A friend of mine is considering a youth model bolt action in either .260 or 7mm.08 for his little girl. She's 8 years old, tall but very thin. Needing something with as little recoil as possible. Anyone have any experience with these calibers? Any other recomendations? Thanks.
Personal opinion I would be surprised if they weren't a bit big for a eight year old .I don't care for the 260 myself but have the 7MM-08 . They are excellant deer rounds .
The problem with rifles light enough for thin 8 year olds to be able to carry and shoulder comfortably is that they will recoil more than most youngsters can endure, even in mild calibers like the 7mm-08. I borrowed several rifles for my tall but rail thin 15 year old son to try, a lightweight 7mm-08 with 20" barrel, a Savage Weather Warrior in .270 Win with synthetic stock and muzzle brake, and my Super Shadow .270WSM loaded with 100 gr Hornady bullets and Hogdon's youth load. His favorite was the Super Shadow with the light handloads. His least favorite was a tie between the 7mm-08 which he said kicked too hard and the Savage which he said was too loud and hurt his ears (even with plugs and muffs). My solution: a Howa 1500 Lightning in 6.5x55 Swede. Very mild recoil in a medium weight sporter rifle. Probably added another half pound with the Boyd's laminated wood stock, and while it is a little heavy to pack around, it is very pleasant to shoot off the bench and holds nicely for off hand shooting.
If forced to choose between the .260 Rem and 7mm-08 for a youngster, I would opt for the 260 Remington, but only if I was a handloader. If I wasn't a handloader, I would get them a .243 Winchester to practice with until they were comfortable enough to move up to a 6.5 or .270.
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Train her on a 22 or even a .223 and both the .260 and 7-08 are good lower recoil guns. The .260 has a little less recoil and is a very good deer gun with a 130gr bullet. My friends Ruger 77 Mk II .260 will put three shots under a nickel at 100 yards. I have a 7x57 Mauser which is almost identical to the 7-08 and it has very manageable recoil.
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As already noted, an eight year old should probably be concentrating on shooting with a 22LR, and not deer rifles.
That said, between the two cartridges you noted I'd opt for the
260Remington, and look to the lighter bullet weights such as the
120/125gr. With the right bullets will still be very adequate for deer.
Another option you might wish to consider, take a look at the Ruger 77 Ultra-Light. It's about six pounds, and has a 20" barrel.
You may need to have some trigger work done to lighten it some, and the stock can be shortened a little for not much $$$.
It's available in 257Roberts chambering, and this is a very mild recoiling cartridge. Would make an excellent deer rifle, especially for a first rifle. Heck, for that matter the 257Robts. would make a pretty good bet for anyone for whitetails, antelope & mule deer as well.
Take her to a good gun shop, and within reason, let her handle a few rifles, and see what she likes. She may want something that is not a youth model, but then it doesn't cost much to have a stock
shortened, and the recoil pad re-installed. Good luck.
I would highly reccomend the 6.5x55 Swede. It is a very low recoiling cartridge but still has enough power to drop almost any deer that walks this earth. Some people on this board (Rebel Hog i think??) have even used theirs to shoot moose. It's a great little cartridge and highly reccomend it. Only drawback is the ammo is a little hard to find, but not too hard.
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Need info on .260 & 7mm.08 youth model
