What Deer Rifle For The Grandson?

[roysclockgun]

I had my grandson to the range again today. I started him shooting two years ago. His Dad never hunted, or was a shooter, or was even in the military, so Steven, my grandson had no knowledge of firearms, but he always did like to handle mine. When he was 15, his Mom finally gave me permission to break him in on firearms. Of course, he liked flailing away with my 1911A1, Hi-Power 9mm, and Blackhawk .357Mag. He probably put serious wear on my old Ruger 22 semi-auto pistol. But nothing came close to his romance with the AR15. To give him confidence, I put a 4X scope on the AR and soon had him grouping well at 100 yards. I think that he believed that when I handed him the FN FAL in .308Win., he would feel the recoil of the AR. WRONG! I tried to teach him how to better hold the FN FAL, but the recoil bothered him and rather than introduce flinching into his skills, I laid off the FN FAL. He can shoot the M1 Carbine all day, along with the AR. He fired my M1 Rifle, but kept looking at the AR between mags.
Today, after asking me to take him deer hunting, he asked if the AR was "good to kill deer?" I told him that while legal in most states, I would not recommend the .223 cartridge for deer.
I have been beaming inside, ever since he asked to go hunting. Now, I need to clear that idea with his parents. His Dad is the type who admits to being "scared of guns!" So, nothing is guaranteed on that end.
I want to get him a deer rifle, but since he is already prone to being sensitive, regarding recoil, I need to be careful about what to buy him.
I have his grandma's Howa in 7mm-08 on the way from the distributor. Best plan will be to allow him to help me break in the Howa and see how that goes. Another lister sent me the component list for light loads for the 7mm-08, so I will start both Steven and wife, Storm, off on those loads.
Any other suggestions?
TIA
Steven in DeLand

 

[Ridge_Runner]

new upper for the AR in 6x47? low recoil in a rifle he likes and plenty of power for deer to 250 or so.
RR

 

[JDMAG]

As I posted in an off topic post earlier today, My daughter will start off with a 7-08. she is "petite" and will probably run away at the sound if not the recoil of her first shots on that rifle. I let her shoot a 22 as much as she wants for now along with her BB gun.
My Son ( a much bigger frame) started the samee way, and developed a flinch after shooting a shot gun after a turkey season. it took a lot of 22 shooting to break that. he used a 243 in a remington model 7 youth. Last year at 15 he used his own 300 win mag on antelope in Wyoming.
That 7-08 will be a perfect gun for your Grand son, and from there he will move up at his own pace. but I think you are doing him a good deed by starting him off the right way.
Good luck! and enjoy!

 

[FOTIS]

I was thinking on this one for my daughter

100 ATR® BOLT ACTION RIFLE - BANTAM-SHORT ACTION 7mm-08

 

[jmad_81]

I'm a big fan of the 7-08, for kids, women, or me. A 120 Bt out of it is great deer pills!

Like the looks of that rifle Fotis! Whats the story on it, it looks like a savage style rifle.

 

[JDMAG]

That IS a good looking rifle! I may have to pick up one of those for a couple of other ladies in my world! 8)

 

[cloverleaf]

I tried the 7mm-08 and it was just to much for me. I didnt reload and couldnt find anything but 140's. Yes, I know Im a wimp.... but then I could go back to my 250 Savage. Savage sells one in the American Classic and Weather Warrior series. 75 or 85 grainers are very low recoil. !00 grain BT should work well on deer.
That said, if he likes an AR isnt there a 6.5mm upper? Creedmore I think. There is a Grendel (sp?) too? I know nothing about that one. Fun for you. It is what Grandparents should get to do.... Have fun, whatever you choose! CL

 

[BK]

new upper for the AR in 6x47? low recoil in a rifle he likes and plenty of power for deer to 250 or so.
RR

That's kinda what I was thinking, except one of the 6.5s, or maybe the .30 Remington AR (just stock up on ammo in case Remington screws up another fine cartridge... .260/.280 anyone?).

 

[Larry in SD]

Actually I am in the same boat. My grandson is going to be able to start hunting next year, and another grand daughter the year after that.

To keep the gun reasonable in size and weight I have been strongly considering a 16" Lightweight 6.8SPC Upper Receiver Assembly to use on my Bushmaster Lower Receiver with the 6 Position Collapsable Buttstock so it will be the right length no matter who shoots it. Also been looking at building a 6.5 Grendel, but from everything I read the 6.5 needs a little longer barrel to gain much of an advantage.

The fact that an AR is a semi auto for a new hunter does not concern me as they'll more than likely get one round in the magazine when hunting anyway to start with.

The other option I have been considering is a T/C G2 Contender Rifle in either 7-30 Waters or .30-30 Winchester.

Thankfully I have a while to make my mind up.

Larry

 

[Guy Miner]

A .243 perhaps?

It's only an 85 - 100 grain bullet, very mild recoil and more than enough "power" for deer.

 

[highcotton]

Dad and I settled on a .260 REM for my eight year old son. He is very thinly built, and the recoil has not bothered him a bit. I am loading him 120 gr BT's now. I like the .260 because we can increase to heavier bullet weights as he grows into the rifle.

