cool starter rifle

E

ekoso

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saskabush
well im bored this sunday evening so i figured i would share with you the turmoil i have struggling with for the last 6 months or so. I have 3 kids, two boys are 4 years old, and my daughter is 7 months old, at the rate that firearm prices/quality and other factors have been rising ( or lowering on the QC department), i feel it is a good time to purchase them hunting rifles. Problem is caliber, i started with the idea that the 243 is an excelllent choice, so i bought two vanguards, long story short, i decided that the 243 wasnt sufficient enough of a caliber for the boys, so i sold one vanguard and kept the other one for my daughter and put on a thumbhole stock, so that one is out of the way. now the last two rifles have to meet a few different criterias: interesting caliber, versatile, and to last until they can pass it onto thier children (so no savages, ruger americans, remington 783, browning ab3 or mossbergs, basically any budget rifle is out of the question). So a few calibres that have crossed my mind are: 308(uninteresting but will good enough for any saskatchewan game and low recoil) 6.5 creedmoor (seriously cool caliber, 1000y capable and works on any saskatchewan game, but slow....well under 3000fps) and the 240 weatherby (very interesting, very fast, low recoil, but a little small for elk and moose).

Im interested to know what you fellow hunters think. i know the 25-06 will come up but i already have one and want to keep it to just one to keep the brass seperate and other small headaches i can forsee with kids being kids lol.
 
I would not worry about 1000 yard capability in a stater rifle, they will hopefully be getting as close to game as possible and should be able to start making their own decisions by the time they are ready for 1000 yard shooting. Mild recoil and ergonomics should be top of your list. I don't know how young kids can hunt at in Sask but I like to make young folks I introduce to the sports carry a break action until they get muzzle control down, its easy to verify at a glance that their firearm is safe with it broken open.
.270 is great for a hunting rifle and can easily be loaded for mild recoil with excellent on game performance. I was strongly considering a 6.5 creedmoor until I shot one and talked to my friend who owns it, don't get me wrong its a great cartridge and gives excellent performance, its just getting brass is expensive and it is very hard to find locally. Even he will admit if it wasn't for desperately wanting to try one he would have gone .260 Remington or 7mm-08 because components are easier to get and you can almost always pick up .308 or .243 brass and neck up or down as required.
You reload from the sounds of it so the world is your oyster, you can make almost any cartridge comfortable. An overlooked cartridge is the .358 Winchester load cast or light bullets to around 1800-2000 FPS till they're ready than wind it up with some 200-225 grain bullets at around 2400fps+ and have a lifetime rifle.
 
I would say that 7mm-08 is about perfect given your criteria. Stick with the sevens for the platform. You say that you want to keep brass easily separated... so are you looking for rifles chambered for two different cartridges? Or can they be in the same cartridge? 7mm-08 for both OR make one a 7X57... you can shoot the same bullets from the same platform, but using different cases to avoid confusion of which bullets go with which rifle...

P.S - the son shooting the 7X57 is naturally going to be cooler...
 
Bought my son a youth model .243 and he used that until he outgrew it and then went to his .270 wsm. The most important thing or at least as important, is the physical size of the gun when they first start out. Of course you don't want to hurt them or scare them too bad or you'll be hunting by yourself.
 
shorttrac said:
.257 Roberts is what my boys have waiting for them in ruger Hawkeyes.
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Nice choice... I had a Roberts MKII Standard, but sold it in favour of a Roberts No.1-RSI... and am still looking for a Roberts in a M77 MKII Ultralight.
 
I have both a 7/08 & 257Roberts. Both would be good choices for your boys.

I recently bought a youth stock for the 7/08 off the EE for a grand total of $40/shipped. Same stock can be fitted to my 223 for a starter gun. Couldn't go wrong with that deal and two young grandsons.
 
For youth, recoil is a consideration for sure. Bullet choices greatly affect recoil, so a premium like a Nosler partition will let you choose a lighter weight bullet and lessen recoil while still giving good penetration when needed.
7mm08 , 7x57, 6.5x55 and 270 are all good choices for the larger elk and moose and have modest recoil with middle of the road bullet weights.

That said I have no hesitation to take reasonable shots with the 243 loaded with 95 and 100 gr partitions on a moose or elk.
 
You know, I just talked to a guy at work so claimed that his father bought him a 257 Roberts for his first rifle and that he still has it to this day, he also highly recommended it. The 7mm08 is also a nice round and under serious consideration. Thanks for your thoughts and input
 
Well here is my 2 cents, I got my boys 7x57s. Oldest shot his first deer with a 243. Good placement with a 100gr partition, still ran too far(100yds). No problem with 7x57. The 7/08 is great as is the 260. Any middle caliber from 25-06 to the 308 will serve you very well, rest is just preference. Good luck & great to take them hunting.
 
a j cave said:
Well here is my 2 cents, I got my boys 7x57s. Oldest shot his first deer with a 243. Good placement with a 100gr partition, still ran too far(100yds). No problem with 7x57.
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Guy I used to hunt with shot a small buck at 39 yards with a 7mm rem mag and winchester grey box. Ran about 100 yards as well. I shot one bigger then his with my 30-06 and hornady sst ran 3 feet with a hole you could easily fit your hand into on both sides. His entrance and exit were 7mm diameter. Not always about the caliber used.
 
I've got 3 kids 14 yrs 10 and 8. my oldest daughter has taken 2 deer with my 243 that doubles as my truck gun. I recently got her a Weatherby 7-08, that I really like. the two younger kids can battle over the twin Tikkas 243 and 260 that I have for them. the 260 has earned a soft spot in my heart since last fall I layed over a nice bull Elk with it. the Elk didn't make it 50 yards.
 
well....if you are looking for a nice gun to pass down to your sons...what about a Sako? find one thats ss and wood stock maybe? cartridge, well i have always been more interested in calibers that i know that ill be able to find ammo for at the little corner store in the middle of nowhere saskatchewan in a pinch. getting the exotic ###y calibers is cool and everything but they can be pricy and tough to find. 308 and 7mm will both go out to 1000 yards when they are ready to play with targets out that far.
 
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