I think .257 Roberts, .243 or 7mm-08 would all work good.

BEST GUN... keeping in mind the proper caliber, you have seen several suggestions, IMO the best gun is the H&R/NEF single shot. ONE bullet to keep track of, not a lever or even a clip to confuse. This is a young person, In my opinion, the simpler the better. Both my grandson's use the youth version. Both guns have recoil pads and mild calibers, one is a 30-30 the other a .243. Both are scoped and short (handy in a box blind).

Thanks for all the great advise. We're going out this weekend and shoot the .243 to see how it fits. I'm taking along a 30-30 as well.

He currently handles his .410 well and neither of those recoil much harder. Might give those new bullets a try that are loaded for reduced recoil. I heard they are making a version for the 243 that'll reduce the recoil by up to 40%.

I agree, etw. NEF/H&R would make a great kid rifle- not too bad for grown-ups, either. I plan to hand my H&R down to my sons when they get old enough to hunt. Then I have a built in excuse to buy a new one! Now if we can just talk NEF into making a .257 Roberts barrell. Should we start a campign letter?