I picked up a Stevens 200 a while back. It does the job, shoots groups under an inch at a hundred yards with both styles of ball ammo, and puts the 64 grain Winchester hunting ammo in a group just a bit bigger.

The .223 is one of the easier rounds to teach a novice to load for....

 

I have Tikka 595 in .223. It is a fantastic rifle. I'm not a fan of auto or lever gun. I think your choice of bolt is great.

 

I have a Tikka T3 Lite and a Rem 700 CDL, both in .223. They are both excellent but the Tikka is significantly better. Glass smooth action, extremely accurate. And for a young kid, the polymer stock and stainless barrel and action will make it more durable and resistant to minor abuse.
The Tikka is a bit less than $600. Not the cheapest but it wants for nothing. No trigger, stock or action work at all. And your child will be able to use it to teach his children to safely learn to shoot well.
B

 

What are the price ranges of the stevens and teka?

 

Dont think you can buy the stevens 200 anymore, once Savage shifted to the Axis, they would be competing with themselves. Tikka is a bit more than the budget rifles like the Axis.

Question is do you want a 223 rifle or a 223/5.56, they are different. Most only chamber in 223, so rules out the cheap surplus 5.56. The Mossberg is 223/5.56, and uses the easy to get AR mag, but closer in price to the Tikka. I have one a very nice rifle, good trigger, I havent done anything to it but shoot it. Usually you buy a budget gun, you need to get the trigger worked on stuff like that.

 

Savage offers a few different models in .243 that have youth stocks on them. I like the cartridge for deer and it would be a good one for a young man to hone his long range (relatively) shooting skills. Savage makes a quality rifle and most are very accurate. Sounds like you have a good plan for him. Good luck.

 

The more i think about it the more i like the idea of a .243 since he would be able to use it for deer in the future. What is the recoil comparable too? I was thinking .223 to try and keep the calibers the same as what we aready have. Ill do more research on the .243

 

Good plan...but 8 is too young for a .243 IMO. You're playing with fire on developing bad shooting habits -it's loud and has real recoil. At the age of 8 it's OK to limit him to 100-200 yards. If he can figure the dope on a 22lr to 200 yards he'll have established a great foundation. Once he has that foundation of appropriate knowledge and skill (and the size/mindset of a 12 year old) he'll master a .243 or better in no time flat.

I'm in the same boat of wanting my kids to understand the fundamental physical skills and learn some trajectory, etc. They range from 3-11y. It's just fine to let them have fun and learn safety skills before graduating to technical skills.

The rifle the oldest will learn about trajectory with this summer is a TC Contender with a 21" heavy barrel in 9mm. Yep, 9mm. It's cheap, accurate, and drops like a rock --she'll appreciate a flat .223 in the future.

 

Savage Axis with accutrigger. You can buy a boyds stocks for it and it won't break the bank.

If you you can go with the Mossberg MVP predator that takes AR mags.

 

I have MVP it has adjustable 6 position stock so its good for any size shooter. It has medium heavy barrel and shoouts 5.56 and 223. Takes AR mags too. When my son get old enough I will let him try it. It also has adjustable 2 stage trigger

 

He shoots an AR without issue, get him an AR. The entry price for an AR is dirt cheap these days, and with a 6 position carbine stock, infinite upgrades the gun can grow with him, including the ability to upgrade calibers for hunting. Its what I got for my oldest when he was 7yo.

out of the box its a target/varmint killer. Drop in a .22 kit and its a plinker. .300 BLK upper and its equivalent to a .30-30.

 

If you want to go out to 600 meters, look at the Mossberg MVP with a 24" barrel.

That should give you all sorts of fun on learning to set up his dope book, do all sorts of research on reloading at different ranges while punching paper.

That'll set you back about $750 (with the scope) but he's got plenty of barrel, an adjustable trigger, AR mags and a platform that you can grow a bit with better glass, tinkering with trigger settings and see the effects of working it to smoothness.

If you bring the range in a bit and don't want the adjustable trigger or big mags, I'd look at the Axis 22" w/ Scope which will run you around $400. Half the price but 3/4 of the rifle, IMO.

So it sort of depends on what you want and how your budget sits.

 

Not to derail the thread, but how do you like the mossberg? I was eyeballing a new one, it's just it seems loosey goosey to me. How does it shoot. Was I spoiled on an old Winchester m70? Lol.

And I have a Saiga 223 also. Love the gun. Zero recoil, red dot plants them on target easily. Sucker is a fat pig tho compared to a run of the mill AR.

Man, I have seen three or four comments about the MVP being "loose" on the bolt and in the mag well, but neither have given me any cause for concern so far. I'm still within my first 250 rounds but the bolt has been only slightly stiff, never felt "loose", and it feels like it will work up over time as it smooths out and I get used to it. The mags don't seem loose and I'm using the original 10 and some 30-round Blackhawks.

So far I'm still getting used to it but am doing around 2 MOA. I stress that I'm using simple (CHEAP) ZQ and Independence ammo to work it in. Just being in the black is all I'm worrying about right now. I'll switch to some higher grade ammo at around 500 rounds.

By the way, I'm shooting the 18.5", fixed stock model.

 

Ruger American Predator, available in a number of calibers including .223, .243, and .308. I bought .223 specifically for this gun because it shoots cheap stuff so dang well, plus it came with a threaded barrel. ( I have plans for the threaded barrel.)

