Rifle for my daughter

[poco]

I know they both get alot of good-natured ribbing on this site, but the 243 Win. and the 6.5 Creedmoor are both great calibers and very friendly to a young shooter; and perform effectively the same as each other on mid-size game when used properly. I am a fan of looking for a fine pre-owned rifle like an old Model Seven or my Browning Safari Grade; but short of that, two current production models I would look at (with a wooden stock that I would entrust to a youngster) would be the Weatherby Vanguard Camilla or the Bergara B14 Timber.

6.5 vs 7-08
6.5 vs 243

6.5 doesn’t look shabby with 140 nosler partition

 

[Inline6]

@S-3 Ranch not only do the numbers look good. You will have the most options in ammo. The 6.5 will also have the most accurate ammo of the 3.

 

[Ragman]

off topic.. but LOVE that BLR...

Brileys in Houston has one in 308 thats in decent shape for $550... I was VERY tempted to pick it up and take it home with me last week.. but couldnt justify yet another 308 in the safe (already have 4x).. the one at Briley had been a 7-08 theres no doubt it would have had a new place to live!

Go back and get it! They are a fantastic rifle to carry. Compact and thin. It’s my favourite of any rifle I’ve owned.

 

[Joker12]

There are many older Ruger M77s on sites like gun broker or guns international chambered for the 243. They are nicely stocked well balanced quality rifles that will last her lifetime and then some. They will cost a bit more than the new plastic wonders but are so much better value.

 

[BeeMaa]

6.5CM would be an excellent choice, with the obvious exception that it's a 6.5CM.

 

[wvfred]

My daughter was getting too attached to my 7x57 G 33/40 so I bought her a Winchester classic featherweight compact in 7mm08 and she loves it but she is a little older than your daughter.

 

[Inline6]

6.5CM would be an excellent choice, with the obvious exception that it's a 6.5CM.

I'm pretty sure that's what my little will be taking next year. We will have to do a report on how the 127s preformed. Or maybe Berger 130s

 

[Inline6]

I'm pretty sure that's what my little will be taking next year. We will have to do a report on how the 127s preformed. Or maybe Berger 130s

Side note, he did take a Bison with the 127s.

 

[BeeMaa]

I'm pretty sure that's what my little will be taking next year. We will have to do a report on how the 127s preformed. Or maybe Berger 130s

I think you know me well enough to know I was busting chops. All the best to your little one next year.

 

[Andrew Short]

One caliber that seems to work out very well for most new rifle shooters is the 7mm-08 and a used Savage Lady Hunter would fit the bill nicely for a young lady starting out. Take a look at the ones on GB like this...
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/972917018

EDIT - another caliber I like is the 270WIN for the ammo availability and relatively low recoil. Plus it's a caliber she can use well into adulthood.

Couldn’t agree more regarding the 7mm08

 

[Ravensview]

I believe Tikka makes one in their hunter model, the Remington model 7 is also a nice setup on the used market, savage 110 is another value in a youth rifle. 7mm-08 is a nice starter calibre, that is readily available

 

[Inline6]

I think you know me well enough to know I was busting chops. All the best to your little one next year.

LOL, I know you are. Just messing with you too.

 

[Graham Hunter]

I sell a lot of guns to women and youth. Our Deer are big here and have lots of hair. I don't reccommend the 243. I sell 6.5 Creed and 7mm08. Both work great. I sell the compact/youth models for proper stock fit. I also sell standard size rifles and then fit a synthetic to stock fitto them. Inexpensive and as the youth grows they can put the original stock on without sacrificing the barrel length.

 

[Safari Dave]

I bought a Remington Model 7 in .260 Remington for my daughter with the women/youth stock. It fits her perfectly and I found some reduced recoil Remington loads for it that make it perfect for game up to about 175 pounds.


It is not officially hers until she gets something with it.



She has lost interest in hunting at the moment, (hopefully just a phase). She is still one heck of a cook, and can make any game taste like it came from a 5-star restaurant.


If she doesn't regain her interest in hunting, then I guess I will just have to hold on to it!!!

 

[Slider]

I taught my Daughter how to shoot using a Weatherby XX11 Auto. She shot her first buck at 12 with one shot using my 1962 Remington 700 in 264 Win Mag. It was the first time she ever shot anything bigger than a 22. The next year I searched and found her a Gen 1 Stainless Remington Mountain Rifle in 260 Remington and she Loves it!!! She told me she will never sell it.

 

[Safari Dave]

I'm just not a .243 Win fan.

Not enough for big game for some reason, in my experience.


I've seen too many animals just keep going, or just get up and just keep going. (Whitetail deer and Pronghorn).



