First Rifle for 12 year old...

[mustad]

What caliber would you suggest to start a 12 year off on?

Primary hunting will be Whitetails. This boy has fired a firearm one time so I'm trying to find something that would be useful for him in learning how to hunt, but also something that won't recoil so much that he could develop bad habits on the range.

Any thoughts?

Cheers,

[biscuit jake]

If he is of regular height & build, 257 Roberts.

[mauser06]

i started with a 308.....but i was around guns and shooting my whole life....recoil didnt bother me one bit...started shooting a 12ga at backyard trap at 10 or 11....and squirrel hunted with a 20ga 3inch mag turkey loads when i was 12...correct shooting form and everything makes a big diffrence on what the shooter feels....you have that stock positioned wrong and its going to whack the shooter worse then if its planted right....i guess i was a little bigger then most 12yr olds too...just started to beef up around then...but i was about average sized...i was shooting a full sized winchester 88 that year.....and if it wasnt passed down from my grandfather i could still be shooting it.....its in the closet now....too pretty of a rifle to beat up every day hunting...and price keeps going up......but it took thatfirst deer down like a champ...a 308 is a versitale caliber and can even be loaded down tofit a kid....and he can use real loads as he grows.....alot of managed recoil loads on the market too now...i think they are great...buy a kid a 308 with them at first...and he wont need another rifle....

[DannyD]

Mustad,
If he doesn't have access to a 22lr to learn to shoot properly my suggestion would be to start there. Not for hunting whitetail of course but for proper shooting technique.
The whitetail rifle I would go with is a 243. Great for whitetail and he can enjoy shooting it all day at the range.
My daughter started at 12 years old two seasons ago. She started out with the 22 and then used a 30-30 for deer hunting. Although she got a deer her first time out with the 30-30 if i had to do it all over again we would have bought the 243 first (she has one now). She would have enjoyed the range sessions more as she does now with the 243 than she did with the 30-30

Good luck and have a great time out there hunting with the boy

[m.t.hands]

i would suggest a remington model 7 in .243-.308, i bought my wife a model 7 in 260 rem, my 11 year old grandson has been shooting it for a couple of years, light, small, and the recoil is very tolarable, it is a great shooting little gun, and in the 7mm-08 or .308 version he'd have a gun for life, also i have found the .260 is great little deer medicine, when i went looking i was looking for a 7-08 but i ended up buying this gun from a friend, read the post about the little model 7, i think you'll be impressed, BTW others make youth model also, so shop around, and you could always go the handi rifle route 199$

[Duckbutter48]

Ditto on DannyD's advice. 243 is preaty sweet for a first rifle. Ive seen alot of youngins use 410's with slugs also. You could get a Rossi 410/22lr combo gun for $150ish and would be a good starter rifle. I think starting with a single shot or only 1 round in the gun is a good idea. I know to many expericenced hunters that are more worried about a quick 2nd shot on a deer then a good 1st, if you only have 1 then it has to be a good shot. I think if they started out with just one shot they would have a different attitude towards shooting.

An Encore is a nice 1st rifle if you dont really have a budget. They get kinda pricey with more then one barrel and scopes and stuff. Model 7 or a Browning Micro Hunter(my fav) are also good rifle choices.

[nchawkeye]

I wouldn't start a 12 year old with deer hunting...Start him out with a .22 and squirrels...Teach him to shoot and to hunt...I see too many middle aged guys deer hunting that never learned the basics of hunting and shooting...I have also seen alot of kids kill a few deer and then give up hunting....They never learn to appreciate nature and the peacefullness of being outdoors.

[Folically Challenged]

Another vote for the .243. My first buck was a 10 pointer with beautiful tall tines - quite a benchmark to set for myself!

I'd also suggest good hearing protection, and lots of practice. We never bothered with the "ears" on the farm, and it took me years to realize that the .243 didn't have enough recoil to make me flinch, but it sure made enough noise to do so!

Good luck!

[DannyD]

FC,
Great advice on the hearing protection. My daughter has no issue with the 243 when it comes to recoil. Any flinch she has isbecause ofthe noise at the covered (metal roof) range we go to. She wears double protection now (muff and plugs) and is doing great.
Not to mention of course saving the hearing.


Mustad, Please make him wear the protection even in the field

[Mike Hill]

I got to agree with Danny D he said it all. Mike