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Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
I have only been hunting 4 years and I see it in her eyes that she wants to do what Daddy does. So I started her working out with a Crossman air rifle for safety skills and operation. About to start her on a CZ .22 bolt action, then squirrel hunting after deer season closes. By spring I would like to have her practicing with a deer rifle. I already have a NEF single shot 30-06 that I used sometime, but I feel the 06 would be too much recoil for her. She is tall and athletic 5'10" but a but skinny. I am thinking right now to send the NEF in for re-barreling. I need advise deciding between .243, .270 or .308. Also I know there are 06 light weight grains that claim to be low recoil, but I don't know how effective the are on Georgia Whitetail. I got a feeling she will get a trophy buck in her sights on her first hunt, so I don't want her under gunned either. Any experienced advise out ther?
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
I would go with the 243 cal. if it was me. I bought one for my wife and she gets along with it pretty well. My son will use it this next year on his deer hunt as well.
hunter338 |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
I second the motion for the .243. The .270 and .308 recoil nearly as much as a .30-06; the .243 is noticeably milder, and is very effective on deer (now watch this last statement start a debate!);)
I have a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight and it is a joy to shoot. Once I floated the barrel and lightened the trigger (did this myself) it turned into a tack driver, provided I let the barrel cool a bit between shots. It is easy to carry too. You might look at one of these for the smaller folks in the household. |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
You need to expand your options....the 7mm Mauser and 7mm08 are both very mild recoil calibers that are extremely efficient on deer and Elk. The 243 albiet a great caliber, needs to be in the hands of an expert, experiencedmarksman IMHO.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
7mm-08 ,just alitte more recoil than the .243 but should move more margin for error.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
48th.
Please explain? I guess I would like to know where you are going with your reply? hunter338 |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
I think a good starter rifle for a young lady would be a 25-06. Nowhere near the recoil of a 30-06 and plenty of stuff to lay em down.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
Of those three, I'd suggest the .243. A.30-30, .25-06, or7mm-08 would also be good choices.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
Another excellent caliber to consider is the 6.5x55 Swedish. Ruger, Winchester and CZ all make fine hunting rifles in this caliber. I am taking my CZ550 6.5 Swede on a doe hunt in a couple of days.
The 6.5x55 shoots a reasonably heavy bullet, 140 or even 160 grains, at modest velocities, ~2400-2500fps. Lighter bullets are available for handloaders. The 140 grain recoil is even milder than my 100 grain .243 loads, although this may be due to the weight of the rifles I fire these two calibers in. The long, skinny 6.5mm bullet offers outstanding accuracy and penetration. The only downside is that ammunition may not be as common as some of the other calibers mentioned. I handload so I have lots of flexibility, but again, Remington, Winchester and Federal all offer a decent 140 grain factory load. |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
I agree with the 6.5 swiss and 7mm-08. Would also like to throw in the .260Remington. Remington has a youth bolt in .260, light recoil, excellent accuracy and ballistics. Hard to beat the 6.5/.264 bullet in a mild recoil gun.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
The gun you are really looking for is the 250 Savage. Its to bad that this caliber is now so hard to find. Nothing else that I have used is milder in the recoil than the 250 yet it packs plenty of power for deer hunting. The 257 Roberts which is chambered in the Ruger All Weather ( I Think) would be a good choice as well. A little more recoil but plenty of power for the biggest deer around. Yes, the same rifle in 6.5x55 would be a terrific choice as well.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
ORIGINAL: hunter338 48th. Please explain? I guess I would like to know where you are going with your reply? hunter338 |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
7-08 or 260
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
if your were going to change the barrel go with the 243 but honestly the 30-06 wont kick to hard. if shes 5'10 and pretty athletic the kick wont really bother her. i started shootina 30-06 when i was 11 and i never botherd me. i was pry about 5' and less then 100lbs and it dint bother much. you could have her shoot it a few times and if it does kick to much then maybe get a different barrel but let her see what its like first. she may not like it but she may like it too you dont really know unless you try.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
Ton of good calibers listed here. The 6.5's or the 7-08 would be perfect. The 25's would probably be ideal as well, i just havent shot them. Many many good choices out there.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
.260, 6.5mmSwede, 7mm-08 and .270.
You can buy 6.5mm156gr Norma for larger game. My two main rifles are 6.5mmSwede(140gr) and .270(130gr) for deer. |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
.243 !
