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Kid friendly caliber
Since I'm new here forgive me if this has been asked before. My son will be 12 and able to shoot his own deer next year where we live.
I have a 30-06 and a 12 gauge slug gun, which both hurt my shoulder after a couple of rounds, so I know either one will be to much for him.  Yes he will go through a hunters safety course first, and I will be with him in the stand. I just would like to know a good caliber, please don't go off into autoloader vs bolt action, the greatest manufacturer ever, or any other tangent.  THANK YOU |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
Try a Ruger carbine in 44 Mag if the shots are close.
Longer shots maybe a 7mm08. |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
.243 Win, or 6mm Rem.;)
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
7mm-08, light recoil, good performance and it's easy to find ammo
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
ORIGINAL: jeepkid .243 Win, or 6mm Rem.;) |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
.243 Win, 7mm-08, 6mm Rem (if you can find one), .257 Roberts, and he might even do ok with a 25-06.
Another suggestion I'd make, since it's his first time out this year, you might want to consider letting him use your .30-06, but load it with the Remington Managed Recoil ammo. It uses a 125gr bullet at 2600fps, making it kick about like a .243 Win. The 125gr .308cal bullet is a Core-Lokd bullet specially designed to perform at the reduced velocity, and is said to be quite effective on deer. I don't know what your situation is, but if getting him his own gun right now is less than do-able, it'd be a good option. Also, you might also consider getting him a rifle in .308 Win and still starting him on the Managed Recoil ammo. A couple-three years down the road when he's a little older and bigger he could work up to full-power ammo. The .308Win is great for everything up to elk and will serve him well for all the hunting he's likely to do for the rest of his life, unless he gets the wild hair to go after the great bears or large African game someday. Good Luck to you and your son. Mike |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
ORIGINAL: driftrider .243 Win, 7mm-08, 6mm Rem (if you can find one), .257 Roberts, and he might even do ok with a 25-06. Another suggestion I'd make, since it's his first time out this year, you might want to consider letting him use your .30-06, but load it with the Remington Managed Recoil ammo. It uses a 125gr bullet at 2600fps, making it kick about like a .243 Win. The 125gr .308cal bullet is a Core-Lokd bullet specially designed to perform at the reduced velocity, and is said to be quite effective on deer. I don't know what your situation is, but if getting him his own gun right now is less than do-able, it'd be a good option. Also, you might also consider getting him a rifle in .308 Win and still starting him on the Managed Recoil ammo. A couple-three years down the road when he's a little older and bigger he could work up to full-power ammo. The .308Win is great for everything up to elk and will serve him well for all the hunting he's likely to do for the rest of his life, unless he gets the wild hair to go after the great bears or large African game someday. Good Luck to you and your son. Mike |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
.243 WIN
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
All of the above Ideas and calibers are great suggestions. I like theNEF single shot in 45-70. As a newer shooter make sure your son wears hearing protection, almost all of the bad shooting habits I see come from noise, not recoil. Kids are tough.
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
ORIGINAL: Ideaman All of the above Ideas and calibers are great suggestions. I like theNEF single shot in 45-70. As a newer shooter make sure your son wears hearing protection, almost all of the bad shooting habits I see come from noise, not recoil. Kids are tough. Not to mention that it's vitally important to protect his hearing. All CF firearms are loud enough to cause some amount of PERMANENT hearing damage, even with one shot. If your ears ring after the shot, you've lost some of your hearing FOREVER. You might not be able to perceive the loss, but the damage is cumulative and will get a little worse every time it happens (trust me on this, I speak from experience). The good habits he learns now about wearing good hearing protection will save his hearing years from now. Mike |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
If you ever read a magazine that reviews a product and says it is a piece of crap, subscribe to the magazine! But I digress...!;) Mike |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
When my son is ready I had been thinking about the 243 win. Remington's managed recoil ammo didn't really come to my mind but that's a good idea. My only concern is that different rifles prefer different ammo and one rifle might shoot a load extremely well and another shoot sub par groups. If the remington managed recoil was the only ammo that my son could handle out of a 308 I would be concerned that his gun might not shoot it accurately. That's why most people reccomend shooting several loads out of a gun to find out what it shoots best
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
I'd be suprised if you didnt get decent groups out of that ammo. However, it could be an issue. 243 has taken a lot of deer. If he's shooting tight groups, that confidence will carry over to his hunting.
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
The 7mm08 is a lot more versaitle than the .243. I started my babygirl out with a 7mm08 at age of 12 and every deer she's shot at went down with 1 shot-it didn't pass go-it didn't collect 200 dollars-they went straight down.
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
Bud...Guess I'm still a kid, at 52 and 6ft 5 inches and 255 pounds...I'm still shooting a .243, its all you need for deer...I have killed over 150 with this gun, 6 black bears and tons of groundhogs, coyotes, crows and various other varmints that didn't have any business on our farms...
