Youth rifles for a lefty?

Hey gang, big year for us, my son starts gun safety in a week and is going to hunt this year! I have been looking for appropriate rifles and am kind of set on a youth model, catch is he is a lefty. Do any of you have experience with this? I am leaning towards a .243 single shot with a 20″ barrel at Dick’s. Am open to ideas or suggestions, with a budget in mind. PM or post here, much appreciated.

I’m a lefty and when I was 14 bought a pump rifle Remington 30-06. Its worked great ever since. I would go with a .243 or a .270 depending on how big of a kid you got. If he has a bigger frame maybe try the .270 but all of that depends on how comfortable he is shooting.

A single shot is a great idea. They are inexpensive and once he grows out of it, it would be easier to sell than a left-handed bolt gun.

I am a lefty and I can tell you that I’ve never owned a left-handed gun. I have used them, but they aren’t for me. For shotguns, I don’t want to be the weirdo with shells ejecting the wrong way in the duck blind. For rifles, I shoot from a rest at all times, so a right handed bolt allows me to not take my grip off the gun to run the bolt.

I was just informed by a friend that Walmart is currently selling Ruger American bolt guns for $200…not sure if they have a youth model at that price.

For a list of reasons that are too long to go into here, safe to say that I’m not a fan of single shot rifles for youth. Too fiddly, too fussy, and the ones with exposed hammers introduce a whole new set of issues that is just not needed for young hunters.

Also, the single shots are even less desirable now that we have so many entry level rifles on the market that shoot great and are much more functional for the money invested.

Given your needs, I think it would be very difficult to beat a Savage Axis Youth Compact in 243 AND the cherry on the top is they make it in a left handed version.

You can even get the same setup in the Axis 2 model that comes with an adjustable trigger. The utility of this upgrade, IMO, would be questionable with a youth shooter. Personally, I’d lean toward safety rather than trying to go for the accuracy enhancements at this point.

The really terrific thing about the Axis is aftermarket parts are readily available, so a few years down the line when your son is bigger, you could ditch the plastic youth stock and go with a Boyds laminate stock and ta-da, his “youth” rifle is now an adult rifle.

Ruger makes left handed versions of their American, but none in youth or compact dimensions.

I know cartridge selection is a real can of worms for youth rifles. Let me just say that I own a .243, shoot a .243, and know it to be more than capable of bringing down the biggest whitetails MN has to offer. My father stoned a big bodied 6 point a few years ago and he was stunned. He was using my 243 after dropping his 30-06 as he had no time to check the zero on his rifle. He knocked the deer over sideways and it never took a forward step after being hit with the 100 grain Hornady SP.

Anyone who says the .243 is not a capable deer round is off their rocker and has probably never even shot one. I repeat my long-held view that if the .243 Winchester was called the 6 MM Winchester Magnum there wouldn’t be the slightest objection to using it for deer in these Magnumitius days.

Grouse

I just went through this with my son except he is 9 and will be able to hunt next year. I wanted to get the gun now so he has time to practice before next season. I ended up getting him a browning xbolt left handed in 7mm-08. I got the full size version since it fit him pretty good since he is taller and has longer arms and I won’t have to upgrade it later, or try to sell it since left handed isn’t very common. The caliber is personal preference but I went with the one I did after much research and figured he will be able to hunt just about anything with it as he gets older.

My son is left eye dominant and only shoots a gun and bow left handed. When he was about 12 I got him a Savage model 11 in a 25-06. That was about 12-15 years ago and he still uses the same gun. Very solid gun and a great all around caliber.

Another good option is the Remington model 7 in a 243.

Thanks fellas, all great input. I shoot a .243, and short of a few poor shots, have fell plenty of MN deer. I like the idea of the 7mm-08 or the youth ruger. I’m a tight wad, so don’t want to spend a ton of dough until i know it’s something he’ll stick with. I mean, he likes fishing but I am not buying him loomis rods yet! Thanks again guys, hopefully posting 1st buck pictures in a few months.

Make sure he is left eye dominate before buying the left handed rifle. I agree with grouse stay away from single shots. They are to light and kick harder and young finger gloves excitement and hammers are a bad combo.
243 or 7mm-08 would be my choice

Mwal

If he is not totally left side dominant as he progresses in shooting, learning to get proficient shooting right handed will be a big help later on.

It’s nice once you get good shooting either hand, not a direction deer can come that you can’t get a shot off without having to twist into a pretzel. I learned to shoot right handed though, so it made picking up shooting lefty easier since that’s how I ‘should’ be shooting anyway.

We have a Savage Axis in 243 that’s lefty and love it my 23 year old son uses it and it is one of the most accurate guns I have ever shot. We also have a youth model Axis 243 my 19 year old son still uses. I also use it when I coyote hunt just because it is so easy to handle and carry. One has a Bushnell and the other has a Barsca both work just fine. I have hit iron out to 500 yards with the 243 youth model pretty impressive for a 300.00 rifle.