MBuckH72

I would go with the .25-06...Excellent cartridge.

Tumbo

Stick with a short action,either a 243 or 260rem,the longer 25-06 action may cause problems for a youth,in the excitement of the hunt its possible for a youth to short stroke the bolt on a longer action ending up with an empty chamber or a jammed magazine at the critical stage.

remington_nc

frizzellr made a good point, the 260. is a very good round.

rockytop

Remington and ruger make .243 youth models. My wife shoots the remington 700 youth model in a .243 and can shoot awsome groups out to 200 yards. The action on the gun is very stiff but the trigger is adjustable. These youth models are great for people with shorter arms and statue. I might add, that I love to carry that .243 when I still and stalk hunt. It' s extemely light and easy to get around in the brush and no recoil.
I also have a 25-06 and it' s a great gun but the longer guns will be a problem for the smaller folks.

dvdegeorge

Another cal. you might consider is 7mm08

iloveto4x4innc

I agree with dvdegeorge, 7mm08 is a good kid round. There was a 12 year old girl hunting with us last year and she was shooting my boss' s 7mm08 with no problem. If you have to have 243 or 25-06, I' d go for the 25-06. I' ve seen whitetails take four rounds in the vitals and keep right on going. My mom used to shoot 243, the last season she used it she lost 2 deer. First one she hit 4 times in the vitals. I trailed him for 1.5 miles before I lost the trail. The second she hit and he just kept on grazing like nothing happened. Since it was getting dark we gave up and went home. Came back the next morning and found him about 50 yards from were we' d last seen him grazing. She moved up to 7mm the next year. Just my 2 cents worth.

frizzellr

OK so how do you know all shots were in the vitals since you gave up tracking? Sounds like the shooter and not the gun. What kind of bullet was used?

iloveto4x4innc

Large amounts of lung tissue and blood splotches bigger than my fist for the first 200-300 yards. I know the first shot was a good hit as I watched it hit. Not too sure what ammo she was using at the time. What ever it was it was the heaviest bullet she could get in a factory load. I always used my stepdad' s 30-06 and never had one go more than a few feet. The first shot was a beautiful broadside. He took off so we went back to the truck, had a cigarette and a cup of coffee and then went back out to track him. We jumped him and she put another one in him. Went back for another smoke and coffee. Went back out and jumped him again. She put 2 more him that time. Took another coffee break. Never saw him again. Each time I got to where she' d shot him, I' d find huge globs of blood with lung tissue in it. They found a rack about a mile from where I lost the trail that was a dead ringer for the one that we lost about a year later. The second one that she shot that year never acted like anything had happened and it was getting dark so we didn' t fool around with a second shot at him. Couldn' t tell where she' d hit him when we found his carcass the next morning as a big cat and some coyotes had worked him over pretty good during the night.

She' s an excelant shot and I' ve never seen her miss her mark. I can' t swear to whether she put the last shots in the vitals or not but the first one at least was. I don' t like to follow blood trails and I hate losing game. That' s why I recommended going with something that you can get a heavier factory load for. Aint much fun an adult to follow a blood trail for over a mile and lose it, why put a kid throught that if you don' t have to.

frizzellr

I have shot a 243 for years and never had one go more than a few yards. I have seen deer take a good hit from a 270, 7mm Rem Mag, 25-06, 30-06, and 30-30 and keep going. Anything to do with the cartridge? Probably not. It happens. I can understand your concern with the 243 but I will just about bet that she was using 85 grain Remington Corelokts which are pretty much crap. The 243 will do a job on deer without a doubt if the shooter does their job which includes using the right ammo for the job. I will agree though that a 260 or 7mm-08 make a better deer rifle, especially for a novice hunter.

Todd1700

If the above story is accurate and this deer was hit 4 times in a vital area with a 243 and just kept on going (which I find incredibly hard to believe) then she must have been shooting 55 grain ballistic tip varmit rounds. Even with a varmit bullet 4 shots should have done it in. I strongly suspect that this deer wasn' t hit as well as you think. Hell, 4 shots in a vital area from a 22 magnum will kill a deer graveyard dead. Not that I recomend a rimfire bullet of this low power even in the few areas it would be legal. All I can tell you is this. I have killed a ton of deer with a 243. Never lost a single one. Put a 100 grain corelock or controlled expansion bullet from a 243 behind a deers shoulder and its dead. Yeah it might run a ways but not enough to matter. I' ve seen a deer shot tight behing the shoulder with a 300 magnum run a 100 yards. No gun will assure you of a sledgehammer dropped in his tracks kill everytime. 99% of the time a deer isn' t recovered its the shooter not the bullet thats to blame. Either because of a poor shot or using the wrong type bullet for the animal they' re hunting.