The sweet thing about this gun, I can buy a case of 100gr CoreLokts @ $13.88 a box from WalMart and shoot all year long...Its recoil is light enough that I never loose sight of the deer and accurate enough that you can drop a deer in its tracks with a bullet through the shoulder blade... |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
ORIGINAL: driftrider ORIGINAL: Ideaman All of the above Ideas and calibers are great suggestions. I like theNEF single shot in 45-70. As a newer shooter make sure your son wears hearing protection, almost all of the bad shooting habits I see come from noise, not recoil. Kids are tough. Not to mention that it's vitally important to protect his hearing. All CF firearms are loud enough to cause some amount of PERMANENT hearing damage, even with one shot. If your ears ring after the shot, you've lost some of your hearing FOREVER. You might not be able to perceive the loss, but the damage is cumulative and will get a little worse every time it happens (trust me on this, I speak from experience). The good habits he learns now about wearing good hearing protection will save his hearing years from now. Mike Coincident with choosing a cartridge, I'd have him choose the gun which fits him best.He mayfeel less recoil, evenwith a beefier cartridge, if the gun fits him well. My marksmanship was never anything to brag about, so that's probably why I recommend people start above the .243 for a deer cartridge. The real shooters out there know that the .243 is more than adequate for deer. Personally, though, I suggest people start with the .257 Roberts or .25-06. These cartridgeshave scarcely more recoil than the .243, but they do offer some range/energy increases. AND THANK YOU FOR INTRODUCING A YOUTH TO HUNTING!!!! FC |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
7mm-08.
My son just turned 11 and weighs 63 lbs and can shoot 140 corelocks all day without being bothered by the recoil. It's a youth sps and came with a limbsaver pad. Like stated above, fit is the important part. Once you decide on a caliber, go let him hold each brand of gun to see what feels right to him. |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
ORIGINAL: LOUISIANA WHITETAILS .243 WIN |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
quote]ORIGINAL: jeepkid
.243 Win, or 6mm Rem.;) [/quote] I agree with this recommendation. In addition, I recommend that in addition to the hunter safety course, that you provide him with some marksmanship training with whatever rifle you choose, and let him demonstrate his proficiency with the rifle BEFORE he shoots at a live target (if you haven't already done this.) For this purpose, I see nothing wrong with a good, accurate single-shot rifle. (I personally have no use for any of the fast-shooting guns such as a semi-auto, lever action, or pump for hunting. Generally, when you miss with the first shot, you don't get a second one! He might like a NEF single-shot.) The comment about the LOUD NOISE made by a hP rifle often being more significant than the actual recoil is a valid one! I was afraid to try a .30/'06 when I was a kid, because I just KNEW anything that made that much noise was going to hurt like hell! Same for a 2" .357 Magnum!! |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
All the above are great choises, but no one metioned a 30-30. Usually the rifles are lite and easy to handle for a 12 year old with very little recoil or noise.
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
The 30-30 of the 7mm-08
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
ORIGINAL: FA All the above are great choises, but no one metioned a 30-30. Usually the rifles are lite and easy to handle for a 12 year old with very little recoil or noise. |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
ORIGINAL: FA All the above are great choises, but no one metioned a 30-30. Usually the rifles are lite and easy to handle for a 12 year old with very little recoil or noise. |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
What ever rifle you choose, make sure the Length Of Pull (LOP) is right for him....It has to fit him comfortable with the ball of the index on the trigger.
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
The reason I say 7mm08 is because he'll outgrow or want to upgrade a lesser versaitle caliber later and the 7mm08 is long range capable,low recoil,and incredibly accurate. He'll outgrow the stock but NOT the cartridge.
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
i bought my son a rem 7mm-08 adl when he was 12, he loves the gun, he is in college now and i find myself carrying it with me in rifle season instead of my heavier 7mm rem mag bdl... the 7mm-08 is a great gun...
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
go after a semi auto i have shot 7.62 semi auto that felt like a 22
or go for a 20 ga or a .243 |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
ORIGINAL: ipscshooter ORIGINAL: FA All the above are great choises, but no one metioned a 30-30. Usually the rifles are lite and easy to handle for a 12 year old with very little recoil or noise. |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
ORIGINAL: ipscshooter ORIGINAL: FA All the above are great choises, but no one metioned a 30-30. Usually the rifles are lite and easy to handle for a 12 year old with very little recoil or noise. They did at one time maybe 3-5 years ago. I just looked all over their website and can't find one. Maybe it got discontinued. I was sure planning to get one for my son. Guess next time I see something I like I better jump on it before it goes away |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
I think the 336 youth model is no longer in Marlins lineup, but the 336 is short rifle anyway. The 336A doesn't come with a thick recoil pad just a plastic cover so it's a little thinner.
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RE: Kid friendly caliber
ORIGINAL: FA I think the 336 youth model is no longer in Marlins lineup, but the 336 is short rifle anyway. The 336A doesn't come with a thick recoil pad just a plastic cover so it's a little thinner. |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
Once again the .260 Remington gets overlooked.:(
IMO it is the perfect balance between a 243 and 7mm-08 and is inherently more accurate and carries energy downrange better than either one and has less recoil as well. My 12 year old daughters have killed tons of deer and hogs with my 260. |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
Real friendly - .243, 6mm Rem, .243 WSSM, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Swede
Fairly friendly - 25/06, .260, 30-30, 7mm/08, 8 X 57 Mauser Still friendly or able to be made friendly - 35 Remington, 300 Savage, 7 X 57, and more But anyone of the above calibers can kick your butt in a lightweight rifle with a poorly fitted stock. In a normal weight rifle that is fitted to the shooter properly with a decent recoil pad and proper technique all of the above (and many more) calibers can be tame even at the bench |
RE: Kid friendly caliber
Get him either a 243 win., 260 rem., 280 rem., or a CZ6.5x55 swedish mauser. I would get the 6.5, i have one for big game hunting and its one of my top rifles. in fact is is. if ur son hits a deer a little to far up, behind, or forward i promise that you guyz will still have to check one in. and he wont go far.
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