AJ Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 I recommend a Remington Model 7 youth in 243 Winchester. I do not recommend going below 90 grains in bullet weight as the lighter bullets are designed for varmints not deer and will not achieve enough penetration to insure a quick clean kill. While the 223 is effective in the proper hands, I do not recommend it for a new hunter. If it meant waiting a year or two for the kid to get bigger to handle higher recoiling gun, I would wait till he is bigger to handle a proper deer cartridge. Get him out and practice well before season to get used to the gun. Start him with varmint loads using light bullets so he gets used to the gun and noise. This training should be started at least 6 months prior to season instead of waiting till just before the season. Keep practice fun for the kid and don't make the practice session too long. It is far better to have 30 minute sessions once a week than to have 1 hour and a half session. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion_70 Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 Re: Youth Deer Rifles I would go with the .243 also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dg Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 Re: Youth Deer Rifles Back when I gun hunted, I killed 20+ deer with a Savage .222 with a 50 gr bullet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borch Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 Re: Youth Deer Rifles I'm a bit more conservative thqan AJ. When I bought deer rifles for my two daughter I got the 7mm-08 because I felt that the .243 in a 90-100 gr bullet was a bit light for an inexperienced shooter on deer sized game. Neither of my girls had any issue with the recoil produced by this round in a Rem 700 Mountain rifle or the Rem Model 7 youth rifle in 140 -150 gr. bullets. Of the two rounds mentioned I'd definitely recommend the .243 over the .223. Borch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron buck Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 Re: Youth Deer Rifles My 12 year old daughter will be hunting for the first time this fall. She will be using a Ruger M77 MArk II International in 243 Winchester topped with a 2-7x Leupold. She shoots it well and the 243 hardly kicks at all. I would say go with teh 243 over a 223 any day. I also have a Ruger 77/22 that she shoots with me on the weekends. It is very similar to her hunting rifle so it is great practice. She shoots the 243 once or twice a month as well. What ever you choose, make sure that they get in some practice with it before the season. Also, make sure that they wear hearing protection. Many people are actually more intimidated by the noise of a round more than it's kick. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut_Buster Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 Re: Youth Deer Rifles .243... my first dee gun, and the gun i'l keep forever. This gun can do it all.. form varmits to deer. Thats all we have in wisconsin. And the 100 gr bullet when i was twelve never felt to bad. And people who tell u that the 243 is too small for deer are crazy. My first deer i've taken all droped cold to a 243 100 gr Remington core lockt and Winchester power poitn plus. Model 788 remington... u see the love Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5994_MUZZYMAN Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 Re: Youth Deer Rifles my kids will shoot a .223 with a 64 grain pmc bullet. if you have never seen what this bullet can do to a 140 pound doe then you don't know. 3 deer shot and 3 deer down with in 50 yards. exit hole was almost fist size and the lungs were shredded. can't ask for more than that. i just limit the range that my kids can shoot a deer at. it depends on how well they shoot in practice. the ballistics put this bullet at about 3900 fps so it is good out to about 175 to 200 yards for 900lbs of energy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted September 29, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2003 Re: Youth Deer Rifles [ QUOTE ] my kids will shoot a .223 with a 64 grain pmc bullet. ...the ballistics put this bullet at about 3900 fps so it is good out to about 175 to 200 yards for 900lbs of energy [/ QUOTE ] I think you may want to recheck those figures again. PMC has ballistics on their web site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 Re: Youth Deer Rifles i would pick one of these three calibers: .243 Win, .308 Win, or 7mm-08. i would thing that these would be the best calibers with the lightest recoil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superguide Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 Re: Youth Deer Rifles I started Ty out with my Browning BBR .270 and he shot it fine fron day one-like others have said practice makes perfect but not just range it's important that they get in some hunting time before they go after deer. As to a gun to use those NEF single shots in .243 would be perfect in my opinion a .223 is a yote gun-they aren't even legal in Saskatchewan for big game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimT Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 Re: Youth Deer Rifles [ QUOTE ] I recommend a Remington Model 7 youth in 243 Winchester [/ QUOTE ] Ditto... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 Re: Youth Deer Rifles [ QUOTE ] I recommend a Remington Model 7 youth in 243 Winchester. I do not recommend going below 90 grains in bullet weight as the lighter bullets are designed for varmints not deer and will not achieve enough penetration to insure a quick clean kill. [/ QUOTE ] Great recommendation. The .243 would be the best bet for a small young hunter. I know Savage and Remington both make youth model rifles in a .243. My 8 year old shoots the savage model 10 .243 I bought my wife. Some states like here in TN do not allow anything smaller than a .24 caliber. I personally do not think the .223 is even a choice. [ QUOTE ] Thanks. I went and got a Remington 700 youth .243. [/ QUOTE ] Great choice, missed that first time I read through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest superguide_jr Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 Re: Youth Deer Rifles I'm a youth hunter and all i use is a .243 ever since i started hunting and i havn't noticed a thing for recoil i think it would be perfect for your kid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 Re: Youth Deer Rifles Yet another Hunting Family...got to Love that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntingInMaine Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 Re: Youth Deer Rifles My 9 year old is using a ruger .44 and he loves it. It fits him well and I will be trading my 30-06 for his 44 when he gets a little bigger, so we didn't waste money on a gun that won't be used much. (as we did with the youth model .22/410 we got him the year before....boy do they grow fast! LOL) Hope she has lots of fun...it's great that you are taking him out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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