juniour deer rifle

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ratherbefishin

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I'm looking for a junior deer rifle-something adequite for under 100 yard shooting,but lethal with decent shot placement.I want low recoil-nothing like a kid developing a flinch for screwing up accuracy[the most accurate rifle in the world won't do him any good if he isn't holding it straight]Low recoil also means he'll likely shoot it more and get used to it.We started him on a 22 and he's a pretty good shot with that,shooting the heads off grouse.Coastal blacktails aren;t big and the shots are typically under 50 yards anyway
My thinking so far is to get something in a pistol cartridge, or maybe just go for ''managed recoil'' 30/30 shells for my savage 219
 
Lots of choices out there,but really you couldn't go wrong with your 30/30.A ruger carbine in 44 is a sweet little rig if your young shooter is ok with a semi auto.Mini 30 has also worked well for me under 100 yrds.Lots of youth sized (browning,savage)bolt actions too in 243,7mm08.Try him on your 30/30 if he likes it and shoots it well your all set.
 
you'll have to ck your hunting regs as well- in alberta, we have to be over 24 cal - it used to be a 2 inch overall catrridge as well, but that's been dropped-personally, i'd like a 223 with heavies for small deer
 
I thought about the .223,or even a .22 hornet,the recoil is manageable but that pretty much limits him to head and neck shots doesn't it?
 
243 will do the trick! loaded with a 85-100 grain bullet they are still snappy but not much recoil.
Second if he he can take a bit of a kick would be look at the 6.5 x55 if you reload use the loads at the low end and you will still have 1.5 MOAwith very little recoil, I loaded some up for my wife to shoot and it was very plesant to shoot.
 
the 30-30 with the Remington low recoil load should be good. I bet he could even handle the normal 150 grain load. They dont kick all that much
 
Junior deer rifle

The best solution is if you reload. I started our grandsons out on a Marlin 44 mag when they were about ten. I loaded it right down to start with, to virtually no recoil, but it still made a good bang and punched a big hole in the paper. Then gradually increase the loading as they get bigger. I also got them shooting off hand from a very early age and they developed into excellent off hand shooters. I later bought each of them a good 30-06.
By the way, sometime when you see these fellows shooting their sub-sub moa demonstrations off the bench rest, get them to shoot off hand. Good luck!
 
I would stay away from the .22 centerfire for kids, they will work well on small deer but really an expert's gun.

Anything around 100-120 gr should be fine.
You can also invest in a Limbasver pad and a mercury recoil reducer if you really want to cut down on recoil, then you may even wish to go with a heavier gun.

youcan get 120s for the 270.

I shoot a 7mm-08 and it is quite tame but could be downloaded or softened with a good
pad.

I actually plant to put a reducer in someday and maybe a softer pad, just to see how light I can get it.
 
Yup, I'll go with the .243 as well. Work him up to the noise level with some 55 grain bullets. (That's what scares most people I find, BOOM!) after he gets used to that, let go with full power 100 grain bullets. This is such a nice, pleasant cartridge to shoot, he'll fall in love.
 
My vote goes for the 243. Low recoil enough energy for deer as they don't need much killing. Makes a great long range varminter with the right load. Great for kids.

Brian
 
A 243 would be a good calibre for sure. My 8 yr old James uses a 44-40 lever action at at 125yrs and under it is dynamite.

James has also used my 32sp winchester trapper carbine with no ill effects too.

30-30 is great if he is so inclined.

So there are my 3 choices.......I would try to get im to shoot a few different ones first (if you can).......
 
Can't go wrong with either the .243 or the 30/30. My wife just started hunting and I set her up with a 94 with a 4x scope shooting factory 150's. The recoil doesn't bother her, and she shoots great groups out to 100 yds, even though she's small. For shots of 100 yards and under at deer sized game, I prefer the bigger bullet the 30/30 offers. Gives you a chance to shoot black bear and moose as well.
 
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