Just check out any of my .243 threads. great gun ! |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
ORIGINAL: zrexpilot .243 ! Just check out any of my .243 threads. great gun ! How did I have the feeling you were going to say that?:D:D |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
I'm only like 5'3", 105 lbsand I can shoot a 30-06 with no problem. Currently I'm using a 7mm Rem Mag and I find the kick easily managable.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
ORIGINAL: tykempster I'm only like 5'3", 105 lbsand I can shoot a 30-06 with no problem. Currently I'm using a 7mm Rem Mag and I find the kick easily managable. :D:DWhy is it that little guys always want to fight the big guys?:D:D:D |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
270. you wont regret it.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
My nephew, although a young adult, is tiny - about 5-4 and 120 lbs. Very skinny and weak (due to some health problems), He shoots a 7mm-08 very well and comfortably. But that said, he shoots the bejeezus out of a 12 gauge bird hunting, so there ya go.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
I would go out and pick up a couple of boxes of remington's managed recoil ammo in 30-06(125 grain bullet)and take her to the range to see how she handles the NEF. Remington claims they are good to 200 yards and have half the recoil of the same full power load.I have never shot this ammo but I think Remington is onto something with this new ammo. IMHO I think the 30-06 is the only gun a hunter needs as you have remington factory ammo from the tiny 55 grain bullet up to the 220 grain bullet. If you handload then you have many choices in selecting the proper load.I only own 2CF rifles for hunting and they are both in this caliber.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
I didn't read all the posts, so if I'm repeating just forgive me ... you might want to consider the old .30-30. A Marlin M336 costs a lot less than the bolt guns and it'll kill deer out to around 175-200 yds. It doesn't kick much, ammo is cheap so she can practice a lot, and if you buy a used rifle it'll cost even less. I like that it shoots a slower, heavier bullet than some of the others mentioned (like the .243) and gives great penetration with slow bullet expansion. I like the .243 okay, I just don't like the light bullet weight. The .243 kills like dynamite if you hit one right, but it has a reputation for leaving a lot of wounded critters in the woods if you make a marginal shot.
I've got several rifles ... a .300WSM, a .30-06, and a .308 ... but when it comes time to smoke a buck, my old .30-30 usually does the job just fine if the range is under 200 yds besides,it's just fun to shoot. I shoot 170gr Winchester Power Points, and I've stopped every deer I've ever shot with it right where they stood. The .243 and some of the other traditional bolt rounds are faster and more glamorous, but for plain ole' deer killing, the .30-30 is hard to beat. |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
I also like the 250 savage. A very over looked deer killer withLow Recoil.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
A bolt action 30 30. Room for error on a bad placed shot.And now you can buy shells that reduce the recoil on most rifles by 30%.They lower the range of the bullet but still reach out to 150yrds easy in a 30 30.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
Agree. These two calibers, even though they have more recoil on paper, seem to kick less than the .243 or 25-06. It's more of a push than a "pop" - particulary if the rifle is not a featherweight.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
let me put my 2 cents in here.
the .243 is great, I own 2 of em. But I think an even better choice for you would be the .260 or 7mm-08. I just swopped from a .30-06 to a 7mm-08...I'm lov'n it ! |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
The 6.5X55 sedish is good. If I was going to buy a new rifle it would be in the .260 rem., itwas made specifically for Whitetail shoots like a .243 and leaves amuchbetter wound channel.However, since you have a 30-06 honestly those new low recoil cartridges that Rem and Fed have really are light on the recoil and have heard first hand from a few with young kids that they are great! They still have more energy than a .30-30 and surprisinly less recoil. I would start there unless you really are set a new rifle for her.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
All good choices, how ever I would go with a Winchester model 70. 150gr lite loads.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
gkellys...A .243 will serve her well...Forget the .257 Roberts and the .250 Savage...The .243 rendered them obsolete years ago...Just look at any manufacturer's list of centerfire rifle cartridges avaliable...most have several .243 loadings and one or two for the .257 Roberts and .250 Savage...They were good loadings..but they are now for reloaders....
.243 an experts cartridge??? Where do you plan to put the bullet?? In the guts or in the hams??? If so...get a .300 Mag...Frankly I have seen more deer wounded up and lost because of poor shooting (flinching) than from shooting them in the lungs/shoulder from a .243....The guys that think a .243 is too small for deer....How many have YOU shot with this round??? How many were recovered so you know where you hit them...Or did you just think you hit them where you were aiming....I have used a .243 since 1980...have killed over 130 whitetails with....its entirely adequate... especially for your Georgia deer.... Jack O'Conner once said that guys that used big guns are like guys that drink hard liquor....must make them think they are more of a man.....The size of the man has nothing to do with the caliber in his hand....I'm 6ft 5...250....If you can shoot...a .243 is all you need for most situations.....I have killed them out to 300 yards...all this foot pound garbage is for the gun salesmen...I have never killed a deer on paper... |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
Boy, That stirred up a hornets nest! Ton's of great advise and options that I had not considered. I will look at the re-barreling options from NEF again in light of the advise. I am leaning towards .243 and will do a bit more research on the 30-06 light recoil options as well. She can always put the 30-06 barrel back on if she is going for heavier game. I let her hold the NEF rifle and she said "I like it". So I told her I will change the caliber if needed and consider it hers. She was especially inspired when I told her the last deer we ate was killed with that gun. Thanks for the great advise!
