I'd get him a bolt action .243 Win. I'd save and get him one that he'll be proud of to own for the rest of his life. If you buy a youth model, you can always get him a longer LOP stock as he grows.

I don't know what the aversion to allowing a kid to use a repeater, since you are in charge of the ammo and can easily give him just one round at a time until you're comfortable with his gun handling. Though, you should be comfortable with his gun handling before you hand him any live ammo at all, single shot or not, IMO.

Mike

25-06 is a good gun.........Its a little bigger then a .243, doesn't kick, and is good for WI deer.

T7 pellets can be loaded any way down your barrel ..

PYRODEX pellets are shiny on one side only and the shiny side goes down the barrel towards your primer ..

i would go with a .243. its the perfect caliber for a younger kid thats starting to hunt

Great Chart Centaur! I have a little different opinion. First, I think leave the slug guns out, neither a 12 or 20 shooting slugs out is going to be a good gun that early on, well, at least I think there are some better ones. The .243 is a good gun, personally, Ive never shot one. I had a .223 growing up and loved it for plinking and coyotes. When I was 11 I was given a 30-30 lever action to use and loved it. I was hunting in Michigan with that and thought it was a perfect gun. I was given that to use or a .270. I thought both were great but the .270 was a little big (stock wise) for me at the time. Personally, I thought both were good guns. Sure they had some kick to them but I was never shooting more than 8 shots in a sit with them. If you sight them in and let him take some shots, if he's hitting the vitals on a target at 100 yards, he should be good.

The .243 is a good gun and in no way am I putting it down, its a good gun for deer. I just think that more stopping power is good and a .270 is pretty good at that. Ive seen some big body deer in Wisconsin that Im glad Ive had my .270 in a case or two. You'd be surprised what a youngster can handle when they have buck fever!

My first rifle was a 30-30 Marlin which I still have and have had sinnce I was 11. I was a little heavier but not much. I remember how much I loved it when daddy handed it to me. Thats a rifle you never grow out of either. I still hunt it today and love it just as much so I have to recommend it for any young man starring out. Cheap and cheap to shoot, safe to shoot and handle, tame recoil, nice and short and well balanced in young hands, he could learn open sights and scope shooting. 243 would be my second choice in a rem mod 7 but he would probably grow out of that and its more expensive.

Last year I bought my wife a Model 7 Remington youth in .243. It even has a recoil pad. It is a perfect gun for a woman or kid. I even switched to a .243 cal last year after shooting a .270 for thirty years.

Thanks for all the help guys. Now to find an affordable, maybe used 243 or 7-08

JMHO ,The .243 is a fine round,But I am sure everbody has heard the horror stories about losing deer and or thought that they missed or should I say "Well I know I hit it but I can't find it anywhere"While being a fine round it does require good shot placement as do all rifles.Your son being young you might be better off with a 7-08,.260 or maybe a 25-06 The recoil with these rounds should not be much different than the .243.While I am not condoning bad shooting .It may be the difference in getting or losing his game with a little more forgiving round.