What caliber would you start a hunter with?

[Mike D Texas]

A Tikka Compact in .308 shooting 125 class bullets would be a perfect youth gun IMO.


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[Amos Keeto]

6.8 Western.

It's got the reach of the 6.5's and the power of the 30cals.

At this point, I'm shooting an AR in 6.8mm Rem SPC.


These three were taken with Sierra .277" 90 grain HP handle ads.

Yeah, yeah, yeah! I'm aware that a LOT, too many, jurisdictions fail to see the AR as a viable option for hunting!
BUT.....
Start a kid with an AR with an adjustable stock and a worthy caliber and they will have a rifle they can shoot for ages!

 

[Amos Keeto]

Lordy, he done drug out ole Bob !!!

LMBO!

You know Ken, in my short tenure as an employee of a sporting goods store, the last big development was the "Win Mag" line and the Rem 8mm Mag artillery round!
The store owner was big into "classic" rounds. I found them interesting, so I kinda lean that way!
Back then (late 70's), the recognized "kids & ladies" cusa .30-30 Win or a .243 Win. It just worked.
Men with a bit more.....uhm....sophistication, would prefer the .257 Rbts or a 7×57 Mauser.
Also remember that "big game" in East Texas was a 130 pound, on the hoof, whitetail!

There is still nothing wrong with the old timers.
I will agree that some of the newcomers over the last 20 or so years are beginning to make a name for themselves!

Yeppers! I drug up ole Bob! Lol!

 

[ddavis_1313]

My nephew, just turned 13, a big little man, my daughter is 9, and she is quite small for her age, and my son is 6 and big for his age. I am looking to pick up one gun that could be used for all three over the next couple of years.

Tikka t3lite 270 or 6.5 creedmore. Easy on the pocket, flat out shoots, little to no recoil. Will kill anything on this continent with a well placed bullet as well as any plains game in Africa out to 400 yards. Easy to find ammo. Good ballistics.

Highly recommend.

I have the .270 and it has demolished whitetail over the last 20 years. I’ve lost count how many deer. Over 50 between me and my wife. Haven’t tracked one past 50 yards. She loves shooting it and she had never fired a gun before meeting me. She shoots a 7 short mag now with much more recoil.


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[eric1115]

I live and hunt in Oregon, hunting mostly deer, elk, and the occasional pronghorn. I am looking to get a couple of young hunters into the sport and am curious about your experience for a young hunter and a caliber of choice. I am looking for something that is capable of all of Oregon's big game, has reasonable recoil, long barrel life, and ample ammunition availability. Something they can use now and well into the future. I have narrowed my selection down to either a 6.5 Creedmoor or a 308 with reduced recoil loads. Any experience going either way?

I know there are other great options, but I am sold on either of these two avenues...

As the OP of the kids rifle manifesto thread, I cannot state this strongly enough...

A .308 size case pushing 120-140 bullets (so that includes 6.5CM, 7mm-08) produces 14-17 ft lb recoil energy. A 100lb kid gets pushed around by that about like a 200lb man gets pushed around by an 8lb .300 win mag.

I've done it wrong and I've done it better... A .223 or 6mm ARC are hands down the best kids options. If I were in your shoes I'd do everything possible to get one of each so you have a great practice and deer rifle, and a great OR elk legal rifle as well.

Edit to add: suppressors are a cheat code to kids proficiency as well. My 10 yr old prefers suppressed 6ARC to unsuppressed .223, and suppressed .223 over everything else.

 

[btb1983]

Both are good choices, especially when combined with a good bonded or mono bullet,

What factory bullets would you recommend?

 

[KenLee]

LMBO!

You know Ken, in my short tenure as an employee of a sporting goods store, the last big development was the "Win Mag" line and the Rem 8mm Mag artillery round!
The store owner was big into "classic" rounds. I found them interesting, so I kinda lean that way!
Back then (late 70's), the recognized "kids & ladies" cusa .30-30 Win or a .243 Win. It just worked.
Men with a bit more.....uhm....sophistication, would prefer the .257 Rbts or a 7×57 Mauser.
Also remember that "big game" in East Texas was a 130 pound, on the hoof, whitetail!

