First Rifle For Daughter

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Waketurb007

New member
So my daughter has informed me that she wants to start hunting together. She is 13. I have not hunted in years and all of my hunting experience has been on guided hunts.

I have never really been a "rifle guy" so I am looking for your input. We plan on mainly hunting hogs and deer in Arkansas. What would you suggest as a acceptable rifle cartridge? Recoil and effectiveness is the balance I am looking for.

Thanks.
 
Okay well then first off, how big (or small) is she? (it goes towards determining if she needs a youth rifle or if she can handle a full size rifle)
 
Yes, .243. With good ammo choice it is great on hogs. In addition, she won't get a flinch from anything more hefty. A 20 gauge with buckshot could be another option if ranges are short. Good for you for taking her out hunting!
 
I'm pretty sure where you are at the .223 is legal to hunt with. With todays bullets like Barnes TSX and Nosler Partition you can easily take the game mentioned with a .223. My daughter wanted to hunt last year but the only rifle she was capable of shooting accurately due to perceived recoil was the .223. She had a very successful hunt in Oklahoma last November taking a whitetail doe at 140 yards.

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She used a Stevens 200 .223 with cut down stock to fit her, and Redfield Revolution 2-7X33 scope in Leupold Rifleman rings. I think I had about $500 in the rifle with the extra stock work.
 
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Hands down 30/30. I like the Marlin levers but there are plenty more to choose from. My son who is now 16 has used one since he was about 10. No reason to change as there is no upgrade for hunting out to 150+-yds. Great in the brush and my boys Marlin will easily drive 5 rnds in a 1-1/2" circle at 100yds.
 
Tell us more about your daughter's shooting experience, and remember that she will probably be using the rifle you get her for years. Everyone is assuming she needs the lowest recoiling caliber available. Maybe. Personally, I like bigger bullets for the game you are after. Consider .260, like the .243 based on the .308. I shoot the "old timer" equivalent 6.5x55, and it is a pleasure. The .243 is also a good choice. I am a reluctant convert to .223 for deer after putting some 65 gr SGK through my AR, but be sure to get a rifle with the right twist for heavy bullets. Many bolt rifles are set up to stabilize light bullets for varmints. Look for 1 in 10 or faster. Good luck.
 
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Have your daughter sign up for a State Firearm Safety Training Class. That I would suggest be your and her's first plan or hurdle to accomplish before buying a firearm.

Depending on how her body build is for stock length. If I were in your situation OP I would have her measured at a well known local gun shop to see if she could handle a T/C Encore. Its a single shot rifle. But everything including its stock, forearm, and barrel, can be interchanged as she grows. If you have a 22 rifle to start her off target shooting with >great. Otherwise if money is not in short supply. Get the Encore ordered with a 22 barrel w/ open sights. Right off the get go. Then purchase another barrel for that Encore. Something more appropriate later down the road to hunt them piggy's with after your daughter has had some range practice first. Learning how to shoot with a 22 is far and away cheaper than doing so with a center fire rifle. That's how I would proceed with my new hunting pal if that occasion ever arose for me.

S/S

S/S
 
I've been down this path twice now, with a few more times to go!

My oldest was 4 when she started scouting with me. About the time I should have been shooting air rifles with her, along came 9/11 and I was gone too much for years. At the next assignment, where I was training folks and not gone much, I kicked into high gear getting her trained to shoot/hunt. Here's some things I learned along the way.

Getting started on .22lr is the best thing to do with older kids. For younger ones, its amazing what a Red Rider or pump air rifle will do for their fundamentals. Either route, you can focus on basic gun handling and get a lot of trigger time practicing fundamentals for little cost. At least the cost was little pre-panic, and will be again in a few months in the case of .22lr.

From there, I decided on .243. For deer and hogs, as well as light recoiling, it works, and works well. There are a number of youth rifles out there, with Weatherby Vanguard Youth, Remington 700 Youth, and Savage Youth models being modest in price, but big on capabilities. I chose the Weatherby because it came with both a youth and adult stock and was very mildly priced. In addition, the 3-shot test target that came with it showed a dime sized grouping.

From there, I added a Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 with bases and rings and had the perfect little setup.

First season with it, she managed to take a 250# sow and a spike. It was after that first season I recognized a problem. She did not enjoy shooting the rifle. I talked to her about it. She HATED shooting it because of the recoil. @ 4'10 and 85lbs, it was just too much for her WRT perceived recoil. Back to the drawing board, because if she didn't like to shoot it, keeping her on it would be self-defeating.

After much research, and getting opinions on here, I went with an AR-15 from Olympic Arms in 6.8 SPC. With an adjustable stock, length of pull is not a problem. They are naturally light unless you load them down, and recoil is practically nil. I took her to the range the first time and the smile after shooting it spoke volumes. Since then, she's taken 3 deer with that rifle. The .243 is back in the safe awaiting the next kid in line. With another upper in 5.56, I have a cheap practice option as well as a deer/hog option.

There are a few calibers to consider. .243, .260, 6.5 Creedmore, .257 Roberts, 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, .250 Savage, 7mm-08, are all choices to consider with some of them being easier to find ammo for than others.

If you decide to go on a bolt gun, my advice is to steer away from Remington's 710 or 770 youth models. With the others, getting aftermarket stock to fit LOP, get a particular color, swap triggers, re barrel down the road, etc is possible, making it a better investment.

Bottom line, they have to enjoy shooting for it to be a long term shared event, which is the goal. At 13, you only have a handful of years left. Make them count!
 
