I'm planning on taking my nephew hunting next year in his home state of GA. To get him started, I'm getting him a 10/22 for Christmas, a gift certificate to an indoor range and some safety classes for him and my brother in law (not gun experienced). I've started to do some research on deer hunting in GA and there doesn't appear to be any shotgun only areas, so rifles are an option. With that in mind, what would you get as a first hunting rifle for a 9/10 year old.
I was thinking a Remington Youth 20 Slug/Bird combo. I've never fired a 20 slug, but I'm assuming a 10 year old would be fine with enough practice. I figured a combo so we could leverage the gun to go goose hunting in the future. Personally, I started off with a 12 guage combo, but our area was shotgun only and I was a few year older.
Since my nephew won't be constrained to shotguns, should I look at rifles? Any suggestions for a kid friendly rifle caliber? I was thinking 30/30 or maybe .243? It should be enough gun for deer in GA and both are lighter kicking (although I've never fired either caliber).
Any thoughts or considerations would be welcomed.
I was thinking a Remington Youth 20 Slug/Bird combo. I've never fired a 20 slug, but I'm assuming a 10 year old would be fine with enough practice. I figured a combo so we could leverage the gun to go goose hunting in the future. Personally, I started off with a 12 guage combo, but our area was shotgun only and I was a few year older.
Since my nephew won't be constrained to shotguns, should I look at rifles? Any suggestions for a kid friendly rifle caliber? I was thinking 30/30 or maybe .243? It should be enough gun for deer in GA and both are lighter kicking (although I've never fired either caliber).
Any thoughts or considerations would be welcomed.