Looking for some input and ideas for daughters first rifle.

[R.C.Saul]

Looking for some input and ideas for daughters first rifle.

Thinking of building my baby girl a bolt gun to hunt and learn with. I'm after low recoil more than a distance requirement. Mostly for Texas/Nm deer, antelope, coyotes, and some pigs. It'll be a switch barrel on an existing Rem 700 short action I have. First barrel will be .223 Wilde.

Second barrel- I'm debating between 300 Blackout, 6.5 Grendel, or 6.8 Spc. Any input is appreciated.

 

[cohunt]

if those are your only options I'd choose the 6.5 or 6.8 over the 300-- both are very similar, I prefer the 6.8

 

[codyadams]

I would go for the grendel for sure. Plenty for deer, and low recoil!! It would give you 300-400 possibly depending on bullet choice as well

 

[rockwallraider]

how old is your girl?
I started my 7 yr old boy out deer hunting with a 243 with barnes 80 gr ttsx and it was golden outto about 250 yds. With my older son 11 yr old he either shoots 6.5 creed or 7mm08 with 140 gr bullets.

 

[Frog4aday]

I like the 6.8 SPC best, but it is fading away in popularity. That being the case, I'd make her a 6.5 Grendel. It has low recoil, good performance inside 250 to 300 yards, and offers lots of bullet choices. It'd be suitable for all the game you mentioned, too. She'll love it! You're a good Dad.

 

[lancetkenyon]

Why not a 6.5x47L, 6.5CM, .260 Rem, etc.? Start with some lower charge weight 100-120gr loads, work up to 130-140s and full power when she gets older.

Or a 6x47L, 6CM, 6XC, etc.? 105s @ 2600 to start, bump them up to 3000+ later on.

My daughter, who is now 17, has been shooting her 6.5SLR since she was 11. And my AR & .260 Rem with reduced loads since she was 8. Even shot her first bull elk @ 11 with my .300RUM w. Brake. She has taken 2 elk (1 bull, 1 cow), 2 mule deer bucks, a buck antelope, a javalina, and numerous varmints. Hope to put another big mule deer buck on the ground in 2 weeks. She is a stone cold killer. And a very good long range shooter with her 6.5SLR. She just smacked a squirrel at 741 yards on a cold bore shot on Saturday while tuning up for her deer hunt. Got it on video too.

 

[Bang4theBuck]

Curious what your reasoning was for picking those calibers as choices. I could see limiting yourself to those if you were building an AR, but with a switch barrel 700 rig, the world is our playground. If you don't care to entertain that question, and just want us to stick to the choices you stated, I would go with the 6.5 Grendel. I've got all kinds of feedback to share if you would be willing to look at any other calibers.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I'm gonna say 6mm creed with a brake. It will probably kick less than a 223. Loaded with a 105 -115 grain bullets its more than enough for deer and antelope.

 

[mulie]

Hi I vote 6.5 CM as lots of available ammo off the shelf low recoil very accurate, just purchase a nice Savage and let her rip. You could even lower the recoil with a brake. Easy to switch barrels with a go gauge.

 

[Orange Dust]

Looking for some input and ideas for daughters first rifle.

Thinking of building my baby girl a bolt gun to hunt and learn with. I'm after low recoil more than a distance requirement. Mostly for Texas/Nm deer, antelope, coyotes, and some pigs. It'll be a switch barrel on an existing Rem 700 short action I have. First barrel will be .223 Wilde.

Second barrel- I'm debating between 300 Blackout, 6.5 Grendel, or 6.8 Spc. Any input is appreciated.

If you are going to use the same bolt, I would do the old 6mm x 223 wildcat. Literally tons of deer have been killed with it by youngsters and women. If you do anything else other than the BO you will have to have another bolt, and most likely a different magazine for it to feed right. My girls started with a .243 with a brake on it. Another option that would be really good for the game listed would be a .257 Roberts with a brake. Have to change the bolt and magazine though, and can't load long.

 

[del2les]

Are you planning to switch bolts also for the different sized cartridge heads? If not, the 223 bolt can be used with the various TCU designs: 6TCU, 6.5TCU, 25, 7mmTCU(my favorite for deer), etc. If you are going to change bolts, then the 6BR or Dasher, 7BR, or 243 and 7-08 all work well with lower recoil.

Decades ago, my son killed his first deer with a 222 loaded with Sierra 63g SMP's(224 legal in that state), but later, we put together a nice youth model 243 for him. It was very accurate, low recoil with reduced 80-85gr handloads, but as he grew, it had plenty of reach with full power 100BT's.

Once he became more interested in his high school friends than deer hunting with dad, I added a short recoil pad to that youth 243 to increase LOP, and I killed several deer with that rifle. While hunting from a thick woods' stand or just strolling around fence lines and small woodlots, I found myself enjoying that short rifle's handiness and light weight.

 

[R.C.Saul]

Thanks for all the great replies!
Those calibers are not the only options, just looking at very low recoil options. As for bolt face, I'm planning switch barrel with different bolts to fit different cartridges. The calibers will grow as she does and can handle them. I already have a 243 and a 7-08 barrel being made for it. Daughter is 3yrs old now and already absolutely loves to go hunting with me and her mom. Have a little suppressed chipmunk rifle we help her shoot right now.

 

[Orange Dust]

We started with a chipmonk and cb caps. Less work for dad than a peller gun. Watch the striker.its a real thumb pincher on little ones.

 

[R.C.Saul]

I started deer hunting with my great-grandpa's lever action Winchester 25-20. After that, I upgraded to a 222 and filled many tags with it. Now, I have a healthy safe with a great variety of calibers for everything from rabbits to Buffalo. I still have and shoot the old 25-20 occasionally.
Figure as she grows, she can try larger calibers and see what she can handle.