That's a totally fair concern. The bottom-line is the boys (there's more than one) are not as obsessive-compulsive as I am about the whole thing. The "worrying" I've been accused of is really just a result of my enjoyment from thinking about all these things. Some people think about politics and the upcoming midterms and whether they enjoy it or just get themselves worked up about it, I'd rather concern myself with the "ultimate minimalist deer rifle" or whatever it is that I've contemplated. The boys mostly think about other stuff. For what it's worth, I've showed them bolt-actions, lever-actions, and AR's and they've shot a few different calibers. They haven't expressed a preference. I mean, why not have one of each? One has psyched himself out about recoil, but he's a crack-shot with .22LR in rifle and pistol and with a .38 Special revolver. He doesn't miss soda cans at 100 yards with the rifle. He's not ready to hunt deer, but we've got a year to work on it. My bet is if I handed him a .30-06 and didn't tell him anything that would cause himself to psyche himself out, he'd shoot it just fine. He's got vision that tests at 20-10. The other one is younger and his vision is not so good far out. He wears corrective lenses, mostly for astigmatism. He's not quite as skilled coordinating everything yet. He'll lose the soda can in the scope's field of view at 5X. Positioning the butt, his cheek and trigger hand is awkward. He can hit a can at 50 yards, but at 100 he'll miss a few times before he hits it. We're working on basic skills like trigger-control, and breathing, but I do it without pressure, and we usually work at shorter ranges. He doesn't complain or worry about anything, but he can lose interest. He's not worried about recoil at all, and never complains no matter what.
If the boys were giving me any certain direction, I would just follow that because a lot of different ways can be made to work, but they're not. My goal is to not make it more difficult for them, especially the one for whom it's not coming so easy. That's all this is about. Maybe after four-pages, some people might get the impression this is a knock-down, drag-out rant or something, but I think of it as campfire talk when I'm stuck in front of a computer instead of a campfire.