Gents, I am looking to buy my son his first gun/deer rifle for his birthday in a couple of months. I have a few questions for those of you that have been down this path.
First off is caliber requirements, must be .243 or larger.
I only have experience with 223/5.56, (ARs), 20 and 12ga shotguns, .308 bolt actions, and a SCAR 17s. My son has shot my AR and SCAR from a bench and does very well with the recoil. So my question here is how does a .243/260/270 bolt rifle compare as far as recoil? (I have not personally shot any of them but I know a 308 bolt gun is too much for him). What would be your recommendations? Go with the .243 or step up to maybe a .260/.270?
Rifle choices, budget is $500-$600 (ish) give or take before optic. Leaning toward a Tikka T3 Lite, any other recommendations are welcome.
The purchase is special to me and him, he won’t know it yet until he is much older and says that was my first gun my Dad bought for me. I’d buy him a million dollar rifle if I could but…
With that said, I don’t want to just buy him something to buy something, and I have to factor in an optic. I just don’t want to go overboard with recoil that he won’t want to shoot. If I knew someone that had any as mentioned to try out I would do so but unfortunately I don’t.
I am a fan of the .243 Winchester. It is a great deer round So, first, I would recommend the .243 as your caliber. You did not describe your son by age or stature so that leaves some guess work about length of pull, rifle weight, etc. I would go with a full size and cut the stock if necessary but save the piece to add length later.
GunBroker has three nice Mauser style rifles in .243 that include a Churchill, an Oberndorf Mauser, and an Austrain Cougar Voere that fit your price range. I would look at these to refinish the stock with a hand rubbed oil finish as a project to further bond you and your son.
My prejudice is toward older Mauser rifles so please pardon my bias.
I look forward to doing this with my son. Good luck to you and your son.
This was about a year and a half ago with a DPMS AR and a Nikon P223 3x32 scope at 100 yards, far from a top notch setup or groups to write home about, but you get the idea. I’m looking so forward to getting him set up.
Based on the added info you listed, a 243 sounds like a very good start. It will cover his needs for a varmint/predator rifle as a bonus to being his deer rifle…
I agree, 243 will always be my first choice if the intended purpose does not call for a .30 cal.
My father bought me a 243 as my first rifle and it is still my favorite to shoot and is worth more to me than all of my other guns combined. You are absolutely right about what this gun will mean to your son. It won’t matter to him how fancy the gun is, what will matter is that the gun is his.
I’m thinking 7mm-08, I have a couple and recoil is less than the 243 105grn,
the 243 tops out at about 105, 7mm-08 starts there and does up.
and as you said they grow like weeds so there is more room to grow into. up to larger
game down the road.
if your ranges will say under the 150yrs why not the 30-30, mild recoil and cheap ammo
so more shooting to develop those skills … (just thinking out loud)
just a thought I’m glad to see younguns out shooting and hunting
If it’s just whitetail, hogs, or coyotes, the .243 will be perfect. Very effective MBPR for him to not need to worry about holdovers at 150, great bullet performance, and low recoil. I would look at some Savage rifles for your best performance for cost. The 16 or 14 would be my picks.
As far as 243/260/270 I believe the 270 offers better overall performance and is probably easier to get ammo for. However I don’t think there would be a big difference in recoil between the 270 and 308. The 243 would definitely be the softest shooter. Another important consideration in addition to recoil is length of pull and weight of the rifle, you may consider going to a youth stock or if one is not available, it can always be cut down, and there are a lot of options for recoil pads to help as well, such as Kick Eze and limb saver.
The only time recoil will really be a consideration is when sighting in and practicing. During the hunt when he pulls the trigger there will be so much adrenaline flowing he won’t feel a thing. If he is like me and most others I know, his first rifle may very well always be his favorite gun, and forever hold a special place in his heart!
I think for a 10 year old the 243 may be the best overall option. If he really enjoys shooting and hunting It will not be his last rifle.
My little Huntn Buddy is grown now, and I really miss all the good times.
I agree with the suggestion of the 7mm-o8 Remington. If he can handle the SCAR, then a slightly larger caliber should work In a bolt gun. Plus, it is a caliber suitable for any medium size game in North America and shot placement will not be as critical. Finally, it is a rifle that he can grow into with reduced recoil factory loads available as well.
Thanks for all the replies so far much appreciated. I’ll do some more research on the 7mm-08. Yes, he’ll shoot my SCAR all day long without a problem, to me it isn’t a whole lot more recoil than a 5.56, there is a difference but not a lot. Like I was saying in the OP, my only bolt experience is with .308 and it is much more than the SCAR, that’s why I’m inquiring about these other calibers in a bolt gun so thanks again.
That Tikka T3 Compact looks perfect, being able to adjust as he grows thanks for the link.
I started out on the .243 carbine 788, at around the same age, it has a pretty light recoil impulse and now with the hornady custom lite ammo you can even go further to reduce some of the recoil impulse of a bolt gun.
you can search in google recoil impulse of the 243, 7m08, 308 and the chuck hawks site has a chart that you can reference a general recoil impulse of a particular caliber.
I hunted hogs, whitetail, pronghorn, and coyote. With proper bullet selection and the modern bonded, and all copper bullets and correct bullet placement, I would not hesitate to step up to a mule deer. I never had an animal go more than 50 60 yards after taking a 100 gr soft point in the right place.
Looking at these recoil tables the 7mm-08 is 12.1 ft/lbs of energy with a 120gr round @ 3,000 fps with a 7.5lb gun.
The .243 with a 95gr round @ 3,100 fps with a 7.25 lb gun is 11.0 ft/lbs
So pretty close comparisons between the two and the 7mm-08 is a heavier bullet.
I went ahead and looked at shotgun recoil tables also and a 20ga with 2.75" and 7/8 shot in a 6lb gun is 16.1 ft/lbs and a .308 with 165gr @ 2,700 fps in a 7.5 lb gun is 18.1 ft/lbs.
That site also had good information of how much the gun should weigh to keep recoil below 15 ft/lbs.
My vote, he will enjoy this rifle. Recoil will be mild, won’t punish him. And a rifle he can hand down to his children, boy or girl or even shoot when he’s old–or you will:cool:
Here’s another option. This is what I did for my son. I bought him a Thompson Center Encore Pro Hunter in .243 to start out with. He was 10 also and about the same size as your son. He had no problems shooting it and accuracy was great. A couple of years later I bought the 7mm08 barrel for it and swapped them out. He’s been hunting with it ever since and is now 16. Overall the recoil between the 7mm08 and the 243 isn’t much different. The Tikka T3 is a great rifle. I’ve been hunting with 7mm08 since the round came out in 89. It’s my favorite all around deer cartridge. With a good bonded bullet or a solid copper one it’s good up to elk sized game.
The Tikka can also be had in 6.5x55 which allows for heavier bullets and is a very accurate caliber. I have taken lots of deer and pigs with thr 6.5x55 Swede round. It is a very light kicker and an accurate round that is not hard to find factory ammo in lots of weights.
I was originally looking at the T3 Lite, I was not aware of the compact with the spacer option for the stock as he grows until this thread. I think I’m set on this gun now. I’m going to get a price from my LGS tomorrow and see what he can get me one for. I’m going to get to enjoy it too, at least until he grows up and moves out
I’m glad to see younguns out shooting and hunting 