First Deer Gun

[Guest cjames38464]

Hey all,

Need a little input on a first deer gun for my little boy.

I bought him a 22 Cricket for Christmas last yearand he plinks away with it, he has been on me about deer hunting, and we go, but he can hunt juvenile this year and i am at ods with what to get him....

I am catching a little flak about his age and responsibility of letting him shoot a high powered rifle, but my opinion is to raise kids learning how to respect rather than fear guns...off the box now...LOL

Little about him to possibly help.

He is 6 years old 4'3" tall at 90lbs..big boy

I am leaning toward a 243, as everything I am finding says the recoil is very manageable, but I don't want to drop 5-700 bucks on this gun. The Rifles I have are too much in my opinion, 270 and 30-06...I do have a 30-30 that I considered letting him try as it is fairly compact...i welcome your thoughts....

[MCSCOTT]

I would say go for a .243 bolt action of some sort. You can usually find a fairly good .243 just about anywhere that isn't too costly. Youth models of that caliber seem to be fairly plentiful as well. The 30-30 is an option being as you already have it, but even though I can see many uses for mine nowadays, I just never was fond of it as a kid. There were several factors in why I did it, but I missed several deer with mine. Switched over to a bolt action .270 and never missed another one.

[Guest Muttling]

It will be many years before he can hunt big game, but he can varmit hunt NOW and there's a lot of GREAT varmit calibers.

A nice .22-250 with a bipod and scope would be a great weapon for him to learn skills that will carry him into deer hunting.

I would definitely caution against a weapon with any form of recoil at this point. At his age, he'll be very apt to push into the weapon and drive his shots low. Keep him on low recoil for while.

[whiskey]

He is already bigger than my daughter was at 9 years old (about 60 pounds) when she started shooting her .243. She was scared until she shot it. I let her keep her head back and not worry about aiming on the first shot so she could get a feel without the fear of the scope hitting her eye. After the first shot she realized it wasn't going to hurt and she shot a sub MOA 3 shot group the next 3 rounds.

I will caution against the lighter single shot guns in .243. I bought a .243 NEF superlight youth and it kicked too much for my daughter. I sold it and got a Remington 700 SPS Youth and put a scope on it for her. It comes with a limbsaver recoil pad and it is about like shooting a .223.

We hunted from a ground blind last year and she used a shooting stick to help steady the gun. She killed a deer on the youth hunt and is hooked now. We will be in the ground blind again this year.

[Guest .45]

Hey all,

Need a little input on a first deer gun for my little boy.

I bought him a 22 Cricket for Christmas last yearand he plinks away with it, he has been on me about deer hunting, and we go, but he can hunt juvenile this year and i am at ods with what to get him....

I am catching a little flak about his age and responsibility of letting him shoot a high powered rifle, but my opinion is to raise kids learning how to respect rather than fear guns...off the box now...LOL

Little about him to possibly help.

He is 6 years old 4'3" tall at 90lbs..big boy

I am leaning toward a 243, as everything I am finding says the recoil is very manageable, but I don't want to drop 5-700 bucks on this gun. The Rifles I have are too much in my opinion, 270 and 30-06...I do have a 30-30 that I considered letting him try as it is fairly compact...i welcome your thoughts....

I'd take him to the range, and let him try the .270 with some of the Remington managed recoil loads...

I bought a box for a friend's kid to shoot a couple years back...they kick a good bit less than a standard .270 load.

they make a 30-06 and a 30-30 as well... here's a link:

http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/centerfire/managed-Recoil.asp

[rjmech]

I have a Remington Model 600 in 6mm Remington that seems to be perfect of a smaller statured person or child. It is fairly light and compact, plus the 6mm has a very mild recoil. I have seen a few used ones on occasion on dealers racks.

[nightrunner]

243 or 30/30 IMO

[Guest redbarron06]

I will leave the caliber up to sombody that has shot a larger assortment than I have.

