Best deer caliber for 10yr old son

A .243 will push a 100gr bullet much faster than 2400fps... my wife's savage 22" barrel in .243 shoots Winchester 100gr power point at a touch over 2900fps. And it shoots a reloaded 95gr at 2990 and it's 1.5gr under max charge of Supreme 780. Your velocity and energy #'s are way off.

A 6.5G shoots a .264 123gr pill at 2400-2500 w/ less than 30gr of powder and you think a .243 with over 40gr will only shoot a .243 100gr at that same speed??? The .243 operates at higher pressure also
 
Best deer caliber for 10yr old son

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I'm looking at getting my son his first deer rifle. He's been training on a .22 bolt action Savage and my AR15 for the last year.

I've been thinking about starting him with a .243, but not sure. Any suggestions or thoughts?
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If he's been shooting an AR for the past year..I'd get him an AR in 300 blackout....
 
Does my 9 yr old granddaughter count?
How about her 7 yr old sister?
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That's why I asked...

Not saying it's a bad choice, but if a youngster is really going to be shooting out to 150 yards, I feel like they can do it more effectively with other choices while dealing with less recoil.
 
Not saying it's a bad choice, but if a youngster is really going to be shooting out to 150 yards, I feel like they can do it more effectively with other choices while dealing with less recoil.
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Where did OP say the 10 yr old was gonna be shooting 150 yrds?
 
As I've said before, I'm no big fan of the .243 on deer But the comment about a 75 gr. Hornady outdoing a 100 gr. Hornady, baloney! I guess if you keep both bullets doing 2400 FPS you could say that the varmint bullet is better. But who does that?
Years back I took several kids out to hunt their first deer. They used my .243 and all go their deer. I also had a tag and would back them up if necessary. Northern Nevada deer get big and results from the .243 never really made me happy. The best I can say is the deer died.
Fast forward to a couple of years ago. The father of one of my students in Hunter Ed class had put his 10 Y.O. son and himself in for bull elk tags and they drew. :eek: Dad had a Browning BAR in .338 Win. Mag. but what to get junior? My lightweight .308 was too much even with a reduced load. Other options I had on hand were not any better. We tried my M70 FWT in 7x57 with a lighter handled with the 120 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip and that was what the kid liked. That bullet has a decent reputation due to the fact it has a very tough jacket for that light a bullet. I wasn't gonna whack off several inches of the stock on a favored rifle so I suggested finding a Remington M7 youth model in 7-08 which dad did. He also got a set of loading dies and I ran up a series of loads using the the Nosler bullet and the 120 gr. Barnes TSX. Also did a couple of loads with the 140 gr. Nosler Partition loads to 7x57 levels. A couple of days prior to the hunt, dad came by and we sighted the gun in with the 140 gr. bullets. Dad called a few days after the hunt and junior got his elk, one shot right behind the shoulder. When dad asked him about the kick, he said, "What kick?"
Load that 120 gr. Ballistic Tip to about 2450/2500 FPS in a Youth Model 7-08 and that'll put any deer down, little (?) whitetail or big old Mule Deer buck.
Paul B.
 
Where did OP say the 10 yr old was gonna be shooting 150 yrds?
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The OP didn't. The post recommending the 77/44 called it a "very viable 150 yard deer rifle," which I don't disagree with.

But since recoil is often a concern for young shooters, my main point was that full power 44 magnums out of a 5-6 lb. gun is still going to have a decent kick. And if a kid isn't going to shoot beyond 100 yards, why deal with recoil that's on par with a 400 yard deer rifle? I might like to use it, but that doesn't mean I'd hand it to a small kid. I would contend that for short to mid-range hunting, a 7.62x39 or 300BO in a bolt gun will work as well or better with less recoil.
 
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.30-30.

In addition to being a proven caliber, the range limitation is a good thing for a young hunter (should not be thinking about taking 300 yd shots!!).
 
To the OP,

How big is the lad, and how far away can he comfortably shoot a deer? Will he ever get a shot at an elk with the same rifle?

I love the .257 Roberts, here's why:
It shoots soft, hits hard, and comes in two power (recoil) levels. It doesn't look any better than a .243 on paper, but seems to speak with more authority in the field. The old 117gr RN at 2500fps kicks very little, and kills deer clean as can be out to 200 or so yards (or farther, but being a RN it is falling off fast) 100gr Spitzer bullets are good on deer and antelope to 400yards or more. Stepping up to 120gr Partitions, I wouldn't be eskeerd of popping an elk with one, though it is minimal for the task. They also penetrate farther on quartering shots on big mulies.

Anything that can be said of the Roberts can be said of the 6.5 Swede, and 6.5 Creedmoor, I just have a thing for the 'Bob.
 
Had success with both 10YO son (75lbs & 4' 10") and forever-29YO wife (less than 100lbs, 5' 0").

They both took to the Ruger American Compact Rifle in .243Win. About 6lbs. 12" or 12.5" LOP. Slapped on a Leupold VXI 2-7x scope with low leupold rings and a sling & swivels. Great shooting, inexpensive package.

Here is the thing: Spring for the PAST Super Magnum Recoil Shield. Even hte .243Win can be nasty from the bench & sand bags for smaller folk--especially if hte bench is designed for bigger folks. Made the world of difference. Wife was in pain the first trip and could not zero. Second trip with the PAST recoil shield, zeroed in 2 rounds. I had her shoot a few more to be sure, but two rounds was all she needed.

After learning this lesson, my son took a whole 4 rounds to zero. He then proceeded to shoot the heck out of all my .243Win until the PAST recoil shield started slipping. Cured that with safety pins.

Wife got a hog first time out. Son would have, but we didn't see one.

Oh, I bought 4-5 boxes of different heavy-for .243Win hunting loads and shot for groups by my lonesome before wife & son shot rifle. Wanted to find a good hunting load. Settled on a Fed 100gr Nos Partition load. Punched right through Mr. Piggy's vertebrae, no problem.

Good luck.
 
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