Sons first deer rifle?

Question

my 12 year old son is getting revved up for his first deer hunt this november, i'm looking for ideas of what would be a good gun to buy him. he's not a big kid, so i kinda need a gun that won't remove his shoulder. any suggestions would be appreciated!

Answer 1

I'm with saw629,

.308 as its only a necked up .243

30-30 renound as a soft on the shoulder rifle.

30-06 probably as big as you would want to go.

If he wants to start taking the harden up pills .300magnum LOL Jokes of course.

Crikey, 12 and a minimum of 30 cal its a tough call but he will be fine, he needs to spend some time at the range getting used to the unit first too, but you probably already knew that.

Good luck, can't wait to take my boy hunting. Jelous Witty.

Answer 2

.243 in savage or rem 700 would be a great beginner rifle. I started out on one as did many people did.

Answer 3

My first deer rifle was a Winchester .30-30, and my son's first was a .243. Either one is a good choice. The .30-30 is really good for shorter shots (up to 150 yards) and can blast through brushy areas with fat, heavy bullets. The .243 is lighter, but flies better for longer distances.  

Answer 4

marlin 30-30 or a marlin 35 rem both are great rounds for deer the 35 rem is a bit biger but a better brush gun and nobody has those so he'll be cooler when he talks to his buddies about it the 30-30 is in my opinon one of the best rounds ever made it was my first deer rifle and is to this day my first pick from the cabinet ive got 308, 30-06, 35 rem, 7mm and many others but i always go for the ole trusty 30-30, if you decide on the 35 be sure its a 35 remington not a 35 weelan there is a big difference  

Answer 5

.30 Caliber huh?..... Normally I would suggest a rifle in .243 but that's out of the question.....

3 Rifles come to mind....

A Marlin Lever Action chambered in 30/30....

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/C...

If you are allowed to use a semi-auto then consider a Ruger Mini 30.... Its no tack driver but for deer it gives excellent results... The 7.62X39MM cartridge it uses has the required 1000 foot pounds of force at 150 yards for white tail deer.... There seem to be folks out there that either love these rifles or hate them.. Pay no mind to the haters... I have successfully taken deer with a Mini 30... The recoil is minimal...

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/F...

http://www.chuckhawks.com/ruger_mini-30....

Answer 6

well a 30-30 is the weakest 30 caliber cartridge on the market and it could down a deer out to about 80 yards instantly if you put a perfect shot on him and i would say as a rule of thumb and a future chart if he is under 5 ft. and/or less than 110 lbs no more than a 270 or 30-30 if he is over 5 ft. and/or more than 130 lbs no more than a 338 federal 30-06  

Answer 7

30/06 they have these new low impact bullets that i use and i am a girl so yeah

or 270 is alson a nice rifle

hops that helpz  

Answer 8

I think a 30/30 would be a good choice, not to much of a kick back, I just think it's a good gun.

I also like 45/70 but that has a pretty big kick back, you could kill a big animal with that lol.

Hey if he's got really good aim he could use a 22 rifle, my husband used one once to shoot a deer and got him right in the ear, he dropped immediately!

Good luck!

Answer 9

Probably the best gun for him would be something in a .243 caliber.  They have enough punch to take a deer but not too much punch to the shoulder.  It is the caliber that many people select for their wife or kids for their first deer rifle.  You might think about a Savage Arms rifle.  They make one of the most accurate out of the box rifles available and they do it at a very reasonable price.  Scope it with one of Cabela's Pine Ridge scopes which are good scopes at a reasonable price and you will have a really nice rifle that you may choose to take to the woods when your son is not using it.

Answer 10

If I am understanding you correctly, you must have a .30 cal or larger.  So the obvious answer of .243 is out.

I would get him a .30-30 Marlin or Winchester lever action.  They are simple in design, accurate, and ammunition is readily available almost everywhere.  The recoil is minimal and many 12 year old kids got their start with one.

That caliber restriction law is a bummer.  Come down to Missouri, we'll let you use a .22 centerfire.

You could also look into a .308 bolt-action.  I have used both the .30-30 and the .308, and find that the recoil is close to the same.

If he holds the rifle properly and maintains proper shooting form, he will be OK.

Good luck.

Answer 11

  A bazzoka?   No id say a .270 makes a great all around caliber and doesnt have a lot of kick back even for a 12 yr old its manageble.  Plus its a caliber he can use for years to come and is a pretty decent round for brush or longer distances too.  A ,270 should qualify since its a necked down 30/06 too.

Answer 12

Depending on the caliber of your first rifle thats what I would give him. Sort of like a hand me down tradition thing goin on. Then he can learn to love it just the same as you. Once he moves on he can give it to his son.

Answer 13

The .308 Winchester would be my first thought

The  .30-30 Winchester would be second and

The .30-.06 would be the best but it has a lot of recoil for age 12  

Answer 14

That's about the age I got my first "deer" rifle...a Remington 700 in .243 Win. A most excellent rifle in a most excellent cartridge. Use the 100 grain slug.

Answer 15

" ok, shoulda explained about minnesota laws too. for deer hunting a rifle must be at least 30 cal. so no 22's 223's stuff like that "

I don't know where your getting your information from, according to the online version of the 2008 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations Handbook,

" LEGAL FIREARMS FOR BIG GAME

• It is at least .220 caliber and has center fire ignition;  "

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/h...

