Some time back I asked for advice on a nice caliber for a lady,a first time shooter. I asked my fellow forum members. We ended up with a 257 bob. She loves,loves and loves it. I want to first say thank-you for everyones input. Now I am reaching my hand out for sugestions for first time shooter, my granddaughter. She is 15. I have several in mind for deer hunting/targets ( bob-243- 25/06-6mmrem). HELP!!

Congratulations are in order to you for introducing a couple gals to shooting and hunting!
Well done.
You made an excellent choice with the 257 Roberts and out of the 4 you suggested the 25/06 might be a bit much blast for an inexperienced shooter, however it may not.
Why not another Roberts?
or a 6.5 Swede, .260 and nothing wrong with the .243 and 6mm either all great choices.
Do you reload or are you buying factory?
Small lightweight rifles react strongly with big powder charges and big bullets so keep it easy on her and she will love it.
My oldest son started with a .243 then went to a .284 with reduced loads now he will shoot anything you hand him. My youngets son started with a .223 and also shoots a 6.5x55 Swede with light loads and 100 grain bullets.

I would go with the lowest possible caliber that will work to save on her ears. The 243 sounds good. I know people who use them for deer hunting with great success. Plenty of choices for ammo and very manageable recoil for a young person.

My two cents.

Bolt Action Rifle (scoped) .223 ; with correct twist for Heavier Hunting bullets (1/8 - 1/9).

Target Shooting: Bullets, lots of them.

Hunting Bullets: CEB Bullets / Barnes ; Deer, Pigs
Barnes TSX bullets; Corbon loads them in their DPX line.

My Smallbore Angels.



PAPI

.243....simple as that.

Load 55 grain B-Tips for fun and 100 grain bullets for deer.

Best of both worlds.....and hearing protection is a must!

Easy, another 257 Roberts. Load it down with lighter bullets for practic and amp it it up a little bit for hunting.

My 10yo son just shot his first pronghorn with a loaded down 270 Win. 85gr TSX running about 2000 fps. Worked fantastic, loves shooting it.

I would lend support for 243 or 6mm or even a 257 loaded to 250 Savage speeds.

6.5x55

6mm, 257 or 6.5x55 or the one I'll looking at 260 rem. Just look at abunch of rifles in these calibers and pick one that fits.

250 Savage. If they can handle a little mroe then a 257 Roberts or a 6.5x57.

As they get a little older they can move to bigger cartridges if necessary.

Sam184--Where will your granddaughter be hunting? Some states the .223 that was mentioned would not be legal. If legal, I think a fine choice. If she lives in same area as you, she could "test drive" the .257 Roberts that you have. If she is comfortable with it--you have your answer. If it is too much, dropping to .243 wouldn't help a very great amount.

243, 6mm Remington, 250 savage, 257 Roberts, 260 rem, 6.5x55, 7-08, will all work just fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Cliff Lyle:
*********************or even a 257 loaded to 250 Savage speeds.

X2 Great advice !
roger

quote:

Originally posted by SDhunter:
Easy, another 257 Roberts. Load it down with lighter bullets for practic and amp it it up a little bit for hunting.

Good advice right here.

243

quote:

Originally posted by BigNate:

quote:

Originally posted by SDhunter:
Easy, another 257 Roberts. Load it down with lighter bullets for practic and amp it it up a little bit for hunting.

Good advice right here.

+1

The bob is a honey..

243 or 257 Roberts

I agree, why not go with another .257 Roberts. Classy caliber, and a very comfortable shooter. Load it down until she is ready to speed it up. You've already got the brass, bullets, powder, and dies. You can't go wrong with it. Hope you have a great time teaching her.

I'm in the same boat as most of the others. 243, 250 Savage or 257 Rob. The Roberts does make the mose sence because you already have one!
My Daughters first deer rifle will be a custom 250 Savage on a Mexi Mauser action.

Take a look at the 7mm-08; that is what I started my son with (11 yrs old) & he still loves it at 16 yrs old

light recoil, nice bullet selection if you reload

he shot a red fox & caribou this weekend with it

.243

quote:

Originally posted by wymple:
.243

+1

Especially if you're not a re-loader.

Over here it's used on everything up to 400lb red stags.

A nice long barrel helps, both in terms of reducing muzzle flip and reducing blast.

I have found that blast worries newbies more than kick in many cases.

I started with a short barrel Reminton 700 .308 Win, 22 inch. After the first ten years I realized no limb or brush has grabbed my rifle as long as I navigated correctly. Now I have a 24 inch barrel Reminton 700 Classic. It comes free with reduced muzzle blast and increased velocity if I want to load up for it. I want a 24 inch 257 Roberts too. NULA is my choice, if I can eventually affort one. Good luck with the rifle choices for a youngster. Some of the best money I've ever spent.

I started my son with a .243 and rapidly moved him to a .260.

I think .243 is ideal if you are very worried about recoil sensitivity, I think .260 is a lower recoil cartridge I would never second guess on deer or hog sized game.