What caliber for son?

[Dougfirtree]

7mm-08 gets my vote. Plenty of folks on this site will attest to how effective it is on elk, with a good bullet. And even if the kid is pretty good with recoil, I'd still have him practice mostly with reduced loads. It should be fun!

My sons have a .308 because I got a screaming deal on it. So I load it down using H 4895. Right now, their practice load is a 125 grain Sierra Game Changer at about 2770fps. It's accurate and has very light recoil. It also gives a decent trajectory. Their hunting load for around here is a 130 grain Barnes TTSX at about 2740. Same pleasant recoil.

 

[44hunter45]

I was a strapping lad with long arms and hated the beating I took from our old crescent butt plate Model 94. I loved my dad's 742 Remington in 30-06. Being a semi, it does buffer recoil quite a bit.
I could not be stopped from shooting heavy rifles and still love it.

My 10 granddaughter is not me. She is slight and hates recoil. I've limited her to deer with a .223 Rem, which is legal here in Idaho. She loves trigger time with the 22 and has developed good form.
BTW- the reason she hates recoil is because her stepdad put her behind a 270 Win.

I would say wait before you put him behind any center fire right now. A couple of bricks worth of 22 LR working on sight picture and trigger form right now will pay huge benefits. It's like nailing down your multiplication and division before you jump into algebra.
the difference between 10 and 12 is huge when it comes to the growth in boys. Good skills now will transfer to the 30-06 later. You can have him good to go in short order before his opener when he is 12.

 

[MTLabrador]

Another vote for the 6.5 CM or .243.

 

[slatebuilder]

A .243 is fun to shoot, light recoil, and can provide a ton of non-abusive repetition.

Big woods, small woods, plains, whatever it’s more than likely effective on game beyond most shooters field abilities. My kids shoot an ugly plastic 700 Remington youth model with a 3-9 Leupold on top. It stacks hand loaded 100 grain Nosler partitions or factory loaded Hornady 100 grain Interlock American whitetail ammo on a dime, and they can shoot it a lot and enjoy it.

 

[TheNorthStar]

When I graduated from my Dad's Ruger .44 mag carbine, I bought a 30.06. I believe I was 13. However I'm going to start my kids out with either a .243 or a 6.5 creedmoor.

 

[npaden]

I went through this process recently and picked up a 7mm-08 for my son. We have sent 100 rounds downrange in the last couple months with it and he is getting to where he enjoys shooting it more each time we go out. Not sure he would be enjoying a 30-06 quite as much.

We have settled on the Nosler E-TIPs for it and they really hold energy down range well. We will hopefully find out it's terminal performance on an elk in less than a month.

 

[406dn]

I started my son first with a .22 rimfire rifle, so he could learn how to shoot. Then for a few years, I loaded reduced loads in a .270Win. Since, I would not let him take a long shot, the reduced muzzle velocity did not limit his range. He killed a cow elk with one shot at something around 200 yards. I never worked harder getting an animal out than that cow.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Keep it simple - .308

 

[6speed]

At 10 my daughter started with my 220 Swift and a cut down donor stock. It worked great on her antelope and her first deer. This year she wants to hunt elk. I picked up a Savage 110 Engage Hunter package in 6.5 CM. The engage package comes with the 22" barrel so it saves a few ounces and balances better for her short arms. I took out all of the spacers in the stock and added a cheek pad and it fits her perfectly. I started her with 90 grain varmint noslers over 35 grains of H4895 and she has slowly been working up to a 40 grain load. She should have no problem shooting the 120s when her antelope season opens next month and be set for the 140s for elk in November.

 

[6mm Remington]

25-06 would be a great starter with the ability to take elk as well. A 120 gr. Partition or 110 gr. Accubond would work very effectively and the 25-06 is a pleasure to shoot. A Ruger Hawkeye or Remington Classic or Mountain rifle would be good.

This would be good also!!

Model 70 Extreme Weather SS

Exception bolt-action hunting rifle for adverse weather, Bell and Carlson stock, aluminum bedding block, matte stainless action and fluted barrel, M.O.A. trigger system, Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad.

www.winchesterguns.com

Model 70 Featherweight

Light weight bolt-action hunting rifle with classic looks. Checkered satin finish stock with Schnabel forearm, lighter Featherweight barrel profile, controlled round feed, Pachmayr pad.

www.winchesterguns.com

 

[WyoDoug]

I am looking for advice on a rifle for my sons first big game gun. My son is 10 years old he can handle full power 30-06 loads. So my question is what caliber would you get if you was me buying him his first big game rifle? I reload so I can lesson the power if its something bigger than a 30-06. I want something that when he gets bigger that he will not be scared of. Where I'm from we hunt antelope mule deer and elk. Thanks.

He should be able to handle a 30-06 with 150 to 185 grain bullets easy. I dropped down to a 30-06 myself due to my shoulder surgery because of the recoil of the heavier rifles. I shoot 185 grain Nosler Accubonds out of my 30-06 with little recoil and I do not do any flinching like I used to.

 

[Scott85]

280AI

 

[UncleRick]

30-06 with light loads or go with the 270. i learned on a 30-30 and 30-06. if it its something your son might carry for Years, you don't want to get something too light. you never know you might have a chance to take him after elk or moose in the next few years.

