Here is something to think about; is it really the recoil that is bothering her, or is it the muzzle blast? I would venture to say it may be since she seems to have problems with a 243 Win as well.

I would get a .243 or a 6mm and put a good recoil pad on it and a good
muzzle brake.

A 243 has too much recoil....

Varmit rifles on deer....

Muzzlebreaks on 243's


You may be practicing the 30-30 thing to death, how about just practice with a 22, and when the season comes around just go out and kill the deer with the 30-30 or the 243 or whatever, IMHO marksmanship skills are transferable between weapons, especially with a scope it isn't rocket science, she's got one kill under her belt --- she knows what it looks and feels like....

Or, ugh, nevermind.

Another option is to go with a real rifle, like a .260 or 7MM-08, and have her do all the practice shooting from a Caldwell Lead Sled or a Benchmaster. In the field, she will never feel the kick.

i personally think if you are set on the 223 than make sure she is very good with it and look into some of those hotloaded rounds that hit harder than average, good luck!

It is possible that I am overanalyzing my daughters actions. I mean she says she is Ok with the 30-30. She proved last year that when it comes down to it she can shoot it. She practices all the time with the 22lr. I wonder if i'm better off getting the Marlin 22lr that is shaped similarly to the 336 and have her practice with that ( this was somewwhat suggested earlier in this post)

Or maybe I just buy the 223 anyway and use it as an excuse to get another gun

Im justconcerned myhunting buddywill beturned off to the sport. It just wouldn't be the same.

IF you ask me i have a marlin 336A in a 30-30 and it weighs between 7.5 and 8lbs and when i first got that rifle i was 8 years old and about 50lbs(i've always been small my whole life) and i loved that gun i've never replaced the recoil pad, so the recoil on the 30-30 isn't really that bad, and now i am 15 years old 5'6 and i weigh 100lbs and i shot my dads 300 win mag feather weight and i wanna shot it all day this sunday when we go to site them in.

But maybe you wanna ask how she feels about this gun and i belive at ganders there is a recoil pad that goes on you shoulder and it takes up to 85% of the recoil and a 30-30 with 170grain has about 11 ftlbs of recoil and with that recoil pad it should take of about 9.35 of ftlbs of recoil(11x .85=9.35 then 11-9.35= is about 1.65 of recoil if not a lil bit more) because if i lived where you llive i would just use the 30-30 because of the shot you have out here in colorado we have shot up to 400yrds and the furthest i ahve tooken was 150 with my first deer and she took 5 steps and droped. but if i were you i would just look into a sholuder recooil pad or slip on one those shots are every 30-30 hunters dream

You have mentioned the .223 as a deer round but NO one has said a word about the 22-250 Rem.
To me a .22 cal is no deer rifle but they do work.I have used the 22-250 with great results on deer/antelope with the 55 grain TBBC.

There are also less recoil rifles out there the great .250 Savage and .257 Roberts are great kids guns,look into them.
I take 3 young ladies hunting every year since they could hunt,and they have shot everything from .243 to 30-06 with no complaints.One now shoots a Savage 270,another my Ruger 25-06 and the other loves my old savage 99 250-3000.
If you must step down from the 30-30 look to the 22-250 in a must hunt situation.
BBJ

A savage 99 in a 250-3000 would be a real find. I still have never seen one...probably couldnt afford it if i ever do.

Can a deer be shot with a Rem. 223? Yes, but is it really the best deer cartridge, not really. We owe it to the animal and the future hunting endeavors of our youngsters to make quick clean kills. Teaching your youth how to shoot the proper caliber rifle to match the game is a wonderful part of hunting. Rifle fit is a big part of managing recoil, does her cheek match up? length of pull? etc... To make quick work of this problem, I strongly encourage you to visit this site, http://www.boydboys.com , and pick out a nice Ross Thumbhole stock made to order to your daughters size and slap a realistic deer caliber action into it. The stocks come in a variety of finishes and you can request one fully completed of in need of some finish sanding which would add even more to the bonding experience for you and your daughter. Oh, and that recoil problem, let's just say she feel like she's shooting that .223 again. I've done a 7mm Rem mag up in one of their thumbhole stocks and it's truly a one handed bench shooter, my wife shot a ten point last season with it and didn't even flinch (5'3" 105).