Any help here? Looking for input. 10 y/o girl standing about 4'9", 75 lbs average build.

If she hasn't already been introduced to a .22 LR, I'd start there. After that I'd look at the .223 next, then depending on how she takes to shooting is how I'd progress. I know at 16 my daughter doesn't really want more than those two cartridges except for her .308 for hunting. She would however like a 9mm pistol of her chosing, instead of borrowing ours at the range.

A lot depends on what she plans to use it for.

That said a 22, 223.

Having taught hundreds of children in 4H getting one that fits very important.

Thanks, boys. Was looking at one of those little cricket 22 LRs but the peep sight is pretty flimsy. If a scope came with it that might be better for plinking cans. She wants to hunt deer this year hence my question. Perhaps burn a few hundred rounds of 22 LR and then think about a legal 223.

Yes, 22 for sure. The blast and recoil of a centerfire might be too much to start. Let her work into it.

Instead of the Cricket, have a look at the Savage Rascal. Decent peep sight and the Accutrigger make shooting it very enjoyable.

My kids shot the Rascal a lot and then moved up to a .243 with reduced loads for deer. It was a pretty easy transition.

Nothing wrong with an older, used 22.

I learned to shoot with my Dad's Wards Western Field, which dates back to the 50s. Still one of the best rifles I've shot.

I'd find an older bolt-action 22, then move her up to CF.

quote:

Originally posted by DesertRam:
Instead of the Cricket, have a look at the Savage Rascal. Decent peep sight and the Accutrigger make shooting it very enjoyable.

My kids shot the Rascal a lot and then moved up to a .243 with reduced loads for deer. It was a pretty easy transition.

+1

I'm a huge admirer of the .243 loaded with a reduced charge of H-4895 for kids and the recoil shy (it is safe to down-load any maximum H-4895 charge to 60% of that maximum).

UPDATE: 3/27/2019 Link to Hodgon's Statement on downloading using H-4895.

I have a little semi auto Browning that worked great for my kids as well as a 9422 lever action.

Later I was letting my daughter shoot or try to shoot some of my other 22s which were older Winchester 22s. One or another had some kind of problem.

So I bought a Ruger 22 Target (10-22) and had it set up for her. But she was 12-13 at the time. What a quality little rifle the Ruger 22 T is. It was so good that I now have 3 of them in Volquartsen stocks and I scoped them with some nice Meoptas. They are fun rifles and accurate as heck with Federal Auto Match bulk ammo. I shoot them too.

While my daughter is older (15 now) and can shoot the 223 I moved on for her to the 257 Weatherby. The thread is here on the page about the 257. But I wouldn't have gone to that at 10 for sure.

I like the .22-250 more than the .223. Federal Premium loads a 60-grain partition which is pretty good. LOP is the hardest thing to sort out properly.

Must admit that Savage Rascal with the option of a red dot would be neat.

My daughter was shooting ducks with a 20 gauge pump gun whe she was 8. I started her in rifles with a pellet gun in the back yard. We used to have rifle matches! She moved up to .22 LR when we would go to the farm...10-22 was a blast. She used an AR to take her first deer which is fine for most kids and their first deer because shots should be kept under 100 yards with an AR IMO anyhow... The adjustable buttstock on an AR makes it easy to adjust to the kid too.. She's 15 now and uses a Sako .243 for deer but she has eyes on my 257 Roberts...

Shooting any gun is a specific discipline and takes proper form to manage recoil and hit the target. This is true if you are a kid or adult. The trick with kids is to get them started with the proper forms and not make it seem like work...and a shortened stock helps on a lighter gun helps. For rifle shooting prone is the only way to start em...

I bought my son a CZ Scout when he was 8. It is the identical action to the full sized CZ 452 .22 LR, just with a shorter barrel, child sized stock, and a single shot adapter in place of the magazine. When he turned 12, I replaced the single shot adapter with a magazine and put a scope on it. That little gun shot 1" groups at 50 yards. My son is now 20 and 6'2" tall, but he won't let me put the action in a full-sized stock for sentimental reasons. I highly recommend the CZ Scout.

+1 for the Savage Rascal and you can get it in pink. My daughter loves that personal touch.

As to a deer rifles;
My oldest son started with a 270 and reduced loads when he was 12
For my younger son I built him 6x45 on a Sako L461 action when he was 6
For my daughter I bought a Ruger 77/357 when she was 10

They all work quite well for the intended purpose with very low recoil coupled with more than adiquate performance on deer. My personal favorite of the three is the 6x45.

