I took my 8 year old son to the range today...started him easy, with a .22 LR at balloons...when we got back to 50 yards, I switch the rifle to my .270 and put in a Managed Recoil round...

Dead balloon...

The recoil surprised him a bit, but did not hurt him...of course he did not shoot very many his first time...

We will go back next weekend, and shoot a bit more...

The Managed Recoil rounds are overlooked IMO...of course here in KY we can hunt deer, elk (if lucky enough to draw a tag), and bear...with everything but deer having a .270 minimum caliber requirement...

I am planning on getting him a Ruger M77II compact in .308 next year and starting him out with more of the MR loads...as he gets larger and can handle more, then full power 150 grain loads, eventually stepping up to the Hornady Light Magnum loads for elk, bear or moose...