250 yrd.s. Hmm... I'd do a used A-Bolt .308 or .270, with a Boss or Model & and have a muzzle brake added. You'd have a gun with modest recoil, light wt., easy to handling, and enough punch for most anything for the rest of her life. If you don't want stainless a Win. Featherlite would be fine. A Ruger would work but you'd need a trigger job. I'd even do stainless steel to lower the upkeep.

for a young girl, if you are planning on using factory loads I would get something lighter than either of your choices, maybe something in 6mm like a 243. Still plenty to shoot deer or antelope and you wont scare her away from hunting. If shes already a shooter and used to recoil I like the 7mm08 if you reload.

Just trying to do a little proactive thinking before I get there but I have three littles at home (9,4 & 2) The oldest is a girl, the other two are boys. I predominantly hunt elk, but do like to throw in mule deer and antelope when I can. Won't be long until these guys are going along, and not long after that before they will packing their own smoke poles. I would like to get something that can be passed down from kid to kid (eventually grandkids) as they come of age. Once they are a little older and have some of their own built in preferences I will help them get the cartridge of choice.

Two of the cartridges I have been considering are the 7mm-08 and the .308 Winchester. I am looking for a cartridge that can be housed in a gun manageable by average 12 year old's, have manageable recoil, but still have enough on the other end to take care of the elk out to 250 yards.

Thanks for you input.

I have just picked up a Ruger M77 in .260 Rem which I think will be great for kids and first time shooters. Nice light, low recoil little rifle with small bullets and plenty of punch loaded with 140gr Partitions or GameKings for the larger stuff.

I would have recomended the 260 or 7-08 until they came out with reduced recoil. Now, if elk are on the ajenda, I'd recomend the 308. capt david

If those are the two to pick from get the 308
i got my son his first but i bought him the same as i had
270 Win works well on deer and will drop Elk as well
But if your set on one of the two go 308
lower recoil better bullet avalb/y and cheaper brass
For powder you might want to try
Powder valley on line for cheaper price'

300, you mention the .308 and I shall assume you reload. As a reloader, you know, I'm sure, that you can load the .308 or even the 30/06 into whatever sort of cartridge you want it to be. The .308 is wonderfully versatile, with hardly a "bad load" possible.

What I'm saying is you can load it up, down and around to suit the shooter and still have an effective rifle against the targets you mention. They can start shooting and getting skilled with the rifle using reduced loads and light bullets whenever you think they are ready.

Good luck with your endeavor.

It's a common dilema you're facing! I have three boys myself and although the oldest is'nt a big game hunter he does enjoy chasin' birds. The two younger ones are just starting into the centerfires. I have let them fire the .223 a bit, and the .22-250 when I had it. It seems to help thier confidense to shoot the smaller bore centerfire first.

In my own situation I have a few different rifles to get them going with but have seriously considered a Encore Carbine with a couple barrels. Probably a .223, then a .243 or .257 Roberts. When they reach a point where Elk or Moose is an option a barrel in .338 WM is available. By following this route the kid is using the same "rifle" for everything.

My best friends Dad got him a .270 at about 14 and thats all he uses to this day. As long as you ease them into a bigger rifle any "middle ground" cartridge will do if good shooting is involved.

Of course being they are my boys, one gun for everything probably won't do for long!

Of the two you were looking at, the 308 is the one to look at. If you are going to look at guns for kids/smaller shooters, look at the bullets availabe in both factory and what is there for handloading. With partitions, failsafes, barns X and swift you take many of the "lesser" carterages and make them into acceptable for larger game. The 257 Roberts with 115 Barns X bullets will take Elk if not overly large, or too far out for shooting. The 25-06 is also a lite recoiling choice, and again with proper bullet selection you can hunt up to the Elk size range of animals. If you plan on starting them off on deer and simular sized game, a 7-08 250 savage, 257 bob would be great, and then a larger game gun could be aquired.

My sons first year hunting will be next year and I have him shooting his .260 Rem. with mid level loads. By this time next year he will be more han ready.

