question on calibers for a youth.
my 13 yr old nephew has asked his father for a 25-06 for Christmas i told my brother -in-law i would do some checking for him what i am asking is woudln't the 243 be a better caliber for a youth or should he stay with the 30-30?
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.243, .25-06, 7mm-08 are all good calibers for youth.
I still hunt with a .243 myself most of the time. I have looked at the other calibers but the reason I havent changed is I have tons of stuff for reloading .243.0 -
If your looking at recoil this might help Looks like 243 and 25-06 is about the same
http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm
i guess should have said the 25-06 has a little more recoil if your using the heavier 2453 bullets and the light grain 25-06 bullets was no way comparing the performance between the 2 only that the 25-06 recoil wasn't that much more with 100 grain bullet which is still less then the 7mm-08 or .300 savage0 -
quote:Originally posted by Mikeinmissouri
my 13 yr old nephew has asked his father for a 25-06 for Christmas i told my brother -in-law i would do some checking for him what i am asking is woudln't the 243 be a better caliber for a youth or should he stay with the 30-30?
You can't go wrong with a .243.
The answer to your question, depends on the kid (including both his physical size and experience level) and what he wants to do with it.
But sure, there isn't any reason why a 13 year old couldn't do well with a .25-06, particularly if he is a big kid and has lots of shooting experience.
A .25-06 will have more recoil than a 30/30 though not a huge amount more. Its still a good bit less than a .308 or .30-06 or anything like that. Some of that is also going to be dependent on the gun itself.
Biggest thing is to make sure the GUN fits the KID. A full adult sized stock is probably going to be too long, and that can make the gun both difficult to shoot and increase recoil.0 -
The real answer to this, is that it should be the largest chambering that he is comfortable with the recoil with that has readily available ammunition, for a modest price. He will need to shoot a bit to be comfortable with the rifle, and to determine his effective range. The 243 is not really a good chambering for a beginner, as it can lead to cripples, with improper shot placement. A 30-30, for most the rifles it is chambered in(lever action), does not lend itself well to a beginner's rifle, either.
The chamberings of choice would be 260 Remington, 25-06 is good too, and 7mm-08. They do have reduced recoil loads for 308, and 30-06 too.
Best0 -
I'm new here and I don't want to sound like a expert.
But there is a lot more to guns then just the size of the number of the caliber of the cartridge.
As a matter of fact, the 25-06 shares the same parent case as the 30-06
The only difference being the size and weight of the bullet the powder pushes down the barrel.
Using the 30-06 as the benchmark of all other calibers is what is usually associated with how something performs.
When I read this post, I was shocked that someone could be so misinformed as to believe that the .243 and the 25/06 were equal partners when it came to performance and recoil.
If I was trying to fit a gun to a youth, my first concern would be how long do you intend to use this gun, and what do you wish to use it for and what do you intend to do with it once you are done with it.
I came from a very large family - by today's standards. 6 children.
3 boys / 3 girls.
My oldest sister was the first to hunt and hence she usually got first pick to which firearm she preferred to use.
From about the time she was 14 years old, she hunted with a 30/06
Either my dad's Remington 721 or his 760 Gamemaster.
When I first hunted, there was not enough guns to go around and I used my Uncle's Winchester model 94 30/30 as did one of my brothers.
The 30/30 rifle is in my opinion one of the best first guns for a youth - because you can use it for most anything and you can pass it down from family member to family member.
I will not say that it will perform as good as a .243 or a 25/06
All I will say is that it is one gun that you will never outgrow.
None of us ever got anything with it, but it gave a person more firepower then using a 20 gauge shotgun with slugs.
Depending on where you live, the .243 might be a little small as a deer rifle, not that it won't kill a deer, just that it is not versatile enough to be used to hunt other game such as bears or elk.
The 25/06 is a good gun.
I have no qualms with a 25/06
The only thing I will say is that the best thing that you can do for most youth is to buy them a full size gun and let them grow into it.
Buy them a good quality gun and not some cheapo gun off the rack at the Walmart with a Tupperware stock and black barrel.
Most hunters that I know today will tell you that most hunters fits one of two molds. Either they become good hunters and stay hunters for the rest of their lives - which then most times they only own one gun, the one that their dad bought them when they were a kid and they wouldn't think of using anything else.
The other is the type where it is cool to go hunting when they are a kid, but as they get older, married, have kids of their own, falls out of hunting because of family pressures and a lack of time and other interests. For a person like that - it doesn't matter which gun you buy them - because they will either pawn it or sell it when they get hurting for money or when their wife refuses to have it in her house.
Like I said before - the 25/06 is the same case as the .270, 280. 30/06, and 35 Wheelen.
Another really good option that comes to mind would be the .300 Savage or the .308 Winchester - which the 300 Savage is the parent case of the 308 Winchester. Both guns has enough performance to hunt most big game in the lower 48 - which would make them a very good all around gun.
