Any of you MEN buy a youth rifle for yourself?

JCooperfan1911 said:

I’ve been known to sneak off with a Remington Nylon 66 every now and again.

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I bought my daughter one of those 20 years ago but she never lets me play with it.

beagler said:

My son wants a Stevens 301 compact for Xmas. If Santa brings it, I’ll probably end up loving it too. Single shot 20 ga is a perfect meat gun. Squirrels beware.. lol

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I was working in VT this past summer/fall and picked up one of these for squirrel season, sold it before I came home but wish I had kept it.
It worked perfecty for my needs. Not many single shots I’ve come across have screw in chokes.they use the mossberg 500 pattern chokes, mine came with a modified choke and I ordered a full from midway for about $18.
Here’s hoping Santa brings one for your boy.

I have a Rogue Barracuda 17 HMR heavy barrel that is really handy. Lays on the dash when moving thru prairie dog fields.
It is scoped with a 4X Leopold but you just don't notice the short LOP. I've loaned it out a couple of times to neighbors for ground hogs and they don't want to bring it back. Looks like Keystone bought Rogue and I don't see a 17 HMR available now.
https://www.keystonesportingarmsllc.com/product/chipmunk-barracuda-style/

Barbaroja said:

I was working in VT this past summer/fall and picked up one of these for squirrel season, sold it before I came home but wish I had kept it.
It worked perfecty for my needs. Not many single shots I’ve come across have screw in chokes.they use the mossberg 500 pattern chokes, mine came with a modified choke and I ordered a full from midway for about $18.
Here’s hoping Santa brings one for your boy.

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I don't know if they bought the tooling or just reversed engineered them but those savages look like an exact copy of the H&R but with a safety added. I have been wondering if the barrels interchange.

Legionnaire said:

Rifle? No. But I have a 20 gauge Mossberg 500 Bantam (youth model) for home defense. It’s a handy little bugger.

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I bought a Mossberg 500 field model .410 and put a synthetic youth stock and an 18" barrel on it for exactly that same purpose.

I also have a youth-stocked Ruger 10/22 and a CZ 452 Scout that are mainly for when my girlfriend comes to the range with me, but I'm not above shooting them myself.

1911JAS said:

I have a marlin 336Y, my favorite brush gun.

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I want one as a SxS scabbard rifle .

I bought a Henry youth lever .22 as a gift for my son… now I want one for me.

Stay safe.

I bought my daughter a M1969 Romanian .22 trainer, the stock was short enough that it fit her perfectly. She didn't like loading the 5 round mags & wanted a semi-auto, so after buying her a semi-auto I got the trainer. It's a great shooting gun, perfect for squirrel hunting.

I like a shorter length of pull in my rifles than what is considered common for adults. Average here is about 14". So I either like youth rifles, adjustable stocks, or something I can easily cut myself. Last "youth" rifle I got was a Savage Axis that I traded not long after.

I found a screaming deal on a Mossberg 590 with a "youth" buttstock. As far as I can tell the short stock was the only thing about it different from the standard model, and even after buying a replacement stock for it I was still well ahead.

I've bought a couple just because I wanted a shorter barrel for a more compact rifle. I replaced the stock for a full size one in some cases, left it as-is in other cases.

One of my favorites is a Remington 870 youth 20 ga shotgun with a short 21" barrel. It is my turkey gun. It is light as a feather, short, compact and the stock on this one is close enough as-is. It took some experimenting, but with shells it likes and an extra full choke tube it shoots patterns tight enough for 40 yard kills. And where I hunt that would be a long shot.

If I remember correctly the M1 Garand had a 13" LOP. That is perfect for me. If I had known when I bought my CZ 527 carbine that the youth version had a 13" LOP,I would have bought that model instead. Bench rifles LOP is another story.

My biggest problem is I need a 14.25 lop so youth models just don’t fit me even with a slipcover recoil pad. The only rifles that actually fit me are European made. When I buy US made I use a slip over recoil pad just to add length.

dranrab said:

Did we establish how the subject gun is dimensionally different from the adult model? I absolutely cannot get cozy behind a rifle with a short LOP. Some folks don't mind. That may be the only difference.

