I'm taking my 10 year old on his first hunt this fall. I was also thinking that I'd need to get something like a 243 for him. Then, I discovered the Managed Recoil loads by Remington. Roughly half the recoil as standard loads and still good out to 200 yds. I don't plan on him shooting at anything over 150 yards anyway. So, I'm going to let him use my 30-06. It certainly costs less than buying another gun.

So, if you've already got a good deer rifle, you might want to look into letting him use it with a managed recoil load.

Thanks again guys.

.243win
7mm-08

those are my two choices. Whatever you do get him something he can shoot comfortably, I was shooting a .270 for my first hunt and that thing scared me to shoot it, nowadays it's a puppy, but for a 10yo or whatever it kicked like a mule.

Since you're looking for a deer gun I have to recomend that you stay away from a shotgun. Even a 20 gauge will kick hard out of a single shot. The .243 is an excellent choice for him because it's not just a child caliber. Another idea that hasn't been mentioned yet is a 30-30. A Marlin 336 in 30-30 wouldn't kick any more than a light weight single shot in .243 and he'd have the advantage of quicker follow up shots. With the new Hornady leverevolution ammo the 30-30 is now a 250 yard rifle.
Whichever gun you choose, you're going to be able to share some priceless memories with your son, congrats.

BigDaddy, a couple things - you may not get as good an accuracy with pellets as you do with loose powder. I started out with 777 pellets and my rifle could barely hit the broad side of a barn. I was able to get much better accuracy with loose powder. Some people do get very good accuracy with pellets though, so you might get lucky. Just make sure you keep your pellets dry and in an airtight box so they don't absorb moisture - once that starts happening, accuracy will for sure go away.

My (then 12 year old) daughter took her first deer with a 30-30 with a sims limbsaver recoil pad attached. I later got a 243 for us and she shoots that without issues also.

Any more than that and she's scared of it. We also have a 20g and she feels like that kicks a whole lot more than our 243 or 30-30 so she will not shoot it

is not a big problem, even if it knocks you on your butt. But you have to remember that it takes LOTS of shooting to become proficient, assuming one wants to become proficient. And after the 6th or 7th, or 50th or 60th shot, recoil becomes a VERY significant factor. I can shoot my muzzleloader all day and it even has a metal buttplate. But a 12 ga.? Forget it.

I'm going against the majority, but my choice, hands down, is the 7mm08. We re-barrel my DW's 243 to 7mm08. She always killed what she shot, but the trailing was generally longer with the 243. When the grandkids started shooting, they tried out the 7-08. Now they have their own.

This is a "easy" shooting caliber, also based on the 308 brass, that really can't be "outgrown".

I'm in the market for another A-Bolt in 7-08 now. Our youngest grand will be needing a rifle in a couple of years.

When you take the pellet out of the plastic case they come in, think of your arm and fingers as a crane. You put the pipe cleaner through the center hole, lift it as a unit, and it goes back down into the barrel the same way. The small flakes you see is really black powder I was told. It is there to produce a hot flash onto the bottom of the pellet.

Here's a pretty good chart on recoil that chuckhawks put out.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm