Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Mule Deer and others, youth rifle advice, please

Another great choice, if you can find one, is the Browning A-Bolt Micro. My wife has one in 7mm08 and it’s light and very accurate.

When I originally read the OP's question, the Browning Micro Midas rifle was an option that popped into my head. I like my LH Browning T-Bolts but I've never shot one of their centerfires so I didn't suggest it based on a lack of actual experience. But if he can find one in Canada, it might be an option worth exploring. The current X-Bolt models in 243, 6.5CM & 7mm-08 are all recommended cartridges from this thread to consider.

The 7mm-08 would be a good option. Hornady makes low-recoil loads for sensitive shooters, using lighter 120 grain bullets and mild velocity. Others make low-recoil loads in other calibers with heavier bullets and very mild velocities to achieve those goals. You can replicate either with handloads and then step up to full-power loads as your young shooter gains experience. If she needs to slay a dragon anytime soon, she probably could do that pretty well with a 175 grain bullet at 1800-2000 fps or so. You have a wide variety of 7 mm bullets to work with.

I inherited a 30-06 from my grandfather when I was eight years old. I didn't have the choice of caliber; my options were to shoot it or not shoot at all. Dad had me shooting it at age ten with 110 gr. RN bullets and 15 gr of Unique. It wasn't long before I was ready to step up to factory ammo with 150 gr. bullets.

in my opinion the first thing to do is get a rifle of the correct dimensions length of pull and a weight manageable for the youngster. nowadays for getting lots of good choices. with all the different ARC , Grendel type cases out. if guys in the building something anything chambered in one of the 220 Russian type cases or a BR case can make killer youth guns with low recoil..

a friend of mine recently didn't quite know which route to take for his grandson we ended up putting together a 6.5 Grendel and the ranch style Ruger American but then came up with the youth stock to put on it so you have a youth length stock chambered in a 6.5 Grendel. that is an awesome youth gun in my book. without spending a fortune

6ARC is a pretty neat little low recoil round. Nearly .243Win ballistics but can shoot heavier bullets. A Howa Mini can be picked up for under $500.

HOWA mini in 6mm ARC. Find a take off youth stock you can cut to fit.

This is just my opinion, and there are many people who are smarter and have more knowledge than I do.
I have gone full circle on the 223, 6.8 spc and 300BO, never shot a grendel. I have taken the biggest deer of my life with a 223 and a 62 grain tsx at about 50 yards, it ran about 35 yards or so and dropped, a large sow with the 75 grain swift bullet, as well as a bunch of shoats, several with the 6.8 spc with the 95grain barnes bullet, one with a supersonic 110 grain barnes from a 300BO, I would not hesitate to shoot a deer under a hundred yards with any of them, as I am a pretty reasonable shot with a rifle. When your over 100 yards and you deliver a small hole to a larger deer, finding the deer becomes more problematic. Then my grandson's are doing the shooting now and unfortunately a lifetime of shooting cannot be condensed into a 12 or 13 year old with buck fever and a shoulder shot can wind up to far back as it has before. I don't know the numbers but based on more than a few years killing deer, the small calibers work in the hands of a good shot, at closer distances, while something with the ability to provide a a more significant wound channel and more blood is in my opinion a better ethical choice at distance. The big 10 whose heart I blew apart with a 62 grain tsx, left single drops of blood from where I shot him to where he collapsed, had I not heard him fall, it would have been hard to find him. Yes these small calibers work if you can shoot, don't get excited, don't have to track in thick brush, OTOH having killed a few deer and pigs with them, the more ethical choice for me and my grandsons is a bit more significant cartridge. This is of course not the case where the shooter can hit a deer in the head at 300 yards.

You'll see better performance by using bullets matched to the velocity window of the cartridge. That is to say, use faster opening/softer bullets, especially in fairly pokey rounds like those you mentioned.

lots of good choices but i went a little different because i am a Loony handloader and it might be the safer way to go ? we all use Ruger #1`s my 2 grandkids ,my wife ,my daughter all use 257 Roberts, this type rifle holds one cartridge , has a thumb safety ,loads and unloads so simple. i let my grandson pick what kind/type of rifle he wanted to use we started with a bolt action ,then a AR-15 and last a Ruger #1 . 11 yr. old Grandson Alex after shooting all 3 types of rifles shock me but i understand way it was easier and simple for him to use a Ruger #1 , the 257 Roberts recoil was light , that 75 gr. Hammer bullet was very accurate , he did shoot and kill this fall 2023 a button buck at about 80 yds one shot with his Ruger #1 257 Roberts ,he has school so he only got to hunt a day and half because its a 5 hour drive to deer camp one way , its special for me we sit together .

My daughter is shooting extremely well with soft loads in lightweight 6creedmoor w/can. I won’t let her shoot anything with more recoil, or even the 6cm without the can.

I think a BIG part of why she shoots so well is she’s never been exposed to even moderate recoil or muzzle blast while shooting. And similar to your kid, lots of years of rimfire. I’d have her shooting a 223 or 6arc for hunting, but NRL hunter and factory class is 6cm/243 win minimum.

Tikka T3x lite in 223, or 1-8 243win w/silencer is the easy button IMO.

I have to agree with that. I have six kids...five that shoot/hunt. I have several youth/ladies/compact model rifles around here in .243 and 7mm-08. Most of the kids have shot them all and end up gravitating to one they prefer.

Before my oldest boy went to a full size rifle, he did a lot of hunting with a Remington 700 youth in .243. Seemed to fit him well and he shot it great.




