably have to get two...one for him, one for me.

For him I'd likely get one with a wood stock, and have it cut to 'specially & precisely fit him. Later when he needs a larger stock, I'd just buy some sort of "drop-in" composite for him.

I do have and hand loader. I plan on getting a 7mm-08 probably an x-bolt micromidas with a leupold 3x9 vxIII. I have a friend that handloaded a 7mm-08 down for his daughters and it worked great. I will probably just buy a few boxes and shoot them for the brass so I can load it with Accubonds.

quote:

Originally posted by Rae59:

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:
From kindergarten to coffin---.250-3000 roger

X2. There are alot of adults here at the forum that are going back to or are still using a 250-3000.
Check it out.

I bought a 250 in a Ruger International just because I had heard so much about the 250 cartridge. I couldn't believe how mild the recoil is the first time I took it out to the range. I was shooting the factory 100gr Win ammo. I have since found a very accurate handload with 37gr of IMR 4350 and the 110gr Accubond bullet. A little snappier than the Win. factory round but still very pleasant for my then 12 year old son to shoot. FS

I think a wounded deer can put a young hunter off the sport. Clean kills are the best beginning. An experienced hunter who is a skilled marksman can ethically kill deer and smaller game with a 22 caliber gun, but I think an inexperienced hunter should have a little more for error. I consider a .243 minimum and would prefer something like a .257, 6.5x55. 6.8 or even a 7mm 08 etc. They all have low recoil and more punch.

quote:

Originally posted by Raider2k3:
Leaning toward a brownin x-bolt micro Midas 7mm-08.

Excellant choice! Love those guns.

I have seen a couple 7mm-08 recommendations and agree. I got a T/C Encore for my 12 year old son and loaded some 120 Nosler BT's with a reduced load of IMR 4895. It worked extremely well with low recoil and great accuracy. If I recall correctly, it was around 34.0 gr of 4895. Plus, I might have added a .223 Varmint barrel and a muzzleloader barrel too. He is pretty much ready for any hunt....and the single shot makes him consider his shots a little more before taking them.

Both of mine started with 6.5's. The oldest with a 6.5x55 he helped me put together for him, the youngest with a 6.5x.257. Youngest saw a rifle at the local emporium that he had to have. Started both with 100 grainers going about 2700 fps.

The .260 or 6.5x55 are great choices in factory rifles.

7mm-08, VERY reduced loads to start, then reduced hunting loads, then load 'er up.

Tough to beat a 7-08 for deer and managed recoil from a 'real' deer caliber.

And I second (or third or fourth) those who suggested the Handi - safe, simple, light, cheap, accurate, easy to swap stocks & calibers as he grows. Plus you can add a youth-length 20 ga. barrel for his first turkey hunting and keep the same familiar platform.

IMHO 3 1/2 is not too young to to get started. Have fun! _WSJ

The .25-35 in a Contender Carbine is light of recoil and carry weight.

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
We are talking about a rifle for a 3 1/2 year old. Some of the choices offered why not go ahead and start him on a .300 magnum or above and really develop a flinch? A .223 or .222 placing a bullet in the right place is all you need.

Just make sure you get ammo that has a picture of a deer on the box.

Don't forget Ruger has a nice little bolt gun in 7.62x39. I have an older one and they shoot great. A light recoiling rifle that is great for deer/hogs out to 150 yds. Also you can shoot the cheap Wolf stuff for practice and load the 123gr Barns X for hunting.

My son Osker shot his first two deer with a 257 rob,and his next two with a 308 win.His fifth was killed with his own 257.........he loves his 257,and it loves 100 gr NBTs.He has been shooting the 257 since he was about 8.......he is 21 now,and still shoots the rob even though he has a choice of many different rifles,and calibers to choose from.

Have a great day y'all.

D.P.Reynolds

Rayder
A "long" short history: 27 years ago, when my son Juan Pablo was five years old, opened fire with a .22 LR rifle. That same year he practice with a 243 W end of the year and we went out to hunt. At my side won their first trophy: a Catalina goat that still retain in his room. I never sold his gun, now I hope you "re debuts" my future grandchild. Regards. Hector

Savage Scout in 7.62x39.

Lots of cheap practice ammo, low recoil, enough jam for deer at shorter ranges.

quote:

Originally posted by bronzepig:
I started my son on a 243, near mistake as despite well placed shots the deer walked away ( found 12yrds in the brush, but he thought he was a bad shot. This was with a TC and youth stalk; the next year he used a 260rem with reduced loads and moved up on loads as he aged. he never wanted anything different til he got older and my 264wm disappeared to his hands and I have to fight to get to use it. The 260 has so little recoil and is so efficient that has been a cartridge well serving my son.

FWIW, I have had deer walk/run away after the shot with every round I've used to kill more than a couple with, including .22-250, .243 Win, 6.5x55, .308, .30-06, .357 mag, .44 mag, and .50 cal ML. Unless you take out the central nervous system every time, sooner or later a deer is going to run. My farthest run was with a 150 grain .30-06. 150 yards, with a foot-wide blood trail the whole way.

quote:

Originally posted by kjjm4:

quote:

Originally posted by bronzepig:
I started my son on a 243, near mistake as despite well placed shots the deer walked away ( found 12yrds in the brush, but he thought he was a bad shot. This was with a TC and youth stalk; the next year he used a 260rem with reduced loads and moved up on loads as he aged. he never wanted anything different til he got older and my 264wm disappeared to his hands and I have to fight to get to use it. The 260 has so little recoil and is so efficient that has been a cartridge well serving my son.

FWIW, I have had deer walk/run away after the shot with every round I've used to kill more than a couple with, including .22-250, .243 Win, 6.5x55, .308, .30-06, .357 mag, .44 mag, and .50 cal ML. Unless you take out the central nervous system every time, sooner or later a deer is going to run. My farthest run was with a 150 grain .30-06. 150 yards, with a foot-wide blood trail the whole way.

You are absolutely correct. That's why I always try for the neck.

for my kids, it was a handrifle in 223 bull barrel for training.. but they all shot (at in one case) their first deer with my 257 roberts...

another option is a handrifle in 3030 -- youth stock set.. there you go

His boys will be shooting a Howa in 7-08 (when they are old enough).Their benefactor acquired it in the AR classifieds.

quote:

Originally posted by Bloody Red:
His boys will be shooting a Howa in 7-08 (when they are old enough).Their benefactor acquired it in the AR classifieds.

And they will be as thankful as their daddy one day! That particular firearm was bought after this thread was started. Glad to see you have joined the club Red.

I have 2 young sons (and I handload) and I have put a Ruger M77 International 250 Savage and a pre 64 Win 70 257 Roberts in the safe for them.