I got my daughter a Ruger M77 Compact, in .243, when she was 11. The gun weighs 5 3/4 lbs before it is scoped.

Recoil was an issue.

She was afraid of it after firing one round of factory ammo. I admit, that thing did kick for a .243.

My father loaded up some handloads that were really rediculosly underpowered. Barly kicked.

She would shoot them just fine along with lots of dry firing sessions. She lost her fear of the gun and shot it quite well. She enjoyed shooting her old Hot Wheels cars.( Anything to make it interesting for her )She could hit them pretty good out to50yds.


Before deer season I sighted it back in with the Factory loads, but didn't tell her. She never noticed the difference after shooting her first couple of deer.

I made sure she wore ear plugs with ear muffs on top. Sound really causes flinching in kids.

We also added a Limbsaver recoil pad. I can't say enough of how well they do to tame recoil. Well worth the price.