[Brian Kirkpatrick]

Help me decide on a rifle for my 2 boys. Both left handed (like me)... I know what are the odds? My wife has no idea how much money this saved our household 🤣

I have plenty of donor Rem 700 LH rifles in multiple calibers and action lengths I would part out if needed. Part of me wants to go the remage route with a short barrel and light stock.

The other part of me wants to buy a cheapo Savage Axis II or Ruger American and get it shortened. Shorten the LOP and call it good until they grow out of it. Neither boy is all that affected by recoil but I'm still leaning towards 6mmCM, 6.5CM, 7mm-08, ect.

I am 90% sure I will put a can on it, so I'm thinking pretty short, say 16-18". I have been getting down the rabbit hole of burn rates and barrel length, twist rates, etc and I don't want to make it this difficult. What say you?

PS these kids can shoot at pretty decent distances already so a 200 yard max gun just won't work. It doesn't need to be a PRS rifle, but it needs to hit steel at a ways out.

 

[S Radke]

Ruger American predator .308 20” threaded barrel. Reasonably priced, reasonably accurate, and can ready. Unless they’re small kids, I don’t think you’ll have to shorten it.

-Scott

 

[piscean]

Eithet will work..6.5cm or 7mm-08. My son waa shooting 7mm-08 off hand to 100 yards in 2-3" groups by the time he was 14. He's 15 now and shoots both my browning and savage axis in 30-06 with 150 grns without a hitch. He don't like bench but prefers my bog. For 15 yo he's tall..not big but fit & lanky..6'3-1/2...1/2" taller than his dad. I'm letting him.shoot off hand but not getting desired results. He'll by the time season comes. When he was 10 I got him Ruger american compact in 7mm-08...he didn't liked it. He said it doesn't sit good next to his cheek. So I got him savage axis compact a year later in same..as in 7mm-08. I got regular stock for both rifles from other forum I'm on. He outgrew 'em both but now since I'm a fairly new granpa (my daughter's lil munchkin) and have new recruit to train so they will come handy in bout next 10 yrs..lol.
If your kids are not recoil shy I'll say use one of your aquured rifles and shorten the stock. 7mm-08 will shoot pretty effectively 300-400 yards. We shot 140 grn btsp with big game and hunter...but big game was better. Surprisingly 150 grn eldx shot the best from savage but not ruger. I got some 140 btsp's loaded with imr 4350 and they did nice grouping at 2700 fps. 20" barrel I say is best. But thats just my opinion. Take it with a grain of salt.

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[BarbDeep]

Savage ultralight 110 is not the cheap option, but for growing kiddos its a great option. The stock is adjustable with shims. 6.5 PRC with a brake should be plenty shootable and will be enough gusto for a lot of things.

 

[Brian Kirkpatrick]

I will look at the savage rifles closer again. I didn't see the ultra light in left hand before but I probably missed it. I'm not thrilled on having to run a brake on this rifle. Quick shots on a hunt is hard without ear protection. I'm trying to do things different than when I was a kid.

 

[Hun10-freak]

I just went through the same thing, there are few options for youth LH rifles. I ended up buying a Savage 110 APEX Hunter LH 6.5 CM. It came with a 3x9 x40 Vortex scope. You can buy the same gun in 7mm-08 as well. Make sure you don't buy the Savage AXIS the stock is not adjustable. I bought my son's on Gunbroker and had it shipped to an FFL dealer. In total I paid about 620$ for the rifle, scope, shipping, FFL transfer and background check.

FYI- the barrel on the 6.5 is 24", I was quoted 60$ to cut it and recrown. The 7mm-08 comes with a 20" barrel.

 

[piscean]

I just went through the same thing, there are few options for youth LH rifles. I ended up buying a Savage 110 APEX Hunter LH 6.5 CM. It came with a 3x9 x40 Vortex scope. You can buy the same gun in 7mm-08 as well. Make sure you don't buy the Savage AXIS the stock is not adjustable. I bought my son's on Gunbroker and had it shipped to an FFL dealer. In total I paid about 620$ for the rifle, scope, shipping, FFL transfer and background check.
View attachment 983408
FYI- the barrel on the 6.5 is 24", I was quoted 60$ to cut it and recrown. The 7mm-08 comes with a 20" barrel.

What do you mean in savage axis the stock is not adjustable?? As in full size savage axis or compact. Can you elaborate please? Thanks

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[CodSpeed]

What do you mean in savage axis the stock is not adjustable?? As in full size savage axis or compact. Can you elaborate please? Thanks

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Axis is full size

 

[Pacific Fisher]

7mm/08

 

[piscean]

I bought savage axis in compact 7mm-08 and for $35 got the full size black composite stock as well. Switching is piece of cake...even for a noob like me. Two nuts and done! Maybe I'm not understanding it correctly. My apologies.

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[Hun10-freak]

I was told by Savage, the AXIS stock that comes with the rifle was not adjustable even though it looks like it has a spacer in it. The APEX was and I can confirm the APEX is but I can't confirm the AXIS isn't.

 

[CodSpeed]

I bought savage axis in compact 7mm-08 and for $35 got the full size black composite stock as well. Switching is piece of cake...even for a noob like me. Two nuts and done! Maybe I'm not understanding it correctly. My apologies.

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I missread your post. I didn't realize you could cheaply replace the Axis stock.

 

[piscean]

You are not wrong. The stock I have is 13.5" from center of recoil pad to center of trigger shoe. Youth model measures 12.5
The stock was longer back when axis was cslled edge (14 I believe). 1 or 1-1/4 inch makes that difference. I have long arms at 6'3 frame and I don't feel aekward/wierd that I"m bending arm at unconventional angle.

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[CodSpeed]

From another site: "The Axis has a very high bolt throw and I had issues with the bolt rubbing on my ocular lens housing. It's created a cosmetic issue, but nothing as far as function. The Trigger on the "original axis" is really heavy and not the best trigger. The Accutrigger is much better in my opinion."

This was the problem with my Axis 22-250, such that I had to mount the scope higher than I wanted: instead, I was so unconcerned with flawing a cheap rifle I grinded down (quick and dirty fix) the part of the bolt handle that was hitting the bell.

I highly recommend Savage as the most accurate rifle out of box without mods, but the Apex and the others are a lot better than Axis.

 

[Brian Kirkpatrick]

I guess I never considered just swapping stocks around. I'm sure they could be found cheap. I haven't found any aftermarket LH stocks for the axis or axis II. I definitely prefer the axis II because of the trigger.

 

[Brian Kirkpatrick]

What does everyone think about going extra short on the barrel? I would like to end up at 22" with a suppressor.

 

[Sneaker]

How does a suppressor affect velocity? Cutting a barrel will reduce velocity, yes? Can adding a suppressor get it back?

 

[Brian Kirkpatrick]

I think the general consensus is that it will add a couple FPS. Nothing worth noting

 

[JerryM]

I got a Ruger American Youth Model 7-08 for my tiny daughter when she was a kid. She killed several deer with it. Her mom killed several with it and so have I. It’s light enough for them to lift and aim off hand. Short enough for her to carry and low enough recoil not to make them jump. Solid out to 300 yards on a deer.

 

[Afb]

Adding suppressor will not increase velocity, but should increase accuracy.