I borrowed a Ruger Hawkeye Compact .223 froma friend and let my 7 year old son shoot it some this week. He sat with it in the stand with me on Friday. I didn't take a gun, I held the rifle and if we saw a deer I was gonna help him shoot it. All that being said, my son is stoked and wants to hunt some more like that next season. I want to buy him his first hunting rifle.

Now I feel it may be a little soon, but I'm not planning on him hunting with a rifle by himself for several years. I'm gonna sit with him and hold the gun until we see a deer, and I may let him hold it more and more until he can hunt on his own. I want a bolt action rifle that he can shoulder, one that doesn't kick bad and lead to flinching, and one that will dispatch a deer humanely. Though my friend that I borrowed the .223 from says it is enough, and his son has taken several deer with it, he has shot one or tow that got away. I know deer getting away can happen with any caliber, and shot placement is key (read, heard, and lived it more time than I can recall) but a .223 is just a little too small in my book, and illegal to use in some states.

I'm leaning towards a .257 Roberts or a .250 Savage in a small, compact bolt action. I aready have a .243 in a gun that he can't shoot until he is much older and I ain't into buying multiple guns of the same caliber (it is just a thing I have). I own .243, 6.5x55, .270, and 7mm-08. I may get a Ruger or Savage and cut the stock. Is the Ultralight a bad idea? They don't make it anymore. Any other worthy brands? The .250 Savage is hard to find ammo for. Why is it so hard to find the length of pull for a rifle? Just list the barrel length and length of pull and leave the total length out. JMO.