On my previous post, I may have come acrossed a little harsh, but I'm hearing a 14yr old kid ask for a small gun, when he probably doesn't need a small one, I've not yet witnessed anyone that age or older, male or female, that honestly could not handle the recoil of a .308win for a box of shells at least, of course with the proper padding in place...

There are wimps and small, thin, frail, what have you people out there that may actually NEED a light recoiling rifle, and then there are people that are convinced that guns kick hard and can't be tamed, so anyone short of a fully grown man in top physical condition shouldn't shoot a "real cartridge"....which obviously isn't true.

I just wanted to point out that there aren't any standard deer hunting rounds out there that can't be handled by a normal 14yr old boy, especially when you consider putting weight in the stock (or recoil reducers) and recoil pads either on the gun or on their person, I've yet to come acrossed a deer rifle cartridge/gun combination that kicked too hard that nothing could be done in a practical manner to reduce the recoil to manageable levels for even the smallest of framed shooters.

If you're young, say 5-12, it's a given that your arms are shorter and you're much lighter and "weaker" than an adult, and will be for some time, but when it comes to the age where you break 5'2-4" and step over 100#, there's no reason to limit yourself to a smaller round based on your age...you might still need a smaller stock so the fit is right, but you can always replace a factory stock, cut it short enough that you can stick a good thick pad on it and have the fit right, drill out and insert a reducer, then when you out grow the stock, put on the $100 replacement factory stock, instead of going out and buying a new rifle for $300+ that fits you and being stuck with the old gun that's just too small.