I'm on a very tight budget, but I want to get my 8 year old son his own deer rifle. It is time he pulls the trigger on his own deer and I want it to be with his own gun.

I've been searching the net and it looks like a Rossi Youth Rifle is about as low cost as I can find...by far and away. Do ya'll know of any others?

How well do these rifles shoot? What kind of group can be expected at 100 yards or less?

Also i would like to know y'all thoughts... 223 or 243 I'm thinking .223.

Thank ya'll in advance for ya'll help.

I have both a .223 and the .243 and there's not a noticeable difference in any kick. I'd go with the .243. It will last him a lifetime. As far as the Rossi goes, I have no experience with them.

You may want to consider spending a few extra bucks and find a decent Marlin 336 in 30/30. I was about that age when I started shooting one (I alternated between that and an old Thompson Contender rifle in .223)

the 30/30 is a proven and timeless classic, something he can use for the rest of his life.

It's probably what I'll start my daughter out with in another year or two (she's 7 now)

New England Firearms H&R Youth Handi-Rifle.223 or .243
i started my daughter at age 7 shooting a .22 with scope and then let her shoot the .223 handi-rifle, she is now age 10 and has killed deer four years in a row, the first two with the .223 handi-rifle. The last two years with a rem 600 .243. i would recommend the .243 handi-rifle as a great first rifle for a kid and inexpensive.

I started my son out with a BB gun when he was 5 so he could learn to shoot open sites. My father-in-law gave him a single shot, bolt action .22 last year. My son and I sighted it in together. He is a good shot.
Now I'm leaning towards getting him a .223. My thinking is that altho a .223 will be missing some knock down power, as long as the scope if dialed-in, he should be able to drop a bullet in a jugular at 100+ yards.

Agree or no?

I agree with jumping up to a 243. He won't notice the difference in kick. He will grow out of a 3030 and want something different. Havent shot my 3030 in about 23 years.

With the 243 you can use the managed recoil loads if recoil is an issue. or at least for practice when shooting at something with hair he will not notice recoil

I'm not really worried about kick. I already have a T/C Encore 243 (pistol). If I give him my Encore I will need to get a long barrel and rifle stock, and that will total more than I can spend right now.
Maybe it will be wiser to get him a 243 so we can share ammo. So okay then... thinking out loud has helped me.
I'm gonna find a Youth Handi-Rifle in a 243.

thanks guys.

Trade your pistol barrel for a rifle barrel

I thought about that, but I don't figure there is much demand for a 243 Encore pistol barrel.

I bought my sons a Rossi .243 scoped combo a few years ago. The rifle itself seemed to be of acceptable quality but the scope was mounted to where the hammer would strike the bottom of the scope when it was fired. The mounts were also loose. I don't know why it took me a box of shells to figure that out. After moving the scope back and Loctiteing everything, I found the rifle would make about 2" groups as a whole but it would throw fliers at random. The hammer may have damaged the scope however.

My sons have killed 2 deer with it at close ranges.

My advice would be, if you buy the Rossi, before you fire a shot, remove the scope, reinstall using Loctite on the screws. You may be able to get it to shoot better than I could.

My kids have outgrown the rifle now so I will just lock it away until grandkids come into the picture. I'll put a better scope on it then.