There is still nothing wrong with the old timers.
I will agree that some of the newcomers over the last 20 or so years are beginning to make a name for themselves!

Yeppers! I drug up ole Bob! Lol!

I have an a-bolt micro medallion in 257 Bob wearing an old Swaro. It comes out every few years to be fondled and go hunting. Very few locals recognize the round.

 

[medvedyt]

As the OP of the kids rifle manifesto thread, I cannot state this strongly enough...

A .308 size case pushing 120-140 bullets (so that includes 6.5CM, 7mm-08) produces 14-17 ft lb recoil energy. A 100lb kid gets pushed around by that about like a 200lb man gets pushed around by an 8lb .300 win mag.

I've done it wrong and I've done it better... A .223 or 6mm ARC are hands down the best kids options. If I were in your shoes I'd do everything possible to get one of each so you have a great practice and deer rifle, and a great OR elk legal rifle as well.

Edit to add: suppressors are a cheat code to kids proficiency as well. My 10 yr old prefers suppressed 6ARC to unsuppressed .223, and suppressed .223 over everything else.

i witnessed few kids shooting 243 and 260 without flinching and to me it was not like a punishment when they collected their caribous or black bear.
in canada except few aeras like NWT above tree line (at least in the past) the 223 will be only for wolf or range.

 

[JTabas1989]

I live and hunt in Oregon, hunting mostly deer, elk, and the occasional pronghorn. I am looking to get a couple of young hunters into the sport and am curious about your experience for a young hunter and a caliber of choice. I am looking for something that is capable of all of Oregon's big game, has reasonable recoil, long barrel life, and ample ammunition availability. Something they can use now and well into the future. I have narrowed my selection down to either a 6.5 Creedmoor or a 308 with reduced recoil loads. Any experience going either way?

I know there are other great options, but I am sold on either of these two avenues...

my vote is 6.5cm, great rifle/ammo selection and availability. Solid ballistics. Plus I think the 6.5cm is a little more forgiving if you guys want to tinker with some long range shooting.

 

[LostWapiti]

Full power 6.5 Creed in a light rifle can be too much for a lot of kids at 11 or so years old. I saw on another thread someone said to keep the combined grains of powder and bullet below 150 and I think that’s pretty smart. So if you are going to be using 40 groans of powder the bullet should be 110 grains or less. It’s been said a lot but 6mm is a great choice and there was a reason that .243 was so popular for kids for a long time.

 

[eric1115]

i witnessed few kids shooting 243 and 260 without flinching and to me it was not like a punishment when they collected their caribous or black bear.
in canada except few aeras like NWT above tree line (at least in the past) the 223 will be only for wolf or range.

Were you doing dummy drills (someone else loads a mag with a mix of live and dummy rounds)? It's really easy to develop a flinch that doesn't really show itself to the shooter or casual observer in live fire (except for frequent poor shots. Sometimes it shows itself as consistent larger groups, sometimes pretty good groups with occasional shots way outside the normal group). When the gun goes click and the shooter moves, it can tell a lot about where the shooter is really at.

I've said before and firmly believe, one of my big mistakes early on in teaching kids to shoot was that I didn't appreciate the difference between "handles the recoil well" or "isn't scared of it" vs "really good for building skills as a rifleman". My son at 10 would shoot his 7mm-08 as much as I would let him. Loved it. That doesn't mean he didn't develop bad shooting habits from it.

 

[flyfisher117]

Dad started me with a 243. This will be the first year I haven't hunted deer with that .243 since I got my license. Absolutely love the cartridge.

I bought myself a 6.5 Creed because I wanted my wife to use the .243.

He also started me on a .30-06 and even with "reduced recoil" loads I still do this day do not enjoy shooting it lol. I will start my kids on a 243/6CM or 6.5 CM.

