Rifle Caliper For 12 year old

[Lawdwaz]

11 hours ago, Larry said:

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.

But, but, but......those guys said a .243 won't work "good enough"? 

A VMax out of ANY gun could be a disaster. 

I'm too tired to discuss this anymore.......thousands of deer are killed each year with a .243, amazingly. 

https://www.outdoorlife.com/top-10-cartridges-for-hunting-whitetail-deer/

[Lawdwaz]

Some good reading for those curious.........or clueless.  It sounds like this pipsqueak is pretty popular for lots of folks.  

https://www.chuckhawks.com/rcbs_2012_rifle_die_sales.htm

https://www.fieldandstream.com/11-best-cartidges-for-whitetail-deer/

https://www.ronspomeroutdoors.com/blog/mild-wild-243-winchester

[TreeGuy]

But, but, but......those guys said a .243 won't work "good enough"? 
A VMax out of ANY gun could be a disaster. 
I'm too tired to discuss this anymore.......thousands of deer are killed each year with a .243, amazingly. 
https://www.outdoorlife.com/top-10-cartridges-for-hunting-whitetail-deer/

Thats why I went with a larger caliber like the .244..... hehehehe

It's seen plenty of shoulders and always performed with cheapo Winchester ammo.

Let's remember the point of the thread, which is so often overlooked. You may have knowledge beyond your years but can't remember a thread title....

IF .243 is a choice for your 12yr old, do NOT let the naysayers move you into something bigger. I know of a guy who year after year fills tags with a 243.

If your concerned with shot placement, PRACTICE. Get that 12yr old behind any rifle you choose and practice proper shot placement ! A 50BMG can hit a deer and be non lethal.

It CANNOT be too much of a recoil or that 12yr old is going to become gun shy. Make it fun. Get them out there. If you lose a deer to a 12ga or a 243, learn from it. Better that than to shy them away at the first trigger pull.


FWIW, I know a guy in your area with a .244 that would be happy to let her take a test drive.... and your wife can hear the shots from home. Say the word.


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[Moho81]

13 hours ago, TreeGuy said:

Thats why I went with a larger caliber like the .244..... hehehehe

It's seen plenty of shoulders and always performed with cheapo Winchester ammo.

Let's remember the point of the thread, which is so often overlooked. You may have knowledge beyond your years but can't remember a thread title....

IF .243 is a choice for your 12yr old, do NOT let the naysayers move you into something bigger. I know of a guy who year after year fills tags with a 243.

If your concerned with shot placement, PRACTICE. Get that 12yr old behind any rifle you choose and practice proper shot placement ! A 50BMG can hit a deer and be non lethal.

It CANNOT be too much of a recoil or that 12yr old is going to become gun shy. Make it fun. Get them out there. If you lose a deer to a 12ga or a 243, learn from it. Better that than to shy them away at the first trigger pull.


FWIW, I know a guy in your area with a .244 that would be happy to let her take a test drive.... and your wife can hear the shots from home. Say the word.


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Word 

[phade]

Over-gunning is such a risk IMO for younger and growing shooters. I suffered from recoil and noise shyness right at that 10-12 y/o age - the first shotty I shot was a 10g and the first centerfire was a 7MM Rem Mag. Back then it was all we had and my family could afford. I had issues for several of those subsequent years before I was able to overcome it. I honestly missed some very large bucks because of poor habits developed from it in my early and mid teens. And even more does.

I have big calibers and small calibers now, but I still carry my .243 most often in rifle territory. It performed quite fine on a large Missouri buck this past fall - in fact he hated it. Larry shoots a .243 and look at his deer. They're pretty darn dead.

Focus on the right factors and the best decision will come to you/her. The knock on .243s remind me of the old arguments of 20g vs. 12g. And now in the turkey world, .410s in that same role.

.243 might be the most common caliber for younger hunters? I can't think of one that really is more popular, but maybe I'm wrong.

[turkeyfeathers]

7mm-o8     You can borrow mine or we can go shoot it. I bought to share with Samantha. Shes 100 pounds soaking wet and zero problems shooting it. Pretty sure her youth 20 gauge with field loads has more recoil. LMK

[Moho81]

15 hours ago, TreeGuy said:

Thats why I went with a larger caliber like the .244..... hehehehe

It's seen plenty of shoulders and always performed with cheapo Winchester ammo.