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
ORIGINAL: nchawkeye gkellys...A .243 will serve her well...Forget the .257 Roberts and the .250 Savage...The .243 rendered them obsolete years ago...Just look at any manufacturer's list of centerfire rifle cartridges avaliable...most have several .243 loadings and one or two for the .257 Roberts and .250 Savage...They were good loadings..but they are now for reloaders.... .243 an experts cartridge??? Where do you plan to put the bullet?? In the guts or in the hams??? If so...get a .300 Mag...Frankly I have seen more deer wounded up and lost because of poor shooting (flinching) than from shooting them in the lungs/shoulder from a .243....The guys that think a .243 is too small for deer....How many have YOU shot with this round??? How many were recovered so you know where you hit them...Or did you just think you hit them where you were aiming....I have used a .243 since 1980...have killed over 130 whitetails with....its entirely adequate... especially for your Georgia deer.... Jack O'Conner once said that guys that used big guns are like guys that drink hard liquor....must make them think they are more of a man.....The size of the man has nothing to do with the caliber in his hand....I'm 6ft 5...250....If you can shoot...a .243 is all you need for most situations.....I have killed them out to 300 yards...all this foot pound garbage is for the gun salesmen...I have never killed a deer on paper... I hear you hawkey, you know I shoot a .243 and have picked it over many calibers. I've tried to explain that energy doesnt kill, 2000lbs of energy is a load of crap, almost all bullets hit with around 10lbs of force, period ! This is actuall ft lbs, not some theory. I also get tired of hearing about marginal shots or room for error, a missed shot is a miss, .222 or 300 mag, you better have some tracking skills. A .222 in the vitals is better than a .460 in the gut, any day of the week and on sunday too. I also cant believe people recomending an 30-06 for a small girl, that is ridiculous. I dont know if you know but HELLO ? A 30-06 is a big game cartridge, Jeeeez, and offers no better killing power on deer than a lot smaller cartridges. People need to match cartridges to the game their after. |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
I would either get the .243 or look at the 25-06. Either way make sure she relizes that with a Handi-Rifle she will have one shot so she'd better be able to hit the mark.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
Yep, I already explained one shot, one kill with that rifle to her. Being athletic, she was intrigued even more by the challenge. Of course I will make sure she can hit the paper plate at 100 at will before I leave the deer at her mercy. And I will teach her towork that single action reload with decent speed. Thats about as long a shot as you get in the woods around here, typical shot being 50 yards or less. I have rarely had a chance to take a second shot around here anyway for the same reason. Ga. woods aredense.I prefer her to start with a single shot because it is simple, basic and I feel safer to operate (load, unload, checkif cocked)for less experienced shooters. I even prefer to hunt with one because like bow hunting, the one shot dynamic adds to the challenge.I guess I will have to get myself another one.
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RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
gkellys, apparently everyone's overlooked one option - Remington's Managed Recoil offerings as well as the low-recoil options from Federal. When I bought my first deer rifle last August (2004), I bought one chambered in .30-06. My 12-year-old daughter can easily shoot it using the Managed Recoil loads. According to the Remington web site, the .30-06 recoil is equivalent to a .243. From my experience, they are indeeed close to 1/2 the recoil of the regular 150gr loads I've used.
The Remingtons are designed for shots out to 200 yards and use a 125gr bullet. Federal goes a different route with a 170gr bullet in the low-recoil load, but, as one would expect, it doesn't shoot as flat as the Remington. Try them out. I think you'll be pleased. Then, if you ever need some "full-power" loads, you don't need to buy a new rifle. ********************* Edited to add: Ooops, I wasn't clear in my statement. I meant the .30-06 managed recoil load is equivalent to a .243 in recoil. Wasn't comparing ballistics. Sorry for the confusion. (Edited my statement above slightly to make it clearer. |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
Check balistics, dont see how the -06 125 managed recoil is equivalent to the .243.
Sectional density lacks way behind, velocity also, and for those who care energy is a little behind also. trajectory is way behind, twice as much bullet drop. That cannot be good. No comparo. |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
I agree that the managed recoil 30-06 does not compare to the 243 full loads as Zrex says.
That being said, Gkellys mentioned that 100 yards is as long a shot as he gets in the woods there. The 30-06 managed recoil loads will certainly perform to that range. The added benefit here is that he does not have to rebarrel the gun or buy another one. I have shot the managed recoil from both a 270 and 30-06 in an effort to find a reasonable recoil for my 13 year old. The 270 was great, probably around that ofthe 243 and the 30-06 was less than my 30-30. |
RE: Need Caliber for 15 year old daughter
Ya but heres where people get Ironic.
People will say a .243 is marginal ( which is way wrong) but then advise someone to use 125 gr managed recoil rounds. HUh ? that makes no sense. If you dont reccomend a 243 why would you reccomend managed recoil rounds. The fact is the 125 gr bullet in 30 caliber offers no sectional density, coupled with low velocity, your asking for trouble in my opinion, specially for a begginer. Fact is its very hard to have just one gun in the cabinet. I would just buy another NEF or the H&R in .243 they are not very expensive, you could get away with just a Tasco on it, for 100 yd shots. 300 bucks totall and your girl would have her very own gun. Christmas is just around the corner. Hint hint... |
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