airborne trooper
Well-Known Member
Depending on what range you plan shooting either 6.5 Grendel in a howa mini action or a youth model 700 in 7-08. My boy has the 7-08 and with handloads it's shoots sub moa closer 3/4 and the recoil is easy for him
Deer rifle choice for kids
- Thread starter prohuntersmind
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prohuntersmind
Well-Known Member
Noted, will put into consideration.
As mentioned, a .243 on private land (just use 80-85gr bullets for less recoil) and on public...the least recoiling levergun or single shot will be a .357 mag. Use 38s for plinking, work up to Buffalo Bore 180 HCGC...hit like a 30-30 out past 100yds and still barely any recoil. The only .44 mag rifle I shot that had low recoil was the Ruger gas operated carbine. The levergun will pop you one! ha
Both my sons started with .243's Started my grandson with a browning micro in 6.5 Creedmoor. He just turned 9, is a bit small, but has no issues with the recoil. I've restricted him to 100 yards for his first season and we've had to pass a couple. He got a pretty nice 8 point a few weeks back with it.
Was just thinking about my first deer rifle. I was 12 years old and had been small game hunting with a 20 gage double and a single shot 22 rifle starting out at 8 years old with my Dad. Dad did not deer hunt but my neighbor who was also my Sunday school teacher told me if I got me a high power rifle he would take me deer hunting with him. I was 12 years old and worked my butt off that spring through summer in the tobacco fields, hay fields and mowing yards and anything else I could do to make money. I made $45. Dad took me to a local box store and they had what I called Army rifles by the shopping cart full for $40 each. I got a 1903A3 Springfield that was NEW packed in grease. Dad bought me two boxes of soft point 30-06 ammo. Man that thing kicked like a mule but I learned to really shoot that rifle and got lots of practice because I had a cousin that was in the state guard and when he went to muster every month he would bring me a 250 round can of ammo. I carried that rifle hunting for 5 years deer hunting and never even saw a deer. Deer were few and far between back then around my area of east TN but now you can almost throw a rock into the woods and hit one. I killed a bunch of ground hogs, wild dogs and even a few long range rabbits with that rifle. After 5 years I sold the rifle and bought a Marlin 30-30 which was lighter and handled better in the laurel thickets and that year I saw my first deer and it was a buck. Shot it at about 50 yards. It was a 5 point buck and weight field dressed was 163 lbs. I have killed a few hundred deer since then but can still remember that first one like it was yesterday.
smcdurmon
Well-Known Member
I would suggest a Howa Mini in 6.5 Grendel. I have one and it shoots great, very little recoil and knocks the snot out of Whitetail.
Bang4theBuck
Well-Known Member
I bought a Tikka T3 youth in 243. The recoil was pretty stout, being as though the rifle was only 51/2 to 6 lbs. I bought the Hornady custom lite ammunition for it, and that cut it down quite a bit (and was very accurate). from there, I wanted to cut down more recoil, so I took the butt pad off of the gun and the poly stock was hollow, so I filled it with $9.00 worth of bbs that I got in bulk at tractor supply. I believe that I added almost 3.5 lbs of weight to the stock and thereby reduced the recoil by an equal amount. those two enhancements make this a very mild gun to shoot and is very accurate. No matter what you do, I would find a way to get a reduced length of pull (shorter stock) as a stock that doesn't fit well will increase the perceived recoil, and will teach the youngsters bad shooting technique. The Tikka, and others come with stock sections that you can add to increase the length as they grow.
CTFLATLANDER
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My son started shooting with a Remington Model 7 stainless with the 20" barrel in 243 at 7. No problems with recoil.
Aoudad shooter1975
Well-Known Member
Funny my kids shoot a 300 blackout..they call it the big pellet gun. We take pigs, deer and axis with it. With a 110 TSX bullet it does the job at the distances we shoot it and with 208 AMax subs takes care of the odd bull squirrel or two..I also have a 6.5 grendel in a encore built almost exactly alike. The M4 style stock makes it very ajustable and with the suppressor almost no noise and recoil.
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1Moose
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I got a 260 Remington as a deer / pronghorn rifle for my son to use, with a bit of a mind that we "might" consider it for elk (in his early years before he can shoot something larger; if he proves able to place his shots well in the field on smaller game, and with the right bullet--I have a couple of years to think about this). We're in CO, so he has to be 12 to hunt big game. He's 9 years old, and 65 pounds. The 260 isn't light, weighing in at 9.5 lbs fully equipped, including a muzzle brake. He shot it for the first time over Christmas and did very well with it for his first time out while we were testing loads. At this point, I'm happy with the choice. He said the noise (ear plugs and muffs) and recoil were okay for him. I think it'll serve us well.
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Hatrick
Well-Known Member
Aoudad, where did you get the stock for the Encore? I have a contender I would like to set it up like that for pig hunting.
Aoudad shooter1975
Well-Known Member
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/3...ontender-only-rifle-steel-and-synthetic-black
Here is where I got mine...works great.
