Rifle for my Daughter to hunt

I've killed some 20+ deer with the Sierra 85-grain HPBT in .243. However, I pretty much limited myself to neck shots or cross-body shots. No angle shots where deep penetration was necessary. I also limited myself to no more than some 200 yards. Most shot, natch, were within the usual 100 yards, mas o menos. That particular bullet creates mush inside the body cavity, which makes it very good for heart/lung shots.

Federal sells that particular loading, and I've found it to group as tightly as my handloads.

Art
 
I use a Barnes 100 gr in 25-06. I believe that a 25 caliber is slightly small for the game cartridge. I do hunt rather large bodied whitetails with it. I believe that a 243 is also on the small side for deer. I would use it with out any reservations, provided you use a premium bullet. It is very hard for anyone to say that a Nosler Partition is an inferior bullet. You do need to check the accuracy of that load in her rifle. If it is not acceptable try another load.
 
Desertfox;

Put a little research into the bullets available for whichever cartridge you select. These smaller bullets that are often going very fast have a tendency to "explode" if you hit a rib. I really like ballistic tips; and I might still elect to use them in this senario, but I'd ask around and get some suggestions from those who have hunted with your intended caliber. The ballistic tips are absolutly devistating between 270 and 30'06 class, but I don't always get an exit wound when shooting a heart/lung shot (I'm now an afficinado of the neck shot). I've had ribs push the tip in and the entire insides look like they went through a blender. You might elect to go with a bonded bullet with more controlled expansion.... Just something to chew on than many hunters don't put a whole lot of thought into.

One more thought....Lot's of people are steering you toward a light weight gun. That's fine, but I personally find that in addition to lowering perceived recoil; they also steady the gun when the heart is pounding. My 280 varmint barrel and target stock (with a fairly heavy scope) really puts the kabosh on the shakes. I loaned it out to my brother inlaw and used my 30/30 last hunt. It took me considerable longer to calm down for the shot. The reticle was doing a figure "8" across the entire body of the deer at about 150 yards.

Other considerations.... There is no need to crank up the power of the scope at hunting time. I almost always have mine at 4X (sighting it in is the only time I have it at 16X.) You will get more light coming through the scope at lower power. I highly recommend a trigger job. Many rifles can be adjusted by the user. I like 2lbs, but 3lbs is a good starting point.
 
A similar thread is running on The High Road. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=179163

While most people think the .243 is adequate, since its introduction a number of cartridges have been introduced or "rediscovered" that provide more potential, including the .260, 7mm-08, 6.5x55 and .257 Roberts. If you load your own you easily can tailor loads that approximate the recoil of the .243 while preserving the ability to upgrade without acquiring another rifle.

Recoil also is a function of gun fit, recoil pad and maybe even a shoulder recoil shield. A .30-30 with a hard plate may feel worse than a well fitting .260 with a Decelerator pad or Limbsaver and a shoulder worn PAST recoil shield.

Before you run out and buy a Browning, I think you should take her shopping and see what fits her well.
 
stalk fit? Yep, yet another equation I left out.
I was talking at work today and one of my supervisors is going to let me borrow a .308 of his to see if she likes it. He says he will load some rounds for her and she will be right at home with the recoil.

I am looking into a recoil padded shooting jacket for her. If the .308 works for her, we will buy the twin to it.

He also said if I wanted to, he would introduce me to the fine art of loading my own rounds.
Sounds like I am jumping into this with both feet. Wish me luck.

I will surely be back for more information.
 
I know this is going to bring down some flames but I'll go ahead and say it. :eek:

I got back into deer hunting 7-8 years ago and have made it a point to look for the perfect deer rifle. I used a 270 then went through a Marlin phase then found a lightweight Savage .243. I thought the .243 was perfect until I got my 6.5 Grendel Hunter. The Grendel is the perfect deer rifle/cartridge combination.

Back on topic:
Little Meek likes the .243. He probably outweighs your daughter by a hundred pounds and stands maybe a foot taller but he doesn't consider the gun nor cartridge to be 'too small'. :D If you worry about recoil, one old trick is to have the kid practice with the 85 grain then the parent checks and adjusts the sight-in with 100 grain (very minimal difference at 100 yards and probably won't need changing). Kid will be too excited to notice the recoil difference in the 1 or 2 shots they take while hunting.
 
If scared about recoil go with a .223 .25-06 .204 smaller the better .220 swift all of these are great guns with low recoil heck my .243 hardley kicks at all anways it should be fine:D :D :D
 
If scared about recoil go with a .223 .25-06 .204 smaller the better .220 swift all of these are great guns with low recoil
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.223, .25-06, .220 Swift, OK, but .204 Ruger for deer? :eek: :eek: :eek:

Seriously, even the .223 is highly debatable, but I don't know if I'd use a .204 on coyotes. That's only a 40 grain bullet, max.
 
A recoil jacket may increase the length of pull too much for her.

No flaming here. You can use all the woodchuck rounds you want:D
 
Call me Crazy but my friends grandma.. A very small framed woman shoots a few deer every year with a 22-250, I've never shot one but she says it hardlly kicks at all. Something else I have noticed is for some reason Browning's seem to kick less in the same Caliber, I can not explain it or maybe it's mental but my dads Brownings Stainless Stalker .270 kicks less then my brothers Remington 700 .270 and my Ruger .280.
 
I agree with Tycross, 223 and 204 are really not good calibers for Deer.
Even though a .204 and a .243 are almost Identical in trajectory out to 300 yards. The.204 is still sizzling at 300 yards but is loseing energy, and has about 200 ft lbs. less than the .243 at that range (525ft lbs. VS 735 ft lbs.)

