19 replies to this topic

[Recon]

My son turned 12 last week so I'm getting him a Tikka T3 Lite in .243 for Christmas.... I just thought I'd share because it's fun for me. I'm probably more excited about giving it to him than he will be about getting it, which is OK because when I am old and can't shoot .308 anymore, he can loan it back to me :-)

[donkey12]

Funny im doing the same thing for my son who is nine. He is using an AR15 because it fits him easily with the adjustable stock. It is alot of fun to shop for him.

[clampdaddy]

I'm sure he'll love it.

[andy1621]

Good choice!

[chuckocaster]

great choice, and what a great gift! i remember getting my .243 for my 13th birthday, i'll always treasure that day and i still love my rifle. good for you man, your son is a lucky boy to have a dad like you.

[DesertDog]

Thats cool, just got my daughter a 10/22 for xmas, she's 10 and now Ill get MY 10/22 back from her. LOL

[Air Rifle Hunter]

Very nice! He'll remember that day for a long time.

[jdogg]

I wanna buy my 13 year old daughter a 243 and youth 20 ga. But money is tight right now.

[Recon]

Thats cool, just got my daughter a 10/22 for xmas, she's 10 and now Ill get MY 10/22 back from her. LOL

Haha, my nine year old has totally STOLEN a 1970's Marlin tube fed .22 from my father-in-law! The only way I think my FIL is gonna get it back is when the kid gets big enough that he just wants to spend most of his time shooting something larger. He is in love with that thing!

I wanna buy my 13 year old daughter a 243 and youth 20 ga. But money is tight right now.

The cost of a shotgun a kid that age might wanna shoot twice is brutal. More than twice the cost of a .243 I think. I have a Remington 870 Wingmaster 16 gauge that has been lightly used and handed down in the family but my son(s) are probably going to have to be about 14 before either will want to shoot it twice. Even a single shot 20 gauge rocks my 100 pound 12 year old right now. He wants nothing to do with them after shooting one a couple times. But he loves to shoot rifle.

[Truckeedan]

Haha, my nine year old has totally STOLEN a 1970's Marlin tube fed .22 from my father-in-law! The only way I think my FIL is gonna get it back is when the kid gets big enough that he just wants to spend most of his time shooting something larger. He is in love with that thing!The cost of a shotgun a kid that age might wanna shoot twice is brutal. More than twice the cost of a .243 I think. I have a Remington 870 Wingmaster 16 gauge that has been lightly used and handed down in the family but my son(s) are probably going to have to be about 14 before either will want to shoot it twice. Even a single shot 20 gauge rocks my 100 pound 12 year old right now. He wants nothing to do with them after shooting one a couple times. But he loves to shoot rifle.

Recon,All single shot shotguns are brutal. I have a 410 Stevens single shot that kicks more than my 12 ga Rem 11-87. Get your son a good used Rem 1100 semi auto in 20 ga and only let him load 1 round at a time if having him shoot an semi auto concerns you. The recoil will be significantly less than any single shot as part of the recoil is taken up in cycling the action. Any single shot shotgun or rifle sends the recoil straight to the shoulder.

[yoteblaster]

My 15y/o boy and I went out and shot the 10/22 and the Mossberg 535 12 ga. After shooting one round in the 12 ga he said, "DAD, can I shoot it more!?"He went through a box of 00 buck and target shot berfore he was done. I said tell me what your shoulder feels like in the morning! He laughed! The next morning he woke up and said, "I think I got beat up lastnight!" It was a kick seeing my boy like the shotty!

[Recon]

Truckeedan, that's a solid suggestion. I am very likely to do exactly as you suggest. Yoteblaster, I think I probably wouldda stopped him out of fear for what he would feel like the next day, and having to take him to the doctor or something and then having CPS involved, haha!!! I picked up the Tikka today. Now I want one for myself. I haven't been able to handle it much because the kid is around so it's in the trunk of my car right now. My first impression was that the stock was so light the rifle felt front heavy, but it's so light overall that's probably not a big deal. It may balance out with a scope. The bolt was not in either. That could be a factor as well. I was impressed that it came with scope rings. I have an old Weaver we could put on it but I may get him a knew scope too. I hope when I am old, he lets me use HIS rifle :-)

[Bisley]

Even a single shot 20 gauge rocks my 100 pound 12 year old right now.

