My son is 8 and he's pretty big for his age. I've been wanting to get him a deer rifle but I don't want to get him a single shot or one of the cheap youth models. I'm thinking the model 7 in 7mm-08 would be a good first rifle that he could hunt with forever. Am I wrong in thinking this or does anyone have any other suggestions?

Good choice man.

Bought my Son the same gun in 243 at 9 years old. Killed his first at 10.

That will be an excellent choice.

Nice gun but the model 7 7-08 I shot kicked like a mule. Maybe because it was light wight.

With how the market is trending I would look at 6.5Creedmoor.
A hair less recoil and ammo can be easily had.

Hard to go wrong with anything 6-7MM really.

No desire to own anything I may have to reload for eventually

Fair enough. I'm pretty certain the 6.5Creedmoor is here to stay now.
I was at Academy in Tuscaloosa and they had 5 or 6 offerings.

Exact Same gun/caliber I bought for my son also for his first rifle

I wondered about that. He has shot my ar a lot but I figured the recoil isn't anywhere near the same.

My grandfather got me a remington model 700 243 youth model when I was 10 years old. It was synthetic black and he put a redfield 3x9 scope on it. I went on to kill 6 deer the next season with it, including my first buck. That gun killed a ton of deer and dropped every buck I ever shot in there tracks, except for one. I loved that gun! Sweet shooting rifle. May end up getting another one day

I've had a synthetic stock model 7, in 7mm-08 for 20 years. I shucks hornady light magnums for years and it wood wallop you . With 120 grain regular ammo not much kick. I might would consider a wooden stock one if it was for a kid

That 7mm-08 will kick like a mule. I bought my son a 243 in a Remington and it's manageable for him.

I was always scared to death of the kick on the 243 before I shot it for the first time. After the first few shots of practicing, I was not scared at all.The 243 did not kick bad, and I never felt it when shooting at a deer. My grandfather always told me you don't feel or hear it when you pull the trigger on a deer, and he couldn't have been more right.

Trick to kids and their first rifle is to only let them shoot it at a deer. No range shooting. .243, 7-08, doesn't matter. To a little kid they all kick to much.

My son was 8 when I bought him his first deer rifle. It was a Ruger compact in 7-08. I wouldn't let him shoot it until we went deer hunting. All he got to shoot was my .22 which we practiced gun safety, target shooting, where to aim on a deer, etc. First two deer he shot he said he never heard the gun go off or felt the recoil. I can't believe he would have said that if he had been beat up with it at the range.

Just my two cents and experience.

As to the question, I think that would be an excellent choice. You can also get reduced recoil cartridges for that as well.

Exactly what I bought my boy the day he turned 1

His paw paw has used it quite a bit but now that he 6 he is getting where he can handle it with some low recoil loads.

A .243 will kill a deer, and my 11 year old daughter doesn't mind the kick at all. You will have to track the deer, though.

I found one locally for 400 with a synthetic stock. May end up putting a wooden stock on it if the recoil is too bad. I think a 2-7 Leopold would be perfect for it

Try switching up your bullets.
I would try some Barnes TTSX or Federal Fusions.

If you found one for $400 you would be crazy not to pick it up

A Bell and Carlson Medalist would add some weight to it and it has an awesome recoil pad. I've got one on my Model Seven 7 SAUM.

Stockystocks.com usually has them on sale.

^^^Listen to this man. I was about to post the exact same thing. Both of mine starting shooting deer with a 7/08 at 5. Target practice with .22. Managed recoil rounds are light recoil and deadly on anything 150 yards (probably farther) and in.

Let me know if you pass on the one you're looking at.

6.5 creedmoore is here to stay. Alot of companies making rifles in 6.5 now. As far as ammo, it's on Walmart shelves now. My local Walmart carries Winchester 6.5 creedmoore 120g. Every outdoor store and pawn shop in town carries it as well. I love my 6.5. Very soft recoil, almost none.

That being said I understand that it is newer. 243 would be next best thing in a model 7.

But, it should almost be mandatory that every boys first deer rifle should be a lever action 30-30.

If you are worried about recoil, you can always get some Remington reduced recoil ammo. My son started shooting his 7mm-08 at 8 with reduced recoil ammo and killed a ton of deer before I moved him up to regular ammo.

Exactly what I did with my skinny little 8 yr old grandson. Remington model 7, 7mm-08 youth model with managed recoil loads. He's 14 now and I'll put a full sized stock on it this year.
He's killed every deer he's shot at with it with one shot. Last one was was a 180 lb 8 pt at 150 yds.
It's like shooting a .22 and it is a sweet little rifle. After I put a new stock on it I'll hunt with it myself

Good choice he will love it

Ya'll done lost your mind. 140gr 7mm/08 kicks pretty good. I guess I'm a whimp. I hate sighting it in.

