What first deer gun?

[n.mdeerblaster]

I am thirteen years old and i am getting into deer hunting. I would like to get a gun that is very versatile and especially good on deer. I live in New Mexico, and my shots may be a little bit long. What gun would you recommend for a starter with minimal recoil?[&:]

[akbound]

Hi n.mdeerblaster,

I personally think one of the best "new" calibers to come along in quite awhile is the .260 Remington. It's recoil is barely more than a .243 Winchester with the heavier bullets and it offers more flexibility for game larger than deer should you ever need it. (The .243 Winchester is a great cartridge in its own right and would be hard to beat for deer and smaller game/varmints.) Where the .260 Remington shows its advantage of course is the good selection of bullets between 120 to 140 grains. (And there are even truly heavy weights of between 156 to 160 grains for special applications.)

There are a very many nice rifles that would be ideal for a younger shooter and they span the price range from inexpensive to premium rifles. You'd have to look long and hard to find a nicer caliber for your stated purpose. Oh, and the bonus.....it's such a good cartridge you'll never outgrow it!

Good luck with your search....and decision!

[PaJack]

New Mexico...one of my favorite states to hunt!

My pick would be a 25-06 for New Mexico,as you said shots can be long and that's a flat shooter. If you get into hunting,you will probably want to elk hunt someday and then I would look for a larger caliber...

[frizzellr]

I agree with akbound, the 260 Rem is about as good a starter cartridge as there is and you won't outgrow it. Very versatile cartridge. Another one you can think about is the 7mm-08 Rem. Very similar ballistically to the 260 Rem but a bit more bullet. You can flip a coin between the two and you won't lose either way.

[oldelkhunter]

30/30 winchester is a fine first time rifle

[ijimmy]

243 would be my choice , no kick , shoots farly flat , and is plenty powerfull for deer .

[rcw280]

I started my son out shooting the 243 but moved to the 7mm-08 for his first hunt, the 260 is also a fine gun to start with. You would be happy with any of the three.

[bigbulls]

A thirteen year old boy should be able to handle the recoil of any of the standard cartridges with out any problems. I got started with a 12 gague at eleven and a 30-06 at thirteen then traded it for a 7mm mag when I was 14. Unless you are particularly recoil sensative then the regular old .270 Winchester would be about the ideal catrtridge for you. It is very flat shooting with the 130 grain loadings and recoil is pretty light. It also has the ability to use heavier 150 grain bullets for elk and moose later on if needed and recoil is still on the light side. Bullets are available at every store that carries ammo for anything so you will never be with out ammo and it is inexpensive compared to many of the other cartridges that are not as widely available. Every rifle manufacturer that I know of chambers for the .270 so you should have no problem at all selecting a gun that you like and is within your (or your parents) budget.

My ten year old son loves to shoot mine every time we go out to the range. He has no problem with the recoil at all. If he can shoot it then you should have no problem at all. Mine doesn't even have a recoil pad, just a plastic but plate. With a good recoil pad the recoil feels even lighter.

Good luck.

[Kodiakhuntmaster2]

For versatility, the 270 is hard to beat. If deer were the only thing you were going to use your rifle for I would say either the 243 or 6mm. The 260 is great too, but not as versatile as the more common 270. If you do decide on the 270, you'll never need another rifle for the lower 48.

[ralphie]

7mm-08