Some model 300 Savages are not as heavy as the larger rifles such as a 25/06 which makes it easier for a youth to carry it and use it over other models since it is a short action. Both have a manageable amount of recoil.0 -
Mike Missouri Welcome to GunBroker! Good to see you here.
Good question ... answer depends on a goodly number of things ... as tsr1965 and others have mentioned.
IMHO it will depend more upon the use it is put to, and the expectations.
Even more important will be the shooter! What he wants, and how he plans to use it.
The most important will be his familiarity, skill and confidence ... based on practice and experience.
You know how it goes ... the type and amount of powder and the weight of the bullet have more to do with the perceived recoil, rather than the "caliber".
And as folks have shared ... the individual rifle weight and characteristics has a tremendous effect.
When I was about that age, my father (a non-hunter, a non-shooter)asked my favorite Uncle what rifle I should have for deer hunting. My Uncle told him that he favored the Winchester Model 94s and second was the Savage Model 99s. My Uncle used the Winchester .32 Special!
It went on and on about "bullets", "chamberings", ammunition, manufacturers, etc. and so on ... I was pretty much out of the conversation or discussion. I went to the frig. and fetched a couple of beers for them ... with all their talking they were working up quite a thirst! A bit later, while waiting for the pot of coffee to finish-up. My Uncle came out to see what I was doing ... asked me what make, model and chambering I wanted ... and asked why I favored those chamberings, etc.
After I got myself some java, and rejoined them. My Uncle said to my father, that I knew more about the subject than the two of them together. My Dad got a bit irritated (not unusual or seldom seen state of affairs)... think that he figured that I had twisted my Uncles arm or leg or slipped a fiver into his pocket, to back my play. Not a bad idea, but I wasn't that fast on my feet and probably didn't have $3 in my pocket anyway.
My Uncle said that there was only one person in the room, the house or the neighborhood that knew what I wanted to use the rifle for, and only one person that it should matter to, unless my Dad was going to buy me the rifle ... in which case he should have me write it out ... so as to get me exactly what I needed!
So IF and only if, that young shooter hunter asks opinions ... I'd offer a few, based only on how he plans to use the rifle, and this vs. that or that vs. this.
Otherwise, he knows how he wants shoot, to hunt. I'd offer that my Uncles recommendations were good back then ... and now ... and into the future. (IMHO!)
Best, Alan0 -
Everyone is different. I've seen 8 year old boys and slightly built girls who could handle 30-06 and it didn't bother them. I've seen 300 pound men whimper about 30-06.
If handloading is in the picture, mild loads could help the situation too.
I'd get the boy what he wants. Plain and simple. If recoil is a bit much, get him a recoil pad for it for now.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Daniel Boone
I'm new here and I don't want to sound like a expert.
is a short action.
Looks like you're off to a good start, all 4 of your posts are in ATE.
Mikeinmissouri,
Welcome to the forum and enjoy! Like others have posted, there are too many unknown variables to make a recommendation. The more info you can provide, the more informed recommendations can be provided to help you in the decision process.
Both my boys of average size and built when they were 10 (now 22 and 19) started hunting with 6.5x55 a Carl Gustaf Swedish mauser carbine loaded with 140gr Nosler partitions. They both handled it very well.
In contrast, there's a 9 year girl that shot a record brown bear in AK with .375 H&H and .270gr Barnes triple shock.
http://www.blackbearheaven.com/9-year-old-girl-record-brown-bear-record-girzzly-bear.htm
With proper training and equipment, proper caliber/gun set up could be paired up accordingly with the game being pursued. Practice, practice, practice.
Good luck!
Ed0 -
I consulted Sierra bullets about a low recoil 25/06 load and was advised to use their 90 grain HPBT with a reduced load of IMR 4895 powder. It produced an adequate 150 yard deer killing load with less recoil than factory 243 100 grain ammo. I think a 243 load using the Nosler 85 grain Partition at a reduced velocity would do as well but, at that time didn't have a compatable 243 rifle for use. I assure you that the 25/06 is a much better deer rifle than the 243 regardless of other opinions. I've used both extensively and the 25/06 is a solid performer at any practical range. My daughter uses a 243 and younger son just moved up to the 7mm08 but I've had more tracking jobs with the 243 than even the 223(probably because I won't let them shoot except at short range with the 223). Rifle size and weight might be the determining factor as I don't recall there being any youth sized rifles in 25/06. A Ramline youth stock may be fitted to a Savage bolt action which is what I did when that was needed. 0 -
I still lean towards say a 20ga slug or even a 410 slug over the 243's. Yes I know the 243 is very accurate, ect. my only problem is if you miss my an inch or two with the 243 usually it will result in a wound or pass through, with the slug gun the deer will definaltly go down. and for a kid starting out IMHO I prefer the slug over the 243 simply because it affords a bigger margin of error. most new hunters will get a slight case of buck fever and that extra margin of an inch or two will help in the end. 0
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