What is a good whitetail hunting rifle for a 12yr old small boy for his first hunt?

Question

My son is fairly small for his age. We hunt in tree stands in fairly open woods. Shots would be 150 yards, max. My Marlin 30-30 has a little too much kick for him right now. I'm looking for something that's a good stop-gap until he gets bigger. A light recoil that can still drop a whitetail at 100-150 yards. Does a 243 have enough to effeciently drop a deer?

Answer 1

Excellent answer by akluis.

Choose his answer.

McCain/Sarah Palin '08

Answer 2

I got my son a Marlin 30-30 and it works for him, he has shot it several times, he is great at target shooting but the real test is come deer season wish me luck and him too, he always says here mom you shoot! Man I wish he would shoot! You know what I mean?!*

Answer 3

Check out the Ruger M77 in .260 Remington. Not much more kick than a .243, but slightly more powerful, with the larger .264'' bullet.  

Answer 4

223 is good, or a 7.62 x 39 in a bolt action would work.

Answer 5

The .243 would be a perfect choice....

Consider the Mossberg 100-ATR.... It has an adjustable stock for a hunter of smaller stature....

http://www.mossberg.com/images/Mossberg_...

Heres the .243 cartridge guide... This page is geared more towards target shooters but there is a section concerning hunting bullets....

http://www.6mmbr.com/243Win.html

Answer 6

how bout a 7mm-08?

kicks just like a .243 but has a little more killing power. ammo is a touch more money but will provide more success.

it will take deer easily to 200 yards if the kid shoots well.

Answer 7

Two great choices are the 6mm or 243.*

Answer 8

I am a long time NRA Junior rifle and pistol instructor - and a certified Alaskan hunter safety instructor.

You already hit it right - 243 Win is probably the best - and several of the big rifle companies make a Youth model.  The only down side to this is he will out grow the Youth rifle about the time he becomes really good with it.  It's a good option.

See how a Ruger 77 in 243 fits him.  Thing with the Ruger 77 - there are tons and tons of inexpensive after market stocks, and, people selling used stocks on the internet.  You could buy the rifle with a nice stock, replace it with a used one that is cut down to his size, and when he grows out of the modified stock, he can move right into the original stock.  

There are also companies that make reduced power loads - and 243 was one of the calibers it is available in last time I checked - if you can't find it, you can order it from your gunshop or online from Midwayusa.com if the stuff is still made.

Me, personally - I was 'stuck' on an Alaskan Island out on the Aleutian Chain for almost a year with 2,000 rds of 243, a nice stainless 77, and a 2,000 yard condemed runway as my rifle range.  When I moved to Kodiak I took a Sitka Blacktail deer at 635 yards with my family next to me.  Hit it in the back of the head and it exited the nose.  

For a normal good shooter - you can easily be accurate with a 243 on paper to 500 yards and it has plenty of power to complete a quartering shot at 350-400 yards - nice broadside shot to 500 with the right scope.  With the reduced power ammunition - you wouldn't want to push it past 400 for any reason.

And please - go stainless.  Kids can be hard on a rifle - and a scratch on a stainless rifle will usually come out with a green art ereaser.

Hope this helps.  

Answer 9

the 243 absolutely has enough energy to drop a deer.  Also, remember he probably needs a stock to match the length of his arms.  Consider getting a wooden stock, removing the buttpad and cutting it down a bit.  Remember, part of the equation for kick is how much the gun weighs.  Take this opportunity to drill a pair of 1 inch holes about 3-5 inches into the stock and fill with very fine lead shot, or even molten lead, then replace it with a new good quality recoil pad.  This weight might also help him balance a long barrel better.

Another round to consider which is a little bit harder to scare up a rifle in is 250 savage.  It is a little softer yet than the 243

The 243 is probably a better long range gun than the 30-30 anyways, I'd consider sacrificing the stock as a stopgap, but later as he ages get a new stock and put a nice scope on it and it will be a gun he can use for life...or maybe when he gets a steady girlfriend she can use it.

depending on where you are, a 223 may even be appropraite and legal.

Answer 10

G'day mate i come back from a deer hunt with a mate of mine and his 13 year old son and he is short for his age also.His son uses a 243 wssm and handle's it very very well.He did shoot a fallow deer from about 250 yards and a very well placed shot also.The only thing is the 243 is not a good bench gun because the barrel life is about 3000 round before you start to see a change in accuracy.A bench shooter will burn out that barrel in a week. But to a hunter it can still hit a vital area

and drop a deer or pig.243 wssm to a hunter will last about 4000 rounds maybe a little bit more before he would change it.cheers mate

Answer 11

Just toss'n out an idea here that has not been said, how bout one of them little Rugar 357 or 44 mag in a carbine. I have shot the 44 and it don't kick very much.

If he is a good shot one of the youth models in 223 will work if legal in your area/state. For the most part what every one else had good ideas too.

Oh and for the earlier post on here, I am 30 and still have not out grown the 243 I bought when I was 13, still use it. My brother has never lost a deer with his 22-250 and my truck gun for around the farm use is a mini 14 and it will roll a deer too.

Answer 12

The .243 is a good starter gun, but the shot placement needs to be right on to get a clean kill with that caliber, and he will eventually outgrow the .243 gun.  You might want to try him out with a .270 - perhaps shooting a 130-grain round... My son is eight and shoots my "T/C Encore" .270 comfortably.  Also, the .270 is a caliber that can easily handle almost any game here in the US.

Answer 13

.243 will drop them and its perfect for the kid, when i was lil my dad let me used a .223 single shot on my first hunt and i killed a 8 point right were he was standing.   or use a .270  i used that on my 3rd hunt

Answer 14

Actually the .30-30 round doesn't produce more than 11 lbs. of felt recoil which is light when you start looking at how much other popular calibers recoil.  Now the .243 Winchester is considered the minimum deer caliber.  With the 100 grain bullets you're looking at about 9 lbs. of felt recoil  I wouldn't use anything lighter than a 90 to 100 grain bullet for hunting deer in this caliber but realistically that's gonna be as good as it gets. Consider getting him  a shoulder pad and let him get plenty of shooting practice in before deer season.  The .243 with 100 to 105 grain bullets will drop a deer efficiently with a well-placed neck or shoulder shot.  Don't load anything lighter than 90 grain bullets in a .243 Winchester when hunting deer.  Please don't use sub-calibers when hunting deer.  Anything smaller than a .243 cannot consistently, humanely take deer-size game.

Happy hunting.

H

Answer 15

Akluis provided the best advice. Another option is a Winchester in .357 as a lever action. Kids and ladies have been using mine for many moons to hunt deer.

150 is stretching it though.