I made a 7mm08 for my son when he was 9. The caliber is very versitile. I purchase a Rem 700 Classic in 7mm08 for my son. It had an aftermarket clamp on adjustible compensator on the barel. I could not find a used SA stock and could not consider cutting the beatiful custom Rem stock. I ordered a utility wood stock blank from american stock co for $50 and made our own youth stock that would fit an 11-12 year old. The stock (11.5" pull)was 1/2 inch too long when my son first used it with 80% 120 gr loads. The recoil was like a .223. Now the stock fits him and he can split hairs with factory pressures. ( I started him shooting at the 200 yrds line.)At 100 he two holes.

Lots of good advice! I started whitetails with a 30-30 and moved to a 243 the next year, but elk wasn't part of my agenda then.

My first question would be how big are your children and how big do you think they'll be by the time they begin hunting? I was so tiny at 12 when I started, they considered cutting the stock on a Marlin 336 to fit me! (Yes, I've grown since then) The size will have a lot to do with what to reccommend. Get the biggest that you can load to comfortable levels for them.

The 7mm-08 and 308 are good choices, but I've become a believer in the 7x57 and 257 Roberts. These have light recoil and hit harder on the other end than I ever expected. Saw a lung hit 8 point go only 8 yards after being shot at 200 yards in the woods. Guess the older I get the more I appreciate the classics!

I applaud you on starting early. The most important thing we can pass on is the hunting heritage. I'd ask you to think, though, about how many elk/deer, even 'lope, that you've actually taken at 250 yards. Is that a common enough shot for you to rule out some other calibers that might be better suited for younger shooters?

I don't mean to suggest that the kids might be recoil sensitive, because if they've got the desire to hunt they'll adapt to some minor bouncing, but the 7x57 or the .270 might be better bets. They'll take elk cleanly, but 250 yards is stretching it for those calibers. If 200 yards and under is acceptable, a .338-08 might be aonther consideration. Just a few thoughts. . .

Rupert,

I can see your point. However I have excellent results downloading things with blue dot powder, SR 4759, IMR 4198 and 2400 Hercules.

More than minute of deer capable out of a lot of cartridges.

My first question to those taking out new shooters, why do you need a 500 yd load with 5000 foot pounds of energy to take a little deer that is normally taken within 50 to 100 yds.

PUT any rifle into the 30/30 range and I say you have a good first time rifle for anyone. The mild recoil is not going to make them afraid of it.

Cheers
seafire

Any cartridge,

just down load it

seafire

When I was a young lad (oh sooooo many years ago), my dad purchased a Rumchester Model 2 bolt rifle chambered in the infamous .300 Widowmaker (OK, it really was a .30-06) and presented it to me for my first deer hunt. I was not exactly a strapping young man at age 14, and as he gave it to me I remember him saying something to the effect of, "Here son, this is what real men shoot." Gee, thanks pop!

Bottom line is that it beat the living sh*t out of me, and ever since then I've been pretty sensitive to recoil.

Today I know that the .30-06 is a fine cartridge, it was just too much for an undersized 14 year old.

Will start my 12 year old son on a .260 Remington and if he complains, out comes the .257 Roberts or the .243 Winchester.

I know there isn't much difference between the three, but maybe if it sounds smaller he'll think it's hurtin' less...


Hank

My approach to this same question resulted in an Encore rifle in .223, followed by additional bbls in .243 and .270. All have the factory 24 inch bbls for a rifle length of 38.5 inches, and the balance and trajectories remain quite constant.

I have taken a # of kids hunting antelope-- and i've found the best cartridge is the 22-250 with a 60 gr "expanding style" bullet. They only rarely have a problem with flinching with the 22's which means that they will place the shot more accurately @ all ranges (AND they always do by the way, and they will enjoy it more, adding confidence and consequently enjoyment to the hunt)-- of course u need to follow regs-- SOOO get the lowest recoiling cartridge designed that will take big game out to 300 or so.

Ive got a 308 and a 300 savage. The 300 savage with modern powders (rlr 15) chronographs @ only 100 fs less than the 308 and yet the recoil seems notably less. Chambered in a great classic ('99) and they are quite common on the market too. Ill be handing mine down in a couple years.