Small built girl, big attitude

[OneNightAtDeerCamp]

It finally happened.  My youngest girl, 14, wants to go hunting this year.  Though here is my dilemma.  Its not like we're a family of grand hunters, filling the freezer every year.  But this won't be my first dance.   My plan is to take her for deer on the west side, and we might even try for an elk.   She is very slight in build and won't take well to a heavy gun with a big kick.  I also don't have an unlimited budget to get her the latest is space technology.   So, what do I get her?  What caliber?  Any specific recommendations?

[halflife65]

.25-06 or .243 maybe?  Neither kick very hard and both shoot pretty well. 

[Shootmoore]

243 winchester 670 or the youth model in 243.  Light and decent accuracy, safe gun and not to bad of a price.  The 243 will be a managable load for a small frame.

Shootmoore

[7mag.]

Try a 7mm-08. Light recoil, fairly flat shooting.

[Goldeneye]

I'll 2nd the 7mm-08.  A friend of mines daughter has taken a couple deer and a cow elk with it over the last couple of years.  She is not too big of a gal either.

[Deep Forks]

  Look at a Stevens (made by Savage) in a 7mm/08, great round with very lt. recoil.  My 9 yr. old grandson shoots it.  Cost is under $300 or less if you shop around.  Good Luck     

[Skycruiser]

You don't necessarily have to buy a new rifle or go with a caliber that she may outgrow later. My daughters started deer hunting when they were 14. I cut about an inch and a half off the wooden stock of one of my 30-06's and loaded 125 grain bullets to 2650 fps with 44 gr. of H4895 and they had no trouble with it at all. If you don't reload, Remington's Managed Recoil ammo has the same ballistics and is available in .270 and .308 as well. My daughters still use the same rifle (one in October, the other in November) now that they're 21 and 22.

[rasbo]

if ya want I have a youth model she could shoot and see how it feels.might help you make up your mind,oh its a .243  Im in the orting area

[ICEMAN]

Savage Youth in .243.  It has a removeable section of stock which you can reinstall later to lenghten the butt piece according to her likes. Accutriger. Lightweight, accurate, cheap. Good gun.

[Jerry malbeck]

Rasbo , nice offer , he better take you up on that . we need more people with that attitude , Hats off to you Sir.

[runamuk]

I'll toss in 7-08 it is very low recoil and if we can get together somewhere she is welcome to try it....I live down near Oly but could possibly meet at a range somewhere...send me a PM if your interested.

[mountainman1]

      I am saying a .243, its a good deer rifle, and the smallest caliber you can go down to use to hunt deer with. Has she gone through the Firearms Safety Course yet, its a must do, and buy a case of .22 ammo and take her to the shooting range Sounds like a good year in the making. 

[demontang]

243 or a 257 bob? Maybe a 338fed. You could hand load the fed with the 160gr barns and it would get the job done on elk too. I just picked up a mossberg in 243 and it's a tic driver with handloads. The savage, howa, weatherby, and rem youth rifles all seem to be good guns too.

[cohoho]

I'll echo the .243.  My son (he was scrawny) used it for everything when he was 10-14...  He took alot of animals from Moose to Bears with well place shoots. 

[Pathfinder101]

If you are hoping to hunt elk with it, I would not go with a .243
Incidentally, I just bought a rifle for my son's birthday (he hasn't opened it yet-next Monday).  I got the new Marlin XS7Y.  If you can find one on the shelf, you can get it for under $300 (if they have to order it, it's a little more).  I got him a .308, because he will definitely be hunting elk with it, and because I know he can handle the recoil.
I think I would go with the 7mm 08 for your daughter.