Originally Posted by howl
For a 7yo? Nah, bruh. 17, maybe.You could load it down and it'd still be too much. He might could handle it, might even like it, but it will hurt his shooting in the long run. My boy likes a kicking gun. I let him talk me into him shooting a ultralight shotgun when he was 5. He liked it but we had to work on that flinch a lot. Never should have done it.

The best tool for this job is an AR-15 in 223. The adjustable stock is what makes it work better than others. You can both fit the same gun to yourselves. 223 with a good bullet like 62gr Fusion is every bit as good as a 243. An 8# AR kicks like a 22lr. I mean actually, not the nonsense people like to say. Teach shooting always from a rested aim so the weight of the gun does not matter.

Get also a 22lr AR upper if you don't already have one. The way that you can practice a ton and it really won't be any different than the 223. It's heavy bolt carrier running back and forth that ups the recoil on a 22lr AR.

A big plus on ARs is you can have a large objective scope without having a higher mount, btw.

You better listen to this dude right here. Every thing he said is spot on. 223 with the right bullet is more than adequate for deer in Alabama, especially for the distance a 7 yo needs to be shooting. My kids have killed several deer with a 55gr TSX and they leave quarter size exit holes.

Bulk 55gr fmj is cheap practice. Another advantage rarely discussed is the pistol grip on an AR gives little hands a great place to grab and the adjustable stock is invaluable . All my kids could shoot an AR better than a bolt rifle. 4ftlbs of recoil is way different than 11 or 12 ftlbs of recoil.

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?