Posted on 08/03/2018 10:41:16 AM PDT by w1n1
If you were fortunate to have played with a variety of rifles and cartridges good for you.
A question that comes up is whats a good rifle for a youth hunter?
Lets take a look at three similar rifle calibers that most youth hunter would enjoy shooting.
.223 Remington
Many have hunters have started with this. The single-shot, low-recoil, .223-caliber, breakaway rifle hunting have been very successful for many youth hunters.
The low recoil makes it great for a new or young hunter who worries about bruising their shoulder or securing the gun.
.243 Winchester
This caliber may be the best of the three here in this list.
This rifle has the perfect combination of knockdown power and low recoil. What would you recommend our young hunters? Read the rest of hunting rifle for young hunters here.
Where I came from it was legal to hunt deer at the age of 14. My first rifle was an old German 8mm Mauser my Dad purchased for me for $10.
All 3 are fine.
If you get a .223 make sure it has a fast twist so it will handle the heavy for caliber bullets.
How many people in 2018 remember or ever knew that at one time in our past, thousands of young guys picked up their rifles and went forth to hunt and FEED THEIR FAMILIES. In many cases their results meant the family ate that day.
Imagine....back then there were no supermarkets to go to for supper. The cook, naturally MOM, waited for supper to be brought in. Then “fresh food” had a slight different meaning than now.
The young hunter was a hero, not a “gun grabbing thug.”
7mm-08. Highly accurate, low recoil, 30 cal projectile.
My first rifle (other than my .22 Rem 521) was a Short Action Rem .243 I bought at Foleys for $99.
I shot it for many years as a .243. I’ve since rebarreled it to 6.5 x 47 Lapua.
I am very partial to 6.5. I also have a 6.5Grendel.
So I would suggest the 6.5 Creedmoor as a first hunting rifle.
22-250 is a good option. 25-06 has controllable recoil also.
Simple. 30-30 is a rite of passage. Open site. You must kill and field dress the animal without assistance. Go.
I think you mean a .284 cal. projectile.
Agree if all you shoot is factory ammo.
However, if you reload, go with a .308 for youth/recoil sensitive shooters.
Target/practice loads using TrailBoss and bulk 150gr FMJ’s are very, very, low recoil (+/- 1400fps) and inexpensive.
Ask my kids, both of whom will shoot 50 each per session. Started my son shooting this load when he was 6.
Switch to H4895 and 125 Nosler BT’s for low recoil deer loads (2300fps) for shots <150 yds. DRT’s and if not, short red trails Ray Charles could follow.
A friend of mine got a Ruger American in 6.5 Creedmoor for his young and/or female kids. They seem to like it fine.
I rounded a little, it’s pretty close. Maybe just send the lawyers after me heh.
Oh I screw up all the time.
I try to have at least one real good one daily.
It's relatively light, very accurate, low recoil, and can be hightly customized, including the addition of an adjustable stock for smaller people.
Owners can be readily taught to make many repairs and parts are readily available. One could even buy a rifle kit and a stripped lower, allowing a youthful gun owner to build his or her own rifle. What a great parent-child project.
One of these days I'll learn how to install the bolt catch pin without scratching the receiver; not that I mind a small scratch. It's just the challenge of learning to do the job right. (I bought a "blem" kit but I didn't even bother to find the blemish.)
I agree with everything that you said. But for a youngster, for the first gun I would start with a .22 single shot, bolt action, or lever action. Not a semi-auto.
Following along those same lines, for hunting I would not suggest a semi-auto. Not for their first hunting rifle.
The parent-child building of an AR would be an excellent project. My son actually helped me build my first AR.
What aspect of semi-auto did you want to avoid?
You can always load just a single round.
My eight-year-old grandson knows the safety rules and knows how to unload a magazine-fed, semi-auto handgun. He's ready for his first firing range experience which I hope to supply in a couple of weeks.
Nice. I wonder if there is an easy way (or a tool) to install the hammer. I have found that to be a very awkward process requiring quite a bit of hand strength.
I would just want to instill the concepts of "make every shot count" and "one shot one kill" in hunting.
I don't know of any special tools, just a pin punch and a small brass hammer. And your thumb.
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