Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Better youth cartridge?

This spring I’ll be putting together a rifle for my 8yr old who is a bit on the smaller to average size vs my older son who was/is very tall/big for his age.

I’m thinking of a rifle that can be downloaded at first then increased as his skills and tolerance improve.

To keep things simple I’m thinking T3x compact- when he outgrows the smaller stock it will be easy to upgrade. Now to the question...

7mm08
6.5 manbun
243 Winchester

Right now I’m thinking 7mm08. His older brother started with a Ruger American compact in 243 and now runs a T3 in 243. The Ruger got sold to upgrade to the full-size stainless T3

We hunt whitetail and hogs. I’m just starting to handload.


What would you choose? Something I looked over?

7-08

Either 6.5CM or 7mm-08 would work nicely. You can get a can of Trailboss for some really fun plinking loads and then grab some 4198 or 4895 to make him some "killer" loads that are about 2/3 throttle. They'll kill fine inside 150yds or so. My bunch went this route and enjoyed it.

Although I believe they aren’t as accessible to you chaps as they are in Great Britain, I’d consider fitting a sound moderator/suppressor which have the advantage of significantly reducing recoil. It would broaden your rifle and cartridge choices for your son.

Good luck, my son will be 14 next July and will be old enough for his own rifle. At the moment I’m thinking it will be a M70 EW in .243 or .308 with a sound moderator.

Tim

What about a 30-30 model 94? Least he'll have a shooting identity thereafter.

the 6.5 douchmore......

Don't you put that evil on him ricky bobby.

223, if it's legal in your area for hunting. It's no handicap.

If you don't want to hunt with 22 cal, go 6.5 Creedmoor. No reason to try to turn a "5" into a beauty queen when the beauty queen is standing right there.

223 is legal in my area but I feel it’s better suited to an experienced shot. I’ve killed deer fine with it but want a little more bullet for a poor shot kids sometimes make. And there is a 30-30 Marlin he can play with all he wants.

Started my son with a 708. He was a slightly larger than normal size at 10. Used 120 nbt's at low book loads and recoil wasn't bad. Loaded some 85gn npt at low book for his smaller buddy who was going to hunt with us for a .243, recoil on the .243 was noticably less. Kid with the .243 killed his deer that year and cow elk the next year just as dead as my son using his 708.

Agree, if legal I'd got a fast twist 223. If not, I'd go 243. More than enough for deer and more low recoil options either via factory or handloading.

Do you imagine reduced loads in .308-based cartridges are somehow going to kill better with well-placed shot, or somehow prevent a schittshow with a badly placed shot? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but....

30-30 Marlin is a great choice. Mild recoil and kills well out to 200, farther than any new shooter needs to be anyway. Wheel is there,no need to reinvent unless you just want another rifle. 7-08 is a good choice that can be downloaded if that is the case.

I honestly hunt with the Marlin a good bit as we hunt a lot of thick woods. Need to see how it fits him...maybe lol at a youth model with shorter LOP.

The 7mm-08 is my main whitetail gun. Wouldn’t trade it for anything. Highly recommend.

243 - plenty of cartridge for your stated uses. There is enough difference in recoil between the 243 and the others mentioned that I lean in favor of the 243 for a young shooter. After all his brother is getting along just fine with a 243 so why not keep life simple and stay with one cartridge?

drover

Reduced loads in 708 with H4895 and gradually increase it as they get older is what I would do. My son was shooting them out of one of the old birch youth stocked model 7s. I would imagine theyd get popped pretty good with standard loads out of a plastic shortened tikka. I was surprised at the kick of a 6.5 out of my buddies kimber hunter.


I did pick up a 260 m77 compact and sent that youth 708 down the road. My now 9yo has been shooting it full throttle for two years now. Its amazing the difference in recoil even with standard loads between the two.

Buy a youth stock for it. My buddy's son shot his first deer in a stand with me with a 30-30 Marlin so-equipped at 10 years old. One of the best hunts I've ever been on and will never forget. Funny how you forget about all the deer you killed but those special moments with youth stick. Rem did make the reduced recoil 30-30 loads if you can find them or you can roll your own but I have no experience there on the 30-30.

All of your choices would be good, but me I would go 22 or 6mm CM, 223 or 243. All of these can be shot by a younger hunter with lighter but still full house loads. The 30-30 is not a bad choice especially if woods hunting. The 7mm-08 is the only one that would need reduced loads for a younger shooter. The 7-08 would be a good choice if larger than deer and average hogs are to be hunted in the future but I bet they will have other options if this happens.

My sons progressed from, air rifle, to 22 RF, to 223, to 243 to 270 Winchester in what seemed only a couple of seasons.

Just my opinion, but if a guy is a handloader and hopes to give his kid one big game rifle he can hunt for a lifetime, I see no reason to pick the 6mm stuff over the 6.5mm and 7mm offerings. They'll "grow into" full-power factory loads for the bigger chamberings in only a few years. If handloading isn't part of the plan, I can see getting a kid an enjoyable 22cal or 6mm as an intro rifle for game, acknowledging that they may also want something larger at some point in the next few years. A handloader has the advantage of a "one and done" rifle for the kid.

both my sons shot the same tikka t3 compact in 7mm-08. get some hornady custom lite 120 sst going round 2,650 fps with not much kick.then, when the lil ones are comfortable slip a nosler 120 bt in there to do work with. not saying the hornady custom lite 120 sst won't work cause they wil. i just like the 120 bt. then buy you a fullsize stock for it and later on you will have a 20" barreled carbine for you.least that was my plan.
Big Ed

.223 and a 62 tsx or 75 eld-m if you have the mag box for them.

T3x in a McM rem hunter with ptg stealth and Accurate Mags would be a sweet way to roll.