Youth Rifle?

So my son has been hunting with my wife & I since he was 3 & will be turning 5 this Dec. & says he wants to shoot one this year. So my question is what would be the best gun to start him off with?

I think 5 is pretty young, and even youth rifle stocks will be too long for him.

That being said, I got a Ruger American compact 7mm-08 model for my 7 year old last year and he killed a buck with it. Someone out ther may know of one with a more compact stock than that though.

5 years old maybe a nerf gun. I know you are excited about him wanting to go with you but 5 is a little young for a rifle in my opinion. I know some will say get a 243 or something like that but give him 5 more years. A few years from now probably would start him off with a shotgun.

Single shot 243. My son killed two deer with one when he was 6. He's not real big for his age. Got him a bolt action 243 at 8. He killed 2 with it last year. I let him practice with his 22. If anything is gona bother him it will be the boom. But if he's got a deer in the scope, he probably wont even notice. That's the reasoning for practicing with the 22. Worked with my boy.

No problems with the boom, he's been sitting right next to me & watched without hardly a flinch as I've shot them with my 300 mag. He's already shooting his high power pellet gun & I'm going to let him pop off some rounds with the 22. I guess I also forgot to mention that it will be set up on a tripod.

He is your son and you know how far you can go with him. Sounds like you will have plenty of happy memories in the future. Good hunting to yours and get a biggun.

About 10 years ago I found an old wood stock for my Ruger Mini 14 and cut it to 11" LOP for my Grandson to Deer hunt with. Since then my three Grandsons have taken over a dozen Deer with that rifle. All one shot kills. Anyone that scoffs at a .223 for Deer has never seen what a 64 gr powerpoint will do inside 100 yards.

Not .308.



A different story for the compact Ruger American in 7mm-08 (Hornady's low recoil cartridge). I highly recommend the Caldwell Field Pod so he'll have less to concentrate on. Your tripod may be similar though.

I have the Caldwell field pod, my wife uses it also for her crossbow, one of the best investments I've made! I have a ruger mini 14 with wood stock, was thinking about putting a scope on it.

Got my son Rem 700 youth 7mm - 08 just before his 5th birthday. I put a Bushnell Banner scope that has nearly 7" of eye relief on it and he shoots Remington Managed Recoil Loads. The gun has very minimal recoil and was easily handled by him. We went hunting on the day he turned 5 and ironically he shot a 5 point. He went on to shoot 2 more doe that year.

My other son will be turning 5 this year also and will prolly be getting the same set up.

Do your research, but there are definitely options for a kid at that age.

Try selling my boys a nerf gun to hunt with at 5.

Joe has a great suggestion above. That little compact Ruger American is a great gun as is the fun Fur-N-Feathers suggested. My boys have the Mossberg Youth 7mm-08 and have both been shooting it since they were 5. You can get reduced recoil for it and it shoots like a .22. I started them off shooting a .22 and only went to the high powered rifle once we were in the stand. Here is a link to the combo that we have (have since upgraded scope) and it's fairly affordable. Youth 7mm-08


Both of my boys pictured below with their first deer at age 5.


5 Years old, first deer.



Older brother, 5 years old, first deer.

I know it's not a rifle but whatever you do don't get him a youth single shot 20 gauge. Got my first with one as a kid, but it kicked like a mule.

Yea, times sure have changed. If your kid hasn't killed a deer by the time he's 6, then he'll get made fun of at school. My dad didn't carry me until i was 12, but that was back when everything wasn't all about the kids. I bought my 12 year old grandson a Weatherby Vanguard 7mm-08 and put a Leupold vari-x 1 on it. I carried him with me so i knew the gun fit him.

