Deer rifle/AR platform for kids

First recommendation is buy the uppers seperate from the lowers. You can get uppers shipped straight to your door, and due to rules you pay 10% more for a complete rifle than you do buying the same upper and lower in 2 pieces. Buy the lowers locally to save bullshite and then you can get the upper shipped to your house.

Far as BCA goes, no experience but im sure they'll shoot plenty good enough. Midway has Faxon uppers for ~ $550, they supposedly make good barrels.

Do you already have an AR? You could rebarrel it to 6.5 grendel, that would be by far the cheapest thing.

My sons 7 and 12 both shoot a 300BLK with a 12.5" barrel. Bucks and 100+ yard shots using Barnes TAC-TX 110 Gr. and Does 100yrds or less with Barnes Suppressor Series 205Gr. Never had a issue with blood or recovery.

I think an AR is a great platform for a new hunter.

.223, 6.5 grendel, .22 arc, 6mm arc, .300 blk, 6.8 spc

The .223 and the .300 blk use the same bolt
The 6.5 grendel, .22 arc, and 6mm arc all us the same bolt (7.62x39).
6.8 spc uses is own bolt.

Any of those have more than enough firepower for anything in the southeast.

Another thought is an AR-10 in .308, 6.5cm, .260, 7mm-08, etc

But I have a 22 arc, .300 blk, and a 6.5 grendel. They are all superb and would recommend any of them.

Bear Creek rifles will definitely shoot but they don't have the best reviews and I don't think customer support with worth anything so, be careful there.

Both my 6.5 grendel and 22 arc are wilson combat barrels built on a Wilson Billet stripped receiver set.
The 22 arc is still pretty new and I'm still working up a load on it but it shoots really well. Pushing an 80gr bullet over 2600 fps.


ETA: What ever you decide, go ahead a spend the money for a silencer.

My soon shoots a 300 blackout. Hornady V-Max 110 grain. Awesome blood trail. I've shot some pigs and bobcats with it. Fun gun.

I guess I'm going to an outlier here, but an AR is a terrible choice for a first rifle. A youth model bolt action in .243 or other round with mild recoil would be a much better choice.

I’ve rifle hunted exclusively with my 6.5 Grendel for the past few years. Built mine from the ground up around a Odin works barrel. No need to do anything like that though.

As downshift said, buy the upper separately from the lower. Will save you money. The PSA complete upper will be just fine for what you need. Look for a 16 inch option so that you have plenty of room to add a suppressor.

I highly recommend the Barnes 115gr tax tx bullet. I’ve had fantastic results on deer and hogs(12 deer and 7 hogs). Keep shots at a reasonable distance(250yds and in) and enjoy.

Fair warning, you’ll probably end up wanted to grab their rifle to go hunting after you see it in action

6.5 Grendel has less recoil than a .243

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Forgive my ignorance but is it wrong to still start a kid out on a .270 WSM? Killed my first deer at 7 years old with my grandfather’s and it is still one of my favorite rifles.

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It’s a fantastic caliber. But I’m not sure what you would want to “graduate” to after shooting that

That’s one heck of a caliber. It actually out performs a 7mm mag inside of 200 yds from a KE perspective. After that the 7mm mag has better BC, so it starts to out perform. And both out perform a 30-06 in terms of KE, no matter the distance.

I guess you could bump up to .300 win mag or .338 like downshift shoots

Point taken…I did move to a .30-06 after that and then I got into bow hunting and rarely rifle hunt anymore. I do love taking my lever action .44 out from time to time as well as the two rifles I grew up on. I did shoot a 300 Savage for a while that was also a killer but lives in my safe now. I guess I was just more curious about the reasoning for starting them out on an AR light platform instead of a light traditional rifle. I am a fan of starting them on suppressors though if that means anything.

As above stated. 300BO is great.

I built a 10.5" with SB3 brace years ago. My son has been shooting it since he was 7-8 maybe.

Shoots accurate. Red dot is solid up to 100 yards. Bang flop.