Gun for an 8 year old.

[Wind Gypsy]

Are there factory "light" loads for 7mm08? My Dad has one that no one shoots because it kicks like a mule (Kimber)

7mm‑08 Rem 120 gr SST® Custom Lite® - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

...

www.hornady.com

There are others too. Choice ammo, HSM, and likely others have reduced recoil options.

 

[kodiakisland]

I feel many of us just resist change. I know I do.

30 years ago I started my kids on cartridges like the 243 and 708, loaded down to their level. My son ended up shooting a 7SAUM and my daughter a 257 Bob. Both progressed nicely and shoot well and kill alot of stuff.

My grandkids however are starting on a 6ARC. I, and they, shoot it regularly to 500 yds. I see no reason to pick any other 6mm over it for the purpose of learning to shoot and hunt. It will easily go as far as they should at their age, and is still a lot of fun for an old man at 500 yds.

Bullets, powder, twist rates, etc. have changed for the better when comparing the new smaller cartridges to the rounds many of us grew up with 50+ years ago. Doesn't mean those old cartridges don't work as well as they always did, but it does allow for some performance gains in areas we never thought possible back then.

As the original question is about an 8 year old, learning to shoot and hunt responsibly, it really should be tailered to the next 5-6 years of growth. If we were talking about a 16yr old, I might be inclined to start with one of the 308 based cartridges, but not at 8. When I grew up, that was all we had. Not now.

An 8 yr old needs a rifle and cartridge that will encourage growth. Once that growth happens, then it's time to move into a new rifle/cartridge combo. It's OK to have and use more than one gun over a lifetime. Hopefully they will have many.

Whatever you get, the more trigger time the better. Whatever combo facilitates that. The gun/cartridge won't matter without time using it.

 

[Straight Arrow]

My son and grandsons have taken many antelope, deer, elk, bears, and birds. 'Call me old school, but just don't know why you have to grow kids up so fast!
Mine started at 8 with Red Ryder BB gun, then 22 cal at 10 years old, then 243 or 7mm-08 at 11 and preparing for hunting actively.
Only exception is 10 yr old grandson who was closely supervised shooting 243 during hunting mentor limited program.

 

[Forkyfinder]

Here’s the bear creek bolt action 18” barrel next to a tikka 18” barrel. Going to be a nice kids rifle. It’s 5.8lbs before installing the lower parts
View attachment 373008

How does the upper/bolt look and feel?

Ive heard nightmare stories about BCA- but a 300 BO bolt action pistol would be quiet and a ton of fun + very compact with a folding buffer.

 

[jpc01101]

My son and grandsons have taken many antelope, deer, elk, bears, and birds. 'Call me old school, but just don't know why you have to grow kids up so fast!
Mine started at 8 with Red Ryder BB gun, then 22 cal at 10 years old, then 243 or 7mm-08 at 11 and preparing for hunting actively.
Only exception is 10 yr old grandson who was closely supervised shooting 243 during hunting mentor limited program.

I don't think taking kids hunting younger is "growing the up too fast" for me it's a time thing. I want them to be able to hunt with my Dad while he can still get around. My son (8) killed his first turkey with my Dad this year and it was a memory we will all share for the rest of our lives. I'd like to see that with a deer, elk, antelope, etc.

 

[Straight Arrow]

I don't think taking kids hunting younger is "growing the up too fast" for me it's a time thing. I want them to be able to hunt with my Dad while he can still get around. My son (8) killed his first turkey with my Dad this year and it was a memory we will all share for the rest of our lives. I'd like to see that with a deer, elk, antelope, etc.

Putting a firearm in a young child's hands is what I was meaning. I started taking my son hunting regularly when he was six yrs old; grandsons younger than that.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Whatever you get, the more trigger time the better. Whatever combo facilitates that. The gun/cartridge won't matter without time using it.

Bingo again. Every time someone tells me their 8-12 YO kid shoots a lightweight 308 sized cartridge well and they "arent bothered by recoil" my mind immediately jumps to "yeah, how much?". Less than a box of ammo without freaking out is one thing but a bunch of boxes of ammo without fear of getting beat up by recoil is another.

 

[brockel]

How does the upper/bolt look and feel?

Ive heard nightmare stories about BCA- but a 300 BO bolt action pistol would be quiet and a ton of fun + very compact with a folding buffer.

