Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire First Rifle for a child

I will go one step farther with this statement:



the 260 rem has obsoleted the 243 as a deer round. true maybe if your using it as a combo deer/varmit gun it maybe different story.



I know the 260 will never replace the 243 in the market place, as the main stream public doesn't seem to care for the 264, plus they want ammo they can buy at the local store with out looking around for it, but the 260 beats the crap out of the 243 as a deer round........................ <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

A 220 swift in the hands of an inexperienced hunter is a wounded deer waiting to happen. Stick with the 260 or 7mm and you will be much happier.

I think you made a great choice. I had the same dilemma and here's what's happened with us. I picked a Model 7 Youth in 7mm-08. Here in Minnesota, my boy can't hunt until he's 12. I bought the rifle a couple years ago, and my son has proceeded to grow like a weed, and I'm certain this gun will need restocked to a full length stock by next year. My 12 year old son is 5'9'' tall and wears my size 11 boots like they're his. If I had it to do over again, I'd stay with the 7mm-08, but in a full length stock. I've got a daughter coming up a couple years behind "junior" and I'll probably do something in a .260 for her-she's not big framed like my son is.

My son was ten last year when I bought him the 7mm-08 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight. I thought at the time that it might be a bit much, the difference in his growth from last year to this year is incredible. He killed his first deer with it last season and now handles it very well. I highly recommend the 7mm-08, the two instant kills he made with it last year were very impressive. Neither deer knew what had hit them.

I've got a Ruger compact and am very fond of it. It has a reduced length of pull and a 16.5" barrel. Mine is 223 but I'm sure it is availble in 7-08. If you handload use some lighter loads or use the starting loads.
This rifle would work great for small framed shooters.
Virgil B.

my experience with kids is that they are more effected by muzzle blast than recoil.....

most kids don't mind my dads old 26" barreled /06, but a short .243 is too much noise..... john w

Just thought I'd update you. I bought my son the Remington M-700 Special Edition in 7mm-08. It has an ADL action in a special composite Skyline camo stock. I handloaded 120 grain Nosler BT's using 48 grains of H-380 (powder on hand for my 220 Swift). This load has a MV of 2977fps. I sighted in the rifle 2" high at 100 yards, giving me a PBR of about 290.

I let my son shoot my 220 Swift all summer getting use to the action, experiencing minor recoil and expermenting with the eye relief. This gun is also a M-700. I never let him shoot the 7mm-08.

Opening day of deer season, we were in the stand at 6:15. Sunrise was 7:20. We can legally shoot thirty minutes before sunrise. At 7:15, I spot a deer at about 130 yards in the beanfield. He takes his shot, the deer runs about 100 yards and collapses. He clipped the top rear two inches of both lungs. A nice four point buck.

Not bad for a nine year old boys first deer.

That is awesome! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Congratulations to him (and you, Dad!)
Bet he never felt the rifle kick either! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

--Mike

How about the Remington Model 7 in .260 Rem.

That's outstanding, congratulations!

I'm on pins and needles myself waiting to see if my son and I got drawn for Javelina so he can take his first big game animal with his new Model 70 compact in February.

Good show!

that caliber should be just fine if you hand-load it. And it may be just fine with store bought loads. It just depends on the kid. I'm 16 and 175lbs but when I was 12 I got my first centerfire. I had been shootin the .243 in a m99 since I was 9. But we decided that a savage m110 in 300win-mag. I shot a box of shells through it. and was fully afraid of that gun. (lots of .22 ammo to cure that flinch) this is the first year that I have shot it since.

OUTSTANDING Sir, my heartfelt congrats to your son, WELL DONE! 'Sides now we have another hunter in our midst.

A 243 or 6mm Rem with 85 grn. Barnes x bullets. Will drop any deer in his tracks, at out to 250 yds. Been there done that.