Kid rifle for South Africa plains game hunt

[Mekaniks]

I took my son when he was 13. He used the outfitters .243 and took a blue wildebeest, springbok and a blesbok all with one shot each.

She will be fine with your 7-08 as long as she shoots it well.

 

[IvW]

No need for a surpressor on a 7mm08 with the right load

 

[Switup]

My 13 year old son used his Browning A Bolt in 30-06 for warthogs, zebra & Impala . View attachment 517461

Wow, Congrats kiddo.

 

[Scott CWO]

My wife and kids all used our Remington Model 7 in 7mm-08 with 140gr bullets and it worked great. Good luck on the safari!

 

[TNDave]

I think 7mm-08 is a great choice. If you reload I’d go with North Fork, Swift A Frames or Woodleighs for bonded bullets. If Monolithic is your choice Barnes, Peregrine or hammers, just need to be careful in choice since most monos can be very twist specific. I’ve used both Hammers and North Forks on PG and my personal preference is North Forks, between the two. Most importantly, enjoy the hunt!! My plan is to take my grandson in 2025 at the ripe old age of 9 years.

 

[FlyGuy]

7-08 with the right bullet and an accurate shot is good for eland too.
A-Frame, Scirocco II, TTSX, Accubond are all great choices.

 

[ActionBob]

Hey everyone. I’m new around here and know next to nothing about African hunting. By chance 4 of us plus 2 observers are hunting SA plains game in the Limpopo province in 2024. One of the 4 hunters will be my daughter. She’ll be about 11 when we go (actually might turn 11 in Africa depending on exact dates). She’s fairly small for her age but enjoys shooting and is a good shot. Usually she sticks to my .223 and her own 6mm ARC. I do have a weatherby youth model 7-08 Rem that she can take. So my question is should we plan on taking the 7-08 loaded with some variety of mono bullet or is that just not going to do the job? The biggest animal in the package we bought that she would hunt would be a zebra. Otherwise she’ll be sticking to warthog impala springbuck etc. I tried searching but didn’t turn up much on the subject of kid rifles.

Is your 223 an AR 15 type rifle? And is her 6mm also? If they are, I would have her stop shooting those ASAP. Get her practicing with a bolt gun. If you buy ammo, try to find some reduced recoil stuff.

It sounds like you would like to just use what you have and why not? Kids grow fast and interests change. That 7-08 is perfectly capable of taking Zebra on down with a proper bullet. Have her study shot placement and keep it as simple as possible. Just get into a good broadside position and have her shoot into the Sargent's stripes I don't like the idea if you or anyone else "shooting her zebra". You're setting her up to be a collector rather than a hunter. If for some reason you or the PH don't have the confidence to let her shoot it, pass on it until her next trip! The excitement and anticipation as well as required patience can be a good thing

 

[Firebird]

Most ph’s have a camp gun as previously mentioned-doesn’t hurt to ask them and see if that’s a good fit for a budding huntress. But my slight built daughter shoots a 7mm-08 and I would add my vote. She shoots 120 Barnes ttsx and 140 swift a frame in hers-I would take the -a frames to africa.

 

[Waterbuck2008]

If she's comfortable and confident with it, the 7mm-08 and a quality bullet, like the 140 A-frame mentioned above, is the answer.

 

[Andrew62]

7mm-08 would be a great choice!!

 

[BeeMaa]

@Elkeater - At least as important as the caliber and bullet is practice with the rifle she will be using. As others have stated the 7mm-08 is an excellent choice paired with the Swift A-Frame, Barnes TSX and Norma Oryx.

The biggest concern is muscle memory and training with this particular bolt action rifle while shooting from sticks. Use A-Zoom snap-caps for dry fire practice to get her comfortable with it and running some easier reloading (or topping off the magazine) drills. Dry fire practice two to three times a week, followed by a short range session of 4-6 shots once a week will minimize the ammo cost and increase her skill level at the same time.

 

[Rem700stw]

My daughter is petite and while older than yours on her first safari used a .308 exclusively and 165 grain Barnes TSX in a Kimber rifle. Kudu, Gemsbok, Zebra, and others were quite impressed. Having used a 7mm-08 for over 30 years I would expect similar results. Do not tempt fate, use Barnes or Swift A-frames.

For every round of centerfire my daughter expended in practice she fired dozens if not hundreds of .22 rimfire in a Kimber bolt gun to develop trigger and breath control and muscle memory without worry of developing a flinch. I am 58 and still fire thousands of .22 rimfire every year to stay sharp.

 

[Nickcusato]

We took a HS Precision 30-06, using Barnes X and both my boys (10 & 14) did fine. 2 gemsbok, two impala, blesbok, wildebeest. All one shots.

 

[gillettehunter]

I still remember the only time I fired a 7mm-08. We were spottlighting jackrabbits here in WY. The landowner had one with some 120 gr bullets in it. Recoil was amazingly light. Sold me on it for women/kids. Try those for practice type of loads. Then work up her hunting loads later.
Bruce

 

[Velo Dog]

I recommend with other fellows here that you either bring her 7-08 or in the event they have one that the stock and scope fit her well enough, use whatever the camp rifle your PH might have for her.

Also, I know this will be kicking the hornet’s nest here but, I do not endorse any sort of hollow point bullets, monolithic or otherwise.
I’ve seen occasional which = “too much”erratic performance on flesh and bone, with various brands of hollow points, including but not limited to Barnes brand.

Grumpy old Velo Dog recommends Swift A-Frame bullets, as well as the now hard to find round nose jacketed soft point bullets, such as the ones Hornady used to make, literally by the millions.

You’re gonna turn a double back flip when you see Africa for the first time.

Cheers.

 

[xbr897]

Taking a suppressor back and forth is possible.. but there is some paperwork and licensing issues that have to be overcome..

...

When you consider the time and energy and potential costs of obtaining your temp export license (needing to hire someone to help you through the paperwork) to take your own suppressor out of the country and get it back in..

I found the paperwork to be simple and not require a license. It's just this form - https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/f...r-temporarily-export-certain-nfa-firearms-atf

I filled it out, faxed it in, and had it back with approval within 3 weeks.

 

[rookhawk]

7x57, 7x64, heck, even 9.3x62 and 375hh have worked for my kids.

hand load for recoil (least amount of powder to achieve velocity) and never shoot from a bench.

7x64 will work for things up to eland and puts out 17lbs of recoil, 375hh loaded wisely can output as little as 26lbs of recoil for dangerous game.

 

[shark_za]

I wish they made a LH model 7 , Id love one for myself!
I shoot anything up to Eland with a 6.5x55 so a 7mm-08 will do just fine if you use heavier bonded bullets for reliablity.
Norma Oryx would get my vote.