 

[Fireflyfishing]

Out of the 2 you listed, 6.5 creedmoor with light loads. Personally, with kids, I’d go even lighter if state game laws let me. 6mm creedmoor, .243 Winchester, 6arc. Plenty of evidence on this forum proving the 6mm/243 as a “all around” hunting caliber. Heck a lot of guys prefer a .223 Remington and after seeing the proof, I cannot argue against it.

I’d follow this train of thought.

 

[Amos Keeto]

I have an a-bolt micro medallion in 257 Bob wearing an old Swaro. It comes out every few years to be fondled and go hunting. Very few locals recognize the round.

Another great old classic is the .250-3000, or .250 Savage.
I'm sure there are many others, I just don't remember them.

 

[Grassymike]

243, but I'll also vote for the 7mm-08 as well. It's great for experienced adults as well, but shoots soft and can be used for anything short of moose or bear so you get a lot of "life" out of it.

7mm-08 works just fine on Moose.

 

[medvedyt]

Were you doing dummy drills (someone else loads a mag with a mix of live and dummy rounds)? It's really easy to develop a flinch that doesn't really show itself to the shooter or casual observer in live fire (except for frequent poor shots. Sometimes it shows itself as consistent larger groups, sometimes pretty good groups with occasional shots way outside the normal group). When the gun goes click and the shooter moves, it can tell a lot about where the shooter is really at.

I've said before and firmly believe, one of my big mistakes early on in teaching kids to shoot was that I didn't appreciate the difference between "handles the recoil well" or "isn't scared of it" vs "really good for building skills as a rifleman". My son at 10 would shoot his 7mm-08 as much as I would let him. Loved it. That doesn't mean he didn't develop bad shooting habits from it.

you re right and unfortunately in canada the ar platform is forbidden for hunting we might have bolt or pump ar derivate but way heavier than they should ...the 223 is ruled out in most juridictions over there except for wolf and in nwt for caribou above tree line (if still the case). so that left few options with most of the time a derivate of the 308 case and the 243 is agreat cartridge for any beginner as the 260. a lot of weight can be added or even a recoil shoulder pad. but i will say shooting at the range or shooting at an animal is not the same and most will not feel the recoil while shooting for hunting.

 

[Grassymike]

I live in Alberta and the minimum cartridge for big game is .243/6mm . I started my kids on .22;s and .223 as the first centerfire. My oldest daughter shot 3 deer with my 6mm Rem. When my son started he used a 7mm-08 with 120 gr bullets and reduced loads. If it was legal here I would have used the .223 to start them hunting.

 

[MT-nuffgun]

you re right and unfortunately in canada the ar platform is forbidden for hunting we might have bolt or pump ar derivate but way heavier than they should ...the 223 is ruled out in most juridictions over there except for wolf and in nwt for caribou above tree line (if still the case). so that left few options with most of the time a derivate of the 308 case and the 243 is agreat cartridge for any beginner as the 260. a lot of weight can be added or even a recoil shoulder pad. but i will say shooting at the range or shooting at an animal is not the same and most will not feel the recoil while shooting for hunting.

Flinching is the enemy here. And that does transfer from the range to hunting.

 

[Amos Keeto]

7mm-08 works just fine on Moose.

The store owner gave the store manager a fist full of dollars and sent us to a gun show at Astro Hall in Houston.
Our goal was to find him a Win M54 (forerunner of the M70) in .257 Roberts for an upcoming moose hunt in Canada.
Of the three we located, one was pristine.
It proved to be a real tack driver.
They spent a week in the Canadian wilderness without even seeing a moose, much less shoot one.
They packed up and started the long trek back home when the guide called a halt and drug my boss forward!
"He's kinda small, but he's legal if you want him."
"But", the boss said, "my rifle is packed away."
"Use mine," the guide said and shoved a rifle into his hands.
Now ol Dave was all set on killing a moose with a .257 Roberts. But the trip had been long and grueling, so decided to shoot whatever he had!
At the shot, the bull dropped like a rock and never wiggled!
Ol Dave, surprised, said, "Nice rifle! What is it?"
"A .257 Roberts!", the guide replied!

 

[CobraChicken]

Can't go wrong with a 243