re: Youth rifle for deer

That’s my plan as well. I know 10yr old me used to flinch with a 243 youth model while shooting paper. I built a dedicated 300 Black our ar for my kids to use. The adjustable stock and ergonomics are hard to beat. Slapped a Leopoldo 3x9x40 vari-x III on top. Figure I will just use a 5 round mag in the stand

Shooting off of a bench sucks in general. I don’t like shooting my 06 off a bench all that much.

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Hornady 123 SST

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You can get a .243 youth model in nearly all major brands. .243 ammo is nearly always available in a wide variety of loads. I've shot deer with .308s and .243s, and while the .308 is more likely to drop them in their tracks, a well-placed shot with a 95 or 100 grain .243 is going to bring down any deer and quickly. For convenience and all around versatility plus resale options plus a guaranteed light recoil I'd consider a bolt action youth model .243 and put a decent scope on it if you are only looking for a deer gun. Also you may want to consider the Rossi Trifecta Youth Model that comes with a .22 barrel, a .243 barrel, and a 20 gauge barrel. I bought one for my sons years ago and still have it as a "back up" for my own use. These are inexpensive guns and my experience is that you don't get quite the accuracy with the .243 you would with a bolt action, but my sons have never failed to make a one shot clean kill on a deer with it and they love shooting the .22 and busting clays or doves with the 20 gauge. This is a crack open single shot with a hammer that must be cocked plus a safety, so they are good guns to teach gun safety and the importance of making that one shot count. The fit and finish is about what you would expect for a couple of hundred dollars; they aren't gorgeous but they are priced right and do several jobs. Just as an FYI, if you get the Rossi, you will probably want to scope both the .243 and .22 barrels, which would require you to buy two scopes.

Is your browning stalker a semi-auto or bolt-action?