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