marksman1941
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 20, 2013
- Messages
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You won't be unhappy with that gun. It's a great choice. Happy hunting!
Help me choose hunting rifle for youth
- Thread starter necktweaker
- Start date
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The end!
Get her something that she can practice with and isn't scared of. I think the 6.5cm for a 10yo is a bit much. I bought my 7yo a compact Tikka .223, had it chopped down to 16" and threaded 1/2". I put a Trijicon Credo 3x9 on top of it for him and got him setup with 100pcs of brass along with 500ct of 77gr TMKs. Now we can throw a can on the end of it and he can go to the range with me and ring steel. We can have fun anytime by having something he can shoot very accurately because he's not scared of it. All of that translates into a more confident hunter that can put the bullet exactly where it needs to go.
At the distances that I set him up for, there's not a deer in the country that he couldn't take down with a .223 and the correct bullet for the job.
When it's time for him to move up, I plan on letting him shoot my 20lb PRS setup in 6 creed and then move to my 18" 6 creed hunting rifle to make sure he's ready for some more recoil. At that point, we will get him his own new rifle and pass the .223 down to his younger brother. I see no reason to move up in caliber past that at all if the gun is only for deer.
At some point in time that .223 will be my truck gun. It's a sweet little rifle and a tack driver to boot.
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At the distances that I set him up for, there's not a deer in the country that he couldn't take down with a .223 and the correct bullet for the job.
When it's time for him to move up, I plan on letting him shoot my 20lb PRS setup in 6 creed and then move to my 18" 6 creed hunting rifle to make sure he's ready for some more recoil. At that point, we will get him his own new rifle and pass the .223 down to his younger brother. I see no reason to move up in caliber past that at all if the gun is only for deer.
At some point in time that .223 will be my truck gun. It's a sweet little rifle and a tack driver to boot.
```--+`
bigngreen
Well-Known Member
I though my daughter would want to get something more than her Camilla 6.5 Credmore as she got older but she'll proably always hunt with that thing, 124 Hammer bullets, 2700 Kestrel, Leica 1000 lrf and she kills elk rather efficiently, both her and her friend have shot elk out from under me an my buddy with their 6.5s, no elk is safe if they give them time to dial!!
You could also buy a Howa (they make Vangard's if you didn't know) barreled action from Brownell's for $499.00 (Cerakoted version) plus 15% off right now, choose a stock or chassis from Brownell's that fits or is adjustable and she will have great rifle for life. They are available in a number of configurations and calibers, standard barrel, heavy barrel, carbon fiber, threaded and much better than a Ruger American in my humble opinion.
lol, read folks. He purchased her a rifle.
Excellent choice, get that trigger tuned to 2.5-3 lbs, get her some excellent shooting muff's (I like Leights) and get her on the range. She can hunt deer with it in about 8 weeks
LOL! Often, people get too excited to contribute and do not read the entire thread.
Excellent choice for a young hunter. Congrats to both. I am looking forward to hearing about your successes.
I guess we have options now. When I was younger, we just took the old rem 700 out with a mixed bunch or differing weights if rem soft points and made the best of it. Those old steel butt plates hit the shoulder hard, and heck, we got bruises on the shoulder and face from the old JC Higgins pump 12 gauge that we'd take goose hunting. We thought nothing of it and actually enjoyed it! With that said, I have a teen daughter that lives to hunt with me. I had tone down my redneck tendencies and make it enjoyable for her. 
I bought a7mm-08 Tikka Compact for my daughter when she started hunting at 10. She was so small at that age. We loaded it light with some 139 SST's, but we found it was better for her to shoot my varmint 243 with a heavy barrel because the recoil was not pleasant with the tikka compact. The short barrel produced a lot of blast and it honestly smacked the shoulder pretty hard. We made her hunting trips all about her - I just pack the heavier rifle and the meat!
She ended up taking 4 elk over the past 6 years using a normal sized tikka t3x in 7mm Rem Mag. I load it with a lightish charge of reloder 23 behind 162 eld-x's traveling about 2880. They shoot crazy-small bugholes. With a 4 port TI Pro brake on it, the recoil and "snap" is significantly less than the '08 compact without a brake. When it's loaded near max the recoil is significantly more.
At 18, she's finally able to pack the 10lb rifle/scope setup on her own. Almost all shots with the 7mm RM are taken prone or seated/kneeling with a harris bipod - that's just kind of how I taught her. We hunt primarily mixed/open country with lots of shots across canyons or draws, so this suits us well.
From my experience and preference, depending on your hunting style and terrain, I would recommend a brake/can for a young shooter unless you go 6mm or smaller. Just don't forget the hearing protection for the brake!
I bought a7mm-08 Tikka Compact for my daughter when she started hunting at 10. She was so small at that age. We loaded it light with some 139 SST's, but we found it was better for her to shoot my varmint 243 with a heavy barrel because the recoil was not pleasant with the tikka compact. The short barrel produced a lot of blast and it honestly smacked the shoulder pretty hard. We made her hunting trips all about her - I just pack the heavier rifle and the meat!
She ended up taking 4 elk over the past 6 years using a normal sized tikka t3x in 7mm Rem Mag. I load it with a lightish charge of reloder 23 behind 162 eld-x's traveling about 2880. They shoot crazy-small bugholes. With a 4 port TI Pro brake on it, the recoil and "snap" is significantly less than the '08 compact without a brake. When it's loaded near max the recoil is significantly more.
At 18, she's finally able to pack the 10lb rifle/scope setup on her own. Almost all shots with the 7mm RM are taken prone or seated/kneeling with a harris bipod - that's just kind of how I taught her. We hunt primarily mixed/open country with lots of shots across canyons or draws, so this suits us well.
From my experience and preference, depending on your hunting style and terrain, I would recommend a brake/can for a young shooter unless you go 6mm or smaller. Just don't forget the hearing protection for the brake!