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It's hard to beat the .243win. I started on a Remington 788 .243 (still have it) almost 20 years ago. My dad ended up putting a muzzle brake on it just before I got serious into rifle shooting. Mostly it was because he suffered a severe wreck that required an extensive neck surgery and he didn't want to miss the season lol. I shot that rifle until I was 16 and wanted a larger caliber, Remington 700 ADL .270win (still have that one also). With the .243, I never felt handicapped by the smaller caliber because it made you focus more on shot placement. I only wish I could remember the number of deer I dropped with that 788.
 
300 Savage is a moderate recoil cartridge that hits deer hard. But downside is ammo pricing which is double the cost of .243 cartridges.

Jack

 
7mm-08

The 7mm-08 is a little more powerful with not much more recoil. It is available in many of the same guns. With the way ammo is now it is easier to get than 308 or 243.
 
Wake,
Please tell us more about your daughter's shooting experience...

Unless you tell us something really surprising, I'm guessing I would recommend a Savage 11 Ladyhunter in 243 Win. In case you look elsewhere or another brand, the things I like are:
243 Win chamber
Short LOP...Need to confirm fit to her
20" barrel...easier to handle
Good quality rifle which you be able to sell with ease should things change often do with kids.

In addition, I would reccomend a 4 or 6x Leupold as her first scope depending on shortest reasonable range. If your shortest normal shot is 25, go 4x. If 50, go 6x. Leupold, not for the name, but because Leupold has a knack for the features you want at a lower weight than others can. Also, Leupold can also be sold at a later date for good money should things change.

Last, get a Leupold or Warne weaver/picatinney style mount...because PRW are the cheapest route to go and get a quality mount, IMHO. There may be others.
 
I think that taylorce1's advice is best, though I do still think the 223 is marginal unless the kid is a real good shooter. I do believe I'd put her behind a 223 and see how she shoots and what she says about the recoil and then I'd put her behind a 243 (with a good recoil pad). If the 243 recoil doesn't bother her, that's what I'd go with. That said, if she develops a flinch from the 243, she'll be losing a lot more deer than with a non-flinch shot from a 223 (with the right bullet).

It's good that you are being considerate of your daughter's shoulder. You are going about this correctly. Nice job, Dad.
 
Readily available ammo is something to consider. 30-30, 243win, 270, 308, 30-06. All are awesome deer takers and come hunting season, ammo's on sale all over for these calibers!
 
There are companies that make reduced recoil versions of the .30's now for the recoil sensitive hunter out there. There's always handloading as well. If she can hack a bit more than the .223, I think the 7mm-08 is a sweet little cartridge. I got the opportunity to shoot a friend's last season, and it's just a sweetheart.
 
I was a little worried about the .223 for deer as well. I couldn't get her worked into anything bigger even though I tried, since I have a .243 Stevens 200 that I could drop into her stock as well. However, now I wouldn't be afraid to put her on a big mule deer buck with that rifle and the 55 grain Barnes TSX load she used if it were legal in CO.

My daughter was nine when she shot the deer pictured and the biggest thing you can do for your daughter to ensure her success is to instill confidence in her. If she is confident in her shooting ability then she'll be able to be successful when it comes time to take the shot. Confidence will do more to ensure success than any advantage one cartridge will give over another.

My daughter lost her confidence about two months before her hunt took place and almost made me cancel the hunting trip. A few extra trips to the range, going over deer anatomy, and one day of shooting prairie dogs was all it took to get her back on track. When she realized how small of a target a prairie dog was compared to the kill zone on an average deer. She shot several pasture poodles that day past 200 yards and I was a super proud dad.

When it comes time for the hunt make sure you do everything possible to ensure her success as well. Make it easy for her by having the blinds set up to where if possible you can keep the shots 100 yards or less. Have shooting aids available for her to use, my daughter had a tripod to shoot off of out of the ground blind. Don't rush her to take the shot and if she isn't comfortable don't be afraid to go home empty handed. My daughter couldn't shoot the first day out hunting even though she had deer much closer to the blind than on the second when she shot the doe pictured.

The biggest plus of the whole journey with my daughter, is the pride she shows when we sit down to dinner and eat the venison that she put there.
 
same

My experience mirrors Taylorce. I spent a bunch of time w/ bamaboy on .22 lr, then moved up to .223 Mini Mauser. He took his first two with .223 bonded slugs and me coaching in his ear. Very controlled conditions, green fields and shooting houses. We moved up to 7.62x39mm bolt gun pretty quickly after that, but he did not stay with that rifle long, and moved on to the .243 which shot much flatter and had more reach. We needed that on our ROW club, the x39 was a bit out of its league. But if ranges will always be pretty close, a 7.62x39 bolt is a great kids gun.

I am much opposed to 30-30 levers for kids or beginners If not equipped with a safety, lowering the hammer on a live round is a challenge for cold small hesitant hands. Loading and unloading ammo from the tube is always tedious, regardless if equipped with a lawyer safety or not. And I always felt some 30-30 loads in carbines kicked a whole lot more than they should. Remember felt recoil to a hundred pound person is a good bit more than what us beefy shooters feel. Now a 30-30 bolt like the old Savage 340 is another story. Practical safey, easy load and unload, etc.
 
The 6.5 Grendel in either a bolt gun or an AR will be very hard to beat.

Shooting .264 caliber bullets of modest weight makes the rifle capable of harvesting most North American game and the low velocity keeps the recoil down to the same level as the .243 Winchester.

In today's world, trajectory is not as important as it once was because we will almost always use a laser rangefinder when the target is further away than 200-250 yards. This means that the same effort is needed to get the right holdover regardless of cartridge. The heavier bullets in the Grendel tend to drift a bit less too.

You can read more about this and a neat Grendel Reloading Handbook and more about medium game hunting with the Grendel by selecting the highlighted text.
 
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