Let's remember the point of the thread, which is so often overlooked. You may have knowledge beyond your years but can't remember a thread title....

IF .243 is a choice for your 12yr old, do NOT let the naysayers move you into something bigger. I know of a guy who year after year fills tags with a 243.

If your concerned with shot placement, PRACTICE. Get that 12yr old behind any rifle you choose and practice proper shot placement ! A 50BMG can hit a deer and be non lethal.

It CANNOT be too much of a recoil or that 12yr old is going to become gun shy. Make it fun. Get them out there. If you lose a deer to a 12ga or a 243, learn from it. Better that than to shy them away at the first trigger pull.


FWIW, I know a guy in your area with a .244 that would be happy to let her take a test drive.... and your wife can hear the shots from home. Say the word.


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40 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

7mm-o8     You can borrow mine or we can go shoot it. I bought to share with Samantha. Shes 100 pounds soaking wet and zero problems shooting it. Pretty sure her youth 20 gauge with field loads has more recoil. LMK

I smell a GTG!

[steve863]

I don't understand why someone would want to hunt with a caliber that is considered a minimum for big game.  Many states don't allow anything smaller than a .243 for big game hunting.  Not like we can expect a youngster to make that perfect shot so why give them a gun that is towards the bottom of the list of adequate calibers?  Lots of better calibers out there and I honestly don't think the recoil of something like a 7mm-08 or even a .308 is anything a 12 year old can't handle.  There are even reduced recoil loads available for cartridges like the .270 and .30-06.  If you handload you can make any cartridge to generate less recoil.  If kids can be knocked around on a soccer or football field they can easily take the recoil of a rifle.  

Here is an article I tend to agree with.  Sure, the .243 will kill a deer, but his opinion is that it's more suited for the hands of an expert shot and thinks there are better options for the beginner.

 

https://www.craigboddington.com/endorsed-outfitters/hunting-tips/best-beginners

[ncountry]

I'm of the opinion that most people who advocate against the 243 do not have much experience with one, or are solidly on the "heavier bullet is better " mindset .

About the only real disadvantage ,I think, for a beginner with a 243 is the lack of a good blood trail. Often it's skimpy at best. Other than that if you hit them in the body from the front legs to the back legs, they are dead. (Finding them on a poor shot could be difficult).

Limit them to 150 yds or less. Stress the fact that you must know exactly where the deer was standing and where it ran too and all should be good.

I don’t think enough can be said about not overgunning a beginner and making it fun to shoot.

Edited May 5, 2021 by ncountry

[rob-c]

243 Win. (100 at 2960)

7.5

8.8 8.7

Here’s a comparison for recoil on both calibers , first number is gun weight , second is recoil  energy and third is recoil velocity.  

7mm-08 Rem. (120 at 3000)

7.5

12.1

10.2

The 243 Winchester shoots flatter and faster and recoils less. ... The 7mm-08 delivers more bullet energy than the 243 Winchester at all distances and can be configured (hand loaded with lighter bullets) to shoot as flat. Both use the same parent case.

Here’s the recoil table I used .. 

https://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

The 2 tables I listed are scrunched    on a phone screen so turn your phone sideways 

Edited May 5, 2021 by rob-c

[NonTypical]

Very informative chart. Thanks for posting. I particularly like these numbers for the 6.8SPC

6.8mm Rem. SPC (115 at 2625)

7.5

8.0

8.3

[Lawdwaz]

Here's a good video for those interested........

 

[dbHunterNY]

I've got 2 setups for future hunting with my kids or brand new shooters. I've got a youth stocked 7mm-08 with a good amount of reduced recoil ammo. Been used by a couple guy adults with great results. Added a slip on recoil pad to increase length of pull so it'd fit them. One was very recoil shy and did great.

As last ditch effort I have an AR or super heavy varmint rifle chambered for 223 and federal fusion 62gr bonded ammo. AR lop is short but varminter not as much. Varmint rifle kicks like a 22lr though with its weight.

Those two chamberings will both work but 223 is getting real light.

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