What rife caliber for a 10 yr girl for elk

[davidsapp]

All things being equal, the 270 WSM will recoil more than a 270 Winchester

 

[rajimenez73]

All things being equal, the 270 WSM will recoil more than a 270 Winchester

What caliber do you recomend

 

[davidsapp]

Of those two selections, the 270.

But another thing to consider is the overall weight of the rifle. Too heavy and it gets to be a burden, too light and you deal with recoil. The fit also needs to be considered, specifically the length of pull, which will need to be shorter.

I’d be looking for a compact/youth Ruger American, Rem 700 or 7, Tikka or similar in a 6.5C or 7mm08. These would have a more appropriate length of pull, weight would be better for a kid, and recoil tolerable.

My son will likely be using a Remington 700 in 7/08 when he turns 12 and can hunt elk in a couple years.

 

[sndmn11]

Weatherby Camilla in 7-08, 6,5creedmoor, or .308

I am a fan of muzzle brakes, others are not.

 

[OXN939]

I think I'm missing something here... .270 is a long action caliber with 67 grains of case capacity. That's plenty of recoil and concussion to instill a flinch in a grown man who's a new shooter, much less a small female child. A slow motion video to illustrate my point.

The only caliber I'd consider in this scenario would be .243. Get some Barnes TTSX ammo, and you'll have a setup that recoils like a .243 but hits like a 7mm-08.

 

[rajimenez73]

Of those two selections, the 270.

But another thing to consider is the overall weight of the rifle. Too heavy and it gets to be a burden, too light and you deal with recoil. The fit also needs to be considered, specifically the length of pull, which will need to be shorter.

I’d be looking for a compact/youth Ruger American, Rem 700 or 7, Tikka or similar in a 6.5C or 7mm08. These would have a more appropriate length of pull, weight would be better for a kid, and recoil tolerable.

My son will likely be using a Remington 700 in 7/08 when he turns 12 and can hunt elk in a couple years.

What 7/08 do you recomed what grain of bullet

 

[Scoutfarm]

My son took his first elk this year with a 260 rem. Great caliber, but I suggest a 6.5 creedmoor. Same ballistics as 260, but much easier to find ammo.

 

[sndmn11]

What 7/08 do you recomed what grain of bullet

Swift High Grade Big Game Hunting 7mm-08 Remington Ammo 160 Grain

This product is High-Grade hunting ammunition from Swift. It is virtually hand crafted and hand inspected. Brass tolerances meet or exceed SAAMI...

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If lead free

Federal Premium Meat Eater 7mm-08 Remington Ammo 140 Grain Federal

Federal Premium is quality hunting ammunition designed for maximum performance and reliability. Premium hunting bullets are matched with select powders,...

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[Newtosavage]

Hard to beat a 270 win. for an all around gun she can use the rest of her life

I don't disagree, but the 7mm-08 is effectively a short-action .270 that will come in a lighter, more compact package.

My 7mm-08 spits out 131 Hammer Hunters at just under 3K fps. Basically a short-action .270 at that point.

My vote is for a Savage youth rifle in either 7mm-08 or 6.5 CM. The 6.5 CM ammo will be cheaper and easier to find if you don't handload.

 

[Lando]

I'd say 7-08 or 6.5 CM. Here is a video of a 15-year-old girl crushing a bull elk with a 6.5 CM:

 

[mlgc20]

What rifle caliber for a 10yr girl hunting elk

When my daughter was 10 I got her a Savage compact .308. She shot reduced recoil ammo for a couple of years and then moved to full charge ammo this year (at 13). It’s been a great gun for her. She shoots it very well. She downed this beautiful cow this year in Colorado from 257 yards. Caliber isn’t as important IMO as trigger time. Practice is the most important factor.

 

[Pro953]

I think the kids size is way more important than age. A 10 YO could be 50-100 LB’s and that will have a major impact on how they experience the recoil.

Has she shot any thing else? Rimfire, shotgun, etc?


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[AK Troutbum]

Caliber isn’t as important IMO as trigger time. Practice is the most important factor.
View attachment 243182

Absolutely agree, and congrats to her!


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[nphunter]

Reduced recoil loads are the ticket if she is recoil sensitive.

Some kids are and some are not, my youngest son prefers to shot my 280AI with no brake over his 6.5cm with reduced recoil rounds. The Ackley IMO kicks more but it is very different from the lightweight 6.5cm. My oldest prefers his 6.5cm with full loads and 142gr bullets which kicks more than my Ackley.

