Youth PRS rifle

[rookie7]

My daughter is 10, and I would like to take her to a few matches in 2018 - preferably winter and spring.

She is an average size to small girl. Shoots her 22 bolt really well, and also killed her first deer last year with a RARR in 300 blk.

I’m asking for your opinions on a starter rifle to see if there is something I missed. She isn’t going to be able to handle a 15 lb rifle. I saw a Christensen Arms rifle at Cabela’s that had a carbon barrel. It was in 22-250 though. Also, it was $1800.

I dont have that to spend on her rifle. Even if I did I wouldn’t see it as prudent to spend that kind of money on something she might not enjoy - although I think she will.

If she absolutely loves it then I will come up with the funds to get her an appropriate rifle.

Good news is I have glass. She doesn’t like recoil so it would have to be 6mm or less.

Thank you in advance for your input.

 

[steve123]

A CZ 527 in 6.5G with a muzzle brake.

 

[fdkay]

You don't say how much your willing to spend.
You can buy a Howa mini action in 6.5 grendel and drop it into a decent stock. They do have a suitable heavy barrel version that is still much lighter than a full size rifle.
I don't see you getting her into this for much under 1200 bones.
If she was able to shoot a .308, you can her her started for 600-700.
If you go with a niche cartridge like the grendel, you are limited in choices if you want to rebarrel.
If you go with something like a Ruger precision rifle in either 6 or 6.5mm you are way ahead.
The price is going to over a grand, but in the event she doesn't like it, it will be very easy to sell.
I wouldn't recommend a .223 as those small bullets really get blown around and frustration will cause dislike.
A 6,, shooting 107-115 or a 6.5 with 123 through a braked rifle like the Ruger will be pleasant to shoot and very competitive.

 

[MakeSawdust]

I have been thinking about the same thing, but my girls have several years before they are as old as your daughter. I don't have great advice as far as rifles go, but I know my buddy's .308 with kahntrol break shooting 200 eld-x has less felt recoil than my .243 aI shooting 115 dtacs without a break. I would suspect a 6 or 6.5 with a break shoots with very mild recoil and will allow her to shoot a typical PRS caliber with minimal wind drift rather than trying to shoot a .223 or something smaller and dealing with the significantly greater wind drift.

I remember reading an article that Frank wrote a couple months ago about shooting a match with a girl close to your daughter's age. She was shooting a 6.5 Creedmoor and doing very well with it.

 

[MATADOR]

Find a rem 700 action (308 bolt face), pull the barrel and install a 18" Criterion .243 Win barrel in med contour. Drop it in a Grayboe stock and done, semi-custom that will outshoot most of us. This could prolly be done for less than a grand and you'll have a better rifle than what that money would get from a factory rifle.

 

[Geno C.]

Physical strength and size will possibly cause frustration. Unless a match is almost all prone, she has a decent chance of stuggling with some stages no matter what rifle you get her. My oldest is 10. Girls and boys at this age are actually fairly close in strength it they're the same size. I've taken him shooting with me since he was 4 and he shot his first match at 8. The matches he's been too have be almost 100% prone. The couple of matches I go to that are PRS style have a couple stages in them that he just wouldn't physically be able to do; either too tall or required too much strength to support the rifle. I built him a 22-250ai on a model 70 action with light palma fluted barrel in a McMillan a5 stock with adjustable lop and cheek. He shoots it very well and is about as ready as any 10yo that I've seen when it comes to shooting. That said I feel a PRS would just frustrate him until he is just a year or 2 bigger. When i rebarrel his rifle this winter, since he's shot his out, we'll be stepped up to a 6BRX. Much better ballistics, young shooters need all the help they can get to keep them interested!

 

[coach4christ]

I like the Grendel idea. Being the average prs shot is around 600 yards, the Grendel would do fine.

 

[missed]

I went 223 on my daughter's rifle,( she is turning 10 in February) Tikka T3x, I had originally thought about a 6x47l and run a lighter bullet and load since I shoot the 6x47L. But for a kiddo, factory Hornady 73g ELD is cheap, the rifle is still light (I think #12) with a Burris XTR2 and a Boyd's AT1 stock. I just need to build a mini chassis for the stock or get a CDI bottom metal.