The little I messed with it last night it felt alright. It’s not tikka smooth but it’s functional and I bet smooths out with use. Will know more by the weekend

 

[jpc01101]

Bingo again. Every time someone tells me their 8-12 YO kid shoots a lightweight 308 sized cartridge well and they "arent bothered by recoil" my mind immediately jumps to "yeah, how much?". Less than a box of ammo without freaking out is one thing but a bunch of boxes of ammo without fear of getting beat up by recoil is another.

Plan is to practice with 22lr mostly with one/two shots with the hunting rifle per session don’t anticipate sitting down and shooting a box of them.

 

[kodiakisland]

Plan is to practice with 22lr mostly with one/two shots with the hunting rifle per session don’t anticipate sitting down and shooting a box of them.

That probably shapes a lot of the answers too. Even though we shoot far more 22lr than anything else, my kids/grandkids would shoot at least 20-30 rounds of centerfire when we shoot. Our current mix is 22lr, 221FB, 6ARC, and 708. Depends on the day, but 50 through the 22lr and 50 through everything else from various field positions 100-400 yards. Everything with a suppressor and the 708 is heavy.

 

[jpc01101]

That probably shapes a lot of the answers too. Even though we shoot far more 22lr than anything else, my kids/grandkids would shoot at least 20-30 rounds of centerfire when we shoot. Our current mix is 22lr, 221FB, 6ARC, and 708. Depends on the day, but 50 through the 22lr and 50 through everything else from various field positions 100-400 yards. Everything with a suppressor and the 708 is heavy.

Dang moneybags! I can’t shoot 2 1/2 $50 boxes of shells a couple days a week. We are lucky to have a farm so we run out and shoot whenever. His 300 BO is fun to shoot at 100 yds or less with subs and a suppressor but those are still $1 a round.

 

[kodiakisland]

Dang moneybags! I can’t shoot 2 1/2 $50 boxes of shells a couple days a week. We are lucky to have a farm so we run out and shoot whenever. His 300 BO is fun to shoot at 100 yds or less with subs and a suppressor but those are still $1 a round.

Reloading is the only way to shoot volume, and more efficient cartridges help. We run out to the farm once or twice a week. Some days are rifles and some are pistols. It’s still expensive though.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Yeah, there’s another big +1 for 223, economy. Lot more primer denting for the $.

I wouldn’t get anything that needs to eat $50 boxes of ammo. The creedmoors can be shot pretty cheap too if a guy buys the deals online. 6 ARC is getting closer, little over $1/rd.

 

[brockel]

I'm curious about the straight pull ARs. How much resistance is there to pulling the bolt back? Is it easier to get sticky cases in the chamber?

Have worked the bolt a few hundred times now and it’s getting noticeably smoother. Sighted it in and then shot steel out to 500 with it pretty easily. Fun little gun. Probably will end up being my thermal rifle. Shoots factory 62grain eldvt at 3160fps

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Dang! I have had the 62 eldvt sitting on the shelf for a long time without trying them, need to do that.

 

[jpc01101]

No go on the 7-08 with the reduced recoil Hornady just too much for an 8 year old (in my opinion) I didn’t even have him shoot it.

 

[Darkside]

For a 8yr old to grow into.
That's easy.
22 creedmore. Or
25 creed. Or
6 creed.
Any of these will put a whitetail down Quickly. And are lethal to 500yds.
I built a 22 creedmore last year and shoots 85.5gr Berger bullets, makes 3 leaf clover at 200yds. At 3400fps.

 

[howl]

So, who's paying for his ammo when he's just starting out in a career with a wife and infant and a toddler and mortgage and truck payment?

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

How does the upper/bolt look and feel?

Ive heard nightmare stories about BCA- but a 300 BO bolt action pistol would be quiet and a ton of fun + very compact with a folding buffer.

I’ve owned two BCA semiautomatic uppers, one normal (6.5 G) and one right hand bolt (7.62x39 and still have this one). Both uppers are functional and accurate.
There may be burrs, metal shavings and loose screws when you get it from the NC factory. Look it over, function check and if you identify anything wrong, BCA will make it right, including swapping out the whole thing. They have a solid warranty, great customer service and they do it all for that $179 upper you just bought on sale.