Hi 070107,

You didn't explain much about species or terrain....so it leaves alot of gray area. But, Ruger's Ultra Compact comes in Blue or Stainless and with several stock choices. It has a 16 1/4" barrel but gives up very little ballistically because of the short action cartridges. I own and use a .260 Remington and it is a very capable, wonderful, cartridge. (I have also owned .243 and .308 Winchesters among many others.) The .260 makes a reasonable varmint cartridge and an excellent medium game cartridge. It will do nearly anything any of the other chamberings will do that are based on the .308 case. It is accurate, flat shooting, light recoiling, but still has enough bullet weight to make it use on animals larger than deer not a problem.

If you don't like the Ruger Compact (which is nearly perfect for smaller shooters....but works for most adults) there are Remington's Model 7 and 700 ADL, youth models. Additionally I believe Savage and Winchester make youth models.

Good luck with your search!

Dave