7mm-08 is what my son shoots. He will be 12 in September. He got it when he was 9

My son has been in the stand with me since he was two. At five I began letting him go to the range with me. I taught him how to shoot my ruger American rim fire 22 and my 10/22 takedown. Last year he wanted to go squirrel hunting, so I bought him a savage rascal in a 22. At the end of deer season he expressed interest in shooting a deer. I told him we would have to practice. I broke him in on recoil and noise with a mini 14 a few months back. He transitioned well. I wanted an inexpensive range/truck gun so I bought a ruger American ranch in 5.56/223 with the short length of pull. Topped it with a redfield revolution scope. I knew I had to get a 223. This boy was going to shoot it a bunch. So I wanted to be able to get cheap ammo. I got Barnes 556 70 grain to hunt with and bulk 55 grain to shoot at the range. The gun is light enough for him to carry and handle. He turned 8 in July and is ready. We tried to kill a hog but had no luck, but when the time is right, I feel he will do fine. He can hit a golf ball at 100 yrds using the Barnes bullets. Sorry if this was long winded, but maybe it will help.

I can't hit a golf ball at 100 yards.

I have the perfect gun for you. A custom youth automatic 243

You can't go wrong with a 7-08!! When I started hunting at 7 years old my dad bought me a savage 7-08 and it dropped every deer I shot until I turned 13. (Over 10 deer) The recoil was never an issue even when I was that age, hunting clothes absorb most of the recoil. I'm now 19 and have been shooting a 30-06 since I was 13. And btw my dad killed a 205 lb 8 point a few years ago with the 7-08. My 8 year old brother couldn't get a shot, so my dad did. Hope this helps!

I bought my grandson a short stock Handi-Rifle with a bull barrel in .243 for his 1st deer hunt and kill and he loves it.
I even love to shoot the gun, it is very accurate too.

I haven't heard of anyone getting made fun of at school for not killing a deer by age 6. Matter of fact, many (the majority) of my kids friends don't hunt.

I'm not sure how to respond to this. Maybe I'm doing this all wrong? I've also got a 2 year old coming up so I've got another chance at getting it right this time. It's going to be hard for me to change though. I've had more great memories over the past 4 years with my boys than I had in 25 years of hunting by myself. But, like you said, maybe it shouldn't be all about the kids and I should leave them at home.

Find him a mod 7 in 7-08 and you'll be taking it with u even when your buddy doesn't go!

XVI is right about the model 7. Also the CVA Hunter in 7mm08 is a nice little rifle. Stainless & shipped for $275.

Use the Hornady lite in either till he gets used to them.

I've got about the same situation with my daughter. My plan is a Ruger American Ranch to start with. It is chambered for 5.56/223 rem so ammo won't be a killer for practice, plus there will be very little recoil to drive her away. Probably load some TTSX for her to hunt with.

I personally would not buy a kid a single shot for starters. To many instances where they may have the hammer back and have a deer spook and have to let it back down. They definitely need to learn that, but I think that should be a lesson for a later age. A bolt action is safety off and back on. Just my opinion for what is worth

I never said leave them at home. I was just commenting on how today its more about the kids than it used to be. Hell, nobody used to buy 10 y/o kids $300 bats to play ball and they didn't buy them $600 rifles when they were 5, they waited until they grew up some and matured a little. I went hunting with my dad when i was younger, i just didn't tote a gun until i was 12.

man when I was 5 I killed my first deer with a standard size ruger m77 308

Mine has killed deer with a 223 and a 243, the 243 has been tough on them with Hornady custom 100 grain ammo. But I think if I was going to do it all over again I would go with a 7mm-08 shooting Hornady Custom lite ammo and in a couple year he could drop the lite ammo and start shooting regular loads.

Savage Axis Youth in 7-08 with managed recoil is very light recoil, but it is loud. Daughters were about 70lbs when they first shot it, but you would have to be the judge for your son. I love the gun.

I started my grandson with a youth model Remington model 7 in 7mm08 using the reduced recoil loads. Basically no kick at all. He's killed every deer he's shot at with one shot. He's about ready for a full size stock but 7mm08 is a great round for deer

I'm wanting to buy my son a heavy barrel 223 bolt gun and have the stock shortened.