Youth Benchrest rifle?

B

bluegrassman

Guest
My 10 year old son has been bitten by the accuracy bug and begs to go shooting every weekend. He is shooting 1" groups with an old .223 varmint rifle and ready to move up. I am ready to buy him a real 22 ppc or 6mm ppm target rifle. My 6ppc rifle just is too long to fit him. I am also afraid the 2oz trigger might be too light to start out with.
I have been watching the benchrest classified ad's for several months and have never seen a youth benchrest rifle. Do anyone have any information or suggestions about this?
Is the easiest way to buy an adult gun and have the stock shortened to fit him? I would want to be able to put an adult stock back on in a few years when he grows into it. Does anyone make an adjustable legnth stock?
Should I start him off on a 2 oz trigger and let him fire empty rounds until he is used to it, or start with a higher weight and gradually reduce it? He is used to my varmint rifle that has a 1.5 pound pull.
Any information would be appreciated. Maybe one of you have a nice youth rig sitting in the back of your safe that your son has outgrown that you would sell.
Thanks,
Mike Webb
 
Mke

I doubt there is such an animal as a 'youth Benchrest Rifle".

I have seen several younger shooters in the age range of 10 just shoot a regular Benchrest Rifle. Howard Payne, who is a member at Tomball, lets his 10 year old Grandson shoot one of his regular Benchrest Rifles in our Club Matches.

It is sort of difficult to advise a shooter on this. As you know, in short time your son will be quite big enough to handle a full size Rifle............jackie
 
Youth BR stock

My 12 year old son shoots a Bat DS in a Kelbly's Klub stock. I have found it to be one of the shortest stocks and after cutting off 1" it fits him just fine. My son is on the smaller side for his age. My 18 year old daughter, who has been shooting since she was 15 shoots a Panda in a McMillian stock with nothing done to it, she is 5' 4". Both adapted to the 2oz trigger in no time. Both guns are chambered in 6ppc. Find a deal on a decent rifle, cut off an inch off the stock if it is necessary and let him shoot! You can move the scope back a bunch if need be. Remember to let him have fun, that is why we all started this addictive sport anyways, isn't it? Barrels and bullets are cheap when you think about the quality time that is spent together at the range!
Mike
 
There was a recent thread about using a stock with a short butt, then using aluminum pillars to move the butt plate back as a child grew.

Jewel, anyway, will make a trigger (usually a "Hunter") with a higher weight. I use a 6-ounce trigger in my 1,000 yard light gun. While it can't be screw-adjusted down to 2 ounces, the geometry of the trigger is the same, so changing a spring will get it to the 2-ounce region when desired.

Alternatively, you can instruct the boy not to put his finger in the trigger guard until ready to shoot. I have some peripheral neuropathy, & that's what I have to do. With a boy, though, that might send the wrong message.

I use to teach riflery and archery to kids in this age group. Some were quite safe & even took to accuracy training. Others didn't. I got interested in they why, & wound up reading Piaget. Very interesting. I learned that a child's mind doesn't work like an adults -- not worse, just different. What I took away from Piaget was that many of our "logical" concepts should really be termed "adult"; to a degree, logic is learned. There can be several "logics" and what we, as adults think of as natural or innate just isn't so. Somewhere around the age of 10-12 kids begin to use "adult" logic.

Kind of a side issue, but for any who find their kids aren't quite safe with shooting as a competitive sport (lots of other people, time pressures, rules, etc.), waiting just a year or two might make all the difference.
 
bluegrassman,
you didn't say where you live, but find a match nearby, mention on this forum your going to attend to let Jr see whats happening and how the game works and you'll have more offers to let him use first class equipment than you can believe!!! most all clubs will let you assist a starter or Jr shooter to get them started,,, if you are close to dublin ga on the second weekend of the month I have several different rifles setups including rest and windflags he can use/try in a club match, we have several young shooters including a young lady ( 14-16 YO) that beats all the ol' timers like a rented mule from time to time,,,,,,,,,,

the wind is my friend,,,,,,,,,,,,,

DD
 
My 11 year old (now 13) started with a used 6PPC - never messed with the stock or anything. Grab one, let him try it and make changes if you need to.

Tom
 
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