rifle ?

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swbuckmaster

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Looking to get my 11year old daughter a gun this year. She can shoot 2-3 inch groups at 200 yards with my cheep savage. I took her out today and had her shooting the .243 and i tested to see if she flintched with it by loading blankes. Nope! It did nock her back but was no where near rhe recoil she has with her 20 guage loaded with 3" turkey loads.

So this got me thinking she is ready for a larger rifle. Im thinking for her first gun im going to get her a savage lady hunter with an acutrigger loaded in 7mm08. The gun runs around 750 at cabellas.

If you were going to get a rifle in this price range is this a good rifle or are there better ones to consider?
 
Well Bucky!

Doesn't sound like She's YANKIN the Trigger like you do?:D

I'd go with a Remington 700 or a Weatherby Vanguard!

Stainless of course!

We don't wanna worry about Rust in the Conditions!:D

For GAWDS Sake don't put an Obama Black Scope on a Silver Gun Niether,Man-Up & get her a Silver Scope too!



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If You Love Your Country,SHOW THEM TO ME!




It's been a long hard ride
Got a ways to go
But this is still the place
That we all call home
 
Stick with the Savage. It will be a good gun for her. I would go with the lightweight hunter model though. The long range hunter is a pretty heavy gun for an 11 year old. Good on ya though SWB. Don't be surprised if she out shoots the old man though. Girls have a knack for this sort of thing.


It's always an adventure!!!
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-30-12 AT 05:40AM (MST)[p]Nothing wrong with sticking with a 243 until she is a little older. However, you could get one of a number of cartriges (270 for example) and use something like Hornady Lite until she gets older/bigger:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shoo...=SBC;MMcat104792580;cat104691780;cat104532480

or Remington managed-recoil.

They will kick about like a 243

Also, a Sims recoil pad works wonders.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
I have to agree with tx.
Unless she is going after elk or something big, I would let her continue to shoot the 243. I kept my son on a 257 Roberts until he was as big as me. He learned to put the pill right where it needs to go and now he definitely out shoots the old man. Where the bullet goes is much more important than how big and fast it is.
JMO.
 
The only reason Im going with a larger caliber then the 243 is because I will be putting her in on a cow hunt and will take her on the any bull or spike hunt this year.

Would it be worth it to port or put a muzzle break on it? I think most of her practice this year will be done on a lead sled. So im hoping this will make it so she never developes the trigger punch or flinch like I had. My first gun was a 7 mag and that pos smacked me in the head with a with scope every time i shot. I realize now that was a mistake ever getting that gun when i did.

Thanks for the opinions i havent bought a gun in 15 years and want to get one that is going to shoot good and have some value.

By the way how is the kick on the 7mm08 compared to the 243?
It looks like i could have her shoot the 100 grain for practice and im thinking it will be close to the 100 grain loads she was shooting out of the 243. Then move it up to around 140-150 for elk. I dont have the reloading equipment so im stuck with factory loads.
 
I'd look at the SPS. I like the caliber choice. My wife has one in CDL and I find myself toting it when I get tired of reloading for my rifles.
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-30-12 AT 10:46AM (MST)[p]I'd stay with your pick of the Savage in the 7mm08 and do exactly like you stated in your last post with lighter grains as far as her practice with it. However, I would let her shoot off her shoulder, rahter than the sled, unless it's absolutely necessary. That way she will develop the proper shooting techniques right off the bat. If she has shot a shotgun like you mentioned with turkey loads that thump pretty good, the 08 should still be less on her and she should be fine moving to heavier grains like you stated you plan for her elk hunt. Just don't press the shots to "out of the county" with it if you know what I mean!
 
>I'd look at the SPS. I
>like the caliber choice. My
>wife has one in CDL
>and I find myself toting
>it when I get tired
>of reloading for my rifles.
>


For the budget you could also drop a timney in, but bc of her age I'd still keep it around 3# instead of going down to 1.5#. We have a slew of kids in the 10-13yo range hunting with us and the majority are hunting with 7/08 or 25-06, none of them really complain about the recoil.
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-30-12 AT 11:26AM (MST)[p]For the price you listed I would look at the Sako A 7. You get a better trigger than the Savage and its balanced very well for a smaller framed person. It has a little shorter LOP than my savage as well.
 
With kids/new shooters I would stay away from muzzle brakes..

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I had my daughter shooting a 6mm. I would be ok for deer .Just a little light for elk. I thought about doing the 7mm 08. But after looking at it. I went with a 270 for her and it is working out great. A rifle that can do it all. It is light and easy to pack. So if I or her brothers wants a nice rifle to pack it works well. It is a ruger stainless bolt action.
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-30-12 AT 11:40AM (MST)[p]243....No muzzle breaks!! Put a nice limb saver recoil pad on it for her...

If she is going to hunt Elk step up to a 270.