 

[SJB358]

I probably jumped the gun a little with my son, as he has had a 243 M700 Youth for about 5 or 6 years now. He is 13 currently. I started him out with 85gr bullets, loaded around 3,000FPS and he hasn't ever had many issues with the rifle. I recently added a Limbsaver slip on recoil pad on the youth stock to give him a little extra length of pull. Now, he is shooting 100gr PT at around 2900 and can ring the heck outta the 300 yard targets with ease. I can't see anything wrong with a 243 all the way around. Very versatile cartridge that is well suited to shooting crows and varmints then stepping up to deer and other similar sized stuff.

I think the 7-08/260 with reduced loads with the 120gr BT would be better yet. Just gives you more flexibility as the shooter grows should they ever need more juice for deer or larger animals. I wasn't concerned with that when I bought the rifle, so he got a 243, but if I was smarter, I would have gotten the 7-08/260 to start with.

This is another thought, before the young shooter ever touches the rifle, give it a good trigger job. This is my reasoning, if you hand them a rifle with a heavy, creepy trigger, they are going to be more concerned with pulling that heavy trigger than concentrating on their sight picture. Plus, they are going to shoot better with a good trigger, raising their confidence with the rifle right outta the gates. They still need to master trigger squeeze, but it shouldn't take away from the other fundamentals of shooting. Just my thoughts on it. Scotty

 

[DrMike]

My grandchildren has a 260 Remington and a 257 Roberts for hunting with grandpa. Either will take deer sized game cleanly, but can be loaded up with heavier bullets to permit taking larger game within reasonable distances. They are loaded down to permit them to shoot from the bench without developing a flinch.

 

[JD338]

I would suggest starting him on that 7mm-08 with 120 gr bullets. Getting him his own 7mm-08 would make sense since you will be loading for it.
Other suggestions would be the 257 Roberts with 110 gr AB and 115 gr PT's and the 260 Rem with 120 gr BT or 125 gr PT.

JD338

 

[roysclockgun]

Choosing from three; 260Rem., 257Roberts and 7mm-08, I still come up picking the 7mm-08. Reasons: common ammo sold at big box stores who carry ammo. Utilizes the great flying 7mm bullet.
The other two are only for those of us nuts, who hand load cartridges.

Since my grandson will be 17 in Jan., and I will be 70 in July, should the Lord spare me. He should be around a lot longer than am I. So, unless he goes into hand loading, the 260Rem. and 257Roberts may simply be tomato stakes after I am gone. With the 7mm-08 still enjoying popularity, even among rifle makers, that ammo should be on the shelves for a long time into the future.

243Win.? I killed untold numbers of groundhogs with a 243Win. Model 77 Ruger that I got new in 1968. However, my experience with .243Win. on deer, was not good. Bang/flop if I took him in the neck! Run, run and hide, if I busted his heart in two. Just my personal experience and prejudice. Your mileage may vary! <8^))
Steven in DeLand

 

[DrMike]

Steven,

I can't fault your thinking. The 7mm-08 is an excellent cartridge that will do about anything we ask of it in North America. So, you need to hook him on hand loading! :grin:

 

[SJB358]

Steven,

I can't fault your thinking. The 7mm-08 is an excellent cartridge that will do about anything we ask of it in North America. So, you need to hook him on hand loading! :grin:

Getting them started in handloading is really taking it to the next level! Scotty

 

[BK]

I probably jumped the gun a little with my son, as he has had a 243 M700 Youth for about 5 or 6 years now.

Funny how that happens. Nolan had an AR lower before he was born. I hope to have 700s in .223, .243 and 7-08 for him before he's three (he's going to be two and a half next month). All three rifles might be pushing it a bit. I'm sure I'll have them figured out and tuned up before he's ready for them. Hey, just because they are for him eventually doesn't mean I can't play with them a little bit. :lol:

I do have a question for the collective wisdom of the forum... do I get the 'youth' models with the 20" barrel and short stock, and risk a bit more muzzle blast, or go for the 22/24" standard SPS (which is also available in stainless) and buy a youth stock after the fact? I would think a 20" .243 might have a pretty serious bark? All indications are that he's gonna be tall like daddy (he's in the 95th percentile for height) but pretty lean, unlike dad (10th percentile for weight).

Actually, the 7-08 may end up being an M70 Featherweight Compact.

 

[roysclockgun]

Thanks for all the good wishes!
Hand loading: I have seen this happen in the past, where the young person wants to flail away the ammo, but hand loading just does not excite some of them.
I will, of course try to get this grandson hooked on hand loading. Time will tell.
I hunted and shot Cross the Course with factory loads until I was 26 years old and got in with a friend to use his press and dies. After a couple weeks using the borrowed stuff, I knew that wanted to hand load for the rest of my days. Now, I would not even care if factory ammo was less expensive. I will hand load.
Oh, I need to admit, untill the 1980s, our club was getting M2 30-06, clips and bandoleers, free from Uncle Sam, to use on Across the Course matches. In fact we had to use GI ammo in order to get our scores recorded. If I remember, the free ammo ran out in the 1990s.
Steven