Wanting a 243 for my boy
 

I'm thinking about getting a .243 for my boy for Christmas. I have never had one, but heard that it is a good gun for youth deer, antelope, etc. Anyone have any insights to offer here?

Thanks in advance. I welcome the opinions.

Ive never had a 243 so I cant comment but my dad gave me a Mossberg 500 when I was younger. Smooth bore 28" for bird hunting, squirrel hunting etc....and an easy swap to a rifled barrel for deer hunting.

Maybe a 20 gauge would be a good alternative?

My first deer rifle was a 243. I know have 7mm08 and think it is a better choice for a kids first deer rifle. My nephew is going to use the 7mm08 for his first deer hunt. It doesn't kick anymore then the 243 with a bigger bullet. I use 140 rem corelocks in both my 7mm08s. Killed a doe sat about 200 yards with mine ran about 10 yards. Event in behind left shoulder came out right shoulder. Shot about 20 deer with both of my 7mm08s most didn't run. One is model 7 youth with 18 in barrel, o the is 700 mount rifle with 22" barrel.

Rem Model 7 youth, and Ruger M77 Hawkeye compact are both great smaller guns available in .243

BTW, .243 is a fantastic round. My kids love it and have done well with it since age 8.

I have a BLR in .243 that is a nice, light, accurate rifle but my son doesn't want anything to do with it. He latched onto my Marlin 336 in 30-30, so I got him one of his own (old JM stamped bbl) for Christmas. I just need to refinish the stock and put a new scope on it.

I have a buddy that has shot deer with a 243 in a Remington 7400 for years and swears by it. His young son used the same rifle to kill a large racked buck last year. He only takes boilermaker shots (heart/lungs) and has never lost a buck.

243 is more than adequate for deer sized game. Pick any quality youth model gun, load it with 100 gr bullets and you have a combo that will cleanly kill any whitetail assuming your son does his part. As to the earlier post of a 7mm-08 having same recoil as 243, completely false. A 7mm-08 is by no means a heavy recoil round but is noticeably heavier than a 243 especially when we're talking about a weapon that a kid will use. By the way, how big is your son?

I'd go with a Mod 7 Rem in 243 for a kid. There are probably others equally suited to the task but none better for the money.

I still say the 7mm08 is a better caliber. The 7mm08 with 140 overlooks is 2142 ft lbs at 100 yards. A 100 grain 243 corelocks is 1615 ft-lbs at 100 yards. Muzzle velocity is 2860 for the 7mm08 and 2960 for 243. All information from remington website. My cousins 8 year old son shot is 243 and 7mm08. He liked the 7/08 better, He killed 4 deer and a 175lbs bear with it last year. Another friend took his 14 year old grandson to Africa and he shot 6 plains game animals with his 7/08. I might add my conditions 7/08 is a youth model seven with synthetic stock and his 243 weights more and is a wood stock 788. So recoil is not any more noticeable.

and it takes around 750 ft/lbs of energy to kill a deer
RR