Rifle Caliper For 12 year old

[grampy]

33 minutes ago, Dinsdale said:

Bullets have never been better, that's the significant difference in old school and new.

Shot a fair amount of deer sized animals with everything from a 223rem to a 458winmag. Shot placement and being comfortable with what you're shooting to achieve that placement trumps all. 

The trend is to light rifles. Avoid that. No one is climbing mountains for days with a rifle here. Put some weight in the stock if you have to.

I'm not big guy, but can handle stiff chamberings, know how to shoot. Stay away from benches. Teach standing off sticks, so she can recoil with the rifle.

Dry fire practice. Get a couple of snap caps so she can cycle a bolt. Cheap and easy way to get comfortable to squeezing a trigger.

Have fun.

When Dinsdale talks guns, and shooting, I listen!!

The voice of experience talking.

[rob-c]

Just to  share what I did with my  wife, I bought her a marlin 30-30 and while she shot it  well and  it didn’t have excessive recoil she came to dislike the weight of the gun. So I decided to buy her a gun made for a woman, she now has a Weatherby Camilla in 7-08 and she absolutely loves  it. And man can she shoot it. I wish you were closer I would be more than happy to let your daughter try it out . 

Edited April 30, 2021 by rob-c

[Moho81]

21 minutes ago, rob-c said:

Just to  share what I did with my  wife, I bought her a marlin 30-30 and while she shot it  well and didn’t it didn’t have excessive recoil she came to dislike the weight of the gun. So I decided to buy her a gun made for a woman, she now has a Weatherby Camilla in 7-08 and she absolutely loves  it. And man can she shoot it. I wish you were closer I would be more than happy to let your daughter try it out . 

I'll keep the Weatherby in mind and a rifle designed for a women in general in mind when I search for a gun. I didn't even know that was a thing. I knew they had youth guns but not guns designed for women. I looked it up real quick and the changes they made just make sense. 

[squirrelwhisperer]

7mm-08

[G-Man]

6 hours ago, Moho81 said:

With the age of youth hunting on the verge of being 12 years old I find myself having to fast track my thought process on what rifle caliper to get in the now near future. My daughter will be 11 in a few weeks so that gives me about 1.5 years to get a gun and get her use to it if she is going to join me in hunting. Question is what caliper is better suited for a young girl who is tall but only weighs in at maybe 80 pounds. I feel recoil is the largest factor when choosing a rifle for her. 

My only experience is with 12ga, 22's and 30-06. The last 2 being way to much recoil for her to handle. I don't need to scare her off guns. 

Ideally I like the idea of a .270 as its a popular round and versatile but perhaps its on the high end of recoil versus maybe a 7mm-08 or a .243.

Thoughts, opinions and experience is welcome.  

 

7mm 08, or 270, 20 ga.   .243 are bit light if shot is off or possibility of a bear

[airedale]

If she gets serious and learns good marksmanship this rifle will do the job and be all she needs to get her feet wet. No flies on a single shot, I got my deer with one last season.

Al

https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/single-shot-youth-rifle/

[Larry]

You can’t go wrong with a 243 a friend of mine son shoots one and has never lost a deer he has shot with it. I use a 6mm Remington and I’m really impressed with its performance. I also use a 444 marlin so I hunt with extremes small and fast and big and slow.

[Pygmy]

4 hours ago, rob-c said:

Just to  share what I did with my  wife, I bought her a marlin 30-30 and while she shot it  well and  it didn’t have excessive recoil she came to dislike the weight of the gun. So I decided to buy her a gun made for a woman, she now has a Weatherby Camilla in 7-08 and she absolutely loves  it. And man can she shoot it. I wish you were closer I would be more than happy to let your daughter try it out . 

Powerful enough for a man, but made for a woman.....Heheheheh...

