Sons first deer gun

[TEXICAN 10]

Just wanting some feedback on what caliber and model to start my 10 yr old son with. I am a big fan of the Remington 700 but I have been hearing a lot of good about the new Savage rifles. Also the other Remington models such as the model 7 & the 770. As far as caliber we will be doing deer and hogs I have heard and seen lots about the 243 both good & bad but the 7mm-08 is what Im leaning towards. My son is a little fella so I don't want to over rifle him he weighs about 50 pounds. Any ideas will greatly be appreciated. Thanks YFIS the TEXICAN.

[mattydski 560]

.243 offers a lot of gun for the Lad. A lot of adults use it in this country to great effect. I suppose it depends on what is the largest animal you intend to harvest.

If it is small to medium deer, it would be the ideal choice.

.243 offers good bullet selection, from just about every ammo shop there is....

I am not sure what it is like in the states, but in this country 7mm08 is not as widely available . Another good round though!!

 

There may be other calibres to consider, The mild shooting 6.5x55mm could be suitable. (not sure on availability though) or perhaps the 260 Remington?

 

Best of luck in your decision.

[HUnter_zero 58]

You have many more options in the USA than we do in the UK.

As far as I can see, you have three problems.

 

1) Recoil, too much and your going to put your boy off shooting or at the very least start a flinching habit he will never lose.

2) Weight, a light rifle will produce higher recoil but your boy will struggle with a heavy rifle and of course the rifle still has to fit him or he will never shoot straight.

3) Power, the rifle has to be capable of killing a deer cleanly.

 

The great option and advantage you have over us is gas operated semi-autos. A gas operated semi-auto .243" or .25-06 would be very low on recoil, yet still kill a deer. Some sort of synthetic, may be even military variant such as the M16 clones would reduce weight and give you the option of shorter stocks.

I'm not sure if any of the above even exist, but would produce low recoil and a short rifle, which could be made a lot lighter than say a 30-06 Rem700 sps tactical!

 

This looks just the job : http://media.browning.com/pdf/om/bar_98355_om_s.pdf

With a range of different sized stocks, your boy could "grow" with the rifle.

My guess (having never shot one) the rifle in .243" would be as sweet as a lamb.

 

John

Edited October 24, 2010 by HUnter_zero

[RicW 67]

I've just had a look at Chuck Hawks recoil energy chart. He says that over ~7ft.lbs starts to feel like a kick rather than a push.

.243 with 100gr bullet:- 8.8

6.5 x 55 with 140gr :- 10.5

7 - 08 with 140gr :- 12.6

Bearing in mind that Hawk's comment was as regards an adult shooter, it looks like the .243 is favourite for your son. The 7-08 would have a real risk of him developing trigger flinch.

 

Ric

Edited October 24, 2010 by RicW

[SNAP SHOT 194]

Hi there, 6.5x55, 7mm-08 are excellent calibres for your needs, However,

 

if your son is only 10 years old, i'd suggest going the .243, 260 rem or 6mmbr, and shoot the lightest range of bullets until he gets confident with the centre fires,

 

when he can call the shot, increase the loading or bullet weight until you get into the hunting rounds weight range, 95 to 105 grains,

 

too much gun too quickly will give him anticipition of recoil, and so fluff the shots, once this is inbuilt into a young person its very hard to get rid of it,

 

dry firing procedures have to be then mixed with live ammo,

 

Shot placement is vital, no matter WHAT the calible, only yesterday another lad took a shot at a fallow in a area but with someone i normally shot with, he fired a 30-06 into a fallow buck at 40 yards

 

it went down, and then got up and run off !!!!!!! this is fact, if the shot is not in the vitals with any calibre its gonna be a long trek to find the injured animal...

 

good luck with you quest i hope your son likes the sport...

 

 

Snap.

[TEXICAN 10]

Hey thanks guys you really brought up a lot of factor points that I passed up. Were gonna go do a little sizing today and see what fits best and is comfortable for him. Hopefully we can get out and shoot a couple later this week and see what they feel like. Thanks again guys, he loves to hunt so much he and his younger brothers drive me crazy....... Ive got my 10 yr old a 7yr old and now a baby that is 20 months old and yes he loves to get outside with the big boys and pretend to hunt. God blessed me with 3 sons looks like I will be in the woods for a long time. Your Friend In Sport, the TEXICAN.

[RicW 67]

That makes the .243 an even better choice! As your eldest grows into 7-08 he can pass the .243 on, then by the time he's up to a 30-06, and passed the 7-08 down, the wee lad will just about cope with the .243!

I do think that your lads will do better starting at the lower end of the suitable calibres and working up. Apart from anything else,they will learn shot placement.

 

YIS,

Ric

[danebrewer10 6]

with regard to rifle, what about the remington model 7 or the kimber rifles, both lightweight and handy...

[Fishslayer 10]

Fishdaughter has been shooting .243 since age 15.

It works.

(Remington model 788 w/Leuopold 3-9X scope)

 

The 7mm.08 has an excellent reputation.

 

The .243 offers more variety of bullet weights, is more available and (for practice) is cheaper to shoot.

 

Let us know what you end up with.

You really cannot go too far wrong with most modern firearms.

 

Cheers,

Mark