Rifle for my daughter

UrbanHunter

I got my 14 y/o daughter to take the Hunter Safety Course and would like to register us for one of the Youth Hunts. What size rifle/shotugn should I expect my daughter to be able to handle? I've had her at the range shooting pistols and 5.56 and she did ok. We've been practicing with Ruger 10/22 .22 but would like find her something for Deer/Hog. She's athletic and tall for her age.

FloridaOD

Vast subject.
Maybe just go for standard 30/30, 30-06 with “ low recoil “ ammo.
Lever action, bolt action..... single shot.
Lightweight single shot..... or Ruger No.1, depending on budget.
I know a woman hunter that most likes a Ruger .44 bolt action carbine.
Yep, many choices.

Turner River Terror

What's wrong with an AR..?
Light weight , Short and highly maneuverable , Multi Calibers , Adjustable as she grows older and bigger.
What's not to love.
I bought one and never really used it , Now that I started  2 years ago it 's my Primary Rifle You'll have to pry it from my Cold , dead Fingers.
6.8 SPC...270 or so.

Ruff One

Youth model. Caliber 7mm 08. 140 grain bullet. Will handle any game she will run across. Recoil very modest. A rifle she will enjoy shooting. Not one she will regret everytime she pulls the trigger.

Florida Bullfrog

.243 with a managed recoil load is hard to beat for a young shooter. Or even a grown one. If you can find ammo...

harbison

Suggest starting her out with a load she can stay with, .308. 

OGBOHICA

just bought my 12 yr old a savage axis 308 and its really a nice rifle under 500 w a scope

Florida Bullfrog

Just remember the ammo shortage is no joke and isn’t likely to get better for many months to come. You’ll have to taylor your choice to what you can find to shoot. 

louis

1st question I would ask are you hunting in Fl.  If so 243 100grn bullet will serve you well.  I hunt with 243 and 7mm-08.  I have taken a multitude of deer and hogs in Fl and Ga.  I guess long and short of what I am getting at is both of these will serve you well and both ARE shoulder friendly I hate recoil if the rifle is not fun you will not practice with it meaning greater possibility of poor shot placement.  My suggestion if you have some friends with various calibers let her try a few different ones and see which one she is comfortable with.  Louis

josh_scott84

Savage Axis in 308 is a good affordable rifle, drives tacks, and generally not hard to find ammo.

OGBOHICA

Have you looked for .308 lately? Or any ammo for that matter. You gotta look hard

josh_scott84

Was just speaking in general terms. Not saying it can be found easily right now.

OGBOHICA

i hear ya

Missed

What's your future plans?  Gonna go out west?  Just hunting the swamps of FL?

I just got a 350 Legend Ruger w 16 inch barrel - nice little gun.  Less recoil than 243, was shooting an 8 inch plate at 225 yds after about 8 shots to sight in scope out to 225.  Its not a long range gun - have worked up a decent soft alloy, soft point bullet at 2,450 fps and am ready to go kill a deer to see how the new bullet works.  I plan onusing it out to 250 yards.  Gun tosses 150-180 gr .355 cal bullets and will be death on deer and pigs and whatever else you put a hole in.

Now, if you are gonna do some fancy western hunts and need 300-400 yard capacities on antelope and deer sized game - 243, 7mm-08, 6.5 CM are the most popular.  Elk sized game, I'd suggest a 308 - not that the 243, 7mm-08, and 6.5 CM can't/won't kill elk, it's just better to have a heavier bullet and the 308 can toss a premium heavier bullet better than the smaller calibers.

H20dad

People living in the past, when we could pick the guns and ammo of our choosing. 

This is like a thread in March of this year asking how many days before the corona lockdowns end. 

Find ammo then buy the gun that fits it. And you’d better buy a lifetime supply of said ammo if you can find it, because the government is about to end our past freedoms permanently. 

