Suitable youth rifle for a Mule Deer hunt?

[Web1350]

I'll be taking my 13 year old on a mule deer hunt that she was drawn for and I'm looking for ideas on a good cartridge that is suitable for the job. It says in the hunt guide that most shots will be 200 yards or further. I have a 6.5 Grendel for her to whitetail hunt with. Though it has done well for close range whitetail, I don't feel it is a good choice for Mule deer at the suggested ranges. The other two options I have available is a 14lb match rifle in 6mm Creedmoor or a 300wsm. I'm unsure that a 100-110gr 6mm is enough and personally think the 300wsm will be a bit much recoil. The two cartridges that come to mind that I think would be a good middle of the road cartridge for this application would be the 6.5 Creedmoor or 6.5 PRC. It wouldn't take much for me to spin up another barrel and swap it out ...accept for the fact that I don't have a barrel laying around. Maybe I can get by with what I have or maybe I need to buy a barrel? Looking for some ideas and opinions. Also to add, I have never hunted Mule deer so it will be a new adventure for the both of us. Thanks ahead of time for any tips, tricks & advice

I don't see a 13 year old girl toting a 14 lb rifle or shooting a 300 wsm. How about a .308? Not a lot of recoil and will do the job.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

ok, not saying that the 6.5 is necessary, but lends itself to a bit of cushion for shot placement for a less experienced shooter. I'm sure lots of shooters young and old kill deer with all kinds of calibers. I was only offering suggestion for the best possible outcome given your requirements. if I were on a draw hunt, you can sure bet that I'll be taking something that's more than adequate, just in case. While the 223 may work for some, that tiny bullet at a bit past normal ranges doesn't offer nearly the wounding capability of a 140gr 6.5. That's where the larger and more efficient round makes sense, I.E. a over 200yd shot on a mulie.

I would rather have a gun my kids are confident shooting rather than worry about them shooting something bigger. A gutshot animal is still a gutshot animal, doesnt matter if it was done with a 338 or a 243. The grendel wou

for the cost of a new barrel you can buy a youth model savage in 7mm/308 that will last a lifetime. The one I bought my wife prints .75" groups regardless of the bullet weights I use with a little tuning.

we have 2 of these that drive tacks - a 243 and a 6.5 creedmoor. We put boyds at ones on them and they can grow with the kids.

 

[trophyhunter1000]

In my opinion the 264 win mag is the way to go. It's a 6.5 magnum essentially. It is a great round and you can get one in the new generation Winchester model 70.

 

[Blue Ridge Rifleman]

My two boys started on Wyoming and Montana mule deer with a Winchester Ranger (youth-size) in .243, shooting 85 gr. Nosler Solid Base. No mulie or pronghorn ever got away once they pulled the trigger. I also used a .243 for mulies for many years, same bullet. My longest shot was stepped off at 425 yards and that buck made one jump and dropped. Oh, and we never recovered a bullet, FWIW.

 

[Brad7348]

If you reload, I would consider 243 AI, or 6mm Rem. I built a 243AI for my nephew and he wont shoot his 7-08 anymore because "it kicks too hard" You can shoot 100+gr bullets over 3000fps with the AI in a reasonably short/light barrel. Super easy to fire form and still shoots off the shelf ammo just fine.

 

[Garou_22]

The Grendel is good for most any N. American big game animal out to 400yds given proper bullet choice. The 6.5 Creed, 260, and Swede stretch effective range to 5-700yds with minor gain in recoil. Mainly due to being able to push the 140gr bullets at 2600 - 2900fps and still be only fractionally harder on the shoulder than, say, a .243 or 7-08 and significantly less than an '06 or 308.

But boiled down to the nitty-gritty, the 123gr 6.5 bullets in the Grendel cartridge are more than sufficient for Moose at 200yds, so mulie at less than 400 is fine even with a poor shot mistake.

 

[moa_shooter]

why is the 6.5 creedmore a really hyped gun

 

[CRaTxn]

My concern with the 6mm is just that, the what if a bad shot does happen. What will the 6mm do on a shoulder at 200-300 yards? Blow up or penetrate on through? I know it also depends on the bullet being used. I would think a solid or bonded would maybe penetrate. But the ELDX or soft point I would think would blow up. I could be completely wrong on these thoughts. If I was shooting, no questions asked it would be a .30 cal. Too much recoil for a kid will most likely create bad habits plus limit the amount of practice per session.

I'm excited as can be about her drawings a permit and my mind is racing at 264mph with the excitement and getting everything together.

With modern bullets...the 6mm performance is what the 7mm used to be...a flinch will ensure poor shot placement for a 13 year old girl or a 40 year old male. Unless you want to down load a lot of practice loads and then stick in a hot one on her...6mm
OH, shorten the stock to fit her and have a good recoil pad installed.

 

[wv270wsm]

I've never fired a shot at mule deer but I've hunted with my two sons and all their buddies who's dads don't hunt. As long as the kid is confident with whatever gun they've got things do go a whole lot smoother.
I personally would get a 7 mm08 in something or other or since you stated you can spin a barrel go that route to. The 7mm 08 has a little bigger bullet selection "for now" anyhow.
But also the creedmoor whichever caliber you would happen to choose should flat put the smoke on any mule deer walking I'd think with a good bullet and shot placement to match. Good luck hunting and hopefully after January we can all see her smiling face on here with a bruiser mulie

 

[Brad7348]

The other advantage the 6mm has over the creed is that if you zero at 200 you can pretty much just put the cross hairs where you want them from 100 out to 300 and not worry much about holdovers or turret adjustments. The 6.5s and 7mms in a short action are going to drop a bit more over that distance. Not saying you couldn't hold and shoot one of those calibers but if you want to get more precise with shot placement without a bunch of calculation etc, the fast 6mm has an advantage.

 

[Joe Hooker]

I've shot many a mule deer with a .243.
6mm C should do just fine.
.300 win. might be too much, start 'em easy.

 

[Doublezranch]

My daughter's first rifle was a 7mm-08. Nice shooting easy to mange rifle. Once she became extremely proficient and was able to hit targets and animals at several ranges, I built her a custom 338 wildcat. Her first 3 shots at 1k were submoa. I completely agree that a good fitting rifle that's comfortable is very important. If she is constantly fighting the rifle, she is going to struggle with accuracy and confidence. My daughter is 15. She knows what she likes and will not shoot anything that isn't comfortable. Last year she shot her buck with a 338 rum. The caliber is not overkill if the person shooting it is comfortable.

 

[floyd kittrell]

Amen to what Mr.Bigngreen said . furnish a weapon that fits her . In the 6.5 caliber I shoot a 127 grain Barnes LRX and it is plenty of bullet for deer and prong horn critters both deadly and accurate low recoil and you can always restock your rifle to fit her and go back to original stock if you wish . My oldest daughter is an adult and still size of 14 year old , her rifle is custom now to fit her she likes and shoots 7-08 . Good options for the 7-08 are Barnes 120 ttsx and Barnes 139 LRX around 3000FPS and 2900 FPS respectfully .

 

[Racemike]

To sound really old fashion anybody thought about the one round that has killed probably more deer whitetail and muley's and other game 270 win plenty of light rifles tons of loads for them not much kick my son uses it for mule deer and whitetail I use like 150gr. Nosler partitions and 140gr. And to many powders that all work well for accuracy but I guess it's not the fad anymore it has to have a fancy name or have 6.5 to be the only gun that will work oh by the way you can go up on grain bullet and even use it on elk Just my thought