I would however suggest that you start him with a T/C Encore. as he grows he can move into a new barrel rather than a whole new gun. You can get barrels from 22LR up to 375 H&H and also in both black powder and shotgun. The nice them about this is that the overal length of the rifle is shorter than any other rifle with the same length barrel. This makes it very manageable for ground blinds and tree stands in tight places. It is a little more up front but it is a gun that he can use the rest of his life. Deer, coyote, or turkey in TN up to ELK or Moose in Alaska.

[wareagle]

Wow, your son is going to be big one. My boys are 6, 8 and 10, but they are much lighter. I'm planning to pickup a .243. In my opinion, it is a great caliber. Very accurate. Low recoil. Fairly inexpensive.

[Guest Bronker]

Hey all,

Need a little input on a first deer gun for my little boy.

I bought him a 22 Cricket for Christmas last yearand he plinks away with it, he has been on me about deer hunting, and we go, but he can hunt juvenile this year and i am at ods with what to get him....

I am catching a little flak about his age and responsibility of letting him shoot a high powered rifle, but my opinion is to raise kids learning how to respect rather than fear guns...off the box now...LOL

Little about him to possibly help.

He is 6 years old 4'3" tall at 90lbs..big boy

I am leaning toward a 243, as everything I am finding says the recoil is very manageable, but I don't want to drop 5-700 bucks on this gun. The Rifles I have are too much in my opinion, 270 and 30-06...I do have a 30-30 that I considered letting him try as it is fairly compact...i welcome your thoughts....

The .243 in a NEF or Handi-Rifle single-shot will be plenty, and will be no problem for a boy that size to shoot. Here is my son on juvenile hunt in 2008. Winchester 100gr soft-points, one shot, 75 yards. He was 6, about 4' tall, and probably 55 lbs. He can shoot the thing better than I can! This was deer #1 of two that he killed that year. They can be bought used for less than $200 all day long. I just bought one for a friend's son, already scoped, for $175.

And those people giving you 'flak' about your boy and high-powered guns...tell them to mind their own business. If you are responsibly teaching your son the safe handling of firearms, then you are being a very responsible parent. Good for you, pal.

And no...he was not blindfolded during the hunt!

[Guest cjames38464]

The .243 in a NEF or Handi-Rifle single-shot will be plenty, and will be no problem for a boy that size to shoot. Here is my son on juvenile hunt in 2008. Winchester 100gr soft-points, one shot, 75 yards. He was 6, about 4' tall, and probably 55 lbs. He can shoot the thing better than I can! This was deer #1 of two that he killed that year. They can be bought used for less than $200 all day long. I just bought one for a friend's son, already scoped, for $175.

And those people giving you 'flak' about your boy and high-powered guns...tell them to mind their own business. If you are responsibly teaching your son the safe handling of firearms, then you are being a very responsible parent. Good for you, pal.

And no...he was not blindfolded during the hunt!

I appreciate the vote of parenting confidence, as that is also my opinion...My response to " you'll have to worry about when he is going to try and take the gun out hunting with out you" was everyone that has kids, guns and hunts has those type of worries but i feel that if hunting and shooting are made a part of NOP then kids are less likely to get the urge to sneak and do that forbidden thing that adults are just trying to keep the fun of to themselves. and i keep the keys to the gun safe with me and wife has one with a spare locked in a seperate box that we also maintain the control.

[Guest cjames38464]

Thanks to everyone for the input, I was leaning to the 243 and with the info on here I am definetly going with the 243.. As some of you stated the recoil was my biggest concern as I do not want to make him afraid...I told him last night I was taking him on the Juvenile hunt, he went and grabbed one of his hunting mags and showed me the ne stand he wanted, kids gotta love em, but I have to admit it was a sweet stand. 17.5 ft two man ladder with a blind and top...Thanks again....

I'll be sure and post any pics of him and the gun/deer he gets...

[Guest jackdm3]

Or you could go tough love with a 30-06, and say "Man up, dawg!"

[RCCsDad]

I was going to suggest a NEF right off the bat. You wouldn't be out a lot of money and they are good guns.

