Factory rifle for youth hunter

[huntoregon]

Thank you all for the help and suggestions. We will weigh all the input and hopefully come up with something soon.

 

[Jon Bischof]

View attachment 394120

J.P. Sauer 100 Classic in 30-06

I like the 60 degree bolt throw and factory bedding. These rifles review very well: https://www.google.com/search?q=sau...j0i22i30l4.6118j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Review this: Sauer 100 Classic 30-06 @ 200 Yards.

 

[Brent21]

Hey guys my 16 year old son wants to buy his own rifle and scope. He has a $2,000 budget for rifle and scope. It will be primarily used for blacktail deer and Roosevelt elk. We are also going on a mule deer buck hunt this November.

Anyhow I was hoping to get some suggestions on a factory rifle that he may be able to afford. Right now we are currently looking at a Christensen Arms Mesa chambered in either 7mm or 300 PRC. I think the 300 PRC may be a little much for him and that cartridge out of a light barrel may not be consistent. I was hoping for 300win but cant seem to find that in stock anywhere. And for the scope we are looking at a Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44.

He has always used my rifles and is a decent shooter, but its time he gets his own.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the suggestions on here. I also have a 16 year old and he shoots a Tikka in .308 with the exact scope you mentioned. We have been extremely happy with both. If you are open to other rifles I would consider the afore mentioned Tikka, as well as the following Seekins, Bergara.

 

[skipglo]

I would stay away from CA...and go with any other suggestions....or a Weatherby!

 

[flyguy1]

Go with the .308, or 7mm 08. Starting out with a magnum is asking for trouble. Practice is key, and you can buy .308 ammo all day long.

 

[choprzrul]

View attachment 394120

J.P. Sauer 100 Classic in 30-06

I like the 60 degree bolt throw and factory bedding. These rifles review very well: https://www.google.com/search?q=sau...j0i22i30l4.6118j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

I think my 2nd choice would be the Browning X-Bolt Hunter in either 30-06 or 280 Remington. I see they also offer the 25-06 in a 24" barrel. A .257 diameter 90gr Absolute Hammer at 3700+ fps is quite possible.

 

[Jon Bischof]

To summarize the best of advice thus far:
1. Don't buy a Christensen
2. Don't get your 16 year old a Mega Magnum he will hate shooting.
3. But if he wants a magnum, get a muzzle brake.
Brands you can get with confidence: Sauer 100, Bergara, Browning X Bolt, and on the less expensive end of the spectrum,
Weatherby Vanguard. I would add Mauser M18 as a great first rifle.
Not saying Winchester 70 or Remington 700 couldn't also fill the bill, but you roll the dice on factory rifles. Some are safer bets than others.
Another question to consider, does your son enjoy working on a rifle to improve it? Or, does he just want an out of the box shooter?

 

[huntoregon]

Well against the grain here but we ended up with a Christensen 300 win mag. I have a Christensen 6.5 PRC that he likes and it shoots factory ammo and hand loads great, and a custom 300 win mag that he also likes to shoot. So he's not afraid of the 300 and wanted the Christensen.

Now it's just down to the scope. On the fence between Leupold VX-5 and a Zeiss V4

 

[jbenevides89]

Well against the grain here but we ended up with a Christensen 300 win mag. I have a Christensen 6.5 PRC that he likes and it shoots factory ammo and hand loads great, and a custom 300 win mag that he also likes to shoot. So he's not afraid of the 300 and wanted the Christensen.

Now it's just down to the scope. On the fence between Leupold VX-5 and a Zeiss V4

I would go Zeiss personally. As long as he is happy with it, it shoots well enough, and it does not discourage him from shooting or induce a recoil flinch its good to go haha. If its too much for him just trade him the PRC for a couple years.

 

[Jon Bischof]

huntoregon, Please let us all know it shoots when you get it all up and running. Kinda blew that starting budget out of the water!

 

[huntoregon]

We got the Christensen Mesa for $950 and he chose the Zeiss 4-16x50 V4 from Red Hawk Rifles for $700. It was a demo scope I guess. So still within budget. Now just need a base and rings.

 

[jbenevides89]

I would recommend Sphur for any of the magnums. I have seen a lot of ring slip issues cause a lot of headache and expenses and doubt in equipment. Sphur rings or mounts have fixed them all.

 

[David_h]

Since you have elk in the mix, I'd vote for 7mm-08. For just blacktail, I'd vote for .243 Win. When I introduced my 16 year old son to shooting a while back he developed a trigger flinch and it was partly my fault for letting him start with a .270 Win. I probably should have given him more trigger time behind a .22 rimfire and then work up to .243 or similar. He is a little better now but I wonder about "old habits". He is 22 years now and next weekend we are going out together for California Mule Deer in Sequoia National Forest. We are both toting .243 Win; he has lefty Savage and I have Sako. Best of luck and have fun together.

 

[bomberodevil]

We got the Christensen Mesa for $950 and he chose the Zeiss 4-16x50 V4 from Red Hawk Rifles for $700. It was a demo scope I guess. So still within budget. Now just need a base and rings.

I've got a Mesa, and I think that would be a good youth rifle. Seems like the majority of the CA rifles with issues are the Ridgeline. Good luck to your son.