243 or 308 "reduced recoil" for youth

[Kurtr]

hold on guys

my first rifle was a .243

two years later I was a pot-smoking skater douche

coincidence?

I don’t think so

Odd I didn't think the .243 came out till 1955. I would have guessed a 45-70 as your first gun.

 

[Bed Wetter]

Odd I didn't think the .243 came out till 1955. I would have guessed a 45-70 as your first gun.

He thought guns were going to be a passing fad. Prior to the .243 he carried an atlatl.

 

[ShootnBlanks]

All my girls started hunting with youth model .243 and 80 grain loads. 11years-14yrs old.

 

[eyexer]

243 is a great all around gun for these parts. plenty of gun for deer and very good for varmints. very little recoil as is.

 

[db-2]

luvcatching bass

I agree with your comment. did hunt once with a 243 in a model 88 win.

umpteen years ago I bought a 7mm08 in a youth rifle for the kids and now my grandkids use the same gun. why a 7mm08, no real reason except that is what I order and bought and at the time not every store carried the shells.

My dad started me with a pre 64 model 70 win in 222. BB gun might of been better. Lucky I never hit one with it to find out. But I did graduate to a model 94 in 30-30 for many years ( i believe my dad paid 50 dollars for it and it has increase in value better than my couple of bucks in savings has). My cousin had a 222 also and trust me, they did lack the killing power.
However back in those days my uncle used a 22 HP in a savage 99. My brother had a 22 k hornet in a pre 64 model. The real boys would go to the VFW or Legion and get a 30-06 springfield, enfield, or 30-40 krag.

Jordan buck with a model 92 25-20 and one day I need to decide to use that or if my model 73 in 32-20 would do the job.

Guess what, they all worked. The natives around home used their 22 year round for the meat.

Just like Dodge, Chevy and Ford. One has this and the other has that. But Dodge has it all. db

 

[Petras]

I am with 1833 on this one. The browning hells canyon is an awesome gun. I've never shot the SPEED version, but I do have a Long Range Hunter in 6.5 creedmoor. This is by far the most pleasant gun I have ever shot. the 6.5 CM caliber is just a lower recoil round in general. Add in the muzzle break that comes standard on the Hells Canyon line and it is absolutely awesome.

If your not wanting to spend the coin on something like a Hells Canyon, I'd look into the savage axis 2 or the savage model 11. Both are great guns at a great price. .243 is a great caliber for youth. I actually used a 6mm for my first 10 years of hunting and loved it. I don't have any experience with a .308 so I can't weigh in there.

There are plenty of naysayers on here who call the 6.5cm a fad gun. When I can take my wife out (who has never shot a deer rifle_ and have her shooting less than 1" 3 shot groups in less than 10 rounds, that tells me that something about the gun and the caliber just flat out works. This caliber will work on all animals up to Moose. Moose may be a tough sell, but I imagine it would work on moose as well.

 

[SupressYourself]

I'm with Petras on this. Why not split the difference and go with a 6.5 Creed? It does everything a 308 will do, only better, and is 'enough gun' for any big game on this continent. You should have no trouble getting factory loads for it, although I'm not sure offhand if anyone does a 'reduced recoil' load yet.

 

[Petras]

I'm with Petras on this. Why not split the difference and go with a 6.5 Creed? It does everything a 308 will do, only better, and is 'enough gun' for any big game on this continent. You should have no trouble getting factory loads for it, although I'm not sure offhand if anyone does a 'reduced recoil' load yet.

I have never seen reduced recoil rounds for the 6.5CM either but with the low recoil that comes along with this caliber I don't personally see it as being necessary.

 

[Kurtr]

some of the 123 flavors in the creed would make it a real light shooter

 

[sweeney]

buy the kid a .243 and yourself a .308 if he wants to move up in a few years give him the .308

 

[Retired Educator]

Another way to reduce recoil, especially with some of today's quality bullets is to use the Laws of Physics. A lighter bullet going out results in less recoil coming back. The rules of velocity will still be involved but from my perception with my .270, a 110gr Barnes TTSX seems to have less felt recoil than a common 130gr. bullet in same gun. For that reason you will find it easier to obtain a lighter bullet in the .243, 25-06, 6.5, etc than in the .308 or even 7mm. On the converse if you ever want to use the gun on larger game then the .30 or 7mm's might be a better choice.

