Caliber for Daughter??

[Fartrell Cluggins]

My daughter will be turning 10 in June so she will be old enough for Montana's hunter apprentice program. She is pretty small in stature so I don't want to overwhelm her with too big of a caliber, but was hoping to get something large enough for elk as she gets older. I'm thinking a .308, .270, or a 7mm-08. Anyone here have any experience with these for a young kiddo and how they handled the recoil?

For the love of God, do not start that child on any of those. Start her on a rimfire to get the mechanics down. Then a 223. If that's not legal for the kind of game you want to hunt, a 243 with one of the several reduced loads.

 

[mtnwrunner]

223 or 6mm CM.

Another vote for the above. ^^^^^^

 

[mt100gr.]

.223. No question.

77gr TMKs punch way above their weight class. My daughter is 12 now and just killed her 3rd MT buck this past youth season. No drama with any of the 3 and she enjoys shooting! When she was 10, her sawed off Ruger American Ranch 5.56 kissed her eyebrow once at the range. She knows what recoil is and doesn't like it. The bark of the rifle is second on the list of not fun things.

This year we shot and hunted suppressed and more than once, when we were on deer, she told me how much easier it was for her to settle in behind the rifle knowing that the suppressor was there.

As so-called grownups, it's hard to put ourselves in their position. But muzzle blast and recoil are VERY "memorable" for kids.

Make it fun. Take good shots. Read the .223 thread!

 

[jimh406]

My daughter will be turning 10 in June so she will be old enough for Montana's hunter apprentice program. She is pretty small in stature so I don't want to overwhelm her with too big of a caliber, but was hoping to get something large enough for elk as she gets older. I'm thinking a .308, .270, or a 7mm-08. Anyone here have any experience with these for a young kiddo and how they handled the recoil?

Any of those will be fine. Don't use the heaviest bullets for deer. You can use heavier bullets later for Elk. There is no reason to have the extra kick of heavy bullets in the mean time.. Make sure the stock is short enough (or adjustable) that you can put a good recoil pad on. Even better would be a chassis with a high range of adjustment.

Also, have her shoot just enough to be confident with those rounds. Practice with something that has almost zero kick like a 223 with similar functionality and controls. Also, don't go with the lightest weight guns and lightest weight scopes. You can help carry the rifle if needed.

If you reload, you can also start out with reduced power loads. I believe it's better to never develop a flinch. It's easier than breaking a flinch.

 

[Unckebob]

My daughter is 12 and I am planning to teach her to shoot in the Spring. My teaching plan: 22LR -> 223 -> 243. Hopefully, I can get her on a deer hunt next year with the 243.

Personally, I think the recoil on all three are manageable with flinches caused mostly by the noise and blast. In particular, the noise/blast coming from "Muzzle Brake Guy" with his 300PRC shooting patterns at 100 yds a few bays down the line.

 

[jmez]

350 Legend

Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk

 

[Elk botherer]

My daughter will be turning 10 in June so she will be old enough for Montana's hunter apprentice program. She is pretty small in stature so I don't want to overwhelm her with too big of a caliber, but was hoping to get something large enough for elk as she gets older. I'm thinking a .308, .270, or a 7mm-08. Anyone here have any experience with these for a young kiddo and how they handled the recoil?

I’ll echo the experience many here have shared. I got a youth Ruger American 7mm/08 for my 10 year old daughter with reduced loads over h4895 to shoot 120 gr bullets and she still didn’t care for the recoil and muzzle blast. It was a chore to get her to shoot it and not panic so I shelved the rifle and went back to a .22lr. She hated the muzzle blast from the 7mm/08 and it took her quite a while to convince her into shooting a .223. Once she did, the look on her face was priceless. It was like, “Really, I was scared to shoot the .223!? This is great!” She proceeded to go through 40 something rounds and was grinning the whole time. I couldn’t get her to shoot three rounds from the 7mm/08. That .223 with Sierra 77 gr tmks has taken three deer now at 189 yards, 140 yards, and 224 yards. All went down fast and no tracking involved. I never would have thought the .223 was a legit deer gun, I thought it was underpowered for coyotes until I stumbled across the .223 thread for big game. All of the evidence stacked on that thread convinced me to try it and I’m glad I did. It saved my daughters hunting/shooting future. If it’s legal in your state, I’d strongly encourage you to have an open mind and give it a try. Check out the thread, it’s well worth the read and an eye opener to proper bullet design trumping the traditional acceptance of minimum hunting caliber. Hope it goes well with your daughter and happy trails.

 

[Young Blood]

I really appreciate all this insight and hadn’t considered the .223 as a viable option until reading the suggested thread. I have a .223 in the safe so that seems like a reasonable option. Now my only problem is going to be actually finding the 77 TMKs. I did a quick search and am finding that factory loads are out of stock. I will keep searching.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

You've got a while to find the 77 tmks, in the mean time 223 plinker ammo is widely available, get that girl to the range and start shooting

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

I really appreciate all this insight and hadn’t considered the .223 as a viable option until reading the suggested thread. I have a .223 in the safe so that seems like a reasonable option. Now my only problem is going to be actually finding the 77 TMKs. I did a quick search and am finding that factory loads are out of stock. I will keep searching.

