Kids shooting rifles

[tazdog]

How big are y'all letting your kids shoot non youth rifles. I have a 9 yr old that wants to start doing a little deer hunting this year. He is probably 4-6 or so and stout he already wears a size 10 shoe. I tried to find a used youth gun but they are hard to find. I don't want to go spend 500$ or so for a gun and scope just to use one season. So what are y'all doing with the bigger kids. I have a .270 abolt and .444 handi rifle does the reduced recoil make a big difference.

Thanks

[edub20]

a lot of people will get a Handi Rifle and cut or have someone cut the stock down to fit the kid. Since they're so inexpensive and you can find stock sets readily available used it's a cheap way to get a kid into a gun without spending a lot of money.

[Matt S]

He should be fine with the 270 but not the 444. Handi's are great for kids but not that caliber. My 12 year old has a 7mm08 xbolt he has used for 2 years. Fits him fine. I was looking for a micro but he said this one fit him fine.

[GrizwalD]

Do NOT let him shoot the .444 at that age.... you will risk scarring him for life on that one. If it were me i would look at the remington 700s rifles with just a sportsman barrel, they are rather short and a more managable gun and you can get them in numerous calibers. Or you can always try and find someone to let you borrow like a 7mm 08 or a 260 or 243 or 3030 until he is ready for a bigger gun.

[SCOOTER]

Have twin 11 year olds, got them a handi rifle-243 easy on them and they have killed deer and never even talked about the kick or the noise..

[mfalkner]

My daughter shot her first big rifle at age 20 and killed her first deer with it last year - just no interest earlier. She used my Abolt .308 and some reduced recoil loads i got from DutchDog. Dropped her deer in its tracks w/ one shot and she says she hardly feels the recoil even on targets.

So, managed recoil loads are definitely worth it, just very hard to find. .243 is a great option.

[cwink]