I suggest you read through this before you take your son out, and teach him inaccurate information.

Answer 16

I don't agree with the former answer by any means. A dear rifle is any one of legal caliber in your state he can shoot well and kill with the perfect shot palcement everytime. I'm a marine and with open sights have to qualify at 500 yards open sights on M16A2, 5.56 or a really hot .223, there close to identical but the 5.56mm is slightly higher loade and if shot in a .223 could blow up. A .223 or any thing lager is more then cable to kill a deer. Deer can be killed with .22's and poachers take them evry year with that caliber under 75 yards. I personally recomend a Levergun in 30-30 if your hunting in thick brush, kicks hardly at all and weighs in maybe 7 pounds so on the light side. Every one makes youth model rifles in bolt action these days, I would say in a bolt action or single shot or repeater go at least with the .22-250, as this is almost 3,500 or better feet per second and will kill a dear clean out to 200 yards. I love the .243 for deer and the .30-06 for evrything esle on this continent, otherwise I'd say go at least with a .470 NE.  But dangerous game is mainly Africa so your good there. 15 dollars a shell isn't cheep anyway. A .308, 25-06, .300 Savage, 308 Marlin, .224, .257 Roberts, .260 Remington, 6mm, 6.5mm, .270, .280, 30-06 are all calibers worth looking into to start, but action depends on the bugdet and his preference but repeaters hold there value so stay away from single shots other the the TC encore as they are highly desireable. Bring him with you to the local gun club and range let him try differnet things and see if he can find a cailber he likes, a 20 ga slug gun with thick recoil pad in semi aout or pump my be worth investing in with a 2-7 variable shotgun scope. Marlin, Remington Mossberg, and Benell I'd say are the most Reasonable, the semi auto are going to be twice as much as a pump so keep that in mind. Slug guns have came a  long way in the last 15 years. There is some serious poer there thesedays, plus if you buy a shotgun comboyou will have two weapons for him, one for deer/ large game and bird hunting/skeet if you enjoy it. I love the 12 ga and use mine when ever possible, or I use a .357 Magnum but thats me for deer I don't own a rifle do to they are out of my budget for what I want, however a used gun maybe right up his alley for the price, just larn what to look for, the bore and action finish etc are all important. me even factory rifles hav crapy stock to gun fit to me. But I perfer custom qualties in a rifle and I'm still saving for a  Remington 700 custom left hand rifle in .30-06. Around 2500 for what I want hope this helps.

CD    

Answer 17

i honestly think if you're hunting in Minnesota, and you need a good distance rifle, a  .22-250 would be perfect. i'm 30 years old and i still hunt with mine, and i'm constantly shooting over 200 yards and it's consistent.

the bullet stays flat, it's fast, and you can hand load them dirt cheap!

it cracks kinda loud, but that's because of the extreme velocity, you're looking at close to 4,000 feet per second.

but, as for recoil, i believe that it's perfect. Someone mentioned a 30-30, for a boy 12 years old, that's a little much, my 17 year old cousin was scared stupid when he shot my old Winchester Model 94, and he promised he'll never shoot it again.

if a .22-250 is hard to find in your area, check out a .223, the .243, or if you really want something dead accurate and smokin' fast, the .220 Swift.

Answer 18

Thirty caliber for deer? What a bizarre rule! Until I got to that I was going to recommend 7mm08. I guess 308 it is, under the circumstances.

Actual recoil is one thing. Felt recoil is another. The best way to minimize felt recoil is for him to use proper technique, on a rifle with a stock that fits. That means a short LOP for a little guy. Something along the lines of the little Remington Model 7 Youth would probably be just about right. If you go with 308, I'd suggest finding a good premium 150 grain bullet. That's as light a bullet as you want in 30 caliber, and it'll need to be a premium bullet like Nosler Partitions or more modern ones because your northern bucks are bigger than our southern ones, so that SD of only .226 may be an issue in the less expensive bullets.

Answer 19

M60 would do quite nicely.

Answer 20

i would of said things along the lines of a .243, 7mm-08, 25-06, but u could just go with a .270, 30\30, .308 anything along the lines of those calibers would do you just fine!

Answer 21

log on to realtree.con

they talk about a .260 cal that seems pretty interesting but also a .243 is a good gun it takes a good shot placement as well

Answer 22

First, Minnesota doesn't require a 30 cal, but if they did, .308 would be your best bet, it is a short action, which = shorter rifle. You want the gun to fit him well for comfortable, and accurate shooting. .243 is legal in your state, but it is not an adequate cartridge for big northern whitetails. The 6mm's are better suited to antelope, and pacific coast blacktails. If you go below .30 cal, a cartidge that uses at least a 6.5mm bullet will serve you much better, these would include 7mm-08, and .257 roberts.

As far as rifles go, the Savage 110 is an excellent, accurate, inexpensive rifle. A Remington 700, Winchester model 70, or Browning A-bolt would all be good, slightly pricier options. The Rem and Win come in youth models, and the Browning comes in a 'microhunter' model, which all have slightly shorter stocks. The best way to determine which gun is right for him is to go to a gun shop with a good selection and have him throw several rifles up to his shoulder to see what fits. If you don't want to spend the money for a new gun, used .308's aren't that hard to find, and any gunsmith can measure him and saw an inch or 2 off of the stock, probably for less than $20. If you go that route, save the piece that is removed and when he gets older, it can be put back on the rifle with dowels and wood glue.