I was lucky enough to win at a banquet and have to pick up a gun this week from Scheels. My son turns 13 in 2 weeks so I am going to get it for him. I am going to get him a deer rifle and was thinking about a .270. What would you choose for under $600?
.308 I prefer that over a .270. I honestly have no clue on the price right now, but i have a ruger compact and I love that thing.
Marlin X7 is not a bad gun for the price. My step son has one in 30-06 and it shoots sub 1 inch groups at 100 yards all day. As far as calibers depends on how comfortable he is but with ammo the way it is today you want to pick something you can find almost anywhere.
dude, the kid is 13. A .308 is a little heavy on the kick for a kid. Not to mention, a .270 has better ballistics, and is a more than adequate deer round. In fact, it's more than enough to get the job done up to and including elk. I personally never shot or know anyone who has a Marlin x7, but they get good overall reviews. In that price range, you can't go wrong with a Savage 110/111 (not the Axis) and I've been reading good things about the Ruger American. Lightweight, accurate, with a smooth bolt. If you're looking for a semi-auto, you can find really nice used Remington 750/7400/740s in that price range fairly easily. Sometimes even a Browning semi-auto in decent condition will pop up for 600 or so.
Tom Matt has shot an 7 mm-08 since he was 10. It is a great gun with little recoil. He has a Browning A Bolt. Dean
The only thing I know for sure is it will be a bolt action rifle. The gun I won was a Weatherby Vangaurd .270 but I can choose anything up that price range.
Another vote for 7MM08, fantastic cartridge, after shooting my sons a bunch I actually picked one up for myself. I made sure when I bought my boys rifle I got something with the ability to change the length of pull as he grew. I went with a 700 Remington and he's whacked four deer with it so far. None have ever gone further than about 20 yards with Fusion ammo. Good luck, hope your son enjoys whatever he gets Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Uhhhhhh, no. 7mm-08 is a great caliber for him Tom, like Dean said. I don't know much about different manufacturers though.
A 308 is not too heavy for a kid...my son was using a 308 at 8 years old. There is such a thing as light loads and they are not special or hard to find. My son was using 140 gr I think. You can get managed recoil that are lighter than that Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
I bought my son a 30.06 at 13 because I found a great deal on a ruger used. My son wanted another 308 but we couldn't find one. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
I also bought my daughter a 7mm.08 when she was 10 or 11 and she loved that gun but a 308 is a much better round imo. 270 is also a great round for deer but don't overlook a 260, that may be the best deer round going but ammo is alot harder to come by. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
I agree 7 mm 08 is an awesome round...i love the 308 as well....the vanguard 2 is a solid rifle if you like synthetic stocks....remington 700 is a sweet ol girl to...plenty of quality guns in that price range from the main manufacturers...congrats on the win and to your son for getting a sweet new rifle! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
308 rossi (cheap gun, not recommending but good for a small kid, single shot) 7mm.08 ,140 gr ballistic tip. 130 yards. Thompson center encore. She is left eye dominant and shot left handed. Wasn't buying a left handed bolt action and a single shot is a good idea with young kids. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
The one issue with synthetic stocks is weight. Increases felt recoil on a kid. A simms pad is a good idea. I did that on the encore and it is awesome. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
I personally shot that very gun for years and when I hit deer, they went down. Awesome gun. Don't fall into the heavy load crap. The 130 gr had great ballistics and flat out put deer on the ground. My furthest with that gun was 350 yards and closest was probably less than 20. Both went straight down. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
My ruger compact .308 will be my sons soon. Which means ill have to find another one, dont think i could go back to a full sized gun. I have no doubt he could shoot it. (With a rest)
Yea, my vanguard 270 (wood stock) kicked much harder than the 308 of my son's with slightly heavier loads. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
Might consider an encore as well. He will be able to add to different calibers and a muzzle loader barrel as well. My daughter shot this at 200 yards with her 7mm.08. (Stay away from remington core lok in this caliber) Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk