Kid friendly Prs rifle?

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snooze98k

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I'm in need of suggestions!

Looking to get my son into some friendly prs next spring but I don't have a great idea what would check all the boxes for his needs.

Lightweight (pencil barrel)
Short Length of pull (if i have to cut it down, then that's definitely an option)
Magazine fed
Preferably bolt action.

Any suggestions would be greatly welcomed!
 
Find a used Savage mark 2 on the EE and let him paint it his own camo pattern / colour scheme... You'll get a cheap accurate rifle and a fun art project. It has won the most 'production class' matches of any rifle...
 
dont discount a semi like a 10/22... operating a bolt can be difficult for small statured/not so strong kids.

but so much depends on the actual size, physical strength and experience of the child.

More info would be helpful.

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
dont discount a semi like a 10/22... operating a bolt can be difficult for small statured/not so strong kids.

but so much depends on the actual size, physical strength and experience of the child.

More info would be helpful.

Jerry
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Good point Jerry.


He's a built 7 year old with short arms.
He's been steadily scoring 950+ in youth air-rifle competitions supported. Good habits, and patience to score well.
His experience with 22 stops at 150m with a scope.
 
snooze98k said:
Good point Jerry.


He's a built 7 year old with short arms.
He's been steadily scoring 950+ in youth air-rifle competitions supported. Good habits, and patience to score well.
His experience with 22 stops at 150m with a scope.
Click to expand...

Congrats on your sons solid groundings... can't buy patience and a steady hand... which can only improve with time and practise.

Weigh his air rifle... get him to pick it up from the wrist/grip area and move it around. Many PRS rigs are set up when the rifle is ON the bag and little thought goes into moving it TO the bag. Unfortunately, loss time and possible damage happens as the shooters struggles to transition between positions.

Get all the buttstock dimensions off this rifle IF he is comfy in typical PRS odd ball positions... adjust LOP, comb height and then compare to commercial stocks/chassis. The overall length of the rifle is also important to figure out. Having a musket as long as he is tall means he isn't going to be able to pull the rifle out of a prop without a few steps backwards.

My guess, there is nothing that will suit. I would strongly recommend AGAINST a chassis as the total mass of the rifle will be too heavy for his current strength (guessing at this point).

I would strongly recommend you look at a 10/22, modified hunting stock (AR grips and ergos suit larger hands), flush factory mags, 'tactical' contour steel barrel.. maybe HB but shorter then the norm.

It all boils down to how much weight your son can move comfortably AND safely. ALL popular bolt rifles have a mag that hangs out the bottom. This forces the rifle to rest on the forend AND that demands alot of front weight to help with balance. Odds are the weight of the ballast is more then he can carry.

With a 10/22, you can use the trigger guard as the rear brace. This massively changes the balance point allowing a far lighter rifle to be used and still balance. Kids will naturally take longer to find the scope and target. He gains time back because he is not running a bolt, disrupting his sight picture. Being in the scope when he fires, he has a higher chance of seeing his hit/miss and adjusting quickly with a second shot.

Activating the safety with small fingers is far easier then trying to control a bolt that wants to slide back and forth.

PRS is a time management game so let's give me as much working time as possible.

Happy to help you set up this rifle.. pm or email to discuss more.

Jerry
 
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Speaking as someone who started their kid in rimfire PRS with a 10/22 - I recommend against this.

It is much easier to confirm the rifle is safe prior to a transition with a bolt open than it is to confirm a safety fully engaged (and then not accidently bumped while small statured and excited kids transition through props)

Nothing ever happened, and I have confidence everything was done right for each transition - but it left me feeling uneasy and I scrapped the build after a couple of matches.

Lightweight options exist in the bolt guns. After the 10/22, we tried the Christensen Arms Ranger - was super light weight, but our copy wasn't as accurate as I'd hoped and had been plagued with some feeding/extraction issues. Ended up on a pretty custom 457 build that was built with light-weight and small overall size as the main factor. He's been very happy with it.

I'd suggest looking into any of the platforms that will offer a 16-18" barrel. Stocks could be cut down to shorten LOP or replaced if needed.
 
Given the age and likely stature of the kid, safety, handling and transition will be in large part 'controlled' by the parent or adult following this kid through the entire stage.

This kid will likely not/should not be left to their own devices.... but that would be me if I was the RO.

YMMV

Jerry
 
emerson said:
This is why I still use a bolt. As another poster said, it’s also a lot more of a safety challenge for kids using a semi with a round chambered while moving. I guess I need a light bolt now for the kids.
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Safety training is safety training... given the number of F'ups by adults in both CF and RF using bolts, this is not something I am going to lean on

And neither should ANY competitor... Ever see a bolt AD on closing? Ever see someone try and move with a closed bolt and chambered rd? Ever see a bolt close chambering a rd when the action is dropped onto a prop or moving through a prop?

Assuming any firearm is safer then another just opens the door to sloppy handling... and there is plenty of that currently.

Jerry
 
Regarding questions about a suitable rifle for PRS for a young shooter, there are few, if any, recommendations for a 10/22 or other semi autos for PRS outside of those here. Disregarding a potential pecuniary interest, it remains unclear why anyone would advise a semi auto as a top choice for PRS over a good bolt action such as a CZ 457 Scout or something similar. Bolt actions are widely agreed to be quite sound for the inculcation of habits of safety.
 
I don’t usually agree with Jerry, but here I do.

He’s recommending a semi for a 7 year old kid because it’s a good choice for the kid to use safely under adult ro supervision.

The skills learned using a semi are completely transferrable to centerfire, but I think you missed the point where the kid is 7, it’ll be a while before he hits up centerfire ranges. The skills learned are target acquisitions, time management, and movement. Adding a bolt throw down the road isn’t going to hold him back if he chooses to pursue it.

But to the op, you should really ask your kid. One of mine prefers bolts and the other would rather use the 10/22.
 
nbmonte said:
I don’t usually agree with Jerry, but here I do.

He’s recommending a semi for a 7 year old kid because it’s a good choice for the kid to use safely under adult ro supervision.

The skills learned using a semi are completely transferrable to centerfire, but I think you missed the point where the kid is 7, it’ll be a while before he hits up centerfire ranges. The skills learned are target acquisitions, time management, and movement. Adding a bolt throw down the road isn’t going to hold him back if he chooses to pursue it.

But to the op, you should really ask your kid. One of mine prefers bolts and the other would rather use the 10/22.
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This right here.

He's taking his first year to learn about mrad and reticles, shooting positions and the rules of the competition.
The last thing he Needs during the day is less time on target because he's clearing a jam due to a rushed bolt cycle or lifting his head off target to cycle the bolt because his reach is so close to the bolt that it whacks his cheek when he's head down.

And to answer your question, he's used to bolt single shot and is very excited to just be able to shoot the semi.
 
I watched my daughter struggle with the ergonomics and horrible bolt lift on lower grade savage 22's and other cheap rimfire rifles when she was 7yo. I ended up getting her a Sako quad with very smooth bolt manipulation and ergonomics and she accelerated rapidly. We currently like the CZ457's and I put everything for the kids in KRG bravo or similar chassis with stock spacers so you can shorten or lengthen as needed. My son is turning 7 soon and is just a bit short to shoulder the bravo chassis, however you can free recoil a 22lr with no consequence besides bad habits.
 
Mystic Precision said:
Safety training is safety training... given the number of F'ups by adults in both CF and RF using bolts, this is not something I am going to lean on

And neither should ANY competitor... Ever see a bolt AD on closing? Ever see someone try and move with a closed bolt and chambered rd? Ever see a bolt close chambering a rd when the action is dropped onto a prop or moving through a prop?

Assuming any firearm is safer then another just opens the door to sloppy handling... and there is plenty of that currently.

Jerry
Click to expand...
I’ve closely watched my kid shoot matches and practice. I speak from that and over 30K of my own practice with both styles of rifle. In addition to machine guns as work tools in large groups. I stand by what I said.
 
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