Government doesn't fix anything and has spent trillions proving it!!!
Let's face it...After Monday and Tuesday, even the calender says WTF!
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-30-12 AT 01:45PM (MST)[p]Thanks again for all the input im learning a lot.

id love to get myself a .270 but the gun is going to be for her. She is really small for her age. So I think I really have to be concerned with the recoil but I don't want to get her a gun that is one dimensional. If i could afford more id get her several different ones tailored to each animal. You can never have two few guns!

I like the suggestion from Bess about the rust and going with a stainless barrel. Are there guns in my price range that are stainless?

I like the suggestion from Bull about sticking with savage and 7mm08 because ive seen him and sageadvise recommend it over and over. He is the main reason I even know anything about that particular round. I also love the look of that savage. Still probably over thinking things like I always do but wont a lighter rifle end up having the same kick as the .270? I did look at that light weight rifle and it was slick!

I like the gun ammo TX recommended. I had no idea i could get factory loads loaded down for smaller shooters. This is good because cabelas is right next door for me and their fairly cheep.

Just have to see what the draw brings this year. If I get my tag she just might end up shooting the .243 and ill be spending what little funds I have on my hunt. I've been waiting over a decade for it. So if Utah gives us the bone again were going to Idaho and shooting whitetails this fall with her new gun. She still isn't guaranteed a cow elk tag this fall because she doesn't have any points. I don't even think she can hunt bull elk this fall because she isn't 12 until middle of oct. I think all the elk hunts are earlier.

Only a few more weeks to see what the DWR says were hunting :)




avatar_2528.jpg
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-30-12 AT 04:34PM (MST)[p]Here's what I got for my 12 year old and wife.
Savage 111FYCAK 270WIN DBM YOUTH

804926402.jpg


Comes with a muzzlebreak you can turn off and on. I added a Sims pad. Then filled the rifle stock with door and window expansion foam. Recoil is the same as a 243. It is louder than normal as would be expected. Great little gun and accurate as ever. If the need was there I would add a Sims Barrel De-Resonator or get an after market Bell and Carson stock which will deaden the guns harmonics. All for $750. Anyway you go though you are gonna have a hoot, best of luck!!!

Edit;
BTW when I purchased ours they had this same gun in a 7mm08. Not sure if they still do or not.


"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway."
 
I have a muzzle brake on a featherlite 7mm rem mag that reduces recoil to about a 243, so they do work great on recoil. However, I too would not recommend them for a youth. Two main reasons:

If you ever shoot them without hearing protection (which I have done in the field) you will be sorry. The few times I have, my left ear rang for weeks. Don't want to risk hurting her hearing. IF however, she NEVER shoots without hearing protection, they are great. I just never got used to stalking and on the spur of the moment whne a big-un jumps up and presents a shot, taking time to put in ear protection. Sure I should, but just don't.

Another thing to remember with recoil arrestors: Never shoot over a hood of a pickup!! Sends gasses downward and messes up your finish. magnaport would be OK, but they don't work as well on recoil.

SIMS pads DO work.

I think your idea of loading down for practice and then going up for the hunt is good. She won't even notice the extra recoil shooting at an elk!

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
I would stick with the savage in 7mm-08. You could probably save a couple hundred bucks by getting a youth model with a synthetic stock vs the lady hunter and put the money you saved into a quality scope. Or just get whatever your daughter likes.
 
The youth model and the lady hunter i looked at were the same size from end of stock to trigger. So that is an option. I think a good scope can sometimes make the rifle. Maybe i could save the money on the gun and get a good turret style scope or similar. Then do some work on a trigger later.

I think my absolute budget for everything is no more then a grand.
 
"Another thing to remember with recoil arrestors: Never shoot over a hood of a pickup!! Sends gasses downward and messes up your finish. magnaport would be OK, but they don't work as well on recoil."

Will also chunk gravel in your face if you drop down and shoot prone with the barrel too close to the ground. I figured that out in Rocksprings of all places with a 300wsm.
 
I just took my old a-bolt .280, cut 2 inches off the stock, put a simms recoil pad on it, added a muzzlebrake and had my 11 year old son that weighs only 63 lbs. shooting sub MOA first time out. Great all around caliber and he LOVED it.
 
Sometimes dads like the bigger calibers more than the youth. I would stay on the small side at that age for many number of reasons.

If anybody out there shoots with kids, a good trick is to put ballons up instead of targets, it takes the pressure off of them from competeing for the bullseye but mostly kids love the instant gratifacation of popping the balloon.
 
Another vote for the 7mm-08. Great caliber for deer and cow elk for a young hunter with minimal recoil...

Horniac
 
Stick with the 7-08. Get a limbsaver pad and some reduced recoil loads from Remington and take her to the range. She will be fine.
 
Hard to go wrong with the leupys, but you can also keep an eye on the demo list at cameralandny and see if any Zeiss conquests pop up or watch for sales on the Vortex Vipers.
 
I have leupold's on all of my rifles,and love them. They have never let me down. But when I did the same thing your are doing. Putting a rifle together for my daughter. I went with a nikon 3 x 9 x 40 bdc scope. We have been happy with it so far .
 
