What caliber would you start a hunter with?

Ok. I’m going to throw out the most oddball experience and recommendation ever here. First some backstory:

I have a 10-year-old boy that is not quite ready to hunt IMO. He’s missing the drive to do it for real right now, but… he has expressed some interest so I’m breaking him in little by little. Obviously, he shoots a lot of archery like his old man, and he’s pretty good, but he’s not up to par for the regs for that here (he needs to pull 40 pounds minimum for Idaho). I work in LE, and have a pile of guns, and I’m plenty familiar with them, so that’s where we’ll start.

He’s a little feller and kinda timid, so at the range, he’s shot almost everything I have that he can manage. On top of that, he’s a righty and left eye dominant, so it’s a bear to tackle this problem. He’ll shoot a .22 all day and loves it, but lays his head funny on the stock due to the opposite eye dominance. Thats not going to work with any recoil.

So; his second favorite to shoot is an AK I have in 9mm with a red dot; super easy shooter and he can keep both eyes open, but not really a great deer or bear rifle choice.

I have a 30-30 with a forward mounted scout scope: also easy to keep both eyes open and I killed my first elk with that gun. The recoil is a bit on the heavy side for him and the length of pull is way too much. That one is out.

Enter the crazy, off the wall rifle of the whole bunch: the SKS. It’s a softer shooter than the 30-30, being semi-auto, he doesn’t have to think about operating the action, and I have a red dot mounted in a rail where the rear sight goes, so the eye thing isn’t an issue. The length of pull is the commie short stock too, so it fits great. He’s hitting paper plates at 100 with it most the time (still needs work), so I’m thinking that’s the one as nuts as it sounds.

Moral of the story is, they have to try the gun and jive with it I learned. The more options you can get your hands on, the more they can figure it out. 🤷‍♂️
 
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With elk on the table, I am worried about dropping down to such a small size. If only deer, absolutely! I think the 6ARC would be an ideal deer/pronghorn round...

223 or 6mm, suppressed.

Read the 223 for elk, bear thread. Seriously. Read the whole thing with an open mind

6mm is legal for elk in Oregon.

How proficient are they now shooting from field positions with any rifle? High recoil/larger cartridges aren’t going to make up for bad shots.
 
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I'd say 223 for starters but thats not legal for elk. So 243, 6/6.5 creedmoor is where I'd be looking.

Hell 223 an 243 are still the only calibers I really use:ROFLMAO:
 
We started our son at 7yo on a 6.5 prc. Put a 5 port TiPro brake on it and it has very little recoil. He’s now 8 going on 9 and has put a couple hundred rounds through it and has no issues.


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I do not reload... if the 7mm-08 had more factory support it would be on the same list. Ballistically it is a great combination of low recoil and relative authority.
My kids both started off with 7mm-08 Hornady custom lite 120 grain sst which have worked great for Mule deer and hardly recoil at all. My daughter has gone to 140 accubond now. 165 eld-x are available if they every want to go that high. I think the 7mm-08 is something that can really grow with a youth and is very versatile for big game. Right now I can grab 10 different brand/weights on the shelf of my local Sportsmans and have 17 different options shipped to the store or my house, so plenty of support still.
 
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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...

Really can’t go wrong with either one, in my area 6.5CM has the 08 beat in available factory ammo. Both are long life so that’s a wash.
 
Has anyone tried the Hornady 30-06 low recoil ammo? I was thinking of trying a box with my 12 yo. He wanted to try his great grandfathers 300sav but it looked like it really got him.
 
As many others have said..I like the 7mm-08. Very similar to 6.5 creedmore, lots of debate which is a better hunting cartridge.
 
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