A.223 and .204 are both extremly good coyote guns, but I would not use either of them on deer sized game.
The last thing you want a youngster to do is get the idea they can loose animals they have shot because of to small a caliber. Go with the .243 and practice, practice, practice, so they can get a good neck shot or well placed heart shot. Stay away from calibers to small for the game they are hunting as it is very depressing to a hunter (especially younger ones) to sit all day waiting on that one good shot, and not be able to take it home and brag a little.

Going home with the game is as important to a younger person as the actual hunting is.
 
and has about 200 ft lbs. less than the .243 at that range (525ft lbs. VS 735 ft lbs.)
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There's a little more disparity than that. .243, in a heavier (95-100 grain) bullet has about 1200 ft/lbs at 300 yards, while the .204 40 grainers have around 675 ft/lb, and then drops to 512 ft/lb in a 32 grain bullet. At least in the Hornady loads.

.243 energy does drop down to the 700-800 ft/lb levels, but only in the 55-60 grain varmint loads.
 
Desertfox,

I am in the same boat as you in regards to a daughter wanting to get started in hunting/shooting. My little girl is very slight build as well. Here is what my research came up with.

There are several companies that sell youth rifles in short action cartridges that work well for deer hunting. The one I chose was a Weatherby youth in .243. The youth model comes with 2 stocks (child size and adult) as well as a proof target (mine showed 3-shot 100 yard accuracy of 3/4"). I looked at the Savage youth and Remington youth models as well. Both were fine firearms with great accuracy, however neither offered the additional stock.

As for the .243 performance on deer, one thing most folks appear to be overlooking is the size of the deer you are hunting in OK. Being a Florida transplant (thanks to the USAF) with hunting experience in a few states, OK deer are very much the same size as our Florida deer, which is to say small. We are not talking about large bodied whitetails or mulies in the northern states where I would agree .243 may be a little light. I hunted for many years with folks who hunted not only Florida deer but wild hogs as well, and every shot placed into the vitals with 85 grain bullets or larger always resulted in a quick kill. Also, availability of .243 ammo may be better than some other cartridges (like .257 Roberts, 7mm08, 25-06) due to its prolific nature assuming you are not living next to a large sporting goods store that carries ammo for every caliber in the book.

.243 recoil is light and it sounds like it would match her build. I personally shoot a .308 and would not put my daughter behind it. It kicks just a little too much with 150 gr hunting rounds for her size.

All the calibers mentioned will put deer down, no question. The lighter calibers (.223, etc) requires more skill that your daughter probably has not developed yet in order to get correct shot placement.

Good luck with your search.
 
Your right Ty,

Got on the wrong line when I looked them up. Probably need to get my head out of my A-- before posting.
Sorry about the wrong info.
 
Girls gun

My 80 lb., 9 year old, grand daughter shoots my fathers Rem 600 in 243 with no problem. It's a small rifle with an 18 1/2 inch barrel and is pretty loud with that short barrel. By the time you put a scope on it and add a pound in weight it puts it at 7 1/4 pounds. I don't think she would do well with a heavier rifle just hefting it around.

Use muffs while practicing and she won't have any problem. Your daughter may be stronger and handle more weight okay but you have to judge that.

If you go with the 243 stick to bullets around 100 grains. Sighted at 150 yards you can shoot out to 175 - 200 yards without any allowance, but I'd recommend setting up for a 125 - 150 yard shot max. if possible for a first timer.

If you go with the 30/30 scoped the recoil will be about the same and again try to keep shots under 150 yards.

Make sure she snuggles the gun in nice and tight so the recoil doesn't get a running start at her.

Marksmanship is the key so the NEF single shot will do the job on the deer. If you put the first one where it should be you won't need the quick follow up shot. The NEF will probably be a pound or so lighter so there will be a little more recoil.
 
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This little jewel is a Glenfield 30GT in 30-30 and has put a lot of meat on our table. Recoil is easy to take especially with the thick Pachmeyer pad. Barrel is only 18.5 inches long for easy carrying all day even in rough country.

30-30 is a keeper!
Jack
 
Ok the practice shoot is set up. I borrowed the .243 and .308. I have time to go find ammo. My questions are these now:

.308 120 gr.?
.243 100 gr.?
30-30 140 gr.?
and what type of rounds. Ballistic or partician?
Is there any way to down-size my .270 WSM rounds for her use, or is that rediculous? Thanks for the help.
 
150 grain for the .308; 95 or 100 grain .243. I can't tell you about the .30-30.

This is only a 'practice shoot' to see how she handles the recoil. So save yourself some money and buy one box of Remington Core-Lokt soft-points for each caliber. It is inexpensive, and usually shoots fairly well through most guns. And when it goes through a deer, the Core-Lokt will perform just as well as the more expensive rounds that you're talking about. You can try out different brands and loads of ammo after she has picked the caliber.

Notice how I said, "after SHE has picked the caliber." :) Don't let anyone pressure her to pick one round over the other. If she says she is most comfortable with the .243, then that should be the choice.

Better to have an accurate shot with a .243 than a flinch from a 308.
 
This is only a 'practice shoot' to see how she handles the recoil. So save yourself some money and buy one box of Remington Core-Lokt soft-points for each caliber.
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+1. Unless you are sighting in, just buy the cheapest stuff you can find. I don't think .270 WSM is in the Core-Lokt line, but I could be wrong, and if it's not, Winchester Powerpoints should be equally cheap.
Is there any way to down-size my .270 WSM rounds for her use, or is that rediculous?
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That's a good idea, but with the limited availablity of ammunition for the WSM calibers, I don't know of any reduced loads unless you roll your own. Remington has a reduced recoil line, which you might look at for the .308, though.
 
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