Next Kids Rifle

[Jeeper]

My 8.5 year old son has a 10/22 and he is pretty good with it. He is not a big kid for his age.

I want to take my son prairie doggin this summer and think he needs a little more juice to reach out and tag the little critters. So I am not sure what I should buy. I have a few thoughts. The first would be to go with a TC Contender single shot in 223. I have a ton of TC's and love them. This would allow bigger calibers once he gets older. The next thought is just a 223 or 204 in a youth rifle. I also thought about a 22 hornet rifle. Any ideas on this?

 

[TurtlePhish]

.17HMR is awesome out to around 200 or 250 yards. Wind drift is a big problem, but, absent of wind, it's insanely accurate. There's NO recoil- you can watch your shot connect through the scope. The varmint express loads also pretty much explode on contact with the target.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Why something classic like a remington number 6 or a savage/stevens falling block .22