RobertR

A 20 gauge shot gun might be a good choice for birds. 7-08 is a popular choice for deer and hogs with the guys I know in Georgia and Florida. The 350 Legend is newer but a real good choice for people who hunt 250 plus pound bucks in those states that require a straight wall cartridge. I hear the recoil from the 350 is pretty mild. A couple of guys in my Hunt Club like the 6.5 Creedmoor.  I just bought every box of rifle ammo the Local wal*mart had on their shelf... They only had a single box of 450 Bushmaster, I have a AR style rifle in 450 BM so I went ahead and bought the box... The Clerk thanked me saying he was tired of customers asking "what caliber is that box of bullets?"  

mossyhorn9

7mm-08 or 6.5 creedmor

Turner River Terror

416 Rigby...You can never have Enough Gun.
I suggest a Holland Side by Side . If it's good enough for the Beast of Kilimanjaro..it's good enough for her.

jdipietro

I agree with Ruff One and BullFrog, 7mm-08 or .243. Especially if you're going to be staying in Florida. Low recoil with high muzzle velocity is a great way to go. I love my .308 and the recoil is nothing to me and there's nothing wrong with an AR platform. My lever action, however, has been known to bruise a shoulder.

FloridaOD

louis said:

1st question I would ask are you hunting in Fl.  If so 243 100grn bullet will serve you well.  I hunt with 243 and 7mm-08.  I have taken a multitude of deer and hogs in Fl and Ga.  I guess long and short of what I am getting at is both of these will serve you well and both ARE shoulder friendly I hate recoil if the rifle is not fun you will not practice with it meaning greater possibility of poor shot placement.  My suggestion if you have some friends with various calibers let her try a few different ones and see which one she is comfortable with.  Louis

Excellent observation, worth repeating.

FloridaOD

Remington 7/08
I would like that rifle.

Maybe consider also Ruger No.1

pottydoc

The recoil, and ballistics from 7/08, 308, 6.5 Creedmore, and 260 REM are pretty much the same. Find her a nice compact bolt action in any one of those, or most any of the others mentioned and set her up with that. The AR is a good choice, also, but personally, I would want a kid shooting something with a bullet bigger than 55 grains or so. 

joelunchbucket

25-06 is another good one to consider. Flat shooting and the recoil is shoulder friendly. 

UrbanHunter

thanks for all suggestions. i figured anything I get now I will be paying a premium for, especially the ammo. We will be hunting in Florida and Georgia with it. I was hoping to pick up a 20 gauge shotgun for her also, something she can use for everything else besides deer/hog. There is plenty of ammo on GunBroker, just gotta pay the premiums...

Sixth Generation

Go with a .243 and shoot 100 grain bullets.  You can still order ammunition directly from Federal.  I just received 2 boxes of 100 grain Sierra boattail Federal Premium.  The .243 is deadly to 300 yards and sighted in at 200 yards is only 1.6" high at 100 and 4" low at 300.  That is all you need for deer in Florida or Georgia.  I also have a .308.  There is more recoil.  The wife and my 15 year old daughter always take the .243.  I have been shooting it a lot as well.

Pinman

Im gonna go on a tangent and say you might want to borrow a rifle for the hunt if you know someone who would lend you one.  Both my sons shot their first Deer with my brothers .270 while on the Youth Hunts. I think they were both 15 YO. Will your Daughter stick with Deer hunting afterwards? 

2times

I gave my son a 16" AR carbine in 300 BLK when he was 12 y/o and then a Remington model 7 in .243 Winchester a year later.  He prefers the 300 BLK AR for most hog and deer hunts we do.  Both rifles are topped with Weaver 2-7X32 scopes.  

Ruff One

I don't want to be a critic of the .243, but I will just relate a true story. I hunted with a .243 for a long time until I shoot a nice buck in Ga. Bullet was on the shoulder. 100 grain. It explodeed on the shoulder with no penetration. Put that rifle away and went back to my 30-6. If you use that caliber, shot placement is the upmost importance.

Turner River Terror

243 is Under gunned.. 5'56 is marginal. 

OGBOHICA

buy an axis 308 for less than 500.00 with a scope and be done with it

Missed

Ruff One said:

I don't want to be a critic of the .243, but I will just relate a true story. I hunted with a .243 for a long time until I shoot a nice buck in Ga. Bullet was on the shoulder. 100 grain. It exploded on the shoulder with no penetration. Put that rifle away and went back to my 30-6. If you use that caliber, shot placement is the upmost importance.

I had a similar experience in 2019 on a mule deer buck except it went thru the first shoulder at 220 yards.  Second shot thru lungs dropped him.  Was close to property boundary. 

Just another example of what lightly constructed little bullets can't do - either use better bullets or bigger ones.

Turner River Terror said:

243 is Under gunned.. 5'56 is marginal. 

I don't see .243 as being less gun than .223/5.56.  Neither of em are really that good for deer.