Youth Calibers

W

wallhanger

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Hey guys. I'm looking into getting a deer rifle for my son. He's 8, and not the biggest fish in the pond, but he holds his own. I'm considering the .243, .260, and 7mm-08. Is there a noticeable difference in recoil between any of the three? From what I've seen, the .243 still has 1260 foot pounds of energy at 300 yards with a 100 grain nosler? which is farther than I'll let him shoot at anything with a pulse. What do you guys recommend for the little guys?

Also, what rifle models do you recommend?

Thanks,

WH
 
Woah hold on there! From all the posts on these hunting boards you can't kill a deer/elk without something like "Ultra" or "magnum" in the ending! Haven't you heard? The deer and elk have biologicaly changed since 150 years ago! You can't even think of bringing down a deer with anything less than a 7mm...magnum. :)

All joking aside I would go with the .243 if he's going to shoot muleys or whiteys, now if its coues deer...hell pull out the .22 ;)

Where can you hunt big game when you are 8 years old???
 
I'm with Kilowatt on this, the 7mm-08 kicks way to hard.
you could go to a 243, or even load a 22-250 with some
70 gr. slugs and kill a deer out to 250 yards, another
choice is the 250 sav. that's what my wife shoots. and
it's dumped everything she has had in the scope.

NVMDF
 
Good topic.

I have a 9 year old that I was thinking the same thing about. I have a .308 that I used before buying my 7MM Mag. that I was thinking of starting my boy out on. However, now I'm thinking that I should shop for a .243.

Anyone have an opinion on how the .243 compares to the .308? Big difference???

Thanks!
S.

:)
 
what's the deal with the 7mm/08? everyone always says it kicks way too hard!?!? it has the crummiest ballistics around. how can it kick too hard? i've shot a model 7, 7mm/08 a few times. no big deal. even for a kid. the one i shot, my friend's daughter shoots. what my question is, why even have it? .243 runs away and leaves it, the .308 has better balistics. they're all on the same case. for a kid, you can't beat a .243. hell, for a growed up man it's a good rifle. great deer cartridge, great for varmints. and you can find ammo everywhere. if i was gonna have any 7mm cartridge it'd be a .284 winchester in a good bolt action. dang sure wouldn't be a pud 7mm/08.
 
I shot a 300 savage when I was a kid. A 257 roberts would also be a good choice but I think a 243 is probabally the best pick.

JB
 
.243 is an awesome choice, but definately look at the .260. It has very little recoil as well.
 
Your little one could grow tons in 4 or 5 years. I would get a .223 for now and then a .243 , .257 ,.308 or 7mm masuer for down the road. My Dad used a .243 for ever it seemed to work fine.
 
I have had 4 different 12 year olds take their Hunters Ed classes and take their first bucks with my Ruger M77 243. Close to zero recoil and still able to reach out to 200 yards with very little drop. 100 grain noslers seem to do the trick just fine. I'd stick with the 243......................rf
 
I agree, go with the .243, he can always go bigger when he gets older. My dad started me out with a .243, I killed my first elk with it one shot at 200 yards 3 steps and down for the count. I used that rifle every year to take a couple deer as well. All most every deer I shot with it dropped on the spot I did have a couple that ran about 20 yards though... IMO it's the most devistating deer killer there is within reason. ;) Especially with 85gr Sierra HPBT... There's none of that TX style shooting run off after you shoot em, you hit em and they drop like a sack of spuds.

If he thinks he needs a bigger gun down the road for deer, then he's got one of the best varmint calibers made!
 
Buy him a youth model 7 in 7mm-08 and never look back. A 243 is not an option, give the boy a gun that even with the jitters and less than perfect shot placement he will get his deer. The boy will not notice anymore kick with the 7mm-08 than with the far less effective 243. After he grows a little, buy an adult stock and mount the gun into it and he is good to go for the next 50 years. Stay away from those cheap single shot rifles, his first go at deer hunting should have him using the same quality equipment as you would use. If you handload, you can really make some good loads for elk hunting. What are you going to do with a 243, shoot a coyote? I have a friend who shoots and does real well with a 243. But this is in the hands of a steady eyed hunter, not a kid.
 
why is the 7mm/08 superior to anything? it shoots like a slug walks. slow. a .308 with equal weight bullets is considerably faster. anything over a 140 in the 7mm/08 is a joke. just because they make a heavy bullet for a certain caliber doesn't mean it's gonna perform. it can't even come close to a .243 for velocity. with a 100 grain bullet a .243 is a great deer rifle. even out to 300 or 400 yards. load it with noslers and go elk hunting with it. looking at the ballistics for a 7mm/08, i can't figure out why it was even developed. i have a model 600 rem .243 that all my kids started out with. when they grew enough that they started hitting theirself in the head with the scope, they all moved up to .270's. now i have a full length stock on the 600 and i use it again. between the 3 of them they've shot over a dozen bucks with it. whatever, i guess, but i don't get the 7mm/08. never could figure out the .280/7mm express either tho.
 
