Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles is the 270 too much for a kid to start out with?

I'd go with a 243. Plenty for what he'll be doing for a lot of years. When he gets to be 14 or 15, drop a nickel on a 270.

I learned the finer points of flinching from the exact treatment being discussed (plus a steel butt plate). With today's bullets there is no need for a kid to go through that. Caliber down and bullet up. We are talking the future of the sport here. Kids having an addictive experience is of paramount importance.

I recently shot a 30-06 with Remington Managed Recoil ammo. It was a very mild kicking load. I bet the .270 will be even milder. That may be your best bet provided that the gun fits your little guy. As he gets older (and bigger) you can transition him to regular loads.

BTW...jcdixon77, you are the "dumass". And rude too..

This place never ceases to amaze me....

i was just simply replying to a comment he made eighty percent of the peoplle on here could handle a .270 really not that rude just snapp at certain things my apoligies
BTW WAR DAMN EAGLE toooooooo

I've taught a few little ones to shoot, and they're holding their own. They need a rifle they can handle and recoil that is not unpleasant.

In a rifle a child can handle well, recoil will not be pleasant in a 270.

In fact, most adult first timers don't do well with 270 level recoil, even when shooting a much heavier rifle than a child should carry.

If the barrel is suitable to a little feller, muzzle blast will be pretty nasty out of a 270 as well. IME, they flinch and dodge muzzle blast more recoil. Be sure they have good hearing protection!!!!

Since they need a lighter, easier to handle rifle, 223 to 243 makes a lot more sense - and a 223 is plenty of gun with a good bullet.

One other thing - folks often want to start kids with klunky, junker rifles with sorry triggers, etc. When they are starting, they probably need quality gear more than at any other time. They are developing habits that will bless or curse them for the rest of their lives.

Get quality, set it up right, and err on the side of mild recoil and muzzle blast. Once good habits are ingrained, they will climb the ladder quickly as they advance.

Montanas, a faux Ti, and a well set-up Model 7 in 223 have worked mighty well for my young ones. I'd sure lean Montana if moving up the recoil scale - the stocks are recoil taming marvels IME.

Build good habits and memories - set them up to succeed and feel good about the early experiences. I tried to do that, enjoyed some success, and now every one of my young 'uns is more than a little passionate about hunting.

Good hunting,

DJ

jcdixon77, You are the man! Thank you for that post.

Providing the rifle fit's the child,load up some 130 gr bullets (almost any flavor would work) over 40 gr of varget which should be in the realm of 2650'ish f.p.s.& put the recoil to that of about a .243,limit their shots to 150 yds or so maybe 200 max.
Hank

depends on him the most important thing is that he doesn't develope a flinch from it. load it lightly and it should be fine.

DJTex
"One other thing - folks often want to start kids with klunky, junker rifles with sorry triggers, etc. When they are starting, they probably need quality gear more than at any other time. They are developing habits that will bless or curse them for the rest of their lives."

That is exactly right! My father started us off carrying "junkers" and called them that all the time. Much later he admitted it was the single biggest mistake he made in teaching us gun safety and care.

It is hard to respect a junker...
art

For those who made snide comments about a .30-30 kicking too much, or a single shot kicking too much, slow down and read the posts before responding. A .357 or even a .44 Magnum in a Marlin 1894 carbine or Thompson single shot have very little recoil or muzzle blast. A .30-30 down loaded with 125-gr bullets at 2200 fps is about the same.

As for "junkers", that mentality is something inculcated by adults. If the adults enjoy shooting old military rifles, their children will not think of those as junkers. A lot of uninformed people might run into an old coot with a pre-64 Model 1894 Winchester and not realize it is worth more than their shiny new synthetic rig, and has killed 30 times more deer.

Search my user name a couple of weeks and you will see a thread I started about the question on a starting youth gun. Good advice on the thread came in from many. My problem is compounded a little as my son is left eye dominant. Mine is 11 and started him with a 22 at 6 yrs old. I'm looking at a youth model in 243 or 7mm-08. I believe a gun sized for a youth will help in good shooting technique.

To me the recoil and muzle blast in a 270 is too much for a child. Look at the short action rounds, 243, 260 or 7mm-08 as recoil is about half of what the 270 produces. Make sure the gun fits and have a good time. Nothing wrong with the 22 CF's to start but in my neck of the woods they are illegal to hunt deer.

That statement right there tells me that you have never shot a Marlin 44mag...........

I own and shoot a Winchester 1894 saddle gun in .44 Magnum. Just as with the handguns, you can shoot .44 Special ammunition in it, if the .44 Magnum is too much for you.

That's why I urge you to read before commenting - my first choice is a .357 Magnum lever gun or single shot, and limit shots to 50 yards. And, yes, I own several of those rifles, too.

If the youth hunter is under 5 feet tall, he is surely going to need a lighter rifle, with a cut down stock, so why not buy a used rifle and chop that up, then download it to 7 ft-lbs of recoil if it is something like a 7mm-08?

I remember when I first came to this web site and was ridiculed for suggesting the 7mm-08 with 120-gr Nosler Ballistic Tips, downloaded to 2,500 fps. Now, the same people are big fans of the 120-gr BT. Funny what a little actual experience will do for people.

Another suggestion, which I don't own, but seems to work for a lot of people:
CZ 527 carbine in 7.62x39mm.

My marlin 1894 will kick the snot out of you with standard loads and your above statement says nothing about specials

What you don't know is how your son will respond to the recoil and I'm not a big fan of rocking a kids world to early on. If you have a .243 or even a 7/08 with light loads it might be worth a try.

CLB

I read through all the replies. Aren't you a handloader? If so, don't overlook the 257 Roberts, I'm suprised it hasn't been mentioned. That rifle can be downloaded to less than 243 recoil and as the young man develops so can the loads, to near 25-06 levels. For whitetalis, hogs, mule deer and old pharts, women and children it's the caliber to consider (and dads that want to shoot an awesome caliber).

We have 3 in the family now, waiting for the grand sons another 3-4 years.

My take is that trying to buy a child a rifle for life hardly ever works. If the rifle fits, then they outgrow it. My cousin's 10yr old grandson shot a super 12 point MO buck with a H&R Handi Rifle in .357mag. My niece's 10yr old shot a 9 point in this years KS youth season with his dad's BLR in .243. My 11yr granddaughter shoots a Sav 99 in .243. I can't imagine her even trying a .270. Good luck.

When my daughter was about 85 lbs. she was going with me to the rifle range and wanted to shoot my .308. So, I was happy over her enthusiasm and let her have a shot off of the sand bags. Let me say I was so surprised, it literally drove her back about two feet, and I felt terrible.
I would say the 270 and even the 7/08 is too much recoil for starting a kid less than 100 lbs., a good recoil pad is a big help, but we who have been shooting for a while tend to forget about the rifle and scope movement.
I would go with .243 for deer.

I think the best possible plan is to let the kid shoot .22 LR plinking and possibly a borrowed .223 until they are asking for a game rifle.

own one....hell you invented them didn't you?