Youth Gun

[MathGeek]

With some care in bullet selection, you can reliably kill deer with a .223 Rem, but there are not many factory loads appropriate for the task. Any handloaded or factory loaded Barnes X bullet will do well. This might be a good choice for the especially recoil shy.

The .243 is a significant step up in both recoil and killing power, with about twice the bullet weight at a comparable velocity. Recommended for most.

Bigger calibers like the 25-06 and .270 start to have more recoil, especially in the lighter guns that children tend to prefer. My son prefers not to have extended practice with the 25-06 he hunts elk with, even though I think the 11 lb gun tames the recoil well.