huntindad

My 9 year old doesn't like the recoil of his 30-30(old Savage bolt action). I'm thinking about getting 120 gr. reloads or... I've heard the 7mm-08 is a good youth gun for Texas deer.

What, in your opinion would kick less, a 7mm-08 in 120 gr. or a 30-30 reloaded down to 120 gr,

Thanx,

David

frizzellr

It will really depend heavily on the weight of the individual guns, stock design, and how much powder is used to push the 120 grain bullet. All things being equal I don't think there will be much difference. Is it the recoil that is bothering him or is it the muzzle blast? Is he wearing good hearing protection?

XTP

I don't mean no disrespect(I'm plannin' on comin' there one day!),but I hear your deer don't get that big in body,so why not look at a .243/.260 Rem or 7mm-08 for him.All are adequate for deer,and are easy on the shoulder as well.Just remember though,that recoil is influenced by gun design,weight and action type(semi auto's use up some of the recoil to cycle the action),as much as by the caliber of the rifle.Hope you find something for him.....maybe try asking around(friends/fellow hunters or at your local shop) and see if anyone will let him try different calibers/rifles to decide before buying.....good luck to you and your son!

8mm/06

Speer used to make a flat nosed soft point 130 grain bullet that could be loaded down as low as 1705 fps and as high as 2400 fps. I would think that the 130 grain bullet at about 2250 fps would be fine for medium sized Texas whitetails out to about 150-200 yards. The recoil should be quite managable out of that old bolt action.

Edited by - 8mm/06 on 02/16/2002 00:27:34

halcon

If you don't mind spending the money I would recommend a 243win or a 7mm-08 as the way to go . Better range and less recoil ,also don't have to worry about reloading unless you want . Welcome to the board

Edited by - halcon on 02/16/2002 01:04:35

RemingtonLover

Im almost 16 but I remember what It was like when I was that old well. i remeber kids comeing into school complaining about the recoil of their dads 30-06's and .270's(Which then were way overrated as being high in recoil. Well One day a buddy of mine in school came in and said he was getting a new rifle of his very own. He was getting a .243. He got it all right and it was a true shooter. It was the first gun he could shoot accuratly and not mind the recoil. Now mind you we are grown up to almost double of we were then but Im tellin ya that the .243 is one agreat caliber for deer. Now That im almost 16 I have done a whole pile o shooting with diff. calibers and what have you, and I would have to say that I like the .300 Savage and .308 best. Oh one more thing. What my parents and other parents of kids in my class did was to to tell em to stick it out. He'll learn to love that gun just the way I learned to love the .30-06 even when I hated it so much when I was little. You just gotta grow into em;

denclark

im 12 and dont mind a 243