My youngest always requests the Ruger Compact in .243.



My oldest (who is now 20...yikes) will pretty much shoot whatever I put in her hands but seems to shoot youth models very well as she is fairly short and doesn't have particularly long arms.

My wife's Savage Axis youth/ladies seems to fit her very well.



My 14 YO started with the .243 but now seems really comfortable with the Frontier in 7mm-08.



When my youngest son turned 12 he received a full-size Tikka Superlite in 7-08 for his birthday. Thinking I was doing the right thing, I picked up an extra stock from the classifieds and cut it down to 12.75" or so. First trip to the range with reduced loads the scope bumped his forehead and he was hesitant to shoot it. We put the full-size stock on it and he has been shooting well ever since despite being of a size where the shortened LOP should have been about right. I did add a removable cheek riser to improved the fit.

My wife and my daughter-in-law are both lefties. I got my wife a left handed Tikka and a 30-30 lever. I cut the stock on the Tikka - she doesn’t like it. She likes the 30-30. I have been trying to find accurate Ruger #1 or maybe a 1885. But I guess they might/probably like a break open. I hate to buy something that they won’t want. Buy and sell usually means at least $100 gone.
If you get a chance like MD suggested do it.

9 Year old grandson, who is slightly small for his age, loves a Remington 600 in 6mm. Shot once at a deer and killed it at 90 yards. For some reason, he thinks it is his rifle. (It definitely is) Also have one in 308 for him, when he gets a little bigger.

My grandson shoots my CZ527 7.62x39 well.

I have a faux TI in 257Roberts with a spare stock cut to 12.5" that will work well for him. I hope he uses that for the rest of his life for hunting WT.

Savage Storm, you pick the caliber. Stock is adjustable for LOP and cheek piece. As she grows the stock can be adjusted to fit her. Accurate, reliable, and a good trigger. And reasonably priced at around $700-750. Will last till she dies.

My son has had no problem killing Whitetails with a 6mm Remington. A 243 will be fine (so would a 6.5 Creedmoor/Grendel/6.5x55). I think a 223 is too small, considering the chance for less than ideal bullet placement, and, though I started with a 30/06, wouldn’t consider a 30 cal if you have the funds to get something more appropriate for a small framed shooter (and you do).

Even with a 6 or 6.5, I wouldn’t make the mistake of going “ultralight” with a kid’s gun. A 7lb or up gun will soak up recoil better, and I doubt your going to have a kid taking offhand shots for their first few deer, so they’ll have a rest to put it on.

My nine year old (4'3" and 70 pounds) shoots a Howa Mini in 6.5 Grendel. I took the LOP down to 10 inches and the barrel is cut to 18 inches and it has a Banish 30 suppressor on it. The recoil is almost nothing, and the lack of muzzle blast has helped her avoid bad flinching habits. We're shooting 110 grain Lehigh Controlled Chaos bullets at 2500 fps. She took a bit white tail with it last fall, and a big red stag this fall. The deer made it about 100 yards, but the stag only made it about 30. That little cartidge punches way above its weight.

I am a traditionalist at my core and I love old fashioner classic firearms. It's obvious when you consider that fact I make flintlock rifles to earn about 85% of my living
However what I like is not always what's BEST for someone else. That said, in my opinion the absolute best beginners/small person's rifle is an AR15 or AR 10.

Why?

Several reasons;

#1, being a gas auto they kick less then other guns in the same calibers and/or power levels.

#2, in the carbine style with the telescoping stock they truly are a one-size-fits-all weapon.

#3, With a free floated handguard they can be very accurate. Not bench-rest accurate as a rule, but MOA and less is quite common.

#4 When fitted with a good match trigger you often have a more user friendly trigger pull then you get on many bolt actions as they come from the factory.

#5, Any objection that it encourages "shooting sloppily" is simply false, and to train the kids I always use a magazine block, turning the rifle into a singles shot to start them out. Spraying bullets is the fault of the trainer, not the trainee. I can (and I do) shoot my ARs, my AK and my M1Garand at the same rate of fire when hunting as I do my flintlocks. (One shot per animal) I teach them to do the same.

The AR15 that got the most use for deer and antelope hunting with the kids is the 6.8SPC. It shoots MOA and I personally can't tell the difference in it's kick from the same gun with a 223 upper on it. It's super effective on deer sized game too.

One little girl, the daughter my a friend of mine, started out shooting her dad's AR15 at rabbits and coyotes. Her older sister has a 30-06 Mauser, but the younger doesn't like the kick of the Mauser, She's slim and small but not weak, and had no problem packing the 30-06 around the mountains, but didn't like firing it.

So I made her an AR10 in 308. I cut weight as much as I could but it still came in at 9 pounds 10 oz. field ready, scoped and loaded with a 10 round mag. 1 ounce heavier then her sister's 30-06. But she LOVES it and has killed deer, antelope and elk with it in the last 4 years. She doesn't mind the weight at all, but hates the kick of other elk rifles she's tried. her AR has a very good break on it's muzzle so that took a lot of the bite out of it's kick. I had her over at my home in snow and some wind, and watched her flop down on her belly and make 10 out of 10 shots ring an 8" gong at 300 meters. This young gal can put bullet where she wants to with her AR, and so far she has killed 6 game animals with it and has used 7 shots. The one deer she fired at 2 times was hit 2 times too. So far she has not missed even 1 shot at any game animal.

Now dad and I am making a flintlock for her too, and she has become a lover of shooting, but her "go-to" rifle is her AR10