Your Opinion... Gun for 12 yr Old Girl...

[Hornseeker]

243 will certainly get the job done...it'll kill elk too... I like a heavier bullet...but #1 thing right no..on my mind...is gun weight and recoil....

Guy I know over here killed a 340 bull with a 243 a couple years ago!

[bearpaw]

I think you are right on the money, size and weight of gun are the most important considerations with kids. As mentioned before, the Remington Model 7 is one of the best youth guns out there. We have one in 6mm (.243 caliber) that has killed many deer in the hands of my wife, my 3 kids, and many other kids who couldn't really handle the oversized gun they were trying to hunt with. 

The same gun has killed a few bear but I have to admit, it is less than ideal for bear. I have seen too many wounded bear get away from 6mm's and 243's, just not enough energy to be as effective as bigger calibers. If you might have your kids hunting elk and bear with the same weapon someday, it might be wise to get the same model of weapon in 7mm/08 or 308. The recoil on those calibers is not bad either.

There might be some other models on the market that are as small as the model 7, but I am not aware of them. Good Luck....

[Hornseeker]

I am REALLY liking all I've heard and read about the -08... that little gun seems to not kick...yet will ship a 130 out the barrel nearly as fast as my 06' will shoot a 150... very interesting. If I could find a used Model 7 in 7mm-08 I'd buy it...

Denny, I've seen a few bears shot with the 243 and wasn't real impressed either, but I shot a boat load with the 30-30 and always knocked them down... however, with the pups around I always took head shots too... 

[halflife65]

I think a .243 would be great.  I've also shot the Tikka Whitetail (I think) .25-06 and it didn't think it kicked much at all - in fact, it was really pleasant to shoot.  However, I think I was shooting something like 110 grain bullets - pretty small for elk, obviously.

When you pick something out, buy something with a stock you don't care about and cut it off or buy a cheap aftermarket stock and make it shorter (you can put the original back on when they get a little bigger).  That's pretty helpful, too.

When I turned 10 my dad handed me a .270 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight and it kicked the living sh*t out of me...

[dbllunger]

Simple....do you want to buy several guns or only one........if several start out with a youth .243...and go from there.  If only one then go with a magnum either short or normal...brake it...buy a youth stock off ebay....one rifle fo the rest of her life.   Oh yeah later on either take the brake off or continue to use it.  I prefer 30 cal just because the greatest variety of bullets/factory loads are available.

[Hornseeker]

Yeah...I'll have to decide that I guess... I dont have a prob with the idea of trading guns up as she grows...her little sister will be able to use hers... sooo.... hmmmm...

Thanks all...I've got a lot of good info to build off of...

[woodswalker]

What i did with my boys was to purchase a Savage 340 in 30-30 with a spare stock, Then i cut down the spare and mounted it. I loaded 135 grain SSP bullets at first at lower velocity, moving up as son got more proficient and confident. By his second deer season at 11 he was shooting full power 130 grain loads and by 12 full power 150s  With the box magazine i could load spitzers which i did.  When he got bigger I put on the full length stock...then he got his 30-06 and I put the short stock back on for his younger brother.

Tt worked for me when I didnt have much money.  AND I have a neat cast bullet gun for me with the long stock.

[Hornseeker]

I got my hands on a few options this morning...

1st was the Rem M7... WOW...what a great little gun, light...finished beautifully... felt great... but its a $700 gun... Dang.

Then...the new Marlin... this gun had a good trigger and was $299!! It was lightweight and I wouldn't feel a bit bad about cutting the stock off an inch or 2...

They also had a little Tikka and a Sako...both were Very nice. The Tikka was only $480 or so, but the dang Sako was like $900.... but a great feeling gun...

Takin my time....

[bearpaw]

I picked up our Model 7 used for like $300 with scope already mounted on it. Some people grow out of them and will sell them.

Put a classified ad on here for a youth gun.