Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Better youth cartridge?

Hard to beat a 708 with lite loads in a cut down stock (but with a full 20" barrel). Then you've got a cartridge kids can grow with... and that ends up being suitable for most big game later in life. (Especially if you can get an adjustable or second stock to drop the BA into as the kid grows up.) If you go the 243 route, don't forget about noise. A 243 from a cut down barrel is loud and might cause more of a flinch than heavier recoil.

223. The kid is 8yo, and proportionally a 223 is not small for a person of that size.

My 10yo daughter is using an AR15 for deer hunting and the 223/5.56 is the biggest I think she can/should handle. 75gr gold dots. I’ll cut down a tikka T3x in 6.5 CM in a couple years when she puts on a few pounds.

The AR w/carbine adjustable stock is a really great rifle for kids. with ear pro.

Maybe 223 until he gets the hang of shooting, then take him out on his 12 birthday for a big boy rifle. 223 is always “needed” in one way or another.

not in your caliber group but maybe a CZ527 in 300 Blackout

use 150 Gold Dot 300BO bullets over the Max Load of lil Gun will outrun a 30-30 by 100y with slightly less kick
My 10yo son took a nice buck Antelope at 200y with the 150 gold dot 300 BO set up

there are all kinds of subsonic loads of reduced recoil you can buy or handload
we shoot 130grain lead over trail boss for practice

IF Hadn't said hogs then I would have suggested a 250 Savage with 10 in twist. Since you did my choice would be a 260 rem, 6.5 cm or 7mm08. I've taken many deer wi all except the cm. Don't have one. But I do have three 260 rem and two 6.5x55 swedes. Nice thing with the 250 is seeing the deer fall thru the scope.

6mm Remington

.257 Roberts

https://www.eurooptic.com/Tikka-T3x-Lite-Compact-65-Creedmoor-20-1-8-JRTXE382C.aspx

Under $600 on sale.

Howa youth in a 6.5 Grendel. I'm working on a few fir my 8 year old. I'll probably run the 129 ablr at about 2400 fps.

I've ended up with 2 of them now. I bought one at Whittaker's and then found a camo dipped one with a threaded barrel on clearance at sportsmans warehouse. I'm trying to decide whether to sell the non threaded but it is a bit lighter than the threaded. I also have 1 in 7.62x39. I need to get some of that bdl style bottom metal thats made in Oregon.

Bb

I have one of the 6.5 Grendel Howa's and it is great. With 100gr Partitions it could be my big game rifle. I'm shooting 100gr Custom Comps on coyotes with it.

Matt,
I think there is a better way to go about this IMO. I made the mistake with my kids in that I tried to get them to shoot a .243 which was too much in the beginning at that age. It wasn't until I had them practicing with a .22 that I would really ask myself which caliber is best. The struggle for a child is being able to actually handle the gun (in terms of its size). Once they're comfortable with handling a .22, try a .223 or .243. You'll then know what will work.

Bottom line, short(er) barrel and shorter stock is needed for fit to make them comfortable.

i've started 5 grandkids on a savage axis in 223, then moved them up to a rem 700 bdl in 243, and they've killed numerous deer thus far. i have about 8 more grandkids coming up and i'll start them the same way. i have 2 stands where the deer are approx 40 yards from the stand, easy shot with either a 223 or 243, and the deer rarely go more than 20-30 yards. everyone has a different approach, but this works for my family. ymmv.

2 years ago, I was in your same situation. I got my son a Ruger American in 7mm-08. I am happy with my choice. We tried both the regular and compact models. We ended up going with regular size with a 22 inch barrel. It has considerably less muzzle blast than the 18 inch barrel in the compact model. He was able to shoot it fine as long as he had a good rest. The recoil is less than the 20 gauge shotgun he was already comfortable shooting. Also, in the two years since then, he has grown from about 5’ 4” and 110 lbs. to 6’ 3” and 165 lbs. So now I am REALLY glad we got the full size model.

I also enjoy shooting it. I usually use it instead of my Remington 700 in .30-06 when my son is not hunting.

6.5 Grendal
6 ARC
277 Wolverine
25-45 Sharps
300 BO
7.62-39

I agree about the .223 for big game. My favorite rifle is my .257 Roberts but it is somewhat handicapped by bullet selection. A 6.5CM makes far more sense these days due to similar recoil with much larger selection of factory ammo and high BC bullets for reloading. At 69-1/2 and then some, I have not outgrown the Roberts. No reason I can think of why a kid should outgrow a 6.5CM.

7mm-08 would be my second choice.

What is the barrel length on this? Site says 24, photo and link seem to indicate 20?

H4895

The best youth load powder

I started my boy with a BB gun, then .22, then .223, when it came time for big game I downloaded a Tikka in 7mm-08. No flinch, he handles everything well, eleven years later.



P

I took my cousins kid hunting a few years ago when he was 10. I ended up letting him use my 16" ar so we could adjust the stock for him. I had some 75g Hornady bthps loaded that we used figuring it was enough for mule deer.

I took him to the range 1st and he took over 20 minutes off the bags on the bench to shoot a 3 round group. I kept telling him he couldn't take that time to shoot in most hunting situations and kept asking what he was waiting for or what took him so long to shoot once on target. He wouldn't answer and just kept taking his time. I spent 2 days and few hundred in gas guiding him around. I had him on 4 good shots, one at 30 yards broadside and he never did pull the trigger.

I think the best think for kids is lots of time behind a BB gun. I realize they are slow and awkward and don't have the experience but I get frustrated pretty quick when they won't listen.

I had a nephew mis a chance at a nice buck because we got him all rested up and ready to shoot and the he realized he didn't have his ear muffs and wouldn't shoot until someone went back to the truck and got his ear protection. I told him just take the shot you won't even notice the sound when this buck goes down. He wouldn't listen, wouldn't shoot even with us covering his ears for him. The buck didn't wait around and I'd spent about $400 on $4.59 gas driving him around that year. Now when someone asks me to take their kid hunting I ask if they have a bb gun and how often do they shoot it before i waste my time and gas taking kids that won't listen and have no trigger time.

I took IDmilton and his son up a in about 2014 and the kid had never shot any animal before not even a rabbit. I got him on a couple of nice bucks at about 350 yards. We rested Idmiltons 7-08 tikka over a backpack, dialed for range and talked the kid through aiming small and squeezing the trigger and the kid listen and did exactly what we told him and came away with a nice buck. Then I shot the other one as it ran off with my 7wsm Montana. We were both using 162 amaxes and ended up with two good bucks. So obviously some amateurs and kids do listen and can get it done their first time out. I just get frustrated with ones that won't listen when its go time.

Bb

Manbun loaded down to 6.5 Grendel class. It'll work about like a 30-30 but it'll kick less and fly flatter.

I can tell you having an adjustable stock is very handy when dealing with kids. They grow fast. A gun that fits them makes dealing with the weight go much more smoothly.

Might improve a marginal shot, really bad hits are usually leakier of blood with bigger rounds.