Cartridge for youth hunter

[Silent Sam]

Well I won't make a caliber suggestion as you have a lot of good ones already other than to say the Bob has been "dying" for about 60 yrs. I went through the same process with my son a few years ago and this is what I have learned. Recoil level is important but wasn't THE most important thing. Fit and proper technique matter more as you can look at recoil energy #s but you can't calculate perceived recoil for anyone but yourself, especially so with kids. I did insist he always wear double hearing protection as I believe muzzle report and blast can have a big impact on the uninitiated and impressionable. I would add it should be easy to carry. I also took into account the rambunctious nature of my son. He had a decided tendency to prove to his dad that he could do things that I recommended he should avoid if possible. I figured that whatever he was carrying would be dropped and banged around and possibly arrive in a cold winter stream at some point before he figured things out for himself. As it turned out I my knowledge of my son held true and he and his rifle ended up soaked. He not only learned how cold a winter stream can be, he also learned how cold it is when you get out. Once I got him back where it was warm and dry he also seems to have learned how humiliating it can be sitting around in someone's else's house naked, wrapped in towels tearing down his rifle and putting it back together while his brother continuously chastised him as only a brother can do. I'm also sure his brother figured out he wouldn't want to be in a position where the roles were reversed. You may not have that problem with your daughter. Having said all that the rifle was an inexpensive plastic stocked blue Savage in 243 that required some detailed care to keep signs of corrosion at bay, especially after being submerged. Another valuable lesson he learned well. He still has that rifle and understands now why he wasn't carrying an heirloom piece. He'll likely end up with whatever rifles he wants out of dad's collection when that time comes. I don't know what rifle he will value the most as he gets older. That's for him to figure out I guess. More important than the tools are the memories. Just like fishing, if you don't catch anything it quickly loses its appeal to young ones. Good luck to you and your daughter.

 

[bdbrown66]

Sorry, don't mean to harp on it, but I'm a big proponent of this...

This young lady is my daughter Megan. The rifle is a Model 70 (pic isn't reversed, she's left-handed) in 7mmWSM. Yep, a 7 Wizzum. I load her ammo with 40.0gr H4895 and a 120BT, and there's the result from 2015's rifle season opening day.

Congrats to your daughter, sir. Where were you hunting in PA? My in-laws live in the Bedford-Altoona area.

Brian

 

[SJB358]

Great picture Tom.

Another big proponent of H4895 for youth hunting loads.

I've used them for the 270, 7x57, 243, 308, and 6.5x55 so far. I don't feel restricted to the bullets they list either. I just do the math for the 60% rule and work from there.

With H or IMR 4895 there isn't a big reason to get a small cartridge for the new hunter. Matter of fact I have been more apt to recommend a 270 Win since it is loaded more like a mild 7-08 and has the ability to be loaded full tilt once the hunter grows into it.

Same could easily be done for a 7mm Rem Mag or similar such as what Tom did with his daughter's WSM.

All of the loads have been very accurate with very little fiddling. I would advise a chrono as Hodgdons speeds they have advertised weren't in line with what I saw on a couple of cartridges.

This is what the Swede looked like with 34 grains of H4895 at 100. Speed was a little over 2500.



This is 49 grains of 7828SSC with the 140 AB at a little over 2700 at 100.



Both loads shoot pretty close to one another for 200 and under hunting. I plan on fiddling with the 125's and 140's a little more when I've got free time but those were both first attempts. Hard to beat an accurate Swede.

Oh and the recoil with the 125's felt very 243'ish and I'd guess a 125 PT at 2500 would put any whitetail down very nice.

 

[truck driver]

Wish I could load a video here of my grandson shooting the 35Whelen AI you would all get a big laugh out of it but it's even too big for my email and can't get it from the phone to the computer.
We were at the range and I had him shooting a 22lr at swinging targets while I tested some 225gr loads in the 35/AI there was a new tin roof on the range making the report of the rifle loader than normal and the MUZZLE BLAST got his attention since it spooked him when he was trying to shoot. Several sessions later he asked if he could shoot it and I said sure but I told him it would kick him pretty hard and made him dry fire it several times so he knew what the trigger felt like so it wouldn't go off when he wasn't expecting it to and told him to stay back off the scope. He's a 140lb 16 year old jock and is pretty cocky and wanted to prove he could do it. I gave him a shell and he loaded it and settled in behind the rifle after I was sure he wasn't going to get nailed by the scope I stepped behind him so it wouldn't knock him over and it's a good thing I did. When he touched it off he bounced off my chest saving him from hitting the ground backwards but he held on to the rifle and was ready to do it again after I checked him out to make sure it hadn't hurt him and the pachmyer had done it's job saving his shoulder. His first words was WOW I wasn't expecting it to PUSH me around like that. He has since shot my 7mm mag and my 35 Whelen which he prefers over the 35/AI since it doesn't jump around some much. I let him fire form some AI brass for me which was loaded lighter than the hunting loads which he liked better also. Shooting from a bench can be brutal so I would watch how the recoil affected the shooter and change his or her's position accordingly since you can't brace yourself or use other muscles for the on coming impact of recoil.
Muzzle blast will cause a flinch quicker than recoil which I learned the hard way with a muzzle brake on a TC Contender in 7MM Waters. Braked it to control the muzzle flip and developed a flinch and stopped shooting it since it was the only fire arm I own I flinched with, sound can and will cause a flinch more so than recoil unless it is really bad and causes pain.

 

[Polaris]

Another useful powder for dialed back loads is IMR 4064. I shoot a 6.5x55 M96 mauser, and a few different Swiss rifles in 7.5x55 for CMP matches and occasionally 300m high power on reduced or international targets. These rifles do not have elevation adjustable sights, and the military ramps start at 300m and are calibrated for full-house high BC loads, so to bring them down to 200 yard zero I've had to drop back to book starting loads or below. Due to the great powder "shortage," 4064 was what I settled on for my workhorse due to consistent availability. I've gotten match grade accuracy in both of these rounds with 123 and 140 grain bullets in the 6.5 and 155s in the 7,5 mm at reduced velocity levels. Ditto in the M1Garand with loads near book "starting" loads with 150, 155 and 168 gr bullets which are in the .300Savage range velocity wise.

These are heavy rifles so recoil reduction is hard to quantify. A better example is my wife's .308 Savage. In that rifle I started her (she was completely new to high powered rifles) at the listed start load (Hornady) with 150 grain bullets (approximately 30-30 speed) and the recoil was quite mild with good accuracy.

 

[Al in SC]

As most of you know Lapua does make 260 brass. I have 350 pieces and that should last me as long as I can shoot.

 

[Dwh7271]

Late to the party.
If you do go the Savage route, you can pick up a 12.5" length of pull stock here
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/ad/1050720.htm
No financial interest.
The price is decent and with the 110 line probably just a bolt in and go.
I'll weigh in another thought for the Savages. If in the future you decide on a "need" for a different cartridge, changing barrels with the right tools is about a 15 minute job all in. Just as long as the bolt head is compatible with the new cartridge, go gauge and barrel nut wrench and you can swap easy peasy.