rifle for my 13yr old daughter

[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?

[elkhunter11]

The 260rem, and the 7mm-08 are both great choices.

[Bigdawg]

My son is 12 and he shoots my 243 with 55gr for coyotes and his first yr deer hunting he's shooting 100gr and hitting 4l milk jugs at 300 yrds, hes very comfortable with the 243. We trap shoot as well and he loves his 20 gauge.

[Atex]

I bought a 7-08 mm BLR for my daughter when she was 14, had no problem shooting it except the length of pull being a tad too long for her small frame.
She never complained about recoil and there is a reduced recoil ammo available from Remington (I believe), although we never tried it...

[P-Pyro]

I love the 7-08 but to make sure of no recoil problems, and that she then keeps shooting, .243 is hands down choice. Any deer or varmint is covered.

[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!

[elkhunter11]

Ammunition availability depends whether you reload, and where you shop. If you reload, it's easy to find components to load for the 7mm-08. As well, I have seen 7mm-08 ammunition in most of the larger stores. It may not be as common as for the 243win, but it isn't all that hard to find.

[iluvguns]

243 gives lots of bullet options and is as good a deer caliber as you will get. If you are fortunate enough to have a winchester lever in a 25-20 they are a great gun and pretty easy on you and enough to get started deer hunting.

[Au revoir, Gopher]

Either should work well. I'll throw out the 6.5x55 as another option. If you reload, you can do reduced loads for pretty much any cartridge you want. Then the 25-06, 270, etc all become contenders.

ARG

[Dick284]

I'm in the 7mm-08 camp.
It worked for both my kids starting out, heck my daughter is still using one, my boy has moved up to a .280, but he's only pushing 7-08 speeds right now.

[Carson13]

Dad bought me a 270.. said it was big enough for elk/moose in a pinch and on the low end of the kick scale.

Carson

[MattSako]

7mm-08

[Alberta Bigbore]

My 13 year old steps son is a sniper with my 270win. 130gr GMX

And hes a lightweight... skinny bugger.. no weight to him and he does really well.

[Curly Bill]

What category would a 308 win fall into? Buying a micro Midas for the boy and that's what I'm leaning towards.

[Curly Bill]

Originally Posted by Curly Bill

What category would a 308 win fall into? Buying a micro Midas for the boy and that's what I'm leaning towards.

For recoil I mean.

[Ceilidh69]

My 14 year old daughter is shooting a 7mm-08 and does not have any recoil concerns.

[bigd]

Originally Posted by Curly Bill

What category would a 308 win fall into? Buying a micro Midas for the boy and that's what I'm leaning towards.

Depends. It will likely fit fairly well but this is a very lightweight rifle in .308. I'd lean towards a .243 or even 7-08 in a Micro.

[Elkaholic9]

My sister uses a .308 np for her. Shes 13

[norwestalta]

I'd look at a 30-06 with Remington 150 gr managed recoil shells. My kids grew up hunting with them.

[DCse7en]

Originally Posted by Curly Bill

For recoil I mean.

My 12 year old son shoots his savage m11 youth 308 very well. I loaded some light loads with sr4759 and 150 grain bullets to start with. For hunting I loaded him up some 150 hornady il bullets with 39.5 grains of imr4895. He likes the kick.

[rugatika]

257 roberts in a Ruger No.1 international.

Would somebody please hurry up and buy this rifle?!!!?

[Flight01]

I'm a fan of 7-08. Just sighted in my sisters rifle really like it and will most likely take it out for deer next week to see some on game performance. It also has a generous recoil pad so its a pleasure to shoot .

Or....

I've really been wanting a cz 527 carbine. Its a mini Mauser action and shoots the 7.62x39. Could learn how to run that bolt pretty good with bulk ammo then feed it some handloads or factory hunting ammo. Would only suggest for deer though .... I will keep dreaming

[recce43]

thanks for the replies

[sikwhiskey]

M-70 in 7-08. The hard part would be getting a stock with the correct LOP that fit her, if she is on the small side? size her up and order another stock,if necessary. Swap the original stock back on if she grows into it, then sell the Kids stock. The gun will last a lifetime and hold its resale value as will the stocks.

[6.5 shooter]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

The 260rem, and the 7mm-08 are both great choices.

THIS plus the 6.5x55

[norwestalta]

One thing to keep in mind if your kids are anything like mine is that they'll pawn it back to you at a later date so don't be like me. Buy something that you'd like for yourself. This is coming from a guy that has 4 30-06's that the kids owned and now like to borrow. Lol

[rugatika]

Just remember. You only get one FIRST rifle. If I had started hunting when I was a kid and my parents had been kind enough to buy me a rifle, I'd want it to be something that would be worth keeping and handing down. Part practical and part heirloom kind of thing. to me...and this is just my opinion, but something classic, in blued/wood...( no Mossbergs, pink stocks, etc. ). Bolt action, or single shot. Winchester model 70, ruger no1 come to mind in a smaller caliber.

Good luck.

[Albertaguide]

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!

X2. I agree with the availability of factory ammo. Unless you reload. My wife has a savage youth model in 243 and loves it. She's very petite and the youth model also fits both of my daughters 11 and 12 ( though she passes for 15-16 teenage boys) I highly recommend the savage axis youth in muddy girl camo

[bighorn1]

I'll throw another vote in for the 270, i started out with one for a first rifle and it is a very versatile calibre with lots of options ammo wise and there is usually lots on the shelf as it has been a very common calibur for many a years.

[Canuck Bob]

If deer is the game and you don't handload I would vote 243. Good for gophers to deer. The kick is very mild and she might be prone to burn a lot more ammo to become well trained at placement accuracy.

If you handload either is good for deer but the 7MM-08 will better suit other game and may be the only rifle she needs. It is a bit big for western varminting though.