Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 6.5 vs 243 for youngster

Which do you prefer for a youngster hunting for deer.... a 6.5cm in a Remington model 7HS or Remington 700 mountain rifle SS ...or a 243 in a Ruger M77 RSI or M77 ultra light? Or a Tikka superlight in either...

Which one recoils less....

.223 with the right bullets.

DF

Tikka superlite in 6.5cm hands down. Nothing wrong with a 243 though but Tikka will hold it value, it's super accurate, ammo availability is everywhere. I do believe there is a slight advantage to the 243 in recoil but will not be noticed when hunting.

243.

Get it with a 22" barrel.

Load an 80-ish grain bullet. No need to demoralize a youngster with recoil.

But I do agree a 223 could be even better, depending on the child.

Never shot a deer with a 6.5 but I bought an old rem model 7 youth with 20” barrel and loaded some 100 gr horn RN with a fairly mild load of H4895....couple of my buddy’s sons made their deer all fall over with it.

I also recently found a little Remington... I think LVF in 6.8SPC.... recoil is extremely mild. Shoots well under an inch. Probably going to have to see what the 115 fusions do on our tn white tails.

This, and it ain't even close.

I agree. I own and am very pleased.
If I had to start over with zero firearms, 6.5Creedmoor would be the only short action cartridge I would own.

HSM is loading reduced recoil 6.5Creedmoor, https://www.wholesalehunter.com/Product/Details/11308545?fs=1

I have 2 Tikka's in 6.5 , I load one in 120 bt, one in 140 bt, . You can load down with 120's and the recoil isn't much difference than my Savage 243 with 85 gr hpbt bullets. Believe it or not my Savage will out shoot all my Tikkas and Remingtons.
A Savage youth would also be a good option, actually that's what my buddy bought for his kids.
My daughter is only 100 lbs and shoots a Tikka compact in 7-08 loaded mild with RL15 and 120's. shoots it with no problem but I did start her out with a .223 with 55 gr barnes.

I love 243 but I think it needs good MV to work really well and don't like youth loads in it for deer.

My son used a supressed 7-08 with 120gr hornady soft points starting out at 2,400fps. It worked very well and his bucks didn't seem to go any further than with full power loads.

Of the two, I'd go 6.5 CM. Especially with the Rem vs Ruger options listed. Tikkas are all built on long action. Can't like that for SA cartridges.

243 for under 100 yards using a 85gr BTHP Sierra and 23gr of IMR4895 or H4895.

Of the two choices asked....243 with a 80ish grain bullet.

There is a noticeable difference in recoil between a 243 and 6.5 Creed to a CHILD or most LADIES. The fact that a 200+lb dude doesn’t feel they recoil is totally irrelevant to them. What you feel had zero bearing on what THEY feel.

I wrote this another forum. Of course the “my daddy said” types what read or understand any of it-



As an example and for comparisons because its like a broken record:

Guys love saying “no recoil”, “light recoil”, etc. For some reason they do not take into account the massive size, strength, and muscular differences between them and children (women too). If we compare common rounds that will be suggested for your daughter, and then adjust to what it would feel like to an average male (200lb, 5’8”) it becomes rather illuminating.

F-lbs recoil all in a 7 lb rifle (btw- that 7 pound “lightweight” rifle to your daughter is approximately a 35-40 pound rifle to you).

A 243 with Barnes 85gr to your daughter is about like a 300 Win mag with 200gr bullets to you.

A 260 with 130gr to your daughter, is approximately a 338 Win Mag with 250 grainers to you.

A 308 with 150’s to your daughter is a 458 win mag with 400 grain bullets to you.



Now, that is not exactly correct as a larger percentage of your daughters total weight is made up of organs, versus muscle mass and bone density. So in reality, it’s worse than the above.

Now how about a 223 with 77gr bullets? That’s like a 6.5 Creedmoor/260 to you.





There’s zero chance I’d be doing anything other than a fast twist 223 with good bullets. And there are .224 bullets that will kill, and do way more damage to deer than you will want.

243 with an 80 grain Sierra SPBT will kill deer just fine despite it having a Varmint bullet designation. Same with the Sierra Varminter 85 grain spitzer.

I have not personally used the boattail as my 6mm prefers the 85 grain SPT but my best bud has used the 80 with complete satisfaction on quite a few mature deer.

There is also the 80 grain Ballistic Tip. Look up some of Judmans posts on here. He is a fan of that BT.

Deer are pretty fragile despite what I have read on the net. Doesn't take much to kill one.

No idea on a 7-08 load. I have owned a couple but never killed any game with the. Can't imagine it works a lick better than a 243 on a 250# or less deer.

I know this wasn't on your list, but I have gone with the 6.5 Grendel for my daughter. She only ways ~ 60 lbs and can handle the recoil just fine which seems less than a .243.

I load my Model 700 6.5 CM full throttle with 140 grain bullets, and my Model 700 Youth 243 with the Sierra 85 HPBT for the grandkids. If there is any difference in the recoil, it is so slight as to be of little consequence. I'm also shooting a Model 7 Predator in 243 with a 90 grain Nosler BT, and can't see any difference between it and the 6.5.

My nephew has a 260Rem and my young cousin has a 243. I loaded both with light loads of IMR4198, 100gr Hornadys in the 260 and 85gr Sierra BTHPs in the 243. Both killed deer very well and the recoil difference between the two was negligible. That said, the 223 and good bullets is, IMO, the way to go, but the fathers of the boys I mentioned wouldn't go for such a puny round for deer.

Well I would take the Ruger over the Remington, but if the Ruger is a 243 and the Remington is a 6.5 I'd have to ask what the mission of the rifle will be.

If it's deer and nothing larger were on the list I'd go with the Ruger in 243. If someday he may want to shoot bear or elk the 6.5 is going to offer a heavier bullet that may be more in line with the tasks you'd ask of the rifle.

Also keep in mind that in future years, if larger game is on the list it's likely a larger rifle could be purchased too.

And then there is the option of just ordering the Ruger in the 6.5

I own both calibers but have killed more deer with a 243 than any other caliber I own. Not a notable difference in recoil to me. Either will kill deer just fine.