rifle for my 13yr old daughter

[58thecat]

7-08, now find a rifle she can shoulder well, fits etc.

[Milspec700]

xbolt stainless synthetic in 7mm08 short standard very light easy to shoulder with hornady custom lite ammo great first rifle.

[260 Rem]

Here is another approach to the question. The 308, 7-08, 260 Rem, and 243 all use the same case so powder capacity for each is similar... so recoil is going to depend primarily on bullet weight (assuming rifle weight is the same). In real terms, I doubt one would notice much difference between a 308, 7-08, or 260 Rem if shooting a 150 gr bullet. Likewise, there is likely very little recoil difference between a 243 and a 260 Rem launching a 105 gr bullet.

[Highlander44]

Just bought a 7mm08 for my daughter to learn on and bought some hornady reduced recoil 120gr SST's so ill let you know. Will be reloading the brass after with a light load.

[Gade81]

Originally Posted by Waterfowl93

They are both great choices of calibre but if you go into any store anywhere anytime they will have 243 where 7mm 08 is getting real tough to find right now. Always gotta take the availability of ammo into consideration!

Cheers!

One would think!! In at wholesale sports in lethbridge couple days ago and no 243 ammo in the store. Couldn't believe it myself.
But ya, if probably go 243 myself for my daughters once they start shooting Center fires. Very nice easy to shoot gun that will take almost anything. And should be ammo available anywhere

[purgatory.sv]

Originally Posted by recce43

well was thinking 243
or 7-08mm
it would be her first big game rifle don't want anything with high recoil
any suggestions?

Both would work.
If it’s in the budget get both, you could also use them.

If you can find a 7.08 that your daughter is comfortable with do it.

[greylynx]

The best part of the above suggested caliber's is that they offer a fair amount lee-way if daddy has to reload.

We saw this with Git R Dun's loads for a .270WSM that he posted.

[twilson_99]

i started hunting with a BSA 243 handed down to me from my uncle. the gun still gets annual exercise shooting coyotes etc, but it will be my sons first hunting rifle, and hopefully my grand kids will shoot it too. 55gr for critters, 100gr for large game. its killed deer, elk, moose, coyotes, wolves, gophers, blackbear. awesome versatility from this caliber

[gitrdun]

^^^ Darn it greylynx, you do have a good memory. That was a long time ago. Those loads were from my friend's youngster. I also loaded some managed recoil loads for my 8 year old (at the time) grandson in his 7mm-08.

I do like to differentiate between what I call a "managed recoil" load and a "reduced" load though. By my terms a managed recoil load is made up of H4895 powder that is reduced by 60% of case capacity. All of this explained on Hodgdon's website. These are suitable to hunt deer size game within reasonable distance. The advantage is that a youngster male or female can begin hunting with a caliber suited to them growing with it and progressively increasing the charge as they gain confidence and do not develop a flinch as they progress.

The reduced loads are those that use approximately 10-12 gr of pistol powder such as Unique or Trailboss. These are NOT suitable for hunting anything other than gophers or just plain plinking. I've used this formula to evaporate gophers with my .444 Marlin lever gun. Some could say that is expensive. But shooting is my primary hobby. I don't golf, ski, or jump outta perfectly good airplanes.

[amosfella]

45-70 with cowboy action loads.

[gtr]

Good God fella , I think not.

[Gilly]

A model 70 featherweight compact in 7-08 would make a real nice rifle that could be passed down to future generations. The 3 position safety is handy and there's no clips to lose. I started with a model 70 lightweight in 243 and it's going to be passed onto my daughters when they are ready to deer hunt.

Gilly

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by gtr

Good God fella , I think not.

Serious, the cowboy action loads have almost no recoil...

[saskbooknut]

7x57 or 7-08 are ideal if there will ever be hunting for larger than deer size animals.
As a previous post stated, .308 is also a good choice if handloaded for reduced recoil.
Buying a rifle that can be stocked to fit a young person, and plenty of practice, is as important as cartridge choice.