.308 carbine and 9 YO nephew

[big honkin jeep]

So my 8 year old Nephew was out of school today and my Sis had to work and asked if we could hang out.
Plan A was a squirrel hunting/fishing trip that fell through, so I took him to the range for his first centerfire rifle experience.
We started of with a .22 lever rifle and then I moved him up to a model 11 in 22-250. After he did quite well at 50 yards we moved the target to the 100 yard rifle range. I broke out the little left handed model 11 carbine in .308 Win I put together with parts from the classifieds here as a handy dandy kick around the farm rifle for what needs killin. It has about 3" off the stock (12"LOP) and 6" off the barrel in addition to a bunch of other Savage tweaks I learned hanging around here with you Savageaholic enablers for the last few years LOL. The ammo was some hand loaded youth hunting loads I cooked up using 38gr of H4895 and 130gr TTSX and a CCI BR2 primer which he fired 30 of with no problem.
I taped up the holes in the target and he kept putting new ones in the center :)
I don't think you could get the smile off his face with a wire brush.
We had a great day.

It also seems to me I have found the best answer out there to one of the most oftenly discussed " mysterys of the universe". The age old question of "Whats the best youth caliber?" Or "What caliber should I buy for a kid?" (centerfire of course)

If you're a hand loader the answer is hands down H4895.
Now that is settled :)

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w188/bighonkinjeep/Andrew%20.308%2011-8-16_zpshdwn4yk0.jpg (http://s176.photobucket.com/user/bighonkinjeep/media/Andrew%20.308%2011-8-16_zpshdwn4yk0.jpg.html)

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w188/bighonkinjeep/Andrew%20.308%20terget%2011-8-16_zpslq1kvuum.jpg (http://s176.photobucket.com/user/bighonkinjeep/media/Andrew%20.308%20terget%2011-8-16_zpslq1kvuum.jpg.html)

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w188/bighonkinjeep/Andrew%20.308%20target%2011-8-16_zpsrg0lurof.jpg
(http://s176.photobucket.com/user/bighonkinjeep/media/Andrew%20.308%20target%2011-8-16_zpsrg0lurof.jpg.html)

[Robinhood]

Awesome!!!
:thumb:

That's a picture for the mantle.

[300whisper]

Great job! Its always great getting kids into shooting. Im originally from Macon, Ga. I cannot wait to get back down there for good.

[scooterf79]

That's really awesome!
I love seeing the kids get into shooting. I took a boy from our church a few weeks ago. The kids seem to really like it.
Scooter

[jim_k]

You made perfect choices IMO, with Savage, .308, H4895, and 130 TTSX. Way to go!

[big honkin jeep]

Here is a pic of just the rifle. I've posted a few pics of this little jewel here before. It's just 37" long overall length and though I'm unsure of the weight it doesn't weigh much.
The adjustable Karsten style cheek piece I made from a sheet of kydex, along with some elevator bolts and knobs I picked up at the hardware store. I did have to switch sides with the knobs and bolts for him. It serves 2 very useful purposes for youth shooting.
First it helps a smaller head line the eye up properly with the center of the scope. Secondly as long as their head is positioned properly on the cheekpiece then I don't have to worry about taking the kid home to his folks with a scope cut or black eye. :)
The best part was when he looked at me and said " I'm having so much fun, I wish this day would never end". Oh well it did, and now I've created a monster :) .
From here on out the shooting addiction/ammo bill will be his parents problem. LOL

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w188/bighonkinjeep/Carbine/e1e37a21-8c36-450d-983e-f299cdec3e1e_zps58a82883.jpg (http://s176.photobucket.com/user/bighonkinjeep/media/Carbine/e1e37a21-8c36-450d-983e-f299cdec3e1e_zps58a82883.jpg.html)