I see a lot of good suggestions on this thread. Having worked or lead youth hunts for several years now, I've had the chance to observe the shooting capabilities of hundreds of beginners. Some of my observations:
- Those who come with an AR platform (especially with adjustable stock) typically don't go home with empty coolers if the animals cooperate. 300 BLK and 6.8 SPC have both proven themselves. From my observations, I have to conclude the ergonomics and recoil management of this platform is just superior to everything else out there.
- Suppressors boost confidence (a big factor in shooting ability). Suppressor combined with AR, even better.
- Gun fit is paramount. It helps manage recoil and the ability to see through the scope easily. I made the mistake of buying my son the H&R rifle for his first one and neither of us could shoot it well because it wasn't comfortable to shoot. It might be for some kids, but not for either of us, and he wasn't that big at the time. I was 6'3", 225#, and I didn't like shooting it at all. Turned out the geometry was all wrong and amplified the perceived recoil. Limbsaver pad helped some here, but it still felt wrong for both of us. In spite of that, he took his first deer on his first hunt with perfect shot placement.
Regarding that last one, I recently had a dad call me night before the hunt: "..we got a problem..". He explained that his daughter was having a problem shooting the gun, possibly due to recoil. I had him bring the gun; I brought all 3 sizes of Limbsaver slip-ons plus my .257 Roberts just in case. At the bench, we fitted the pad first. After that, I could see she was clearly uncomfortable with something. She said she had a hard time seeing through the scope. I noticed it was turned to 9X, turned it down to 6X and had her try again: "That's great!" She proceeded to shoot the best target of the group. She was the first to fill a tag and also tagged one at 200 yards. I believe she had a .243 bolt gun. Yes, .243 can be intimidating to some; everyone is different in their perception of recoil. I've spent a lot of hours trailing bad .243 hits, but well-placed shots do the job every time in all of the calibers.
Above all, be patient with the kid. The hardest thing I've had to do is watch parents (both moms and dads) get impatient with the kid because they're still learning or they can't tolerate what they perceive as minimal recoil. Some parents are good at it, others aren't. Patience and observation on your part is a key factor in their learning experience. Make sure they're having fun.
jrthomasjr took the words right out of my mouth. The single biggest misconception out there is that small calibers, or guns marketed and sold as youth guns are the best things for youth. Fact is, most are short, thin barreled rifles that are very light weight. Short barrels make the gun louder, in most cases. Light weight rifles recoil more than heavy ones. Find a way to cut down the recoil, and find a way to cut down on the noise, and you are most of the way to a winning combination. Lastly, the fit has to be right. Guns that have an extremely long length of pull for a small stature person will only make it uncomfortable, and will mess up their sight picture.
I have done all of the following and all worked:
1. Buy an inexpensive 243 or 7mm-08 youth (I got a Tikka T3). Take the butt pad off and fill the butt stock with a bulk pack of bb's from Tractor supply store or wherever. it cost me $11 and added almost 4 lbs to the gun. That's a recoil reduction of almost 40% on that rifle. When the kid outgrows the rifle, or doesn't need the recoil reduction, put the BBs back in the container and put them to other good use. Also, Hornady makes an awesome Hornady Custom light load in both 243, and 7mm-08. Both shoot really well, and further reduce recoil. Still plenty of energy to kill deer out to a couple hundred yards.
2. My son shot his first buck with an AR in 450 BM. I installed a break on it, adjusted the stock to fit him well, and went to the blind with the $25 electronic ear muffs. They amplified all of the sounds around us, and made it possible to have good whisper conversations. Every squirrel sounded like a bull moose coming through the woods. My son still doesn't remember the gun going off, or the big boom. Just a dead deer, and a great memory. If you take away the muzzle brake on that caliber, or take away the hearing protection it could have been a different experience.
3. I have also taken one of my long range rifles out to the blind that is a heavy barrel threaded and has an adjustable (length) stock, and a suppressor. The gun is 13lbs with the scope. I simply carried the rifle for my son instead of having him lug it, and once in the blind, and propped up on the log in front of us, the weight was nothing but a help to being steady, and reducing recoil. The noise was obviously mitigated by the suppressor.
In short, there are many ways to skin the cat, and be successful, focus on reduceing recoil (even in small calibers), reduce noise, or over protect for it, and be sure the fit is right, one way or the other. Good Luck.
. Very safe gun and now belongs to my son. Hope to become a family heirloom. He has harvested s few deer with this gun and can handle the recoil very well. A 243 is a superb round and can take down most deer in the north America. It's a great starter rifle.