I started my boys with a 22LR, stepped up to a .223, and then on to a 250 Savage (.243 would have done just as well). They both took their first deer using the 250 Sav by age 6. Least year my 14 year old took a nice bear in Alaska using a 9.3x62 using a 286 gr Nosler Partion. In the intervening years he got to try a 7x57, 270, and 30-06. Start them easy and move them up in steps and they never fear the gun or its recoil.

MADISON STARTED WITH PELLET RIFLE IN BACK YARD AND THEN WENT TO 10/22 AND THEN 250-3000.SHES NOW 19 AND HAS TAKEN 4 DEER WITH 4 SHOTS

Definitely start with a decent .22 rifle. For deer, a .243 is hard to beat for a youngster.

In some states it is the minimum legal caliber for big game.

Good luck.

BH63

Howa mini, youth stock in 6.5 Grendel or even 7.62x38. 5 1/2 lbs, very good adjustable trigger, low recoil and accurate.

As for 22, any decent 22 will work fine, I have and really like the scout 452 CZ mentioned.

30-30?
single shot?
Lever action?

quote:

Originally posted by bluefish:
Any help here? Looking for input. 10 y/o girl standing about 4'9", 75 lbs average build.

I really like the Tika platform for a youth gun the compact has an adjust lop and you can get multiple aftermarket parts and acsessorys ( including clamp on brakes). Many barrel makers are doing barrels for them. They are safe and simple to use with the magazine.

I would get a 6.5 credmore. Lots of support, easy to shoot and accurate.

If .22 centerfires are legal The way Life Should be, wherever that might be, go with a .222 or a .223. Bullet in right place will do the job. Chances are much greater that she will put it in the right place with a gun she is comfortable with. Sure, a .243 for example is mild to an adult, but a 75 pound 10 year old girl, probably not. Like saying a 15 pound bowling ball is light for a man used to a 16 pound ball.

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
If .22 centerfires are legal The way Life Should be, wherever that might be, go with a .222 or a .223. Bullet in right place will do the job. Chances are much greater that she will put it in the right place with a gun she is comfortable with. Sure, a .243 for example is mild to an adult, but a 75 pound 10 year old girl, probably not. Like saying a 15 pound bowling ball is light for a man used to a 16 pound ball.

Yes, the .243 would be too stiff if loaded to full potential. But Hodgdon says you can download any charge for which H-4895 is recommended to 60% of maximum. That would represent a pretty large decrease in recoil.

quote:

"Hodgdon Powder Company has found that H4895 can be loaded to reduced levels. H4895 was chosen because it is the slowest burning propellant that ignites uniformly in reduced charges. To create reduced loads, the 60% formula is recommended.

"Find the H4895 load in the Reloading Data Center for your caliber and bullet. Take the maximum H4895 charge listed and multiply by 60% (.6). The load may be adjusted up from there to achieve the desired velocity and accuracy.

"This works only where H4895 is listed. DO NOT use in a cartridge where H4895 is not shown."

My grandson started on a single shot with a hammer and switchable barrels. I modified the stock to fit him.
First was a .22 barrel with peep sight, then a scope the next year. Next he got a 30-30 barrel with box of reduced hand loads and the next year when he was 8yrs. old he hunted in Africa with it. ( And he got fascinated with the process of hand loading.)

This is just one way to do it. One thing about the single shot with hammer it is a bit easier to supervise the kid for safety and it slows it down a bit. ( Sorta reduces the fun too.)

Fit is more important then caliber. Keep in mind that 'youth' models probably will have a lop that is still to long for a 10yr old. Its better to have them learn on a rifle that fits them then have them learn bad habits that need to be re-taught later on.

I have two daughters that hunt, one seven and the other is nine. The seven year old has a 6BRX built on a howa action. My ten year old has a 25-45 sharps ar-15. Both have a lop of 10.5 inches which fit them perfectly.

If you dont reload, the list of light kicking calibers is rather limited; 6.8 spc and 6.5 grendel probably top the list but 250 savage and 25 Remington are good as well.

A brief taste of 22LR, then get her a 25-35--they're back on the market; not cheap but worth the money. Be careful, though: you may need to buy two, once you shoot hers few times yourself.
windy

For a ceterfire, maybe an NEF handi rifle.
Maybe a .223, the win 64 grn bullet (or deer season xp) factory load will do the trick on deer if the range is close enough for a good shot.
I have a whole pile of seconds,stocks for the handi rifle. You could cut and whittle one down to fit her now, or I can send you two or three as she grows.

I think the biggest mistake with young dads is to start the child out with a scope..Allow them to learn to shoot iron sights to start with, they can go to a scope at anytime...Something I did growing up in a hunting family and all my siblings up to and including great grand kids have done..Start with a 22, and I hunted with a 25-35 Win carbine for deer and elk in my youth, got close and made the shot, it worked as well as my .338 does today under those circumstances..A 222 or 223 is a fine deer rifle is used properly and from a blind.

Great suggestions from everyone. I would add one more. Let her pick what she likes (within reason).

Safe shooting

I started my young ones off with a 17HMR. They are good shots now and it seemed to work fine.
No recoil and very accurate.

All good suggestions. Thanks.

Looks like this is not available in the shorter stock configuration anymore. But a low recoil deer capable round.
https://ruger.com/products/ame...specSheets/6968.html

Consiuder these three:

1) 22 RimFire in bolt action
2) 223 Rem in bolt action
3) 6.5 Grendel in bolt action.

Of the three the one that can be skipped is the .223 if the primary goal is hunting medium game.

My kids did a lot of 22LR before moving to centerfire.

I got a Weatherby youth model in 7mm-08, and for the first few years each kid was hunting I loaded it down to about 7-30 Waters velocity. Wouldn't let them shoot beyond 200yds anyway, so it was fine. With 140gr bullets, that thing is a killer.

Also, I got a mount that goes on my tripod. It's called Triclawps. Clamps the rifle stock, with my big spotting scope tripod it added some weight to reduce muzzle jump down to almost nothing. Only downside, I had to carry the rifle and tripod when they were small!

My oldest two are 17 (girl) and 15 (boy), and have moved on to full power 6mm, 308 and 270. My youngest girl is 11, still using the 7-08 with reduced loads.

Good luck! Hope she has a blast & really gets into shooting!!

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I think the biggest mistake with young dads is to start the child out with a scope..Allow them to learn to shoot iron sights to start with, they can go to a scope at anytime...Something I did growing up in a hunting family and all my siblings up to and including great grand kids have done..Start with a 22, and I hunted with a 25-35 Win carbine for deer and elk in my youth, got close and made the shot, it worked as well as my .338 does today under those circumstances..A 222 or 223 is a fine deer rifle is used properly and from a blind.

I agree that everyone should learn to shoot with iron sights before moving to a scope. In my opinion it gives the shooter a better feel that can be carried onto any type of sight.

quote:

Originally posted by ElCaballero:

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I think the biggest mistake with young dads is to start the child out with a scope..Allow them to learn to shoot iron sights to start with, they can go to a scope at anytime...Something I did growing up in a hunting family and all my siblings up to and including great grand kids have done..Start with a 22, and I hunted with a 25-35 Win carbine for deer and elk in my youth, got close and made the shot, it worked as well as my .338 does today under those circumstances..A 222 or 223 is a fine deer rifle is used properly and from a blind.

I agree that everyone should learn to shoot with iron sights before moving to a scope. In my opinion it gives the shooter a better feel that can be carried onto any type of sight.

Yup....starting a youngster with a scope can be a disadvantage tothe youngster. Learning the handling (safety) carrying. and other workings actually come before accurate shooting. Start the kids with the irons that are furnished with the gun.....assuming they did come with irons.

I happened to shoot a .224 Valkyrie in a savage MSR a few days ago. With the muzzle break it was very pleasant to shoot.

If you're looking for a centerfire cartridge that is capable of taking deer sized game then take a look at the CZ 527 in the 6.5 Grendel. Howa also makes a mini action in the same caliber and I heard Ruger also make an American Ranch rifle in the same.
Hornady makes some very good ammo for fairly cheap and several other manufactures also produce ammo for it.

quote:

For rifle shooting prone is the only way to start em...

A bench and good bags work well also.

My girls started with .22s, and for deer, a reduced load 120gr 7mm-08

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I think the biggest mistake with young dads is to start the child out with a scope..Allow them to learn to shoot iron sights to start with, they can go to a scope at anytime...Something I did growing up in a hunting family and all my siblings up to and including great grand kids have done..Start with a 22, and I hunted with a 25-35 Win carbine for deer and elk in my youth, got close and made the shot, it worked as well as my .338 does today under those circumstances..A 222 or 223 is a fine deer rifle is used properly and from a blind.

Ray, i do agree with your thoughts on starting kids with open sight, however many children I have worked with out of the current generation are interested in instant gratifacation and don't want to learn to use sights. Let me use the scope and shoot nice groups instantly......FS