Sometimes diameter just defies the laws of physics. .25 calibers and 6.5's have never failed me.


IME -


.257 - DRT
.260 Remingtom - DRT
6.5 Carcano - DRT
6.5x55 - DRT
6.5 Manbun - DRT


I think the .260 Remington outshines them all!

.308 Winchester (7.62 NATO) necked down to 6.5mm, short action.


Just get a rifle with a fast spin barrel, and they will shoot anything!

 

[bobdahunter84]

I had a friend that had this decision last year for his daughter. She was small framed and he opted for 300 blackout. It's pretty uninspiring ballistic-ly. But if she isnt shooting past 100 yds and nothing bigger than deer, it's a pretty good option if your biggest concern is not scaring her off with recoil.

 

[cash_tx]

because we knew our daughter would be hunting in Africa, we wanted something with a little more juice behind it than a .243.. So we picked up a Howa 1500 in .308 for her..

To get her ready for the recoil, noise, etc we started out with some shooting with a semi auto centerfire (AR15), then did some shooting with a particularly heavy 270 (weighs about 9.5lbs.. but is laser accurate, and very soft shooting).. before moving her to the 308...

It took all of just a handful of rounds and she was ready... she is fairly small framed and statured.. but handles the 308 just fine (168gr loads at about 2700 fps).. which is more than enough for anything she's every going to pursue in NA... and anything shes likely to hunt in SA over the next several years (shes got blesbok on the menu this year.. last year it was impala.. etc..)..

You can get a Howa Walnut Hunter for less than $750 in a variety of calibers (.243, 6.5CM, 7-08, 308, etc).. if youre dead set on walnut and blued steel...

HOWA M1500 Walnut Hunter 243 Win Rifle - Lipseys.com

HOWA M1500 Walnut Hunter 243 Win Rifle

www.lipseys.com

Or if youre open to a synthetic stock.. the variant we picked up has one of the hogue overmoulded stocks on it.. We caught it on a clearance sale at Field and Stream when it was less than $450.. but they can be had all day long for less than $650 a lot of places..

Howa 1500 Hogue Black Bolt Action Rifle – 308 Winchester – 26in

Howa 1500 Hogue Black Bolt Action Rifle – 308 Winchester – 26in - An out-of-the-box rifle for hunts and target shooters alike. The Hogue Rifle features a Hogue pillar bedded overmolded stock for superior fit, function and accuracy. The combination of the high precision Howa 1500 and the...

www.sportsmans.com

I'm pretty sure you spent way more than $450 at that clearance sale. You're welcome... ;-)

 

[WillMFerguson]

Seriously, why limit yourself to one firearm? My daughter is 3 months old, but I've used her as an excuse for at least a dozen rifles, several suppressors, and at least three pistols. I've purchased left-handed and wrong-handed bolt guns for her because who knows if she'll be right or left-eye dominant. The first one I bought her was an Atkinson and Marquart RH in .243 and the last one, as of last month, was a Weatherby Dangerous Game LH in .460 Wby. Because, maybe she'll be left-handed and have to kill an elepahant or two. It's sound logic. Trust me, I am a random guy on the interwebs.

 

[Houston Bill]

When I introduced my daughter to hunting at age 8 I bought a Tikka T3 in 308 WIN with a wood stock. I took it to a gunsmith and had him shorten the stock to fit her. If I recall he shortened it by 2". She and her younger brothers used that rifle for many years and shot many game animals with it including deer, hogs, American bison, elk, several black bears and various plains game species in Africa including larger ones like Kudu, Gemsbok, Zebra and Wildebeest.

In the beginning I taught them to shoot with reduced loads I hand loaded with 100 grain plinking bullets and powder weights for plinking loads so the recoil was quite low and they learned how to shoot very well and did not develop a flinch. When they primarily hunted deer and hogs in Texas I hand loaded youth loads I got from the Hodgdon web site. I used the 125 gr Nosler ballistic tip bullets. For the bears, Bison, elk and Africa hunts I loaded 165 gr or 180 gr Accubond's. These loads had a bit more powder but were still slightly reduced loads.

As my kids grew I added spacers to the stock to slightly increase the length of pull until I finally replaced the stock with a synthetic Tikka stock.

I chose the 308 because as a hand loader I knew I could develop youth loads when they were very young but I also wanted a caliber big enough for them to shoot bigger game with as they grew older.

BTW that Tikka shot 1/2 MOA with those loads I developed. They are excellent rifles and most of the time they will shoot 1 MOA or better.

Good luck finding a suitable gun for your daughter and I hope you have many memorable hunts together!