 

[delfuego]

6BR!!!!
This caliber is very competitive, easy to load for and will make it more fun without beating her up.
Make sure you get a very small stock that fits her, you may need to get this custom-made. Tom Manners made a special stock for the daughter of a friend that competes in PRS.

 

[missed]

Yeah the 6BR would be a good choice. The Boyd's AT1 goes as short as 12.5" LOP which is slightly long for her right now, but it will be perfect after the next growth spurt. It's adjustable LOP so as they grow.

 

[Sendit6.5]

Is there a youth division at PRS shoots?

What about a 6mm Creedmoor with a good brake? Ruger makes their RPR in 6cm. It would be an easy rifle to sell and hold its value pretty well. To me, those would be big concerns. It might be a little heavy but you could always help her some and she'll certainly grow into it. It would help reduce recoil which, imo, is far more important that having to struggle a little with the weight.


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[myronman3]

223 ruger precision.

 

[rookie7]

I really appreciate everyone's input on this. I have my own ideas, but I wanted to see if there was something I was missing.

I am thinking the best financial and long-term solution is to buy a new barrel for my SPS tactical, unless she can handle the weight as is. It's a 1/9 twist 223 that shoots 69 gr TMK very well.

I had thought about something really inexpensive like a Ruger American Predator in 6 cm or 243 since she already hunts with the Ruger American Ranch rifle, and she is very familiar with the controls.

However, they have crappy 4 round mags that may or may not function well in a match. That would also mean a minimum of 3 mags, and re-loading mags 2 times on each stage. Not good for a beginner I think.

I don't want to drop $200 in a DBM for a Ruger, b/c my ultimate goal would be to go with a Remington 700 footprint for her since there are so many choices of gear.

Right now the SPS Tac sits in a Magpul stock with Timney trigger - not extremely light, but not too heavy either.

Just need to decide on what configuration for a barrel to order for it: contour? Length? I'm thinking 24" to get the most velocity. 1/8 twist or 1/7 twist? I'd like to shoot the Hornady 75 ELDM or the Nosler 70 gr RDF out of it.

If she does like it and does well, I have another 700 in .260 that I could re-barrel to a 6mm like most of you suggested.

She doesn't like recoil, and I don't want to create any bad habits with her. Last year when she shot the deer with the 300 blackout she didn't notice recoil or noise. It was cold, so she had on a lot of clothing.

Last weekend we were practicing with her rifle, and she only had on a t-shirt. She didn't like the recoil of the 300 blackout in that lightweight rifle at all. She still hit a 1.5" square at 100 twice with the rifle. I am proud of her. However, 18.7 gr of H110 and a 125gr Hornady SST is too much recoil for her right now.

Another reality is I may have to wait a few more years, and if that is in her best interest I will. If you are a parent, then you already know if there is something you and your child can do together that you both enjoy - run with it! No matter what!

Thank you again.

 

[260284]

One of my sons bought a RAP in 6.5 Creed and has a MAGPUL Hunter on order for it from Optics Planet for $285. They make the RAP in 6 Creed also.

 

[spife7980]

I am thinking the best financial and long-term solution is to buy a new barrel for my SPS tactical, unless she can handle the weight as is. It's a 1/9 twist 223 that shoots 69 gr TMK very well.
Right now the SPS Tac sits in a Magpul stock with Timney trigger - not extremely light, but not too heavy either.
Just need to decide on what configuration for a barrel to order for it: contour? Length? I'm thinking 24" to get the most velocity. 1/8 twist or 1/7 twist? I'd like to shoot the Hornady 75 ELDM or the Nosler 70 gr RDF out of it.

First I would let her see if she can handle the weight as is. Thats obvious, she might love it with zero additional expense.