Managed Recoil loads maybe would work. I think the 270 is around the recoil of a 243.

I still have the scope mark from my first deer taken with a 270 with full house loads at age 10. The problem would be the fit of the gun. Make sure the scope is adjusted for him. There is going to be a BIG difference going from a Cricket to any deer rifle.

Maybe let him blast a 410 shotgun a few times to see what he thinks before potentially turning him away?

[gregintenn]

Purchase a used, inexpensive 243 bolt action. find a used replacement stock for it. Cut the replacement stock to fit your son. Proper fit is very important to developing good shooting skills.

[Guest Muttling]

Thanks to everyone for the input, I was leaning to the 243 and with the info on here I am definetly going with the 243.. As some of you stated the recoil was my biggest concern as I do not want to make him afraid...I told him last night I was taking him on the Juvenile hunt, he went and grabbed one of his hunting mags and showed me the ne stand he wanted, kids gotta love em, but I have to admit it was a sweet stand. 17.5 ft two man ladder with a blind and top...Thanks again....

I'll be sure and post any pics of him and the gun/deer he gets...

Be careful of that recoil my friend. I don't hear a kid who's gonna be scared off by kick and might even brag about shooting a large caliber.

The bigger problem is him anticipating recoil and leaning heavily into the weapon. This will cause him to shoot low. Watch for him constantly shooting low and get him back to the range on low recoil/ no recoil calibers if he does.

[Guest cjames38464]

More great advice from all, I hadn't thought of customizing a stock for him, as I was looking for a compact/youth model...And the bragging portion is probally correct as he has many of the older kids from my wifes classes (5th - 8th) as extended older brother's that talk about hunting with him daily...as far as the anticipation of the recoil I am plannig watch that closely...He has shot the 410 I have several times without fear...Last night he wanted to know if we were going to sight in the 30-06 for him...I had to chuckle to myselfwith admiration of his lack of fear as he has been with me many times while shooting and remarked that it looked like it kick allot...

[Guest cjames38464]

Thought I would give a quick update, I have decided to give him the 742 woodsmaster my dad gave me when I was 10...Found a youth stock set for it, and will shoot the Rem Managed Recoil load for it...Everything I read says it will take it to at or below the 243 recoil, I am also getting a butt pad of some kind to help...Thanks again...

[Guest Muttling]

Sounds like an outstanding choice!!!!!

[redneck]

My opinion 25.06 plenty of power kicks like a 22 . Hint now matter what you get savage has the hardest recoils on market .

[Guest JustMyLuck]

Remington makes a Managed Recoil load for your 30/30.

125 gr FNSP . Might be just the ticket.

Supposedly 1/2 the recoil and SUPPOSEDLY good for out to200 yds (?)

JML

[Guest cjames38464]

Remington makes a Managed Recoil load for your 30/30.

125 gr FNSP . Might be just the ticket.

Supposedly 1/2 the recoil and SUPPOSEDLY good for out to200 yds (?)

JML

The MRL is what I am going to use for the 30-06, I have read several reviews as well as looked as balistic reviews and think they will work perfect...He shouldn't be shooting at anything over 150 yds....Thanks

[Guest cjames38464]

Well, I got the new youth stock on the old 30-06 and put the MRL in the chamber...The information is correct for the recoil, much lighter. I did have to adjust the scope, that could have just been the gun has been in the safe to long....Anyway Cj did well, at 100 yds he hit in the kill zone (6" Circle) every shot, still a litte strong for a six year old, imo, but he managed well...He sqeezed off 6 rounds before complaining and that was mild...So we are geared up for the Juvenile hunt and with some further exposure to the gun this weekend he will be bagging his first deer in no time...Thanks again to the TGO family for all the comments and advice....Oh yeah I was beaming with pride as he was nailing the target.....

[RCCsDad]

Something that will ease his shoulder a bit is possibly a PAST recoil pad that you could put on him. Also, maybe let him shoot interactive targets like 2 liter bottles filled with water. It may make him forget the recoil all together.