first caliber rifle..considering reloadingfor a 14 year old

pinkmoon

pinkmoon

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Hello. I have read through a LOT of posts that deal with what makes a great first gun for a young shooter my daughter is 14 and enjoys shooting. She can comfortably fire the 22-250. which is the largest caliber she has fired to date. The other guns we bring to the range are a 7mm rem mag and 300 win mag which I do not let her fire as I do not want to expose her to something that may have result in negative experience.

OK to my question. I have narrowed my choices down to 25-06 , .270 and 7mm-08. I enjoy reloading and plan to reload for whatever caliber I chose for her as well. I currently have a lot of rounds for my 7mm rem mag and that is why I am leaning toward the 7mm-08.

My concern is that from a reloading stand point do you think I would be better to go with a really well established round like .270 or will I be fine with the somewhat less popular 25-06 or 7mm-08.

So basically is there any advantage of one of these choices over the other from a reloading point of view...and is there a really good option that I have overlooked..perhaps .280 or .243?
 
There is a big difference in recoil between a 270 and a 7-08. When my son was young rifle weight was a problem so it had to be light, a 6.5 pound 270 kicks lke a mule, a 6.5 pound 7-08 doesn't, 15 grains of powder gets you nothing to speak of except recoil.

7-08 with a good 140 gr bullet will kill anything your daughter is likely to hunt.
 
I would say youth loads in the 7mm-08 would be idea to start with and you could work your way up as She get older and more comfo with shooting the gun. A light weight Barnes TTSX would be a great round for deer and would have very light recoil in the 7mm-08 IMO.
 
Thanks for the quick replies. I was leaning toward the 7MM-08. To be honest I was a bit concerned with the fact that it is not as common as some of the other offerings...but after looking around there are plenty of new guns being offered in that chambering and as far as reloading supplies are concerned there are a lot of offerings for the 7MM-08 as well

Thanks.
 
I have no recoil experience with the 7mm-08 but the 110gr Barnes TTSX in 270 Win. has reduced recoil and is very effective for Deer.
 
The .243 is also an ideal reloaders choice for most situations. Target, varmint. It wouldn't be my first choice for moose--but if she takes the time with target and one of the stiffer loads and good bullet choice no problem. Brass is relatively easy to find, plenty of powders work well and volume wise it's a very stingy and there is a good range of bullet choices, all the best Art..
 
I'm with the 7mm-08 as well.
We set my hunting buddy's wife up with that caliber and
she has no problem at the range with it.
It might help putting on a good recoil pad.
Don't want the youngster to develope a flinch.
I have taught my daughter to keep her eyes on the target after
pulling the trigger.
If you start reloading, 308win brass can be necked down for this caliber.
Cheers.
 
art.h said:
The .243 is also an ideal reloaders choice for most situations. Target, varmint. It wouldn't be my first choice for moose--but if she takes the time with target and one of the stiffer loads and good bullet choice no problem. Brass is relatively easy to find, plenty of powders work well and volume wise it's a very stingy and there is a good range of bullet choices, all the best Art..
Click to expand...

I believe this to be good advice as well as the availability of it commercially.
Another would be the .257 Roberts, although not quite as readily available as a commercial round as the .243, it is still out there. A .270 or 25-06 in a light weight rifle maybe a poor choice as others have mentioned. Another 7mm worth considering maybe the 7mm Mauser (7x57mm)...
 
Since you handload you can make the ammo to suit the situation.
I taught may oldest son to shoot with a 30-06. He started at 6 years of age when he had to let the stock go under his arm, to see through the scope. I loaded cast bullets so light that recoil barely moved the rifle.
Another son started with the 243, while grandsons started with the Marlin 44 magnum. In every case the loads were light enough that recoil was not an issue, then increase the loads as they develope in size and get used to shooting.
In your case, where the daughter is already proficient witha 22-250, you are past the initial stage. So pretty well any calibre short of the magnum type would be suitable, with the proper loads. I too, think the 7-08 would be ideal, because even loaded down to recoil very little more than the 22-250, it would still be good for deer, and later good for any game with full power loads.
 
