Perfect Youth Deer Rifle???

[kevinsmith5]

.223 with 70-80 gr loads. Low recoil and you can turn it into a varmint rifle later.

[BPS slayer]

You are right on the mark with the Savage Youth Package. My daughter has the 243 win. Savage with Accu-trigger. I took the cheap Simmons scope off right away and put on a Nikon Buckmasters 3-9x40. It is much clearer, and a very nice scope for the $200 it costs.

I shoot a Weatherby Mk-V Deluxe 300 Wby. and a Browning BAR 30-06. This little Savage is more accurate than either of mine. I have been handloading 95 gr. Ballistic Silvertips over 45.5 gr. of IMR 7828 and it is amazing. Two days ago I shot a group of 3 for fun at 100 yards. The first and second shots were overlapping and you had to look close to see that two had gone through the single hole. The third shot was about 1/2" away.

I thought about the full stock thing too, and the Savage comes with a coupon for 50 percent off a regular stock or something. But the fact is that she is 14 now, average size for a teen/woman, and the stock still fits her well.

If I ever restock the Savage, they now have the Accustock built by McMillan or Bell & Carlson (not sure which) that has a full length alluminum bedding block!

[BPS slayer]

The above post was about my daughter's Savage, but I guess I should also tell you that my son shoots my old Marlin 336c 30-30.
I put a synthetic youth stock on it, and he has killed 2 deer with it at 9 and 10 years-old. He used the 125 gr. Remington Managed Recoil rounds the first year, but has switched over to 150s. The only drawback to the 30-30 is the exposed hammer (not as good for some kids as the tang-safety) and range is limited (I just set him in a woods stand rather than a field stand).
Both started shooting the .243 and 30-30 at age 9.
My son turns 11 in November, and he shot 4 out of my Browning BAR 30-06 and numerous clips out of the Garand at about 85 lbs. He is joking about using the '06 this year. I guess that means I can get the 30-30 back!
I will look for some pictures of them.

[rockycreekredtick]

if u hand load i would say 25-06 or 270.i got my 5 year old grandson a 243 wssm browning a bolt small and light weight i hand loaded it down to as much as possible it seamed to kick just as much.shoting it one day scope nicked his nose a little he has not shot it since.was shoting my 25-06 one day he wanted to shot it i loaded up some reduced loades and he shot 5 shot into a 2 inch group off the bench at 75 yards the first time shoting the gun i asked him how he shot that good he said he like the peek plex circle in the middle of the burris not like the other crosshair type.he is 6 now he has been shoting 22s and a 204 ruger senice age 4.he almost got a deer two time last year trying to teach him the stalking art of hunting and a well placed short yardage shot didnt work out well trying to help him get the gun set up on bipod and get deer in scope at short yardage until deer would spot use or wind us.this year ill try to help him get a deer with the 25-06 out of a buddie ladder treestand or blind.only took him out about 4or 5 times last year and we were close 2 times getting him a deer.he loves the stalking and crawl to get close to deer ill tell him to stay put while i try to get closer for a bow shot on a doe across a small hay feild got close to her by crawling and looked around and he was crawling right behind me and i didnt know it.he loves to hunt and shot with his pabob that what he tells everybody .well gota go.talk to u all later

[equinoxbuilders]

Remington Model7 Youth in .260. Period!

[shvlhead.45]

I vote for the 260 Remington and add the 6.5 Creedmore and 6.5 Grendel for consideration.  6.5s have the highest Balistic Coeffiency and Sectional Density in calibers below .338 and .35 and from what I can find in my research, they just kill all out of perportion to bullet size and velocity.  It is my intent to add the 6.5 to my conventional rifle battery and my AR battery. 

If I were getting ready to outfit a 10 year old my first choice would be a T/C Encore with a youth or cutdown stock in a 6.5 and a scope that had enough eye relief so that the little one didn't get tagged in the eye.

v/r
Shvlhead.45

[bubbinator]

I agree with Equinoxbuilder.   I got a Rem M-7 w/ a Buckmaster 3X9X50 scope from a friend in need. I had already refinished the stock and free-floated the bbl. JUst because it was handy, my wife shot 4 deer out of our garden this year with it.
Not good, she loved the little Rem over her 7mm-08 Ruger Compact/ a Leupold Scope that cost 1K! The 260 shoots very good, is accurated, and does well at long range.  The only  thing I'd do to this Rem 7 I got, if I get to keep it, would be give  it a longer heavier  bbl
.

[coonbait]

7mm-08

[mike243]

looking at a chart on recoil the 243 is pretty on the shoulder,any centerfire is legal here,i have only lost 1 deer & it was a high spine shot with a 30/30.have had 2 double tap deer with the 30/30 & my 300wm several times to make them drop quicker but never with my 243.the rossi are the smallest framed rifle i have seen .i am thinking of a 223 with the best bullets i can find for it.my grandson hates loud noises so a good set of ear muffs are going to be bought very soon.i would prefer a 243 but size wise he's at least 1-2 years away from a 100g 243 full load.lite guns kick more.mike243

[bubba]

I got my nephew at the age of 11 a model 7 in 7-08.  He is not a very big kid. we started out with light loads and worked up to a deer load with 130 grain bullets and varget. (deadly) He is 19 now and still uses that rifle. It has a bushnell 3x9x40 scope.