Son's first rifle - what caliber? (Page 2 of 2)
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I'm in the same place. Hes used the old 243 the last couple years successfully but I dont load much in that caliber anymore and last years deer was odd in that it didnt bleed at all and made it further than desired on a slightly marginal hit. I load alot of 6.5 now and already deer hunt with it and have two other target 6.5s. Plus I'd like a handy bolt gun threaded for the suppressor. Was looking at the new compact tc compass with a 16" threaded barrel. The ruger looks like it's a shooter. He's 13, 125lbs and 6'. |
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Originally Posted By bendigo78: I'm in the same place. Hes used the old 243 the last couple years successfully but I dont load much in that caliber anymore and last years deer was odd in that it didnt bleed at all and made it further than desired on a slightly marginal hit. I load alot of 6.5 now and already deer hunt with it and have two other target 6.5s. Plus I'd like a handy bolt gun threaded for the suppressor. Was looking at the new compact tc compass with a 16" threaded barrel. The ruger looks like it's a shooter. He's 13, 125lbs and 6'. Holy string bean! How's that work out with handling a rifle? Full size must be too heavy, but youth models too short LOP? Recoil beat him up with all the leverage? |
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I give him the shooting sticks and a full size and he does pretty well but yes we did the struggle with weight of any gun that fit him. Handles recoil like he doesn't notice. He's right handed with terrible vision in his right eye so he tries shooting right handed and left eyed. Can't get him to go left handed. Oh and last night he says that the shoes we got him for this year are tight. They're 13's. His soccer shoes from 2 years ago fit me. |
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Originally Posted By bendigo78: I give him the shooting sticks and a full size and he does pretty well but yes we did the struggle with weight of any gun that fit him. Handles recoil like he doesn't notice. He's right handed with terrible vision in his right eye so he tries shooting right handed and left eyed. Can't get him to go left handed. Oh and last night he says that the shoes we got him for this year are tight. They're 13's. His soccer shoes from 2 years ago fit me. Call up Shaq and buy used... We had a guy in my company on Parris Island that wore work boots until 3rd phase. IIRC he was nearly 7ft. They literally didn't have boots big enough in the supply chain. He couldn't really do most rifle drill movements, because the M16 is too short to touch the ground. Interested to hear what you settle on. |
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6.5 something or other. I think its what ever kid should start with. I have a deep prejudice against 6mm. Should not still be with bullets now made, but I still have it. A lot of bullets blew up on contact making hideous flesh wounds. Animals able to go miles but obvious they where suffering. Be in on tracking about 50 wounded animals and it sticks with you. Even today I feel better with 223/5.56 on deer with a good bullet than 6 mm. |
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Originally Posted By penrod72: My son doesn't shoot a ton, and almost never centerfire rifle. His consistency is poor, but the rifle is accurate. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/33704/IMG_20200823_175236217_jpg-1559222.JPG Shots 1 and 2 at 50 yards about 1/2 inch 3rd shot opened that up to about 6 inches. He shot a few groups like that, with a different round as a flier each time. He needs more practice, and i need reloading dies. Hoping to to have a few hundred rounds downrange before youth season starts. IMO this post should put .243 back on the table. It’s a very rewarding round to shoot and much more capable than I think your giving credit. It was the 1,000 yard round of choice (target shooting) for a lot of people for a lot of years. It’s accurate, low recoil, flat trajectory and fun. All those lend to wanting to practice more. Mine is my daughters rifle but I always want to hog it for a bit when I take her shooting. She’s 6’ and 150lbs, not recoil shy. I didn’t get it because she doesn’t like or want to shoot heavy calibers, because I knew she’d have more fun with that round. They take a lot of large mule deer and elk every year. All calibers you listed are gtg but wanted to point that out. |
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Originally Posted By Nicodemus7: IMO this post should put .243 back on the table. It's a very rewarding round to shoot and much more capable than I think your giving credit. It was the 1,000 yard round of choice (target shooting) for a lot of people for a lot of years. It's accurate, low recoil, flat trajectory and fun. All those lend to wanting to practice more. Mine is my daughters rifle but I always want to hog it for a bit when I take her shooting. She's 6' and 150lbs, not recoil shy. I didn't get it because she doesn't like or want to shoot heavy calibers, because I knew she'd have more fun with that round. They take a lot of large mule deer and elk every year. All calibers you listed are gtg but wanted to point that out. 243/6mm has killed a lot of deer, but bigger always buy you more margin of error. With the low recoil of the 6.5CM, I think the 243 could just about be obsolete for that role. |
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Why would a 243 be too light? It isn’t. Shot placement and bullet type trump caliber. Google :Rockslide 77 TMK on Elk. That’s a good read. |
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My son shoots left handed due to a lazy eye so I bought him a Tikka T3 in 300 Win Mag. The only other reasonable option then for a stainless sythetic LH in 300WM was a Savage. I figured it would be the only rifle he would ever need for any north American big game- - yes other calibers may be better but 300WM would work. I had a howitzer type brake put on it and he and I handloaded some reduced power loads when he started shooting. He was around 10 at the time and very large for his age. He's all growed up now and uses the full power loads. |
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Originally Posted By OverScoped: I'd go with 7mm-08, since you already reload that. Honestly, there's not that much difference between 243 7-08 and 308 in terms of their ability to make a clean kill. And you can load it as light or as powerful. My son piled up a bunch of deer with 6mm Remington handloads, before eventually moving to a 7mm Remington for clear cuts. |
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Originally Posted By pite0007: In this order: .308 7mm-08 6.5CM Reasons: ammo availability, cost, popularity, versatility, commonality w/your other firearms. But any will work just fine. How does 7-08 win out with your criteria? Did you weight commonality higher? 6.5 handily wins the the first three criteria and I suppose the fourth could be argued either way. |
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Originally Posted By Joe731: For deer?  Originally Posted By Joe731: Originally Posted By penrod72: 243 is out - I think its too light. For deer? Westerners and field hunters love it, in the eastern woods it suffers in brush. too fast |
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Go into Walmart or whatever mart is local where you hunt. Get whichever one has the most common ammo on the shelf. The experience of being two hours from home, realizing you left your ammo on the kitchen table, and having to buy a couple of boxes on the way, taught me this life lesson. |
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Originally Posted By shotar: Go into Walmart or whatever mart is local where you hunt. Get whichever one has the most common ammo on the shelf. The experience of being two hours from home, realizing you left your ammo on the kitchen table, and having to buy a couple of boxes on the way, taught me this life lesson. A buttstock shell carrier helps alleviate that problem. 
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Originally Posted By Cycolac: A buttstock shell carrier helps alleviate that problem. Oh sure, now you say something. Yesterday My wife asked why I've purchased three hunting specialties cheek pad/ shell carriers over the last year on Amazon. I told her because each rifle gets one before it leaves the house. " Can't you swap them? ". No. |
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I’m in a deer group that is over 50 years old. Most of our young hunters took their first deer with the same Remington 700 in 243 with a Tasco 2x7 scope using 100 grain core loks. I remember some missing but not tracking any distance. We are woods hunters not field hunters. I have seen deer killed with everything from 223 to 7mm and 300 mag and most everything in between. Deer are not bulletproof. |
Son's first rifle - what caliber? (Page 2 of 2)
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