Youth Gun

[Josh C]

My 9 yr old daughter told me the other day she wants to kill a deer this year. The problem I have is I don't have a gun for her to shoot. Does anybody have a recommendation of what kind and caliber gun I can get for her to shoot? I have 4 kids, so I don't mind spending a little more on a nicer gun since all 4 kids will have there turn using it. My guess is she only weighs around 55 lbs, so I was thinking about a .223 bolt action. Any suggestions?

Josh

[bjhooper82]

Cant go wrong with a .223 or even a .243 My wife shot a doe at 120 yards a few years ago. She hit right behing the shoulder and it only went about 50 yards and fell dead in the field.

[mikedatiger]

My first deer rifle was a winchester youth model .243. great little gun as it was light weight and had a shortened stock - you really can't go wrong with that route. however, i have a 7mm-08 browning with a boss, which is what i would absolutely recommend. IMO, the '08 is a more versatile round and the kick is the same or less than the .243 with the boss system. only negative is the noise increase with the muzzle break.

for what it's worth, i plan on bringing my kids up with the '08.

[Josh C]

Anybody ever use an AR15 with a scope as a youth gun? I'm thinking with the adjustable stock, this may be an option.

[Country Boy]

I started my daughter and son with a 243 youth single shot rifle also dropped a couple of deer in there tracks.

[paublo25]

X2 on the 7mm-08, I was brought up with it and still shoot it to this day almost 15 years. I've had no problem shooting deer 200 yds away and never had one get more the 15-20 yards away.

[yigodiver]

I strongly recommend a 458 magnum, 500 grain bullet, will stop everything in its tracks!

Kidding!

My son, very little guy started taking deer at 8 yo got him a 243, Remington 700 youth at Walmart, put a Bushnell elite 4200 40mm 3x9 sweet set up, little pricey but will last a long time, he loves it. Now he is 11 yo shoots some fine groups. I do reload and have tamed loads down, shooting 80 gr ballistic tip, very little recoil. That is key for kids.
We headed to OK next week to put the smack down on some deer and he is pumped!!!

[Josh C]

Thanks for the info guys!!!

[Ed32]

Marlin makes a nice youth model bolt action. I have the 243 and my two boys have killed 4 deer with it. Very low recoil. I bought the combo and the scope was not very good so I just replaced it with a Nikon pro staff and I like it alot

[swt70611]

My sons first deer was with a AR15 but I only let him shoot it about 75 yards. Since bought him a youth model 700 in 243.

[saute86]

Originally Posted by Ed32

Marlin makes a nice youth model bolt action. I have the 243 and my two boys have killed 4 deer with it. Very low recoil. I bought the combo and the scope was not very good so I just replaced it with a Nikon pro staff and I like it alot

x2 Earl at Hunters Supply suggested this gun to me. The rifle has a Pro fire trigger. Patend bought from savage arms. I bought my sons each one in .308win. Sweet shooting gun. I put a pro staff 3x9x50 scope on them also. I use one of their rifles more than my own when I have the chance. Can't go wrong with this gun. You can get the youth model in all calibers mentioned in this thread.

[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.