[SpacemanSpiff]

If im buying a bolt action to hunt whitetail deer with id likely buy another 7mm-08. .243 is another very viable option. 95 grain  ballistic tips are lethal on deer. Dont let anyone talk you out of that cartridge, it is a laser and just plain kills. The ammo is also cheaper and more plentiful in the .243, new shooters and hunters especially need lots of trigger time. 6mm or the 6.5 creedmore are great rounds but are newish and may not stand the test of time. Years ago i would have said the .260 Remington another awesome cartridge that is barely holding on. A remington model 7 in .243 is a winner. .270 Winchester with 130 grainers is very manageable but with a long action the rifle is just that much bigger. Long story short, buy a .243. 

[E J]

One of my boys will also be 12 this coming hunting season. I think I will have him using a 6 mm rem that was his gradfathers. I've killed a few deer with it and had no problems with it putting deer down.

[Buckmaster7600]

There’s nothing wrong with a 243 but a 7-08 does everything it does a little better with zero noticeable recoil difference.

I love the idea of a 350 legend but ammo availability is questionable “yes I know it’s been on shelves but come fall they’re going to make a lot of ammo before they get to 350 legend.”

If you’re thinking about a 7mm-08 start looking for barnes 120gn. I have five 7mm-08’s in the safe and everyone shoots that round very well and it is absolute hell on a critter!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Moho81]

If the 7mm-08 does everything the .243 does but better with almost no difference in recoil then I think it’s a no brainer to go with the 7mm-08.

I guess my next step is to step her up from the .22 to the 7mm-08 slowly as she’s very tentative and can easily be put off from things because she’s uncomfortable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Buckmaster7600]

If the 7mm-08 does everything the .243 does but better with almost no difference in recoil then I think it’s a no brainer to go with the 7mm-08.

I guess my next step is to step her up from the .22 to the 7mm-08 slowly as she’s very tentative and can easily be put off from things because she’s uncomfortable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Double ear pro! And avoid the short “youth barrels” sound and muzzle blast scare more newbies and youngsters than the recoil!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NonTypical]

While the 7mm-08 is highly recommended, I’ll vote for the 6.8 spc. It has less recoil than the 7mm, and still plenty of punch. There are also many very effective rounds developed for hunting and it shoots great out of short barrels. It also seems like it’s the gun of choice for most hog hunters. The only drawback is finding one. Most people build them in an AR, or convert a bolt gun. But they have been in production before. In fact Remington made them in a model 700 for a few years. 

[Daveboone]

.22 rimfire bolt action. Get her out gun handling and shooting....alot. No better round for learning to shoot with, no recoil, minimal noise (of course appropriate hearing and eye protection at all times!). 

There are alot of light shooting rounds out there....but I would aim in for a 30 cal.....sorry, no fan of the smaller calibers, no matter who shoots them. There are a zillion choices in 30-30. I was amazed at how easy shooting the .270 was when i finally got one, but they call for a full size action which is a heavier gun. Start her easy, let her get used to the feel, sound and report of a light arm before even thinking of going to a regular centerfire. If she shies away at this point it is very difficult to bring a shooter back to center.

[NYBowhunter]

I picked up a 6.5 creedmoor for my 12 year old and I used it this past hunting season and it performed really well,  I put a muzzlebrake on it and used 120 grain bullets, hardly any felt recoil and it just plain laid out a big bodied 2 1/2 yr. old buck. I was very impressed, its also a tack driver on paper.

Edited May 1, 2021 by NYBowhunter

[GreeneHunter]

I've been shooting a 30-30 for over 40 years .... so when my Grandson starts hunting -hopefully this coming season - he's gonna inherit my 40+ year old Winchester #94 30-30 ! But that's just me !

[Moho81]

.22 rimfire bolt action. Get her out gun handling and shooting....alot. No better round for learning to shoot with, no recoil, minimal noise (of course appropriate hearing and eye protection at all times!). 
There are alot of light shooting rounds out there....but I would aim in for a 30 cal.....sorry, no fan of the smaller calibers, no matter who shoots them. There are a zillion choices in 30-30. I was amazed at how easy shooting the .270 was when i finally got one, but they call for a full size action which is a heavier gun. Start her easy, let her get used to the feel, sound and report of a light arm before even thinking of going to a regular centerfire. If she shies away at this point it is very difficult to bring a shooter back to center.

