Best compact / youth model bolt action rifle?

R

ReloadKy

New member
I need experienced opinions on the best compact / youth model rifle. i have never owned nor shot a youth model rifle. My son has shot his cousins Remington 700 youth in 243. He loved shooting it and surprised me at how well he did. He had all 5 shots touching a 2 inch target at 50 yards. So now I am in the market for a youth rifle. Some factors that I want to take into consideration are length of pull, weight, caliber selection, ease of trigger adjustment and of course quality. He liked the Remington fine but I know that there are more options available, options that I have not seen or used.
 
There are several good options and "best" is subjective, but I no longer want anything made by Remington. For the money I'd buy one of these. If you have a bigger budget there are other options.

https://ruger.com/products/americanRifleCompact/models.html

I'd go with 6.5 CM. Recoil is virtually the same as 243 and it shoots bullets heavy enough to be more versatile than 243. Of course 243 is enough gun for deer size game.

Street prices are between $350-$400. When he gets older a full size stock can be bought at a reasonable price.
 
They grow up too fast !!!

ReloadKy
Unless I'm missing something, you did not list caliber or purpose. My input on this is that we teach with a Marlin and Savage youth. However, the state requires us to use .22LR single-shot rifles. I'm sure you have something else in mind. You are going to have to do some internet searching. Keep in mind that these can get out of service very quickly. …. ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
Youth model Remington 700 ADL rifles in .243 or .223 run about $400 out the door at your local Walmart. That really is going to be about the most affordable and easiest to upgrade rifle later on if he needs a longer LOP as he grows. Just about every company makes a youth or compact model, but you're going to limit your options for stocks later on with a lot of them.
 
I bought my grandson a Remington 700 youth model .243 when he was 12. He could hold a 3-4" group with it at 200 yards and took his first deer with it that fall. He still has it but now 16 years old he has grown into a full size 700 in .30-06. The youth model will pass down to his kids eventually.
 
If you are wanting both short and light, Remington Model 7. I'm not a fan of .243 for youth rifles. Just not enough weight in the bullet. I far prefer a 7mm-08. Using reduced recoil loads (like Hornady Lite with a 120gr bullet), the recoil is about the same as a .243 but with a much better projectile.
 
ReloadKy said:
I need experienced opinions on the best compact / youth model rifle. i have never owned nor shot a youth model rifle. My son has shot his cousins Remington 700 youth in 243. He loved shooting it and surprised me at how well he did. He had all 5 shots touching a 2 inch target at 50 yards. So now I am in the market for a youth rifle. Some factors that I want to take into consideration are length of pull, weight, caliber selection, ease of trigger adjustment and of course quality. He liked the Remington fine but I know that there are more options available, options that I have not seen or used.
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I don't believe there's a best of anything. But sounds to me like your son already picked a rifle he like's. What I'm also pretty sure of is any rifle you get him that doesn't beat him up, he's gonna like just as well. It's the it's mine deal!
 
A youth rifle is not going to be used for very long. I don't really see buying an expensive rifle to shoot two years. I bought my son's Savage Axis and did a 33cent trigger job on them. I have about $160 each in them and both are sub 1/2 minute. The .223 62 gr bonded is a fine deer round.
 
#8
Doyle
Senior Member


If you are wanting both short and light, Remington Model 7. I'm not a fan of .243 for youth rifles. Just not enough weight in the bullet. I far prefer a 7mm-08. Using reduced recoil loads (like Hornady Lite with a 120gr bullet), the recoil is about the same as a .243 but with a much better projectile.
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What are you shooting? Moose?
The .243 is a deer/mule deer hammer. Those who judged the .243 by its performance using the crap bullets of 4 decades ago need to reevaluate it with modern bullets.
 
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The .243 is a deer/mule deer hammer.
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In an accurately placed shot, I agree totally with you. However, a heavier bullet leaves a better margin of error if the shot placement isn't so perfect. In a youth gun, I far prefer to have a greater margin of error.
 
The best rifle for a smaller child would probably be an AR-15 in 5.56. The low-recoil from the light round, the recoil-slowing gas-operated semi-automatic action, the adjustable length of pull, and the simple practicality of shooting from a bi-pod or tri-pod as with a Hog or Pig saddle, make it ideal for adapting to young children (like 10 or 11 years old). The straight-stock and pistol grip are also ideal for shooting prone or from the bench where most children would start (as opposed to shooting off-hand standing or kneeling).

For an older boy interested in hunting, an AR chambered in 6.5 Grendel is ideal. There are other suitable chamberings. Other popular ones are .450 Bushmaster and .300 Blackout -- all very good for deer, but the Grendel is going to have the most versatility since it can reach out far beyond hunting ranges and also shoots flattest within them.

For bolt-actions, check out the CZ 527 and the Howa mini-action. These are chambered in .223, 6.5 Grendel, 7.62x39, as well as some other small cartridges. Length of pull is a problem because unlike with common AR furniture, it's typically not adjustable. You either have to chop the stock or buy an adjustable one. I bought a Boyds "At-One" adjustable stock for a CZ 527. It can be adjusted quickly to fit either of my boys or myself although it is a bit short for my rather long LoP (there's another insert available with a longer range of adjustment). For the Howa mini bolt-actions, there are several chassis available that allow adjustable stocks similar to AR or precision-rifle styles.

In my opinion, these are the best options available for youth rifles without a more specific purpose specified. None of the other rifles are better. The .243 and 6.5 Creedmoor have longer-actions, more weight, balance farther forward, and produce excessive recoil with more costly ammo and offer no benefit to kids for any purpose unless they're shooting elk-size game or farther than 1100 yards.
 
CZ-527 in 7.62 X 39 Soviet cartridge is quite deadly at common distances found while hunting in forested areas. This is a feather weight carbine with minimal recoil. I recommend a Bushnell 1.5-4.5X scope sight.

Jack
 
In an accurately placed shot, I agree totally with you. However, a heavier bullet leaves a better margin of error if the shot placement isn't so perfect. In a youth gun, I far prefer to have a greater margin of error.
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I would say the 243 has the greater margin of error. Energy and shock kills. The .243 has much greater energy than a downloaded 7-08. Clean hole vs high shock at the same recoil.
 
I started my son with a Weatherby Vanguard II youth model. It comes with a butt extension when a longer length of pull is needed, and so basically it ends of being identical to the "adult" model. Also, he began with .223 Remington in that rifle, and it shot beautifully. Ultimately, moving on to bigger, nastier game, he started to use my Remington 700 .243. He was very successful with both rifles. Now he is a big boy and shoots whatever, but the progression worked nice, avoided recoil induced flinching, and resulted in quick kills.
 
Define "youth model" ? I recommend a stock shortened and trimmed for a smaller shooter, then they can grow up into the standard stock.
 
My boy has the Remington 700 Youth model SPS .243 with a Nikon scope... 3 deer and numerous woodchucks down thus far in the past 5 years. He loves it. I do too.
 
shurshot I went with the exact same rifle and a vortex scope. My son has been blasting milk jugs and targets. He has been shooting off of a caldwell dead shot field pod maxx and doing surprisingly well all the way out to 100 yards. It has been a blast to watch him enjoy shooting as much as I do!
 
Fully agree with JMR40 post above. Very hard to beat RAR on a value for money basis. 6.5 CM and 7mm-08 are both versatile choices well suited to a compact/youth rifle.
 
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