deer rifle for juvenile hunters
i am starting both my grandson and great grandson on hunting both shoot 22 now as well as crossbows i am looking for centerfire rifles in a caliber for deer both are in the weight area of 65-75 lbs both have good form from a bench any recommendation for a caliber or make of a gun would be appreciated they wont be hunting for 1 year from now i was wondering about a 260 25-06 or a 243 i dont own any that size what i am asking probably is how much recoil do these calibers have and are they suitable for whitetasil deer
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.243 does well for Eastern Whietail deer, and (depending on the rifle) recoil is moderate. 7mm-08 is another. But have you considered a 30-30? Marlin 336 has a visible hammer, moderate recoil, and has planted a bunch of deer. 0 -
I am 35 and my main hunting rifle has always been a .243. Great light weight gun with a great round. It is very flat shooting, especially at the distances the grandkids should be shooting.
Nice thing about this caliber is that the kids will enjoy shooting it. The more they shoot the better they will shoot. It is a flat enough round that you can easily take it varmint hunting. Once the kids are picking off squirrels with it they will have no problem taking a deer.
Recoil is very mild and is a great round on whitetail. Just make sure to pick a ~100 gr bullet that is made for hunting.
I have not shot the other calibers so I can not speak to those.
On the .30-30 I have mixed feelings about them. I have a couple and love my Marlin 336, I really enjoy shooting it. I remember being young and shooting dad's Win 94 30-30 and it not being uncomfortable but not fun either. The .243 has much less kick. I liked shooting the .30-06 more then the Win 94 when I was young.0 -
krawiech---Personally, I can't recommend the 30-30 or the 25-06. IMHO the recoil is getting up there for a starter gun. The other ones I like, especially the 260. Right near the top---Don't overlook the 257 Roberts. HAWKSHAW 0 -
My 2 choices are the 30-30 and 300savage. If you are going after white tail only then there is the .223 and 7.62X39. My 2 cents. [8D] 0 -
I start my grandkids,both boys and girls,with a .243. They have red dot scopes to avoid eye relief problems. I do not let them take shots over 100 yards until they get big enough for a regular scope.
Phil0 -
I'm a big believer in the 243 for young and small statured shooters.
check this one out.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=182653099
W.D.0 -
Consider CZ mauser in 7.62x39. Do search this site to read write up.
The entire gun is reduced in size, you may need to shorten the length of pull. The cal is mild. Everything reduced down in size. Lots of cheap practice ammo and you can buy soft point hunting rounds.0 -
Jaegermaster's recommendation is good.. both the rifle and cartridge.
This is the CZ527 carbine below, I'm not sure if the one in this auction has iron sights as shown because it doesnt say in the literature. the sell them with and without.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=1826093990 -
In my opinion, there are three things which need to be considered. The ability of whatever caliber you choose to cause a humane kill, a caliber that will not be too much power for the kids, and a caliber which will allow you to see a variety of manufactures and bullet availablity. I personally feel that the .243 is hands down the best caliber that meets these requirements.
Two years ago, I set my youngest up with my old 30/30 and even with Remington's reduces recoil rounds, found it too much for her. This was probably because by being a "lever-gun" the shoulder catches all the recoil. Last year, I picked up a .243 in semi-auto which is ideal because the caliber does not have much recoil to begin with, and by being semi-auto, whatever recoil there was, is reduced becuase it's semi-auto.
Another thing, the 7.62x39 was mentioned in some previous replies. This is a good caliber for taking deer up to about 150 yards, but the problem is that beyond that, the bullet drop is too great (in my opinion). While the kids probably won't be shooting 200 yards anytime soon, the day will come that they may have the opportunity for that 200 or 250 yard shot. When that day comes, you will be happy they were equiped with the .243 instead. My father has hunted with a 6mm since the mid 60's and has taken whitetail beyond the 300 yard mark. The actual caliber of 6mm is .244, which is balistically almost the same.
I would have to say that the .243 in semi-auto would have to be the best caliber to use for a kid. Sure there are other calibers which are probably equaliy as good, but just about every manufacturer has a model which offers this caliber. You will be able to find one in your budget and a variety to handle before making a purchase. I'm not sure some of the other calibers mentioned will be able to say that.
Aaron0 -
.243, .25-06 both make excellent whitetail deer rounds.
In my opinion, the absolute more important thing in picking a gun/caliber for a child is to make sure the GUN fits the shooter.
Fit of gun affects recoil as much as the caliber does (ie you can tolerate a **LOT** less recoil if the gun doesn't fit right).
In terms of caliber, you've got some good answers up there already.
This chart is going to give you some idea of relative recoil levels of popular cartridges. I'd say for a kid, you'd want to keep things under 10ft-lbs of recoil energy (at most), with less being better:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm
You can argue about which cartridge is the "best", and I think there are certainly more than one out there that could work, but I don't think anyone would argue that a .243 is a bad choice for someone of small stature. You're not going to go wrong with that caliber, and its popularity means guns and ammo should be relatively easy to find.
As to 30/30, that's going to depend entirely on the individual shooter in question. I've seen an 85lb 8 year old boy shooting a 30/30 just fine. He happened to be an experienced shooter and it was no problem for him blasting away. (Then again, this same kid was shooting .44 specials from his dad's revolver!). Could it be too much for a smaller child or girl? I suppose so. You have to use a bit of judgment there. Again, proper fit of gun and low recoil loads go a LONG way here.
In standard loading, 7.62x39 is actually LESS powerful than 30/30. It shoots a lighter bullet slower, for less recoil. Also, from a semi-automatic gun it ought to have a little less recoil yet. Biggest advantage of this one is CHEAP ammo for practice, and I think its a huge advantage, especially for a new shooter.
IMO an SKS is a great deer gun, but the rifle itself is pretty heavy (over 9 lbs for a Yugo gun in stock condition) and that alone probably makes it too much for a 70lb kid. They're also hard to scope right, and that's another negative. CZ527 is an excellent choice.
On .223, eh. . .its low recoil, but its also not that powerful, and I'd really reserve that for the MOST experienced shooters, not the least. Less than a perfect shot, and you can get into trouble with this one. Its also not legal for hunting everywhere (check your State laws on that). IMO there are better choices.0 -
I have started all mine on 410 shotguns with slugs, keep them under 100 yards, prefferably 50yds and in and there should be no trouble.I have a mossburg pump with the bolt on fiber optic sights all for under $200. 0 -
I am with Hawkshaw, and a few other's. I have a slew of rifles from 22 long rifle thru 45-70, and several Ultra Mag's. I love my 260 remingtom chambered A-Bolt II SS. It is almost like cheating the physics system. A 120 grain bullet leaving at near 3000FPS, recoils like a 243, and way far outbeyond 400 yards, that little devil has more energy than a 308 or 30-06. A down loaded 7-08 would be great too, as it would be less costly for ammo.
Most over all, don't get then something that will induce a flinch into them. You don't need a 500 WizBang to kill a deer.
Best0
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