The problem is not the gauge, but rather the action type. Have them try a .20ga pump if you can first before buying the auto. 1100's are excellent shotguns, we have several in the family. But my 11 year old nephew is a very small, skinny kid for his age, and he was using my (full sized) 20ga 870 with absolutely zero problems and they can be had for half the price of an 1100, if you can find an 1100 in 20ga.. And since the 1100 will be significantly heavier than an 870, if you do take them hunting, your trips will be much shorter due to the weight of the gun. Just a thought from a guy who went through all this earlier this year with two new, young wingshooters.

[DirtyDave]

Congrats on the .243 for the kid!As for shotguns;My 11yr old Daughter shoots a full sized Mossberg 500 20ga just fine. She started shooting it last year when she was 10. She'll go through 100rds at the trap range and never complain (and she complains about EVERYTHING haha). She has never shot anything other than the cheap walmart value pack shells though. They dont kick much at all, but they work.It's good to be cautious though, you dont want o just tell your kid to MAN-UP and shoot a 12ga. You can ruin the experience for them and they will develop a flinch that will ruin their shooting form.

[Leonten]

Dang times have changed. I think its great that your all getting your kids guns for Christmas. Way, way back when I was that age it would have been a present for me to have my parents just say I was allowed to buy my own gun as a Christmas present.

[Caneman]

My son turned 12 last week so I'm getting him a Tikka T3 Lite in .243 for Christmas....

great choice your son wont be disappointed... i have the same rifle but it is the T3 Hunter .243, 0.52 MOA right out of the box! love those Tikkas, got me a T3 in .223 as well...

[Shoot-it]

He is just going to love it.The 243 is fun to shoot plus the tikka's are very nice rifles...................When i was growing up i was crazy about guns i would look threw the Jc'penny catalogs and look at the long guns.My dad was not a hunter and would only talk about buying me a 20 gauge but he never did.It wasn't that he could not afford it he just didn't care he didn't like the hobby.The only reason he had a mossberg 500 was because someone gave him one as a gift.I had to learn to shoot the 12 and I remember first shooting it when I was in the sixth grade................So anyways let your kids know how lucky they are to have a father that would take the time to buy them there first gun.

[ShooterJohn]

My dad never hunted either except as a young man. He once told me he shot enough things in the Marines. He never spoke about his time in WWII so I never pursued it except he fought in the Pacific. So had it not been for my aunt who raised me another uncle and my grandfather I probably wouldn't have had the chance to hunt when I was young. It's great you are teaching your son to hunt and he's lucky to be able to use his own gun.

[Lang]

I wish my father had more of an interest in Firearms. I suppose having been in the Army in the PI during WWII may have left a bad taste in his mouth, but I had to beg just to buy my first .22. You all have some very lucky children.

[Recon]

My dad didn't hunt at all, but he was quite a backpacker/woodsman.... I learned tremendous outdoor skills from him but nothing to do with shooting or hunting. Then I went in the Marines and learned plenty 'bout hunting and shooting.... well, not about hunting game, but hunting all the same So when my oldest son was about 6 I decided I needed to put my skills togther and get started, so I could teach my sons. I've only been hunting game a couple years but now it's time to put it all together and teach. If you guys are reading this thread and have sons or nephews, etc in your life near the age of 10-14, here are a couple really good books I found that the kids can read and enjoy, and learn skills in the process: Ranger's Apprenticehttp://www.rangersapprentice.com/"The Ruins of Gorlan" is the first in the series, the best in my opinion, and really strong on describing how to be stealthy! All the books are good though. Woods Runnerhttp://www.amazon.co...n/dp/0385738846I liked this book a lot.