My son's first deer rifle

[MBtech]

MB. Not to start a controversy, any reason that you did not go with 308? My little baby boy (10 year old) hunts with AAC-SD.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm just wanting to start him out with lighter recoil, build him up to the larger calibers. I want him to build confidence with that slow squeeze and suprise not be anticipating the bang and develop the "blink/squint/flinch/yank trigger" kids can very easily start out doing, just develops bad habbits from the start in my opinion.

[Watrdawg]

Butler Creek Comfort Stretch slings are really nice, inexpensive slings. They are very quiet, padded and the neoprene really stays put on your shoulder. I've got them on all of my hunting rifles.

[MBtech]

Butler Creek Comfort Stretch slings are really nice, inexpensive slings. They are very quiet, padded and the neoprene really stays put on your shoulder. I've got them on all of my hunting rifles.

Thanks, I'll look into those. Taking a kid hunting I'll take all the quiet I can get I had some shoulder straps on one of my Summit climbers that creaked and squeaked, drove me nuts! They did not stay long.

[MBtech]

Tikka T3 Compact .243 is on order it does come with rings so I can cross those off the list.

[MBtech]

The rifle should be in Wed or Thurs. I'm up in the air about the scope. Pretty sure I'm going with a Leupold Rifleman, 2-7x33 or 3-9x40. After getting to handle the rifle I realized how nice and compact it is and a 2-7 makes good sense especially for keeping it light and compact for a youth shooter/hunter. I've not used anything smaller than a 40mm objective on any of my hunting guns.

My question to those of you that have 2-7x33 experience and 40mm. How much to be concerned with the objective difference for available light in dusk/dawn situations if any, and field of view comparing the two?

I'm sure for the average distances he'll be shooting/hunting 2-7 would be plenty of magnification.

[bjxds]

The rifle should be in Wed or Thurs. I'm up in the air about the scope. Pretty sure I'm going with a Leupold Rifleman, 2-7x33 or 3-9x40. After getting to handle the rifle I realized how nice and compact it is and a 2-7 makes good sense especially for keeping it light and compact for a youth shooter/hunter. I've not used anything smaller than a 40mm objective on any of my hunting guns.

My question to those of you that have 2-7x33 experience and 40mm. How much to be concerned with the objective difference for available light in dusk/dawn situations if any, and field of view comparing the two?

I'm sure for the average distances he'll be shooting/hunting 2-7 would be plenty of magnification.

The light and compact advantage of the 2-7x33 may outweigh any advantage the 3-9x40 would provide for your configuration. I replaced a compact 30mm with a 3-9x40 on a .22 plinker/squirrel gun simply because I have been use to looking through 3-9x40's for so long anything else just didn't feel right. I also keep my scopes on the lowest setting because I just don't need more where I hunt.

Given equal glass the larger scope will always be brighter and have a larger field of view than the smaller one, but he has no basis of comparison at 10 years old.

IMHO I don't think the 2-7x33 would be a disadvantage for your son at this age, but I think it's a preference thing.

[MBtech]

I think I will go ahead and go with a 2-7x33 scope for him and keep it nice and compact and save the few extra ounces that would be added from larger scope. SWFA so far has the best price on the Leupold Rifleman at $184 that I have found.

http://swfa.com/Leupold-2-7x33-Rifle...ope-P1996.aspx

[brickboy240]

My uncle has that same scope on a Sako 75 in 7x57mm. It is a nice short to medium range scope that is much more compact than the 3x9x40 sized scopes.

I almost put one on my Savage 99 Featherweight 243 but got a screaming deal from Optics Planet on a Nikon 3x9x40 and went that route.

That Sako 75 in 7x57mm is really a nice light little rig - I am jealous that my cousin will be inheriting that little gem...not me! LOL

[MBtech]

I think it should turn out to be a really nice setup.

I will be picking up the Tikka this evening after work

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oY2PdtIsnqc

[MBtech]

I brought the rifle home this evening. What a slick little gun, the action on this thing is smooth as glass, and the trigger feels great. I can't wait to see how it shoots.


Tikka T3 Lite Compact in 243. Rings, sling swivels included along with a length of pull stock spacer to add as he grows.

Attachment 32412Attachment 32413


The only thing I've found that concerns me is how the safety is sitting, not sure if this is a big deal, normal, or just maybe a little tweak is needed. The safety seems to be a little crooked and is contacting and leaving a mark on the rear of the bolt. I didn't notice it while purchasing, it operates fine but that is bugging me. Any Tikka owners seen this?

Attachment 32414Attachment 32415