ben338

photo of the week gryph!

that looks really good, the antler handles top it off and i'm sure would look good on a stainless blade etc aswell.

nice boner

interesting stories guys.

buying from america sux these days. postage costs a fortune, taxes, itar restrictions etc.

i think length of pull may be of more concern than just weight. if you could find a light weight stock for a reasonable price that would be nice. you probably have a 22" barrel, you could have it docked back to 20", save a bit of weight and should balance better with a youth stock. i've been told from guys that have been down this path, keep them off the bench with this type of rifle, have them practice offhand and use the smaller cals on a bench. increase velocity as they grow. 168gr bullet loaded to 2200fps is pretty similar to 30-30 factory loads.

i'm in a similar situation with 10yr old, he's a bit immature but showing some interest, he's not bad on the air rifle. for me i just don't think you can beat the .308, reduced loads with 2206h (60% rule) and a soft 150-168gr bullet, increase velocity as they grow. a super lite might be just that bit too light with recoil? the new howa is only 2kg, but you might still want to shorten the stock a touch. i thinking standard sporter weight howa, 20" barrel would be nice rather than the standard 22". hogue do a compact stock if you can find one with a 12.5" length of pull. other options for me are tikka t3x lite with a compact stock (most expensive option). or ruger american compact, 18" barrel, 12.5" LOP stock.

well done RT

are you planning on setting up a rifle for him too?

🤣 studying the map beforehand is the best preparation i find.

fair enough. some guys like them as they can see where each other are within about a 5km range. i think you have to talk or press the talk button every so often to keep updating your location? i can see why multiple hunters in an area might like them but i found them a bit of a distraction, plus when you get too far apart you lose contact anyway.

what do you have against rhino's?

i have a garmin gpsmap62s i think it is, must be 10 years old by now. its pretty good, i did have to load some maps, for memory i bought them cheaply on a card off ebay, the maps are very good but im sure they're "garmin authenticity" is questionable. compass works ok in it, sight n go feature is good. i hardly use it now though as the phone maps on avenza are just too good, 4 times bigger screen and good free maps. the garmin will be more durable if you have a misshap (fall in a river) unless you have your phone in something like a snap lock bag (yep, that's saved me before) there is the garmin inreach mini if you want satellite messenger capability.

8x42's bushnell trophy or low end vortex. they're not bad bino's so will be able to use them for years. and a harness.

nice work RT