Until we know that I would speculate that a heavy sporter or a light palma at max for a small girl. If you reload you could go 223ai to get a bit more performance out of that bolt face. Both bullets you mention will do fine out of an 8 twist but a 7 wont hurt. You should still be able to shoot lighter stuff like a 53 grain out of a 7 in case you ever decided to in addition to the real heavy bullets. I would go 8 if you cant find a 7 in stock and you would have to place a custom order or something, it just wouldnt be worth the squeeze to me. IF shell be doing any prs non prone then I would skip a 24", thats a lot of weight on her cantilever arms. 18-20 would be a better fit and make it noticeably easier for her to handle. If she wont be having to hold it then stretch that barrel out.

Really most of this depends on what exactly shes going to be wanting to do. And if it will actually be a couple years before she really gets into it I would build it a little larger and on a 6br, build it so she doesnt grow out of it too fast. She could putz around with your current 223 as is for in the mean time.

 

[silentnswift]

In a similar situation currently. Took my 12 year old daughter to a match last Saturday. Let her shoot a kyl rack after the match, and another competitor let her shoot his 6br. She is hooked and asked to sell her dirt bike to fund a rifle and go shoot with me. I was planning to get her a .223, .243 or 6mm creedmoor. Only issue is she is left handed. Short of spending $1800 on a savage 110 elite, that i think will be too heavy for her, I cannot find anything left handed. She shot a few of my rifles last night right handed and is trying to convince me that she would be able to shoot right handed at a match. I think that under pressure she will get all messed up trying to do so. Any thoughts? Or suggestions on rifle?

 

[spife7980]

In a similar situation currently. Took my 12 year old daughter to a match last Saturday. Let her shoot a kyl rack after the match, and another competitor let her shoot his 6br. She is hooked and asked to sell her dirt bike to fund a rifle and go shoot with me. I was planning to get her a .223, .243 or 6mm creedmoor. Only issue is she is left handed. Short of spending $1800 on a savage 110 elite, that i think will be too heavy for her, I cannot find anything left handed. She shot a few of my rifles last night right handed and is trying to convince me that she would be able to shoot right handed at a match. I think that under pressure she will get all messed up trying to do so. Any thoughts? Or suggestions on rifle?

If she wants to shoot matches then I would go with the 6 creed, getting whooped due to inadequate match ammo (assuming you dont reload) in the others isnt going to be fun for her for long, even if she is in the junior class and shouldnt be comparing herself to old men who have been doing it 5x longer than shes been alive. That said, I got my ass absolutely whooped by a 16 year old girl this weekend so its defeinitely not untenable.

As far as left handedness in a rifle goes. I would get any left handed action/rifle thats not a savage and just change the barrel on it. Especially if you were going to drop 1800 for a savage...

 

[BillyNg]

When my son was 11 we built his long-range/PRS gun. I bought a heavy-barrel Howa 1500 in .223 and put it in a KRG Bravo. Threw a Magpul bipod on it, Vortex rings, scope, and bubble level, and a couple of MDT .223 mags. All in we had the whole thing built for under $1500 and that included things you don't need, so you should be able to keep a similar build to under a grand.

He's 12 now and getting much stronger, so the weight is no longer an issue for him, but I'd go with a barrel with a hunting profile for now to keep the weight down.

 

[silentnswift]

That was my thinking. Just struggling to find a left handed rifle or action without getting into a full build.

 

[308Gunner]

Damn this thread was started in Oct. 2017

 

[silentnswift]

Used the search instead of starting a new thread.

 

[Sheldon N]

In a similar situation currently. Took my 12 year old daughter to a match last Saturday. Let her shoot a kyl rack after the match, and another competitor let her shoot his 6br. She is hooked and asked to sell her dirt bike to fund a rifle and go shoot with me. I was planning to get her a .223, .243 or 6mm creedmoor. Only issue is she is left handed. Short of spending $1800 on a savage 110 elite, that i think will be too heavy for her, I cannot find anything left handed. She shot a few of my rifles last night right handed and is trying to convince me that she would be able to shoot right handed at a match. I think that under pressure she will get all messed up trying to do so. Any thoughts? Or suggestions on rifle?

I started bringing my 14 year old daughter to matches with me this year and she's done 6 or 7 of them so far. It's been an awesome experience and a great father/daughter interaction. Here's my 0.02 on how I'd suggest approaching it.