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Depends on gun type, grip angle, clothing thickness, stance, and personal preference.

Shooting a pistol gripped rifle in a squared off stance and a shorter LOP seems okay. Shooting a straighter wrist rifle in a bladed stance with a chicken wing straight out, and a longer LOP seems okay.

When it comes to lever guns, a shorter LOP helps to assure I don't short stroke the lever going forward no matter the stance.

But that's just me.

Nice sights!

anothernewb said:

Bought the ruger american rimfire compact #8328 awhile back. one of my favorites to shoot.
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The shorter LOP is different, but I just adjust and make do. After all, I'm just plinking with my Scout, not trophy hinting or competitively shooting in a long distance bench rest competition.

cpoakes said:

I am repeadtedly tempted by the CZ-452 Scout - short barrel, iron sights, quality build - but the 12 1/2 LOP stops me.

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9x56MS said:

No but only because the stocks on most factory rifles are too short for me let alone a youth model.

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9x56MS said:

My biggest problem is I need a 14.25 lop so youth models just don’t fit me even with a slipcover recoil pad

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Know a few who favor youth rifles in medium calibers for their light game guns. A cheap way to short, handy, and light. Some were more easy to come by with optic mounting back when that was not a default feature.

I know a lot, and I am one, who used to default to youth stocks on things like shotguns. They come from the factory WAY too long for combat style gunning, so you can cut and fit, or just buy a short stock. Lately some adjustables, some short LOP stocks for adults which are nice, but it was traditionally easier to live with small grip radius than adjust for wrong LOP so it was/is a bit of a thing.


This all presumably baffles their marketing departments who assume youth rifles are sold for kids. Much like how the LadySmith series of autos at least, in the 90s, was very popular with concealed carry men, as they were slicker, lighter, etc. S&W never offered the same profiles in Manly Colors and apparently never understood that

Ive bought 5 older .22lr rifles in the past week and a half. Kinda hard to say no to a rifle thats $150

In December 2017 I picked up a Savage Rascal on sale that also included a $50. rebate from Savage. Couldn't resist and got it for the two step grand daughters to use, until I discovered how much fun it is for adults, too. It's light, accurate, and doesn't kick; what's not to like? ( LOL). Summer of 2020 it even got a scope rail and an inexpensive NcStar 4x compact scope in Vortex rings. This year it went back to the excellent iron sights it came with which includes a nice rear aperture (peep) sight. The Rascals are nice little guns, IMHO, and great learning tools for kids, they even come with the excellent Accutrigger, and most adults can't resist trying it out and they always come away smiling. .. .. .. The younger one has never fired a gun yet but this coming spring she's gonna get her first lessons on the iron sighted Rascal, and I'll have just as much fun as she will. It's like going through your second childhood.

Not a rifle, so maybe off topic. I bought a Mossberg youth shotgun in 20 gauge for my grandson that fits me perfectly and comes up on point.

I'm not a big shotgun shooter - I'll bust some clays once every other year or so - but when I do it's with a Stevens youth O/U in 20ga. Fits me perfectly at 5'7" and I love it.

I like shouldering a lot of the old world-war rifles for the same reason. The furniture was cut for a little smaller people.

Hokkmike said:

Found a CZ Model 457 laminate Scout rifle in .22 rimfire at Sportsman's Warehouse near Harrisburg, PA for $549.99. Salesman said they have "tons of them".

What a solid little all weather rifle. You could feel the quality.

I was very tempted to get one for myself.

Any of you men ever buy a youth model for your own use?

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I prefer many of the youth/compact size rifles. My 243 Ruger American was a youth/compact model and felt great!

I bought a near mint 1954 Marlin 100 yesterday for my Christmas present to me! Even came with a Lyman 55 RWS receiver sight too.
Santa came early, but I’ll wait until Christmas Day to shoot it if that’s OK?

I have this Henry large loop .22LR that could be considered a youth rifle. It's a great shooter and keeps me young if that counts.

I’m trying to buy a youth gun now. Can’t find what I want though. Youth model 223 bolt action. Looking mainly at Savage but I’m open on the budget rifles.