first big game hunting riffle for nephew

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Hi All

I am wondering what good caliber rifle would be for nephew that is about 12 years old. I started out on a 30-30 but I would like something that is pretty flat shooting and would well for deer and elk. All opinions are welcome. Thanks for your time.
 
Not all that common any longer but I would recommend looking at a rifle chambered in 300 Savage = 150gr bullets @ 2600fps withut a load of punishing recoil.

or you could just download a 308 Win... :)
 
My son started his big-game hunting with a .257 Weatherby. My daughter used a .243 her first year, then switched to a 7-08. That had more to do with keeping the weight down than recoil. Both learned to shoot with .22s, then .223, and .243.
 
Be sure to get a caliber that won't hurt him or his pride .. I started with a 338 and has a sever reality check for a 15 year old lookin back I now miss that classy ol model 70
 
7mm-08, .270 win, 6.5x55, 7x57, .308, and the list goes on, let him try a few rifles. I know at 12 I found a .30-06 to be too much recoil but I had a friend who was smaller who loved it. let him tray a few different calibers before you pick a rifle for him.
 
I second 6.5x55.

Moderate recoil although not the greatest cartridge to stop a charging bear but with the right bullet you can take a moose down.

IMHO get a Tikka T3 lite ( blue or stainless your call ) dry weight 6.5 lbs loaded with ammo and scope under 8 lbs, most T3 came from factory shoots MOA or better with factory load without tweaking can't beat that.
 
I started my son on a .243 at around his 10th birthday (he is a pretty big kid, tall and lanky) so he fit a tikka t3 just about perfectly . For elk I would look at maybe going with a 7mm-08 or 6.5x55 although all of the suggestions are good calibres that shoot straight and without a whole lot of kick. It really depends on the stock and how the gun is pieced together. If you can get out and try a few with him ,(You shoot them first though just in case a cute little mule of a gun accidentally made through the selection process) and work him up from smallest amount of kick to whatever he is comfy with. Take a look at the loadings that are available to see if there are some with reduced recoil that he can go to a more powerful cartridge which you can buy heavier ammo for as he gets bigger and more comfortable with the recoil.
 
Pretty much what's been noted above will work.
The 308win on a lighter rifle with heavier bullets may lift his eyebrow.
Me ole pa bought me a Brno 21H in 8x57 when I was terdteen.
Still have it too.
 
The .243 is more available in the stores around here, but I prefer the 7mm-08. I have reloaded the .308 down for smaller, lighter, new shooters as well. The “what caliber do I use question” is always hard to answer because you can go so many ways.
I remember one guy brought a big heavy rifle for a young lady who was an apprentice one year, she couldn’t carry it but the weight and low power loads made it easy for her to shoot accurately. And because she was an apprentice it was one gun for two so she didn’t have to carry it.
 
Camp Cook said:
Not all that common any longer but I would recommend looking at a rifle chambered in 300 Savage = 150gr bullets @ 2600fps withut a load of punishing recoil.

or you could just download a 308 Win... :)
Click to expand...

and by jiminy jim, I just happen to know where there is one for sale! OP, PM me if you're interested.
My oldest son at age 12 started off with my 30-30 94, there is a story behind this, but too long to tell right now. We cut our hunt short that day to go to town and buy him a brand new Browning Micro Medallion in 243 from Sidney eye Robinson. He was very happy for years after that. I think he con'd me!
 
I was a skinny kid that didn't weigh much when I was in my early teens. I shot a Model 70 in 30.06, and 130grain bullets that my Father loaded or purchased. I still hunt with the same gun today and never needed to upgrade.

Its not that my Father didn't like to buy guns. He just felt that it was un necessary to have a need to purchase a second larger rifle a short time later, then try to sell off some wimpy caliber that no adult would use for big game hunting. In calibers such as 30.06, you can purchase bullets very light with low recoil. Its much easier and cheaper to upgrade to a heavier bullet and resight the scope than it is to purchase an entirely new rifle and scope.
 
I started my #2 son on a 260 @8 years old and 100 gn loads now I've upped him to heavier 120 gn loads and I have 500 Nosler 140 gn Part in the wings for this gun and another 260 later. I chose the Rem Mod 7 and he really loves it and shoots it well. He took his first 2 animals in SA with it, and the 100 gn Nos BT went right through both the steinbuck and surprisingly the warthog as well.
I wouldn't knock the 7-08 either though in a Mod 7, my whole shooting family loves the Mod 7 as a short, handy, quick pointing and light little gun. Bought #1 son a nice little CDL Mod 7 in 243 for his Bday a while back and it is his most used rifle now, #2 son has added my 358 Win Mod 7 (courtesy of Why Not?) to HIS collection and shoots it most frequently, while I still have a Mod 7 MS in 7-08 and another Mod 7 in 350 RM in an old KS version with the fiberglass stock.
I highly recommend this rifle and any of the chamberings it comes in, especially if you hand load. It also comes in a youth model and you can buy replacement stocks for them for 99 bucks later on to fit as he grows. I did this with #2 son's, I bought him a CDL and then a plastic stock at WSS for hunting, while keeping the nice CDL stock, nice. These rifles fit very well and all of ours shoot 1 1/2 moa or better, in all the above mentioned calibers.
The 260 will also do a very nice job as a varmint rifle with the light bullets which you can zing along quite respectably and then head for moose, elk, deer, caribou, sheep or what-have-you with 140 gn Nos Parts or 130 gn Nos AB which is my new favorite hunting bullet.

Just my experience for what it's worth.

#1 son bought his girlfriend a Win Mod 70 Ftrwt carbine in 308 and she loves that rifle and shot 3 bears last spring with it, including her first grizzly. She is very petite and the gun fits her perfectly and shoots 150 gn bullets (mine, of course) into sub MOA, loaded around 2600 fps. I would say this rifle in 7-08 might also be a winner, especially if you are a CRF freak, and feel it necessary to chamber a round while upside down, spiraling out of control, free falling from an aircraft at 120 mph, while skydiving!!! Myself I'm totally bifeedual and don't really care one way or the other.
 
Chuckbuster said:
My nephew is 13. I bought him a Stevens 200 in 7-08. Performance without punishment in an inexpensive rifle...the latter an important consideration if it is to be subjected to rough use in the field by a kid.
Click to expand...

This was my plan, but I shoot a Ruger in 308win and thought I would keep the ammo simple.
Even with a good recoil pad on the 200, I noticed she didn't like pulling the trigger.
Then I put a laminate under it and it helped it along.
Need a trigger for it now.
If I did it again, I would buy her that 7mm-08 instead.
 
I started my son with a lightweight 270. Brendan found it hard to shoot a standard weight rifle well.

If I was doing it again, I would have got him going on a 260 Rem or 7-08. When we took his girlfriend hunting last year, her hands were too small for a standard size rifle, I got her a Savage Youth model package, she shot a small buck at about 200 yards with it.
 
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