Also have the MVP predator in 5.56 (uses the AR mags ). I do believe that although it cycles OK, the Ruger cycles more smoothly. Accuracy is similar to the Ruger Predator though; but it lacks the threaded barrel. I do like the stock on it more; do wish it was threaded.. My version is a conventional wooden rifle with a laminate stock.

 

My Tikka was $400.00 off the shelf, more than a few years ago. It is smooth and accurate. .243 is a good choice. 6mm can be argued to be ballistically better but it is not readily available like .243 is. A thompson contender carbine is very versatile and light. Not cheap but accurate and with the barrel options it can be fun. the Encore may be a better choice if you want a larger caliber later on. A 21' carbine in .223 or 357 max would be a fine starter rifle.

 

Thanks for all the replies, im thinking a .243 so he can learn one rifle really well and be able to use it during deer season in a few years. If the recoil is too much ill look at a brake. Now its its time to go fondle with them all at the lgs! Thanks again everyone


oh and an AR buld is on the way!

 

I'm gonna put my vote in on a good quality 22lr as well. I shoot a lot, and I like to start out with one, or 22s every time. A nice little 22 bolt gun is probably the best trainer there is for anybody, kids, or adults. And, why stop at 200 yds with it? Let him start pinging steel at 300 yds, and you'll have a real shooter in the making.

Savage, or Marlin are good choices without breaking the bank. The Marlin feels better to me, but Savage makes a very good rifle, the polymer stock feels a little off though. The Marlin has a longer break in on the trigger. The Savage comes with the Accu-trigger, which is good right out of the box.

I helped a friend who'd gotten his daughter (11) a .243 as her first rifle. Right away she developed a flinch. She'd shot his 10/22 a bunch, but that .243 was too much. We sat her down at the table with a brick of Federal standard, and my Marlin. She got rid of that flinch, but last time I talked to her, a couple of years later, she was still having to concentrate on technique when shooting the .243.

 

I am a Savage fan for numerous reasons. They are accurate as all get out right out of the box. They are reasonably priced and barrel swaps are a breeze. Maybe other bolt guns out there are as easy too, I just started with Savage and now have several. I like being able to buy extra barrels and a bolt face and be good to go. They have quite a few aftermarket upgrades available with triggers, stocks and heavy barrels. They are cheap enough that I agree with others to start him on .223 and move him up in a few years to .243. A few hundred bucks shouldn't be too hard to store away in that time then he'll have 2 different "tools". Then he'll be a kid proud of 2 guns instead of 1!

 

Never understood a bolt gun in that caliber.

The semi-autos can get dialed in dead-nuts at "usable" ranges.

The extra reach of a bolt gun will get washed by the drop in effectiveness at those ranges.


Just my thinking...I could be dead wrong.

 

I think it depends on purpose and use. At 600 a 55 grain .223 still has the velocity and energy of a .22lr at the muzzle and I sure wouldn't want to catch a .22 in the head point blank. Of course drop is pretty extreme, something like 10 foot. My .223 bolt guns are for varmints, prairie dogs and coyotes so they don't need to much umph at longer distance. Plus I reload and mine are a bit hot. But yeah anything more than that I will agree with you. Mine is just wicked accurate and a fricking hoot to shoot without breaking the bank and a ton of recoil.

 

+3 on the Tikka. I saw Weatherby's on sale at Cabela's youth models in .243 and .223, for around $400. That was a while ago though. I would look for a youth version or light carbine model. .223 is great for coyotes and prairie dogs. They work well on deer where legal. I have used a 7-08 that is accurate and mild shooting but pretty expensive and scarce compared to .223 or .243.

 

I'd look at a Mossberg MVP that takes AR15 mags. Sounds like you already have an AR this would be a great match with the AR

 

CZ makes a great carbine in .223 I have one and I love it...

 

I have a Ruger American compact 243 [short stock for little people]. I bought it for my grandkids and my smallish 14 yr old grand daughter killed an antelope with it a couple of years ago. I bought an American in 270 and liked it so much that I bought the 243 almost immediately after.

I like to shoot the little gun a lot too. Light, compact, not a bad trigger, good recoil pad, shoots pretty straight for a small rifle, the price is right. What's not to like. Also it has a detachable magazine, so it could make a credible tactical rifle.

I thought I wanted an AR, but the more I think about it I start to belive that if all 13 of my family were hidden and armed with bolt guns, no individual would do a lot of fast shooting and thus draw a lot of attention to themselves. Might be a safer way to fight. I can buy a couple more Americans for the price of a cheap AR

If a 243's recoil is a bit much for an 8yr old I have a reduced load with 60 gr bullets that is brilliantly accurate and zips along in the 22 hornet velocity range that is a lot of fun to shoot. PM me if you want the data.

 

So i found a remington 700 at walmart for 377.00. Its a 243 youth... been looking for review and what model it is but cant find anything for a similar price. Any ideals?

 

Buy it. I would've any day. Remington 700's have been the standard for accuracy for over 50 years. Even if the new news are not the quality of the old ones they are still very accurate OOB, and have the most active aftermarket and potential of any other rifle.

 

I would rather buy Winchester 70

 

I like the new rifles with detachable magazines. You don't have to reload through the top under the scope. If you don't do it right it can jam and cause you to loose a lot of time. With a rifle with a detachable magazine and a few extra magazines you could keep up a pretty good rate of fire.

Problem is the magazines are REAL expensive and so far only 4 round capacity. I am hoping that American inventors will soon be out with larger capacity mags.

 

There is now a Ruger GSR chambered for 223/5.56.

11B