Before you take her to shoot a match, bring her to the range to practice some PRS style shooting. Can she transition the rifle + shooting bag from position to position safely, with bolt open and not flagging anyone? Can she find the target in the scope all on her own while standing/kneeling barricade or prone? Going to the range is a fun activity to practice together, and once she can do the basics that will make her first match a lot more fun since she'll be able to get more rounds off.

My daughter started out practicing with me on range days just for fun, got the knack for it, and we transitioned to shooting matches organically without that ever being the goal. It's always been... do you want to come shoot with me? That makes it low pressure and more about time together.

As far as a gun, I guess I was fortunate that my daughter was tall/strong enough to handle one of my existing 223 trainer rifles (Bighorn/Foundation stock with lighter contour barrel and no weight kit, still 17lb). For matches I've had her shoot either 6BRA or 6 Dasher barrels since I've got those on hand already. We've also shot just using the 223 trainer, sharing the same gun at the match and that worked well, just arranged the shooting order so we weren't going back-to-back.

Not sure what equipment you have, but I think rather than buying her a rifle to start what about taking a 223 and sharing it for the first couple matches? Maybe put whatever you have in a lightweight chassis like an XLR or similar? Use whatever you've got and you could do a few range days to make sure she's got the basics down.

Tons of great life lessons in shooting matches together with my daughter. Learning how to deal with the pressure of feeling like others are watching/judging you. Learning how to pick yourself up and not let a bad stage (or bad experience) define how you move on to the next one. Keeping perspective about what's important in life. Long drives there and back to matches with plenty of time to talk about faith, family and how we can be better in everything we do. And those are just the pep talks that she gives to me.....

 

[silentnswift]

I agree with everything said. My daughters “all three of them” have been hunting and shooting with me since they were big enough to do so safely. My middle daughter has taken more interest in rifles than the oldest who would rather wing shoot. I would love to share a rifle with her, but seeing as how she is left eye dominate I think it will cause issues and discomfort either trying to shoot right handed or shooting a right handed rifle with her left hand. I am not planning to rush into buying a rifle for her, or me choosing her a rifle. I want something that she is comfortable with and able to handle. She has gotten away with deer hunting using a right handed bergara b14 chambered in .243. I was going to stick it into a mdt chassis but still think the fact that she is left handed, shooting a right handed rifle will cause some issues.

 

[BLJ]

Probably not popular but what about a left hand RAP in 6.5 Creed? I know there not the greatest, but they generally shoot very well for the money. I have a right handed version that I made a cheek riser and a vertical grip for. Filled the forearm full of lead wire and JB Weld and the butt stock has bolts in it. Stock weighs about 5 pounds and fits me very well. Just shy of 13 pounds for rifle, scope, and 5 round AICS mag. And I'm only about $20 into a $40 stock to begin with. It's definetly no show piece, but it is cheap and functional. Daddy/daughter projects are always fun, too.
I know that the left hand RAP's don't come with the option of the AICS mags but I have read that you can convert the newer ones by contacting Ruger and getting the bottom pieces.
Hope this helps get you guys going.

 

[Midpack]

I'm not sure about where you're at but around here (upper Midwest) the best options for lefties like myself are Tikka or begara if you don't go custom. That said if you are at 1800 for a Savage there are better options at that price point. Is recommend looking in the px at the left handed section as well. There can be some pretty good deals on there.

 

[silentnswift]

Yeah I’m not going to spend $1800 on a savage. That’s just all I can find close to me at the moment, central KY area.

 

[leclairk]

I agree with above. Tikka and don’t look back. You would be limited to 6.5CM or .223 most likely but fantastic rifles and tons of available options to add. You could go T3X lite and leave it as is or put it in a KRG Bravo stock for the adjustability. For more money a Tac A1 would be great. So many options to choose from. I’m in the same boat. I’ve got a 10 year old that shoots lefty. He’s been using my .223 AR but I want to move him to a bolt action. I will go 6.5CM partly because I already load for that. With a brake he will be good to go.