Really it just comes down to what you want her to shoot. A .243 will kill elk just fine, I wouldn't hesitate to hunt elk with one and have killed more elk with a .243 than any other gun I own. I have other rifles I built and chose to take those instead of the .243 nowadays. The 6.5cm is a cool round and that's what I purchased my kids because they have great ballistics and I reload and like to tinker with loads.

If my only rifle was a .243, I wouldn't think twice about hunting any animal with one. I personally like unique cartridges, Ackleys, 280 Remington, 260 Remington, and anything Ackley improved is even better.

Any cartridge designed around the 308 or 30-06 parent case is going to be a great all-around cartridge for anything we hunt in the US.

If you don't reload your choices are limited for reduced recoil rounds unless you have a buddy to reload for you. Hornady offers reduced recoil load for the, .243, .270, 7mm-08, .308 and 30-06. HSM makes them for the same as well as 6.5 cm, 7mm & 300win.

I agree with the above, trigger time is the key and having something they enjoy shooting and want to go shot will help get them better, if a kid is afraid of a gun they won't want to shoot it. With the reduced recoil loads my kids would shoot as much ammo as I would let them shoot.

Here’s a picture of my 50lb, 9yr old at the time, shooting his Kimber Hunter.

 

[blacktail sniper]

7/08 my kid has been shooting her 7/08AI since 10 and it has minimal to know recoil pad. My son has a 270wsm but we put a brake on it

 

[rajimenez73]

I think the kids size is way more important than age. A 10 YO could be 50-100 LB’s and that will have a major impact on how they experience the recoil.

Has she shot any thing else? Rimfire, shotgun, etc?


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22 only

 

[30338]

I started using a suppressor after my kids were pretty old. My only regret was that they weren't more popular years ago. They are expensive but worth every penny. Noise factor drops way down obviously and recoil is also helped. I'd recommend any moms and dads with young kids coming up get centerfire and rimfire suppressors on order now.

The Hornady Lite load suggestions have great merit as well.

 

[Hoodie]

I think .270 is probably a better choice for most people for elk than 7-08 or 6.5 CM.

It wouldn´t be my first choice for a child or teenager. I think the 6.5 and 7-08 are sort of the sweet spot. More punch than a .243 offers with a minimal increase in felt recoil. Chuckhawks.com has a table listing the recoil energy and velocities of various cartridges in different weight rifles. It´s a good resource.

Also agree with not going too light on the rifle. If you´re looking for something that won´t break the bank that they can grow into, the Savage accustock is nice for the adjustable LOP. Just add a spacer every few years as their arms get longer.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

When my daughter was 10 I got her a Savage compact .308. She shot reduced recoil ammo for a couple of years and then moved to full charge ammo this year (at 13). It’s been a great gun for her. She shoots it very well. She downed this beautiful cow this year in Colorado from 257 yards. Caliber isn’t as important IMO as trigger time. Practice is the most important factor.

Exactly!

My 2 kids shoot my 30-06. My daughter has shot 1 elk, 2 pronghorn, and one mule deer. My son has shot 2 mule deer, pronghorn, and a WTD. All one shots kills.
I started them young.
Tons of trigger time on a 22 LR.
When they started shooting the 30-06 I made reduced loads.
I care more about shooting technique than blasting hunting loads at the range.
Shooting at the range, from the bench, leaning into the shot, you feel more recoil. We avoid that.
They shoot prone which has been 90% of their shots on animals anyhow.
I don't have them shoot the hunting loads. As long as they have good technique then they can handle the hunting load when it comes to game time. They always comment after the shot/harvest, they didn't feel the recoil, and barley remember the noise.

I don't care about rifle weight. They are young so I carry the rifle for them.

Personally, I think 6.5 is a little light for elk. That is why there are tons of post asking is this enough gun. There are plenty of good shootable cartridges where the shooter won't have to ask is this enough gun. I agree with others that have stated 270 is the minimum. To each their own but I think the more important point is that the hunter knows the limitations of their chosen cartridge regardless of what that is.

FWIW: My son harvested his first animal when he was 10 and my daughter was 13.

 

[TN2shot07]

I can’t speak for a 10 year old girl specifically, but just did this shopping for my girlfriend. Once we found a Camilla to hold nothing else was even close in fitting her. We ended up with a 6.5 because it’s what they had and quite a delay on a 7-08. I’d highly recommend based on what I’ve seen so far.