There are a whole host of very good deer bullets for the 223. The Federal Fusion is commonly available and is devastating. They don't give up much to TMKs at all. Get started with those, then scoop up some TMK loads when they become available again.

 

[menhaden_man]

My daughter (10 at the time) shot her first deer with a 6.5G last fall, one shot to the heart at about 50 yds and it dropped like a toilet seat. My middle boy (8 at the time) shot a pretty big hog with the same rifle at about 30 yds last spring, another round in the vitals and it went 25 yds before dropping. I have a LMX can and use hand loads - the kids love that rifle.

My youngest boy (7 today) is shooting a 223 LH Savage and sometimes a 300 blackout pistol when I’m in the blind.

All three kids starting shooting 22s by about 5 years old (Savage Rascal), but agree with the idea that you won’t want to spoil a good thing or teach bad habits by going too big.

The bigger question might be what can she afford to shoot frequently. At $39/box for many calibers, steering to the 223 would get her the most trigger time unless you’re flush with ammo. Good luck!

 

[MallardSX2]

7MM-08 or a .308 for big game.

I personally would NOT go the .243 route. But, that's just me and my opinion again.

X-Bolt Micro Composite - Bolt-Action Rifle - Browning

Shortened stock, sized for smaller shooters, satin finish walnut, matte blued steel, detachable rotary magazine, short throw bolt, adjustable trigger, bolt-action

www.browning.com

Buy one of these. You'll thank me later. Very little recoil with 150 grain bullets out of the 308 with that nice little muzzle break they put on this gun. Its deadly accurate too. Never shot the 7mm-08 in this platform but it would be a great caliber as well for a kid with even less recoil.

 

[Kindo]

My daughter will be 10 this spring and she just tagged her first whitetail a week ago. Remington model 7 in 7-08 did the trick. I quote “dad, you were right! The rifle didn’t kick even a little!” Yeah, okay kid... I think she was a bit excited over her first deer! The caliber really is a joy to shoot though with plenty of power down range.

Shes a little peanut as well so it was a bit tough to find a gun that fit her well. I think the larger factor was using a scope with a large range of eye relief so she could get a good sight picture. It’s tough to know how bundled up we’re going to be in northern WI so a shorter LOP is helpful. I used a VX3 2.5-8 power for this gun.

Edit to add: I should also note that she’s been shooting a .22 since she was 6 or so and then moved to a .410 for Turkey so she didn’t start with the 7-08 from a recoil standpoint. I would not advise that. Some 7-08 reduced recoil loads would work well or a .223 as mentioned above would be good as well.

 

[stealthgoat]

that is a fantastic picture Kindo, congrats to the young lady ! !

 

[bmart2622]

Honestly to do it right its going to take a couple rifles. Obviously starting with a 22 but then something small like a 223 or 243 and then when SHE is ready you can step up to the more elk appropriate calibers

 

[rideold]

One other thing I would add is go find someplace for her to shoot in the woods. Get away from the range and the bench. Shoot off sticks or a pack in the open. I think a lot of recoil sensitivity is as much from the noise as it is from the push. The roof and all the other yahoos at the range just make for a stressful atmosphere for a young shooter. Give her all the time in the world to pull the trigger and if she says she's done after one shot then get out the 22.

 

[KenLee]

Buy a 1:8 twist 22-250. This is a great deer rifle and worked very well for 3 of my kids that went through the MT apprentice hunting. My boy was 50lbs when he started hunting so recoil was also a big concern for me.

60 gr Partitions are spectacular.
No clue how my slow twist 22-250 BLR stabilizes them, but glad it does.

 

[Young Blood]

60 gr Partitions are spectacular.
No clue how my slow twist 22-250 BLR stabilizes them, but glad it does.

What twist is your 22-250? My CZ 223 is either a 1:12 or 1:9. They changed somewhere along the way and I’m not sure which mine is, but I’m worried about stabilizing a larger bullet if it’s the 1:12.

 

[georgiaboy]

My boys both shoot a 260 Rem with 100 gr loads. Recoil is same/similar as a 243. I’ve enjoyed theirs so much that I got one for myself. Kills like lightning too. We also used a 7-08 with 120 NBTs is also killer but does recoil a bit more.

We used a 22lr for practice and then we started hitting the 17hmr hard during covid.

The 4-H BB gun program will likely do more for her than anything else as far as fundamentals and positional shooting. I believe 10 is the beginning age and it’s a low cost program if there is one in your area.

 

[KenLee]

What twist is your 22-250? My CZ 223 is either a 1:12 or 1:9. They changed somewhere along the way and I’m not sure which mine is, but I’m worried about stabilizing a larger bullet if it’s the 1:12.

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