ORIGINAL: retrieverman
HuntElk4Fun
I may have misunderstood, but are you seriously considering starting your 12 year old son on a 7mm Magnum? I have a son that is 12, and he shoots a 270 which is all he wants in recoil. My son is a big boy for 12 and without a Simms pad his 270 is pretty stiff. I shoot a 300WSM whichmy son can shoot just fine, BUT it has a full bull barrel and weighs almost 12 lbs. I would hate to see you start your son on such a hard recoiling caliber that might discourage him from wanting to shoot. At that age, it needs to be fun and not painful.
I love to hear of Dads that want their sons to hunt with them. Good luck with whatever you decide.
I personally started out shooting a 7mm at age 12. We have some very good light loads for the rifle, when combined with good butt pads, etc. Wish we had these fancy butt pads when I was a kid! Also, we had a 270 featherweight in the house as well and it kick the worst. I have thought of these things and he has shot my 7mm before as well. He is a very big kid and his brother is even bigger (only 10!). Both the 270 WSM and 7mm are very similiar when you look at recoil tables, etc.
With this all in mind and everyone's opinions (thanks)I think I'm going to get the 270 WSM for him. A little less kick, little lower loads, etc. All of it adds up to a gun I think he can handle, yet, drop an Elk when needs be.