If you are reloading , I wouldn't even worry about caliber choice. You can load anything you want and still have manageable recoil.

7-08 will be able to move a 140-150 grain bullet at velocities suitable for moose and bear and still have low recoil, take less powder than a .270 and should be a lighter rifle with the SA.You will actually find many fans of the 7-08 for an all round hunting round.

It will be the only rifle she ever needs. I'm the opposite build of a 14 year old girl and I use my 7-08 for everything. ;)

Accuracy counts, If she gets good with her 7-08 Dad better watch out!!
 
Since hunting with this rifle was not mentioned, why not something like a .223? With the right barrel twist and heavy bullets with rifle will accurately shoot out past 1000 yards. Recoil is next to nothing and reloading components are cheap.
 
.260, 7mm-08, 257 Roberts will all meet your requirements.

With that said so will most popular cartridges if you hand-load. Hodgdon powders has recipes for a variety of "youth loads" for many cartridges.

Another option - since you hand-load - is the 25 WSSM in a Browning Micro Medallion. A very trim little rifle with a cartridge that falls between the 257 Roberts and 25-06 in performance.
 
My 14 yr old loves the 7mm 08. 139gr Hornady's. Very mild in the recoil department and as accurate as any other caliber. Kills Elk DRT @ 200yds no problem. Your young one will not be dissapointed.
Thunder
 
art.h said:
The .243 is also an ideal reloaders choice for most situations. Target, varmint. It wouldn't be my first choice for moose--but if she takes the time with target and one of the stiffer loads and good bullet choice no problem. Brass is relatively easy to find, plenty of powders work well and volume wise it's a very stingy and there is a good range of bullet choices, all the best Art..
Click to expand...

very well said ,i think this is the best on for young and first time shooter's, easy to buy ammo anywhere and also nice to reload for .it's the smallest cal that you can go hunting with a friend of mine's daughter shot her moose with one this year @ 50yards one shot kill , very nice very little meat damage .
this is my choice for my girls once they get old enough.
my 2 cents
 
I was thinking along similar lines for my nephews.

The list I came up with was:

260 rem
6.5x55
7mm08

All of these are ideal for low recoil shooting in compact / light rifles and are large enough to be useful big game calibers for as many years as the young one wishes to use it, especially with the flexibility offered by handloading.
 
You have to be practical, not just theoretical, and include long term in a gun purchase.

I vote for the .243 as the ideal starter, because it is completely adequate for anything up to deer, which will likely be the "big" end of the big game usage for a couple of years, and has no recoil issues for anyone who shoots. Then you get a genuine "deer and bigger" round whenever bigger big game comes on the menu after gaining some experience, and age, both of which will make larger calibers easy to master.

Your young shooter, if she continues to hunt as she matures, will end up with two rifles much better suited for varmints to large game than if you try to cover all the bases with one round as a first rifle. Maybe saved some money too, in the long run.

I think there are no reloading issues with any of the mid range powered cartridges for these purposes, so it's purely a caliber/gun choice.
 
Don't worry about the availability of ammunition if you're going to reload for it. Given your choices, I'd like the 7 - 08. If you're introducing other calibres, ther are a bunch of other good ones like .257 roberts or 6.5 x 55.
Grouch
 
Thanks for all the input. I like the idea introducing a new round to my reloading bench. I enjoy reloading and am excited to start learning about the 7mm-08. So far the only two guns I have reloaded for are my 22-250 and 7mm-rem mag.

I have decided ( with the help of you guys ) to go out and get a 7mm-08. I just put up my .308 in the EE...with any luck it will find a new home so that I can replace it with my Daughters new gun.

Thanks again for your input.
 
3006, you will have a rifle he can grow into, to start load a 150 gr 30-30 bullet to around 2000 fps. As he grows into the rifle load heavier/hotter.

A
 
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