Youth Rifles

[Gamehunter034]

Looking for possible ideas on rifle calibers for youth age kids. My daughter will be 9 in December she is getting more and more interested in taking hunter’s ed which I’m super excited about. She is big for her age in comparison to her classmates probably taking after me as I’m 6’1 280. I have a .243 rifle that I got a few yrs back for my wife to use to hunt with, I have not had my daughter shoot it yet but am wondering if it’ll be too much for her and if I should look for a different caliber and which I should consider. She has shot my 5.56 with my assistance. I do plan on getting her behind the .243 to see what she thinks as a test run. Just would like to consider possible other options for her if need be. Thanks for any experience and insight!


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[Stein]

My daughter was 8 when she shot her .243 and handled it great.  I'm now getting ready for my 12 year old son to shoot the same rifle, he has taken longer to get comfortable with recoil.

It all depends on the child, but you will have trouble finding a better option for youth than the .243.

[Rainier10]

.243 is perfect for a youth.  They even have low recoil ammunition that you can get for them.  Although when you get an animal in front of her she won't feel the recoil at all.

I would suggest having her get lots of practice shooting a .22 and then have her shoot the .243 end of September a couple of times just to make sure she is on.

Hearing protection is vital even when hunting and only taking one shot, says the guy who has had hearing aids since he was 44.

[brokentrail]

My opinion will vary based on how often and where she will be shooting it.  I started all of my kids with a youth model .243 as their first deer rifle.  I used low recoil ammo the first few times they shot to make sure they weren't afraid of it and then let them shoot actual hunting rounds through it, but the amount of rounds wasn't a lot, mostly just to become familiar with the rifle.  We don't do a lot of range shooting other than to check zero's and shoot at animals during season and the adrenalin level of shooting at an animal makes any .243 recoil disappear in my experience.

If you shoot often, I still think the low recoil rounds would give her the chance to shoot the .243, use it, etc, without becoming afraid of it.

[h20hunter]

My advice is while you are planning her introduction take advantage now and get on the supressed bandwagon.  Will even further enhance her experience.

[buckfvr]

Have her shoot the rifle youd like her to hunt with, but instead of say 100 gr loads for deer hunting, start her with some varmint loads and move her up to the deer hunting loads as season gets closer.

[Jonathan_S]

I'm a huge fan of the .243 and 6mm Creedmoor for teaching younger shooters. The factory low recoil rounds are great and if you reload, you can get substantially lower recoil with H4895 and lowest of all with TrailBoss. (rimfire recoil and noise). Couple days before a deer hunt, I'll sight it back in for killing loads.

My nephews put 700 rounds downrange on a Ruger American 6Creed. One is a 45# 6 yr old if that tells you anything. I would have been a much better shooter if I'd practiced like that.

[Gamehunter034]

.243 is perfect for a youth.  They even have low recoil ammunition that you can get for them.  Although when you get an animal in front of her she won't feel the recoil at all.

I would suggest having her get lots of practice shooting a .22 and then have her shoot the .243 end of September a couple of times just to make sure she is on.

Hearing protection is vital even when hunting and only taking one shot, says the guy who has had hearing aids since he was 44.

I should’ve mentioned she does have a 22 and has shot it a bunch without issues when we do get out and shoot and loves it. I will definitely have her wear her ear safety while hunting. I will look into the lower recoil ammo I never really thought of that. Thanks!


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[Gamehunter034]

I'm a huge fan of the .243 and 6mm Creedmoor for teaching younger shooters. The factory low recoil rounds are great and if you reload, you can get substantially lower recoil with H4895 and lowest of all with TrailBoss. (rimfire recoil and noise). Couple days before a deer hunt, I'll sight it back in for killing loads.

My nephews put 700 rounds downrange on a Ruger American 6Creed. One is a 45# 6 yr old if that tells you anything. I would have been a much better shooter if I'd practiced like that.

Awesome good to hear!


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[Gamehunter034]

My advice is while you are planning her introduction take advantage now and get on the supressed bandwagon.  Will even further enhance her experience.

I’ve considered suppressed just haven’t made the jump quite yet for myself even.


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[Pathfinder101]

If you already have a .243, then I'd go with that.  My oldest son (now 21) started with a youth model .243 and killed his first deer with it when he was 9.  My younger son started with a youth model .308 and killed his first deer when he was 9 as well.  His buck was 324 yards away and he shot it with reduced recoil Hornandy ammo. 
For what it's worth, I have a buddy up in Colville who is a national champion shooter and has taught a lot of kids to shoot.  He is a huge fan of putting suppressors on kid's guns.  He says that the difference between kids that learn to shoot on guns that kick and are loud and kids that shoot on guns that don't is worth the trouble.  His kids are grown now, but he has a suppressed .243 that he keeps just for teaching young kids.   

[Pathfinder101]

.243 is perfect for a youth.  They even have low recoil ammunition that you can get for them.  Although when you get an animal in front of her she won't feel the recoil at all.

I would suggest having her get lots of practice shooting a .22 and then have her shoot the .243 end of September a couple of times just to make sure she is on.

Hearing protection is vital even when hunting and only taking one shot, says the guy who has had hearing aids since he was 44.

I should’ve mentioned she does have a 22 and has shot it a bunch without issues when we do get out and shoot and loves it. I will definitely have her wear her ear safety while hunting. I will look into the lower recoil ammo I never really thought of that. Thanks!


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When I first bought reduced recoil ammo for my younger boy, I assumed that the powder charge would be lighter, affecting the ballistics.  I was wrong.  When we tested it, it shot with the same drop as regular ammo out to 400 yards.  Turns out that they don't load it with less powder, they load it with slower burning powder. 

[Gamehunter034]

If you already have a .243, then I'd go with that.  My oldest son (now 21) started with a youth model .243 and killed his first deer with it when he was 9.  My younger son started with a youth model .308 and killed his first deer when he was 9 as well.  His buck was 324 yards away and he shot it with reduced recoil Hornandy ammo. 
For what it's worth, I have a buddy up in Colville who is a national champion shooter and has taught a lot of kids to shoot.  He is a huge fan of putting suppressors on kid's guns.  He says that the difference between kids that learn to shoot on guns that kick and are loud and kids that shoot on guns that don't is worth the trouble.  His kids are grown now, but he has a suppressed .243 that he keeps just for teaching young kids.   

Thanks for the input! Think I’ll start her off on it snd go from there!


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[ghosthunter]

I started my grandson with a Savage 7 mm 08.

If you go with a 110 Storm wit accustom she can grow with it. Never need another rifle.

[Limhangerslayer]

I'd look at the ruger american predator in 6.5 creed.  You can even buy a muzzle break for it.  I went stupid and had a 6.5 built off a savage action I had laying around.  Great all around caliber for a kid and"kid at heart"!