My 6-year old shoots that no problem.

You can also go the suppressed 308 route too. That's what I'm setting up for my 60lb skinny 8 yr old. Low recoil/report and plenty of take down power.

My first rifle was a model 7 in 7mm-08. I got it when I was 11-12 and still have it to this day. My 8 year old has shot it and has never complained about the recoil but he is large for his age. Still one of my best shooting guns.

my 11 year old has been shooting a model7 7-08 for 3 years now with zero complaints. 140 grain

Are you serious? My 5'8", 102 pound wife shoots it without any complaints.

Why not go with a Tikka in 7MM-08? you're almost assured its going to be a heckuva shooter and recoil will be even less than the Model 7. Plus the Tikka will be good to go from the factory vs the 7 needing an aftermarket stock and often a trigger to make it a shooter. I started my daughter out at 8 with a Tikka 7mm-08 and she handled it great. I did like another poster said and let the first time she shot it be at a deer. From that day forward you can't convince her a 7mm-08 even recoils at all. From my past experiences with Model 7's and Tikka's I'd take the Tikka every day over a Model 7

Get a 308 or 243. I'd lean 308 with reduced recoil. Both are much cheaper than a box of 7mm08. The 7mm also seems to be kinda snappy on recoil. In my humble opinion, you could not go wrong with any of them in a model 7. I think I have a youth model walnut stock hanging around somewhere you could put on a standard 7 to shorten the LOP for a youngster. Take it off when they get bigger.

You won't go wrong with a MDL 7.

No desire to ever own a tikka either. I just don't like the way they feel

I would just go short action stainless model 700. It's a platform that will offer more options as he grows and might want something different. Just a lot more versatility potential for giving up very little.

I've got plenty he can shoot in a few years when he gets bigger just nothing small enough for him to shoot yet

I agree. They feel like toys-r-us guns.

Great choice. I got my boy a model 700 youth synthetic in 7-08 when he was old enough to handle it. I think he was 10. My son wasn't ready at 8 years old to shoot a rifle but it should do just fine with Dad sitting right there with him. He killed several deer with it until he was old enough and big enough for a larger rifle. I went with the 7-08 because all I read and speaking with others, it was a little more forgiving caliber than the .243. Aim small miss small but if he wasn't exactly on mark, the 7-08 will still do the job. He never missed with this gun and each deer he shot never ran out of sight.

Dr. B

Then why not get a youth stock for one of your short action rifles?

The model 7 would be fine but all I'm saying is that the short action 700 would have tons more options of available stocks,triggers,barrels,etc if he ever becomes a looney and wants to customize it.

If you want a really nice light rifle the 5 lb $1700 Barrett Fieldcraft in 6.5 Creedmoor would be excellent. That's just in case you need a good excuse to spend money. Maybe he would even let dad shoot it some,hint hint.

I don't own a short action rifle and I'm not spending 1700 on anything lol

The 7 is a good option.

Savage in that light weight hunter would be too. It's under 6 lbs.

That CZ 527 carbine in 7.62X39 would also be a good light weight low recoil gun.

The Ruger American Compact in 7mm-08 with a nice light weight Leupold 1-5 or 2-7.

Just listing some options for light weight and low recoil.

When I started my daughter out,she was about the same age,but not likely nearly as big as your boy. I started her on an AR because the weight is more centered and not barrel heavy. She had trouble holding up nearly every rifle,even a Kimber Montana,but the AR with pencil barrel with the stock adjusted all the way in fit her great and she handled it better than anything else.

The cz527 in 7.62x39 is one of the guns I want to add eventually. He shoots the ar fine I just don't like the idea of a kid shooting a 223 especially in the crap we hunt around.

I'd jump on that m7 7-08!
223 in surplus or varmit ammo are poor choices for deer hunting. A Barnes or heavy partition loaded to the max will kill a deer just fine.
Also my son shoots noticeably better with a moderate/light 2.5lb trigger over heavy 6-8lb triggers.

That's the exact gun my daddy got me for Christmas when I was 8. I was a scrawny little guy & I stacked up deer like cord wood with it. Kick wasn't bad at all to me. As a matter of fact, I used it often up until 4 years ago and I had full intent of passing it down to my girls... but some SOB broke in the house & thought he needed it more than I did.

I was going to go with the model 7 but I found a Browning Micro Hunter 7mm-08 at a local shop and it had to come home with me. If anyone wants the info on the $400 model 7 I know where a full size and a youth model are

What 3toe said was dead on and what I did with my girls. Started with managed recoil and then moved to standard. I also prefer 7-08 to .243

Ha! When I went to buy a replacement I ended up coming home with a X-bolt in 7mm.08. A deal is a deal.

I like the model seven in 260. Not as much kick as the 7-08 but better IMO than the 243. I also like the tikka. I own both and prefer the tikka over any of the new Remington's.