Youth hunting rifle-Savage or Rem? .243 Win.

[diriel]

The Remington Youth rifles I am seeing are listed at 7lbs without scope. The LOP is nice, 12 3/8". The Howa Youth 2&1 package lists at 6.95lbs but comes with a 2nd full size stock for later on down the road. The Vanguard Youth lists at 6.5lbs and has a spacer system to go from 12 1/2" up to 13 5/8". Any way you go, with scope you end up well pretty close to 8lbs carry weight.

The rate of twist on the remington is 1-9 1/8", where as the howa / vanguard is a 1-10" twist. The savage I think is 1-9.25" twist. Not sure if you need an all copper bullet, and also not sure if you hunt in cold climates, but the 10" twist might be a little lazy for the longer / heavier game type bullets.

Also keep in mind, the lighter the rifle, the sharper the recoil, just saying.

I know you didn't mention it, but have you looked at the Winchester Featherweight Compact? LOP is 13", but weight is 6.5lbs, and they are certainly a well made hunting rifle.

For me, I would avoid a Factory .243 simply because I like to KNOW my hunting bullets are all climate stable. For that reason, I would honestly consider the 7-08.

I will leave with this thought: When my sister turned 12 years old I bought her a Savage in 308 and downloaded using the Hodgdons Youth Loads. She handled it pretty well. The reason I said 135gr SMK is because you can also use the 130 TTSX for hunting, which is a truly excellent hunting bullet.

Sorry I wandered a bit, I hope things work out well for you!
Gary

 

[Tikkamike]

Also keep in mind, the lighter the rifle, the sharper the recoil, just saying.

I know you didn't mention it, but have you looked at the Winchester Featherweight Compact? LOP is 13", but weight is 6.5lbs, and they are certainly a well made hunting rifle.

For me, I would avoid a Factory .243 simply because I like to KNOW my hunting bullets are all climate stable. For that reason, I would honestly consider the 7-08.

I have to disagree, a well constructed stock will take the sharpness out of recoil and it will just be a light shove. And if you are concerned about recoil why would you recommend a .284 over a .243? a 243 has more than enough killing ability for this little girl. and the 80-100 grain bullets will hammer a deer no problem. I wouldn't make the mistake of trying to give her more gun to make up for a beginners error I would stick to the best fit and minimal recoil because the more comfortable she is with the rifle the better the shot will be. And keeping it light is key because no 12 year old little girl wants to tote a 8-9 lb rifle through the woods/hills.
On a side note tikka makes super light and super accurate rifles. They even make an ultra light now with a fluted barrel, and if you feel the recoil is too much throw a harrels brake on it they cost $30 dollars and are very effective and well Made. Muzzle Brakes

 

[DZelenka]

In equal weight rifles the 7-08 load I quoted has approximately the same recoil as the factory .243. The .260 load has only 80% of the .243 recoil. I believe they are a better choice for a small person.

 

[Trickymissfit]

not being brand specific, but buy something she can shoot well. If the kid can't hit what she's aiming at, she will never shoot much and simply put the rifle away. Nothing wrong with the Remington, but I'd take the Savage over it. I think I'd be looking at the Vanguard.
gary

 

[diriel]

Not sure why I did not think of it earlier, but:

Ruger® M77® Hawkeye® Compact Bolt-Action Rifle Models

The Ruger Compact weights in at just 6lbs even. I have not seen one yet that weights less. LOP is 12 1/2". You can get it in .243, and 6.8SPC. Either round would certainly get the job done. You do not need bases with the Ruger, so that too is an additional weight savings. Best of all, that is 6lbs with a walnut stock

Happy Hunting,
Gary

 

[DZelenka]

Not sure why I did not think of it earlier, but:

Ruger® M77® Hawkeye® Compact Bolt-Action Rifle Models

The Ruger Compact weights in at just 6lbs even. I have not seen one yet that weights less. LOP is 12 1/2". You can get it in .243, and 6.8SPC. Either round would certainly get the job done. You do not need bases with the Ruger, so that too is an additional weight savings. Best of all, that is 6lbs with a walnut stock

Happy Hunting,
Gary

I saw one at the gun show the other day. It would make a perfect youth gun. My pick would be the 6.8. It also comes in .308 and I think 7.62x39.

 

[D2wing]

I'm in the market to buy my 11 year old daughter a .243 and am contemplating the options. I have an old Rem 788 in .243 with the 18.5" barrel, but it's way too heavy for her. She shoots it very well. I was going to buy her a Model Seven youth, but they stopped making them. So, my choices are Savage stainless 11 youth package for 500 or a Rem 700 youth for 450, no scope. I'll probably put a better scope on either way. I have also noticed the Howa/Vanguard youth models, but they weigh a pound more. Most have a 22" bbl. What are your thoughts? Has to be light- 6-7 lb with scope.

I gave my grandson a Remington 700 243 That I put a factory youth stock from eBay. He shot a deer and coyote with it and loves it. Savage would be fine as well. The scope is a Leupold vx2.
I have had a 788 and 2 700's that were all sub 3\4 moa with factory Corelocks. I like the 7-08 as well.

 

[Sockeye66]

My kids and my wife all started with a Bergara Apex stainless break action in .243, I also have the 7-08 barrel and the MZ barrel. All of them liked the simplicity of operation.

 

[Wachsmann]

My wife has the Tikka T3 light and it actually has more recoil than we both expected in a 243. It shoots great but we were both surprised after shooting a couple other 243's. I'm putting this in hear so you are just aware. I'll also say a 6mm creed more will yield a lot better performance than the 243 just do to how they were spec'ed out with tighter twist barrels and able to shoot some of the heavier bullets. That is if you want performance. With that said my wife took her mule deer at 298 yards with a 87 grain Berger VLD and it was dead in about 20 feet. Bullet went through to the off side shoulder and stopped at the hide and this load was pretty light and very easy to shoot load. She is also new to hunting.

 

[hesse]

I buy a savage axis then put a Boyds at 1 Stock to give get the length of pull they need