Youth Deer Rifle Models?

C

Cheesehead

New member
My nephew will be whitetail deer hunting with us for the first time this year. I'm going to buy him a rifle. He is 13 and small for his age. I know I have to get a "youth" model of some kind with a shorter stock. I'm thinking .243 caliber for light recoil but with a wide range of ammunition possibilities.

Any and all suggestions about makes and models of rifles would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for the advice.
 
I bought my son a Remington Model 7 Youth in .243 a couple of years ago. Have it set up with a 4x Burris scope. Plenty accurate with factory ammo. He and I are very pleased with it.

You might want to consider the 7mm-08, though, if the primary application is to be deer hunting.
 
My first vote would go to the Remington model 7 as well. However, you might also want to consider a Thompson Center Contender. Even though it is only a single shot it can grow and evolve with him as he grows and his needs change. Different/longer stock, more calibers, etc..

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Gunslinger
 
My 13 year old daughter drew an antalope tag this year. We decided on the Remington 700 ADL Youth Synthetic model in .243 Win. The Rem Model 7 just didn't fit her well enough. The 7mm-08 would be a better all-around cartridge, but the 700 youth isn't available in that chambering.
 
Cheesehead, Gunslinger has a good recommendation with the TC Contender.

I like the TC Contender (I have had a couple), but I'd recommend looking into the NEF (New England Firearms) handi-rifle for a young shooter!

These can be fitted with an assortment of rifle barrels plus shotgun barrels to 12ga.

Regards! DaMan
 
My vote is for the Thompson Center Youth Carbine. Its far lighter than a model 7 and comes in a variety of calibers that can grow as the kid does. Hell, for a few bucks you can slap a pistol grip on it and use it yourself. It won't gather dust in a few years when the kid outgrows it.
I hunt with a model 7 and its still plenty of rifle - too much for a kid. I know the youth stock is shorter and lighter, but its still a handfull for a youth.




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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
Winchester makes a Model 70 Youth Ranger. I won one in a raffle, and restocked it in a Ramline stock I had, because the original stock was too short for me. It is one of the most accurate rifles I own. It was accurate in the original stock as well, Mine is a .308, but it also comes in .243. Just thought I'd mention it.
Paul B.
 
Look into 260 Remington. A little more versatile than .243 but less recoil than 7-08. This and 6.5x55 are my favorite deer calibers.
 
I've been doing some thinking about this subject (yes, my head hurts)!

I am more convinced than ever that the NEF Handi-Rifle would be the way to go.

Start out by ordering one in one of the "high-intensity" cartridges (.243 Win, .270 Win, .280 Rem, .308 Win, or .30-06).

Once, you have the Handi in one of those calibers, you can have it fit with any of the above calibers plus several "low-intensity" cartridges (like .22 Hornet, .223, .30-30, .357 Mag, .44 Mag, .45-70) or any shotgun from .410 to 12ga. They even make a barrel for .45Colt/.410.

The complete rifle costs about $225-250. Additional rifle/pistol caliber barrel is about $75-95 and each additional shotgun bbl. runs about $45-65.

NEF also makes a .22LR version which is available only as a complete rifle that costs less than an extra Contender barrel in .22LR.

I have both a TC Contender and the Handi- Rifle. The Contender is really a thing of beauty, but is about twice as expensive as the Handi-Rifle.

The Contender has the advantage of handling .22LR barrels (at about $225) and can be transformed to a long barreled pistol. But the Contender is not available in any of the above "high-intensity" chamberings and is only available in .410 as a shotgun.

My Contender in .223 will shoot sub-MOA. I've only done limited testing of my NEF Handi in the same caliber, but with load developement, it should shoot as well.

I love my Contender and will never part with it. It is truly a thing of beauty and litteraly screams "QUALITY"! But when it comes to "most bang for the buck" and and most flexibility, the NEF Handi is my choice!

Regards! DaMan

[This message has been edited by DaMan (edited August 15, 2000).]
 
If whatever you decide upon is still a bit long in the stock for him to mount it properly to his shoulder, I offer this solution: Get one of the softer, thick recoil pads. Measure and cut off (or have it done) enough of the stock so that it will be the proper length with the new pad.

Save the cut-off piece, to epoxy back on as he grows. The next step would be to install the thick pad in place of the original.

When you measure, take into account the thickness of the sort of clothing he will be wearing when hunting.

Hope this helps, Art
 
If carry weight is a factor I'll second DaMan's motion for the NEF Handi Rifle.

My .243 with synthetic stock and 20" barrel is about 5 1/2 lbs and with scope and nylon sling goes about 6 1/4. The stock comes with a recoil pad and is a pleasure to shoot.
The rifle complete with sling, scope mounts, trigger lock and recooil pad sell for about $180ish.

Tom

[This message has been edited by Tom Matiska (edited August 15, 2000).]
 
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