Deer Rifle for 10 year old?

[bartonmd]

So, I've been searching and researching, and still haven't come up with a suitable answer. I'm going to be looking for a deer rifle for my 10 year old (10 next fall) nephew, for deer hunting here in Indiana. I deer hunt with my .458 SOCOM and my .50ML, but I think both are a little much recoil for him. He's an average sized frame kid, and thin.

He has fired one of my 5.56 AR carbines, and is fine with that amount of recoil. My thought is .357 Mag, but I also don't want to spend a ton of money on a Win or Marlin lever action, and I haven't been able to find much about usable range and how well the .357 actually puts down deer. I'm concerned that .44 mag will be a bit much recoil, but I've not shot either the .357 or .44 magnums in rifles to compare.

Thoughts? Experiences?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[RGriff69]

I bought my son a Savage 220 youth model 20 gauge when he was 9. He's killed 3 bucks and a hog with it.

Recoil isn't that bad and the gun is amazingly accurate.

 

[singlestacksig]

The ruger 77/357 .. it is light & has a smaller stock.. recoil is none ..
The 357 does a fine job at dropping the deer.. I have taken shots out to 80 yards .. I suspect the round would be fine out to 100 .. but my land there is just to much cover for long shots..
almost every one I have shot did not make it farther than 40 yards before dropping..

 

[bartonmd]

I hadn't even considered a 20ga shotgun. Is the recoil actually that manageable with sabots?

Mike

 

[midget]

I would go with an H&R or a CVA single shot 357 magnum. They are inexpensive, accurate, and will drop a deer. The added bonus is that the 357 magnum in a rifle will not scare you kid off.

 

[PGRChaplain]

Single shot .44 Mag. H&R around $250 new.

 

[RGriff69]

He uses Federal 3" with Barnes Expanders. Recoil is not bad plus the Savage has a nice recoil pad. He has never said anything about the recoil.

 

[bartonmd]

Hmmm... Anybody know how the recoil compares between .44mag and 20ga sabot?

I know 20ga sabots work well, and I'm really tempted to go that way, but practice is MUCH cheaper with 44mag.

Mike

 

[bigelowe]

H&r single shot, great gun for the money. Its heavy enough to tame some of the recoil, but not to heavy for him to handle safely

 

[rotortech]

Hmmm... Anybody know how the recoil compares between .44mag and 20ga sabot?

I know 20ga sabots work well, and I'm really tempted to go that way, but practice is MUCH cheaper with 44mag.

Mike

I have a CVA Scout in 44 mag and a 20 ga. I have shot them side by side and they have nearly the same recoil. For the money, you can't beat H&R Pardner Pump Youth 20 Ga. I have purchased two of them at Walmart in the last year. $191.53 out the door. Both will work well on deer. The shotgun can be used on birds and squirrels as well.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Thoughts? Experiences?

I went with the CZ527 in .30RS for the oldest:

If dealing with an Indiana hunter, then why not the Ruger 77/357 or 77/44 bolt action carbine?

 

[Hookeye]

Whatever you get, make sure the stock fits him.

 

[bartonmd]

That makes it a bit interesting... The shotgun can be used for different things (though, with a rifled barrel, it would need a second barrel), but in the sabot slugs, the shotgun is like 3x the price per round for practice, as compared to the .44mag (and I can reload for the .44). I also do have a couple 20ga shotguns with smooth bores (1 with a full choke, 1 with a poly-choke) for bird/squirrel/trap work.

I think about any "youth" stock should work? I put an Archangel stock on the 10/22 that I built for him, and he uses that and my 5.56 carbine on the short adjustable stock setting just fine. I think whatever it is, a red dot sight would be good, so he's not trying to get his head to exactly the right spot to see through a scope.

I have a 77/22 that's been my squirrel rifle since I was 15 when I bought it from my Dad, and it is literally a tack driver. I do like the 77/44, but they're like $1k. I think I'll look a little harder at the H&R youth model .44 mag. unless there's something else that's good in the under-$500 price range? Looks like the CVA Scout is a good (better?) one for the same money as the H&R?

Mike

 

[anifong]

I have one of the H&R single shots in 357 and 2 in 44 mag, and don't notice much difference in the recoil between them. My son took a doe at 60 yards with the 357 when he was 7, and took an 8pt buck last year with it at 70 yards. I'm not sure I'd push it much more than that. I've heard good things about the CVA Scout as well - I don't think you could go wrong with either. I bought them with the regular stock and ordered a youth stock to swap them out.

I'd really like a Ruger 77/44 but can't really justify it when the H&R rifles do the job just fine.

 

[Mgderf]

Remember you can always have the kid shoot .44spl out of that magnum rifle, and recoil is GREATLY reduced, while still maintaining a .44cal bullet for the extra knockdown.
.44spl is a legal deer round in Indiana.

 

[bartonmd]

Remember you can always have the kid shoot .44spl out of that magnum rifle, and recoil is GREATLY reduced, while still maintaining a .44cal bullet for the extra knockdown.
.44spl is a legal deer round in Indiana.

Good point!

 

[jagee]

I started with a Remington LT1100 at age 15 and had not trouble. I had also shot larger gauge shotguns at paper before that though. The Rem came with 2 barrels, but I only ever used the riffled one for hunting, never did any bird hunting or anything. I have no experience with any of the pistol caliber rifles, I started with a Rem auto-loader and will continue to hunt with a Rem auto-loader.

 

[hammer24]

My nine yr. Old has shot an h&r in .44 for 3 years now. I handload his rounds down some. He gets excellent accuracy and has cleanly taken two deer with it. As already stated, make sure the rifle fits. A poor fitting gun with too much recoil is the fast track to bad shooting habits, or worse ruining a young shooter.

 

[andyoz]

Had the same dilema last year for my son. He will be 7 next month.

I went with a Ruger 77/357, I bought an extra stock off the internet and cut it down and put a sims recoil pad on it. Added and extra swivel stud on the front for a bi-pod. Ultimately I went with the Ruger because of the 3-position safety vs. eventually having those small hands releasing the hammer if a shot isn't taken and/or releasing the hammmer every time a round is chambered with a lever action. We used it as a single shot bolt action until a month prior to season.

Went with the .357 round so that he could use .38 spl all summer for target practice. (There are already comments of no recoil for a .357, imagine .38 spl and a sims recoil.) Seems you can do the similar thing with .44 mag and .44 special.

He did take his first buck on opening morning, 6pt at 35-40 yrds. The buck ran 20 and dropped from a heart shot!

I will add; I know 3 friends/family members kids that use the H &R in both .357 and .44. They are tack drivers as well and you have the option to switch to an ATI Collapsible stock.

Hope this helps

 

[spaniel]

A 50cal muzzleloader can easily be down-loaded to low-recoil levels that will still easily take deer. I took almost 50 deer in my teens with a 50cal muzzleloader with 240gr bullets and 85gr pyrodex...very little recoil.