She’s been behind a bolt action 22 for 2-3 years now. She can plaster a 10” gong at 100 yards all day long. She has some anxiety and anything new/different can be an obstacle or her to overcome which is why my search is towards a light recoil deer rifle.

She loves hunting and being out at my club and the last thing I want to do is force her behind to big of a gun.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[onlybrowning]

Any friends who have a .223 bolt gun to borrow? Not to hunt with, but a stepping stone. Louder report, but very, very mild recoil. Then move up to .243, .257 Bob, .260, or even 7mm-08 as others have suggested. Plugs and muffs will go a long way too, in addition to form. A lead sled might be a good thing for the introduction too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nybuckboy]

Don't let anybody tell ya .243 is not enough gun for a whitetail.  0 recoil and accurate to 250 yards.  My son was and still is a slight built man even now at 6' 165 but I got him a Ruger .243 for his 14th birthday and he killed several bucks with it with no problem.  I took a doe from brace at 475 yds by aiming 2 ft high.  Put it right through both lungs and she ran 50 yds. We have used 100g Remington core lok but would hesitate to used 95g Hornady either.  It's a great caliber!

 

Edited May 1, 2021 by nybuckboy

[Lawdwaz]

On 4/30/2021 at 5:36 PM, G-Man said:

7mm 08, or 270, 20 ga.   .243 are bit light if shot is off or possibility of a bear

ANY one of the above that is "off" is not going to kill any better than a .243

[Moho81]

So I was just talking tonight to my wife about a gift for my daughters upcoming birthday on the 11th and while I won’t have enough time to get the perfect rifle for her we decided that we are going to “give” her, her first rifle to her this year as some sort of gift certificate. This will give me and her time to decide what caliber works before purchasing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[G-Man]

8 hours ago, Lawdwaz said:

ANY one of the above that is "off" is not going to kill any better than a .243

243 hitting point of shoulder may not penetrate, I've seen it on deer and bear, a 270 , or 7mm 08 will still penetrate.  ,plus bullet selection is much more important on .243 vs larger cal for deer.  A light 243 bullet ,will not perform like wanted in larger game, active reloaded and shooter know this as most active participants on forum, in general the aver hunter is buying a box of bullets off shelf and dont know about grainweight or thick or thin skin game. Heck right bullet right shot a .22 will kill a polar bear.. but I would prefer a margin more beneficial to a hunter killing and re recovering game. 

[Buckmaster7600]

243 hitting point of shoulder may not penetrate, I've seen it on deer and bear, a 270 , or 7mm 08 will still penetrate.  ,plus bullet selection is much more important on .243 vs larger cal for deer.  A light 243 bullet ,will not perform like wanted in larger game, active reloaded and shooter know this as most active participants on forum, in general the aver hunter is buying a box of bullets off shelf and dont know about grainweight or thick or thin skin game. Heck right bullet right shot a .22 will kill a polar bear.. but I would prefer a margin more beneficial to a hunter killing and re recovering game. 

Although I think a 243 can make a dandy deer rifle I can see your point.

The guy that goes to get a box of shells and they only have some 58gn Vmax then takes it deer hunting...

I don’t like when ignorance is used as an excuse or to rationalize so I would never not recommend the 243 for deer because some people are dumb I just always use the disclaimer that bullet selection is more important.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Larry]

I would have to disagree with the 243 not being able to go though the shoulder. I killed a deer at over 100yds with my 6mm though both shoulders using 100gr inter-loc. The bullet was nothing special. The deer just dropped where it stood. Remember dead is dead you can’t make them deader. With a kid it’s all about recoil and putting the shot in the kill zone.