I have both a .270 and a .25-06 and wouldn't go elk hunting with the .25-06 but do love it on deer size game. Ballistically when I bought the .25-06 I thought it had better ballistics than the .243. All the more reason to buy another gun.

 

[sierra1995]

My first was a .270 browning a-bolt with the BOSS muzzle break. Loud but it doesn't kick much. So you could look into that option too, or add a suppressor for reduced recoil/noise.

 

[shorthairsrus]

to much overthinking IMO --- save some dollars and buy the gun you plan on shooting in the future -- providing your body is sized well enough to hold onto the gun/stock properly.

Recoil is overrated ----- when i was a kid -- i shot XXXXXXXXXXXXX 12 guage shells that i ever will the rest of my lifetime ---- 12 or a 20 both kick - when you put a 308 on your shoulder its a pea shooter vs the recoil from the shotgun.

 

[Retired Educator]

to much overthinking IMO --- save some dollars and buy the gun you plan on shooting in the future -- providing your body is sized well enough to hold onto the gun/stock properly.

Recoil is overrated ----- when i was a kid -- i shot XXXXXXXXXXXXX 12 guage shells that i ever will the rest of my lifetime ---- 12 or a 20 both kick - when you put a 308 on your shoulder its a pea shooter vs the recoil from the shotgun.

Especially when you grew up shooting 3in, 1 7/8 load of lead magnums. A good day of pass-shooting often ended with a black and blue mark on your shoulder or bicep if the gun slipped down a little. Man those were the days.

 

[remm]

buy the kid a .243 and yourself a .308 if he wants to move up in a few years give him the .308

I like your thinking, I have also been considering a 6.5 creed for him to try. If it happens to be a little much, well then oops, better buy another gun. Cost of a gun doesn't bother me as much as the cost of decent optics on it. For some reason I can justify spending the coin on the weapon but cringe when looking at price of good glass.

- - - Updated - - -

Especially when you grew up shooting 3in, 1 7/8 load of lead magnums. A good day of pass-shooting often ended with a black and blue mark on your shoulder or bicep if the gun slipped down a little. Man those were the days.

Or shooting the old 870 with them magnums whilst lying flat on your back in the dirt shooting at geese directly overhead. Lotta head ringing and black and blue arms.

 

[bigv]

I vote .243. That is now what my son (12) shoots. I believe it forces me to teach him correctly. Meaning I want to expose him to good ethical shots. Closer shots, Trying to keep shots within 225 yds or less. 243 is excellent for that range with minimal kick. Heck I started him at 10 with a 22-250. He stoned two does at 115 yds.

 

[espringers]

start him with the smaller one. .243 or 6.5. .243 was my first gun i ever got and it was the only rifle i had and hunted with for 23 years. it worked. i graduated to a 6.5 last year. love that gun too. when its time for him to start worrying about a bigger caliber for bigger game, he will be old enough to weigh the options himself and buy whatever he wants. oh... and i agree... there is no need for reduced recoil loads with either .243 or 6.5.

 

[Allen]

I picked up a Tikka T3 lite in 243 this year because I have a bunch of new shooters coming up over the next few years. The 11 year old that shot his deer with it this year really enjoyed shooting it compared to his POS 20 gauge Mossberg. It also has an adjustable (extension on butt) that makes it transformable to still fit him for years to come.

After a few years he can either migrate up to my 25-06, or I will get him another rifle as this one is used by others.

 

[PrairieGhost]

I have two 308s and two 6.5 Creedmoor. On deer size game you will see little or no difference. At longer range the Creedmoor has more energy unless you reload. The 308 with the 200gr ELD-X at 2575fps runs right with the Creedmoor. The 140gr Creedmoor will kick far less than that 308 with a 200bgr. Under 500 yards it's six of one a half dozen of the other. Bear at 50 yards 308. Every gun feels kind of small when you drop the hammer on things that bite back.

 

[huntorride365]

Good advise so far. I see this as a good excuse to get the wife to approve buying a gun since its for the kid. Whats the difference between the 7-08 and the 308? Really leaning towards the 308 since I have quite a bit of ammo for one already.

7-08 has little more recoil than a .243, however quite capable of killing elk. You wouldn't need to utilize reduced recoil.