Thanks for all the input guys. Looks like it's about 13-2 in favor of the .243. It does look like it's plenty efficient for deer out to 300 or so. (1260 ft. lbs of energy) Although I don't think I'd let him shoot anything that far away for a while anyway.

Now the question is, what make and model? I've heard a few votes for a Remington model 7, one ruger. Is a 20 inch barrel long enough for a .243 to get going? Or is 22 better? I think the savage youth model is a 22 inch barrel. Anyway, thoughts? Facts? Opinions?

Also, to answer one of your questions? I believe he can hunt in Texas if he passes his hunter's safety course. He also may be able to hunt in New Mexico. I'm looking into both. As much as you guys may hate to hear this, I think shooting at something out of a Texas blind with a good rest is a better option for him at this point. I can sit there with him, and it's a higher percentage shot for him. That way I don't have to worry as much about wounding a deer and losing it. Of course, he won't be shooting at anything with fur until he's shown he can hit paper.

Anyway, thanks for your input. Oh, and don't worry? he won't be hunting over a feeder.

WH
 
WH,
I personally like the ruger youth model M77, but any newer rem, ruger, savage, or win. should function well and be reliable. At the ranges of under 300 yds that you are talking about I would think a 20" barrel would be more than adequate. Which ever model gun you end up with, have the trigger cleaned up, not real "lite" but crisp. I think your texas blind is perfect for young kids' first experiences but I would expect and encourage them to grow out of it quickly.

JB
 
My daughter is 8 years old and took her first buck this year. I bought her a Winchester Youth Rifle in .243 calibur. It hardly kicks and packs a whalop. I would say .243 is the best choice.
 
Did not read your last post.
Winchester Youth Rifle is cut down small so it fits a kid.

Yes my daughter shot her buck while sitting on my lap in a tipod on my lease in South Texas. We were not hunting over a feeder. But I was more nervous than she was because of the wounding aspect. We hunted every day for a week until the right shot oportunity came, where the buck was 50 to 75 yards away, broad side, no other deer in front or behind him, standing still, not looking at us, etc etc.............
Luckily she droped him where he stood at 75 yards :)
What a relief. And you talk about a kid that was on cloud 9!!!
She was the hero of the week around camp. What a great experience.
 
my little sister shoots a ruger M77 in .243 with a 6x fixed variable scope and likes it alot. She's a pretty good shot too, but when I got her a 50 yd broadside shot on a 2pt she started shaking and couldn't find the buck in the scope. It was Cool to see her that excited!
 
I agree with the 25-06. Excellent for a youth deer hunter with plenty of punch for the well trained shooter. Flat shooting also, Steve
 
RLH,

I gather that you don't like the 7mm-08;>). In all honesty, I have a friend that has shot a .243 for years and loves it. I bought one used at a pawn shop in a Win Model 70 and I hated the caliber. I know that each is to his own, but I had it in my head that this gun would shoot alot flatter and be extremely accurate. I was not happy with the accuracy at all, although it was probably accurate enough for shots to 300 yards on deer sized animals. May have had a pretty flat trajectory, but with in 300 yards there is absolutely no difference between any of the popular calibers worth worrying about. If you need flat trajectory beyond that, the .243 Win is not going to be my cartridges of choice. Wind drift, energy loss and a tiny bullet to begin with, eliminate the 243 Win for a long range cartridge for deer. That is what the .270 win and 7mm rem are made for not the .243 Win.

I rebarreled my .243 Win to a 7mm-08 with a Schillen barrel. The gun hardly kicks at all, and shoots as flat as a .30-06 to 350 yards with a "game worthy" bullet. I love mine a lot and it hardly has the ballistics of a "slug" unless you consider a .30-06 with 180 grain bullets to have that trajectory too. Now, if you handicap a 7mm-08 with an 18" barrel, then you will loose some velocity and thus loose some trajectory but that is the same with all calibers.

I will keep my 7mm-08 any day over another .243 unless I plan on doing a lot of predator hunting. FWIW this is my honest opinion. FH
 
LAST EDITED ON Feb-20-04 AT 01:09PM (MST)[p]ruger 30.06 is my vote. it's the same rifle i started shooting with at age 10 and still use at 32.

berto
 
FWIW, My daughter shot her first deer at age 10 with her mothers .257 Ackley, my son shot his first deer at age 9 with the same rifle. I would pick any of the 25 calilbers over the 6mm's for deer.

Phantom Hunter
 

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