Shootstuff4570

30-30 lever action. good caliber and with lever actions you dont really have to worry about jamming quite as muchlike you do with semi-autos

jdhunter243

my first rifle was a 243 it is all around good gun ranging from deer to varmints

GTOHunter

I agree with the .243 choice,they are great accurate Rifles with less recoil and You can also use them for Predator Hunting.I've shot several nice Deer with my Browning A-bolt .243 and have taken several Coyotes with it in the past few years also.

vl Whitetail Genereal lv

I would probably say a 243, and if you take care of the 7mm it will last you a lifetime. I have a friend with a gun that is 40 years old and it looks brand new.

skybuster20ga

i dont understand this. up here in maine is the thickest nastiest crap a man could hunt in w/ every type of terrain and climate imaginable and my rifles still look like they did when they come out of the box. unless you drag it behind you on a leash i wouldnt worry about it "lasting" or getting beat up. your hunting for god sakes not charging through the bushes like a damn elephant. i have a gun in the front seat of my truck year round and its not beat up at all. use the 7 mil and love that sucker! besides, 50 years from now when you grand kids are holding it they will wonder aboput each ding and dent and think about how much game that gun has killed. my 2 cents

Buster5104

Great rifle for starters is a 25-06. Light recoil (light enough for a 10 year old) and will shoot flatter than a pool table. I'd stay away from a lever action (30-30) for a kid. It's too dangerous to load & go to half**** for safe. You have to pull the trigger while holding the hammer back, then slowly release it to half**** . Besides, they can be noisy!

skybuster20ga

spend your money on a basic reloading kit. then you can kill everything from ground hogs to kodiaks w/ that 7mm and the right barnes bullet

Big Z

Take a peek at a variety of rifles. ie, Savage 110/111, Stevens 200, Weatherby Vanguard, Remington 700, Ruger 77, Winchester 70 etc... Find out what you like and what you're able to spend, then buy it! Er have the folks pick it up ! I'm such a fan of 7mms, (mostly the 7mm rem mag, 280 and 7mm-08) I wouldn't try and steer you elsewhere for a big game rifle. I can like having a nice gun and keeping it nice, and having another gun that you just don't care about beating up. For example, I have a Winchester model 1200 20 gauge that's in beautiful condition. It's close to 40 years old... When it comes time to hunt, I grab my nasty remington 870!

wastednights

25-06 was going to be my suggestion too, a great flat shooting cartridge.

Oh I have just worked out why you have to half asterix your lever guns Political correctness gone wrong

huntingkidPA

i say just take care of your 7mm and use it. like skybuster20ga said, your not going to be army crawling in the mud or wading throw swamps. oil and clean before and after every use and it will always look new.