 

[Vanishe187]

So .308 is what i vote for. I have my nephew who is 11 shooting it this year. I run 125 grain for deer and elk i shoot 165 grain. That being said i also would recommend a 6.5 creedmore. 7mm-08 would be my 2nd choice after a 6.5 or 308. Nephew took a nice elk last year with the 6.5 @ 265 yards. Put the cow down hard. Honestly i love my 308 and will always be my first choice.

 

[VikingsGuy]

25-06 would be a great starter with the ability to take elk as well. A 120 gr. Partition or 110 gr. Accubond would work very effectively and the 25-06 is a pleasure to shoot. A Ruger Hawkeye or Remington Classic or Mountain rifle would be good.

This would be good also!!

Model 70 Extreme Weather SS

Exception bolt-action hunting rifle for adverse weather, Bell and Carlson stock, aluminum bedding block, matte stainless action and fluted barrel, M.O.A. trigger system, Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad.

www.winchesterguns.com

Model 70 Featherweight

Light weight bolt-action hunting rifle with classic looks. Checkered satin finish stock with Schnabel forearm, lighter Featherweight barrel profile, controlled round feed, Pachmayr pad.

www.winchesterguns.com

I LOVE my 25-06, but I don’t think of it as a youth caliber. A 6.5cm will have less muzzle flash and recoil and be at least as effective on elk.

 

[Buckyranger42]

I am looking for advice on a rifle for my sons first big game gun. My son is 10 years old he can handle full power 30-06 loads. So my question is what caliber would you get if you was me buying him his first big game rifle? I reload so I can lesson the power if its something bigger than a 30-06. I want something that when he gets bigger that he will not be scared of. Where I'm from we hunt antelope mule deer and elk. Thanks.

Fun! The way I read your question is: "should I cut to the chase and go 300WM?" Are there rifle options that will fit him at his age in 300WM? Either way, if he's comfy with the '06 you can't go wrong with that. The recoil factor is "heavily" (pun intended) dependent on rifle design including weight, but it sounds like you can load 300WM rounds that shoot like an '06 round.

The psychological factor, IMO, is the key. I used what I call the "Caliber Confidence Test" with my boys: I showed them several options and without hesitation they gravitated to what makes them confident and comfortable. What does he gravitate to when you show him a 7mm-08, 308, 280, 30-06, 280AI, 7mm Rem Mag, 300WM, 300WSM, 300WBY, 338WM, 375HH...

 

[VikingsGuy]

Fun! The way I read your question is: "should I cut to the chase and go 300WM?"

That’s how I read it too, but HT wisdom on these common threads is to avoid unnecessary recoil when training new shooters (regardless of how it was done in the good old days).

Plus, the “one rifle forever” is a bit of a misplaced goal in my view - if the kid loves hunting he will have way more than one gun in his future - and if he doesn’t like it then this one gun isn’t that relevant. If it‘s about a life time gun that will be treasured above the others, then the chambering doesn’t matter either - a keep sake gun could be a .22LR or a 30-30 as well as a 30-06. So the best thing is to find the gun the kid will shoot well for the next 4-5 years and then revisit as his size and interest grows.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

30-06 perfectly fine. My son, now 11, runs the same.
I do reduced load t/o the year but he shoots it mostly before season and during the hunts (3 harvest thus far).

He mainly shoots his 17 HMR and 22 LR to maintain skills during the year. As long as those skills are solid he knows to do the exact same thing when the crosshairs are on his animal using the 30-06. He shoots thousands of rounds between the 22LR and 17 HMR. He's a pretty solid shot.

He says it perfectly. He never remembers the shot nor the recoil when hunting.

 

[Simeod]

I struggled with this for my son and wife. I had originally bought my son a Taurus. 243 break barrel, he was 10. It functioned exactly the same as his Rossi break barrel 22lr and I liked the ability for him to practice with the 22lr the exact same as his hunting rifle. Unfortunately I did not pay attention to how heavy the gun was and it was just a beast for him to lug around and the forward weight destroyed any kind of shooting form.

1 hunting season later, my wife also needed a hunting rifle and I was trying to simplify everything and keep them the same. Talked to a lot of people smarter than me on the gun issue and the thing that stuck with me was get one gun that can do it all. The guy I was dealing with had just built a rifle with a new muzzle brake and had me give it a try. Ended up getting two Thompson Centers in 30-06. They come with a threaded barrel. Added the muzzle brakes and never looked back. The wife and son both shoot them accurately with no flinch.

If you like the 30-06. Trying a muzzle brake may help with any issues. Biggest issue we have had is noise. It will be darned loud for the shooter. We got electronic earmuffs for that reason.

 

[matt0550]

If you like the 30-06. Trying a muzzle brake may help with any issues. Biggest issue we have had is noise. It will be darned loud for the shooter. We got electronic earmuffs for that reason.

Absolutely true, but with a brake you also have the other end of the concussion to deal with - though under reduced recoil. This pic is a Christensen brake doing its thing on a 6.5 CM in low light. I wish I had the rest of these pics on my phone because in the frame just after this, you can see the orange halo on each side enlarged and traveling further back toward the shooter.