>So would you stay away from
>the burris, and bushnell.
>

I personally do, but some folks swear by Burris. I had a cpl bushnells on plinking 223s and they lacked in the clarity dept.
 
So, while I agree with most of the posts here, I have to go back to my original question. Why do you want to spend a grand for a rifle that is not all that bigger and risk developing bad shooting form on a youngster that is still learning? While it is not the best caliber to shoot a cow elk with, well constructed bullets out of a 243 will work, if you choose your shots.
Unless you just have a hankering to buy a new rig(which I totally understand) I would stick with what you have and wait for her to grow big enough to handle more gun. I have 3 daughters and they all lost interest in hunting with me by the time they were big enough to shoot more gun. I hope that doesn't happen to you, but I'm just sayin!
 
The only reason i will spend a grand on my daughters when it comes to hunting stuff is because they show interest. Ive spent over 1500 on her bow and she uses it at least one to two times a week in the summer. In the winter she uses it up to 4 times a week. I like to spend time with my girls we go fishing, riding bikes, riding wheelers, or shooting carp at the lake almost every night. We bring their friends if they want and i just watch. If my girls werent so dedicated i would never spend that type of money. However there is a saying you can tell how dedicated the parrents are about something and then when the kid turnes 16 you will see how dedicated the kid is. So i totally see how my girls could end up like yours im just hopping they dont.
 
I could very well be just flushing money down the drain with this gun but im hoping she will let her mom use it as well. The. 243 isnt mine its her grandpas it is also to big for her. He would probably not want me to borrow it and change the stock to fit her. I dont even want to ask anyway. So this is the other reason im looking.
 
LAST EDITED ON May-01-12 AT 09:28PM (MST)[p]a .308 wouldn't be a bad choice either. You could have that .243 rebarreled to a .308 for pretty dang cheap and have more money to spend on a good scope. Just a thought.
 
marley---The .243 he mentioned is not even his gun. It's the girl's Grandpas and they just borrow it!
 
I picked up a 25-06 for my midgets. I put a bushnell 3200 on it and it seems to be a good scope. I also added the limbsaver. I think one of the earlier posts hit it, that dads like bigger calibers more than kids do. I have a savage with the accutrigger and that trigger is flat out great!


When they came for the road hunters I was not one so I said nothing. When they came for the oppurtunists I was not one so I said nothing. When they came for the public land hunters I was not one so I said nothing. When they came for me there was no one left to say anything!
 
Isnt a 25 06 about the same thing as a 7mm08? Which would more likley be the more accurate round? My friends kids all shoot his 25 06 just fine. So im sure mine could shoot that round. The only reason im looking for a larger round then the. 243 is because its going to be used as an elk gun this fall. Id rather see her shot a slightly larger gun in case there is a bad shot.

If i wouldnt have sold my 7mag last fall i would just get the .243 for myself i do love that round.
 
Noting wrong with the 6MM rounds but like so many others have stated the 7MM-08 is a class act youth and adult wepon. Savage is doing a great job of putting out some fine wepon systems these days only down side is there a pain to bed. In a nut sell the 7MM-08 is a more efficantly designed round then the 25/06 and that will show on paper.. Get one of those fine Oregon made scopes!
Justin Richins
R&K Hunting Company Inc.
www.thehuntingcompany.com
 
You should check out the savage edge (also known as axis now )
They are around $350 with a bushnell 3x9 which isnt that good. I would look at leupold or redfield scopes. I bought the savage edge in 243 and put a redfield 3x9x40 on it. The gun shoots great and with the scope I have under $600 in it. I use it for cayotes. Check the reviews on it they have all been good. The gun is a solid shooter with calibers from 223 to 30-06.
 
Bess
Said to look at the weatherbe vanguard it looks like it could be a winner as well and its 200 bucks less. It also says its guaranteed to shoot sub .99 inch out of the box at a hundred yards. I would hope most guns would do this out of the box. Maybe im wrong in thinking this.

Im also going to have to look at the rem 700.
 
The reason you can get that from a Wtby is you are using there ammo and it's tuned to there guns that's why the SUB MOA guarantee. . To think this of other factory guns is foolish. Sure some will but most will not unless there supplying you with a tunned load. Now go by any rifle and run several diffrent rounds down the bore and it will shoot one the best..

Justin Richins
R&K Hunting Company Inc.
www.thehuntingcompany.com
 
LAST EDITED ON May-02-12 AT 12:20PM (MST)[p]I picked up a Savage Youth 7MM-08 for my wife a few years ago. It has been a great round for her and she loves carrying around the light weight gun but the problem we ran into was with the light weight gun the recoil for her is a bit on the high side. i almost wish know i would have got her the same gun in a .243 as she just likes deer/antelope hunting. I have found with her I need to use some of the "Managed Recoil" rounds or reload some of the Hodgden Youth loads for her to shoot on the range. Hunting she has no problem with the regular full power loads. Her gun loves a 120 gr Nosler BT.

I am going to start getting my 10 year old daughter to shoot with the youth loads this fall.

Good Luck!

Mark
 

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