Mossberg Patriot Super Bantam Youth 350 Legend 22 in. Scope Combo – Superb First Deer Rifle

Description

The Mossberg Patriot Super Bantam is a deer rifle built around a problem most manufacturers ignore: a twelve-year-old and a grown adult cannot shoot the same stock well. The Super Bantam stock adjusts in length of pull with spacers, so the rifle fits the shooter at the start of the season and still fits three seasons later.

It comes in 350 Legend with a 3-9×40 scope already mounted, four rounds in a detachable box magazine and a 22-inch fluted barrel. The Mossberg Patriot Super Bantam is, in other words, a complete deer rifle in one box at a price that leaves money for ammunition.

Why the adjustable stock matters

• The Super Bantam stock changes length of pull with spacers, so the rifle grows with a young shooter rather than being outgrown.
• A stock that is too long is the single most common reason a new shooter flinches, mounts badly or shoots poorly, and this removes it.
• It also makes the rifle genuinely usable by an adult in heavy winter clothing, which a fixed youth stock is not.
• The spacers are included and fit without a gunsmith.
• When the young shooter outgrows it entirely, the rifle is still a full-size 350 Legend and not a toy to be traded in.

The rifle and the cartridge

• 350 Legend is a straight-walled cartridge, which is what makes it legal for deer in a number of states that prohibit conventional bottlenecked rifle rounds.
• Recoil is modest, which is the other reason it suits a young or new hunter; it hits harder than it kicks.
• Mossberg’s LBA trigger is user-adjustable, so the pull weight can be set sensibly rather than left heavy for liability.
• A 22-inch fluted barrel and a spiral-fluted bolt, with a 1:10 twist suited to the heavy bullets this cartridge uses.
• Seven and a half pounds with the scope fitted, and no iron sights, so the optic is the sighting system.

Mossberg Patriot Super Bantam specifications

• Caliber: 350 Legend
• Capacity: 4+1, detachable box magazine
• Barrel length: 22.00 in, fluted, matte blued
• Overall length: 40.50 in
• Weight: 7.5 lb
• Rate of twist: 1:10
• Action: bolt, spiral fluted bolt body
• Trigger: Mossberg LBA, user adjustable
• Optic: 3-9×40 duplex scope included, Weaver-style base
• Receiver: drilled and tapped, matte blued
• Stock: black synthetic, adjustable length of pull, recoil pad, swivel studs
• Sights: none fitted
• Manufacturer part number: 28094
• UPC: 015813280945

350 Legend is a standardized cartridge, with pressure and dimensional limits published by SAAMI. It was designed specifically for the straight-walled cartridge deer seasons in the American Midwest, so check your own state and county rules, because the whole reason this cartridge exists is that some places will not allow anything else.

For deer, Federal 180 gr soft point is the volume standard and shoots well from a 22-inch barrel, and Remington 180 gr soft point is the direct alternative. If you want a monolithic bullet that holds together on a close shot, Barnes VOR-TX 170 gr TSX is the premium option.

Zero the scope properly before the season. A combo scope is a real scope, not a toy, but it arrives bore-sighted at best and a rifle that has not been zeroed from a bench is a rifle you cannot trust on a deer.

If you would rather compare, the Savage Axis 2 XP in 350 Legend is the other bolt-action scope combo in this caliber, and the Taurus Raging Hunter puts the same cartridge in a revolver for handgun seasons.

Why the Mossberg Patriot Super Bantam earns its place

• A stock that actually fits a young shooter, and keeps fitting as they grow.
• A scope included and mounted, so the rifle is one purchase rather than three.
• 350 Legend, which is legal where conventional rifle cartridges are not.
• An adjustable LBA trigger rather than a heavy factory pull nobody can improve.
• Light recoil, which is how new shooters learn to shoot rather than to flinch.

Be honest about the scope. A bundled 3-9×40 is a perfectly serviceable optic for deer inside two hundred yards and it is not a Leupold. If the rifle is going to be used hard for years, budget for a better scope eventually; for a first season it is entirely adequate and it is already on the gun.

Also check your state rules before buying. 350 Legend exists because of straight-walled cartridge regulations, and if you hunt somewhere that allows any centerfire, there are cheaper cartridges to feed. Where those rules apply, the Mossberg Patriot Super Bantam is close to the ideal first deer rifle.

In stock now at MAG5 Firearms in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Transfers to your FFL, and we answer the phone.