Looking for a deer rifle for my very petite 10 yr old daughter who only weighs about 70lbs. I know that .243 is a great cartridge, but leaning more towards .223 due to the fact that I have an abundance of it and really don't want to add another cartridge variety. Savage has a bolt-action youth .223. Rossi also has a Matched Set .223/20ga. Anyone have any experience/suggestions?
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Tigerstripe
Well-Known Fanatic
has she ever fired a high powered rifle?
what do you think she can handle?
410 slugs?
223 will work with good shot placement. youth Rem model 7 is short and i think a little shorter than a youth Rem 700.
what do you think she can handle?
410 slugs?
223 will work with good shot placement. youth Rem model 7 is short and i think a little shorter than a youth Rem 700.
LiveFreeorDie
Well-Known Fanatic
Though not inherently unlawful to hunt deer with, SCDNR prefers calibers larger than .223/5.56 for taking deer because only a perfectly placed shot directly to the spine ensures a humane kill. Just passing along what little I know. 10 years old and 70 pounds is small for any deer rifle. The only one that comes to my mind is the youth model Winchester 30-30. The gun itself is light, short-barrelled (16.25 inches) with a short length of pull (stock to trigger) but I don't know how she'd handle the recoil. Let us know what she ends up with.
Tigerstripe
Well-Known Fanatic
with DNR regulations you have to read between the lines. i believe the same "rules" apply for the most part, to private land.
quote from DNR regs"on WMA lands, big game hunters are not allowed to use millitary or hard jacketed bullets or .22 or smaller rimfire."
that means no FMJ and no rimfire. doesnt mean no .22 cal as in 223, 5.56 centerfire.
i took 7 deer with my first AR-15 before i went to another rifle but like ive said i like to get them close. longest was maybe 50 yrds. went like any other bullet. she ran, hit a tree and fell down dead.
Saturday i shot a doe at about 30 yds high in the neck with my 308. she dropped and kicked a bit then stopped.
quote from DNR regs"on WMA lands, big game hunters are not allowed to use millitary or hard jacketed bullets or .22 or smaller rimfire."
that means no FMJ and no rimfire. doesnt mean no .22 cal as in 223, 5.56 centerfire.
i took 7 deer with my first AR-15 before i went to another rifle but like ive said i like to get them close. longest was maybe 50 yrds. went like any other bullet. she ran, hit a tree and fell down dead.
Saturday i shot a doe at about 30 yds high in the neck with my 308. she dropped and kicked a bit then stopped.
LiveFreeorDie
Well-Known Fanatic
Had another thought for you: I just completed my second AR, this one in 300 BLK (300 AAC Blackout) and am on the 300blktalk forum. There is a "Hunting Discussion" sub-forum with pics of several 7 and 10 year olds with their nice buck kills using 300BLK. Having shot the round, there is little recoil, fires a .308 bullet using fast burning powders (and hence less of it), is extremely accurate, packs a punch, and is available in super and subsonic velocities. Your daughter's rifle doesn't have to be in an AR platform if you want something else. Just worth considering.
urbancommandox
Well-Known Fanatic
LiveFreeorDie said:
Barnes 110gr black tips.
Hard to beat the savage option.
As for the round though, some considerations (from an admitted hunting novice with more range work and research than field experience, so take my advice for whatever you think it's worth)-
.223 will work fine for deer, they aren't armor plated after all. BUT, keep in mind that deer are pretty well the upper limit for the round. You are going to need a heavy well constructed round, so what you have on hand in abundance may or may not work to start with. So you're potentially adding ammo anyway.
Along those same lines, shot placement is key and the margin of error isn't going to be as large as it would be with a more powerful round. How good a shot is she? If she understands good shot placement and can deliver accuracy, it stays an OK choice. If there's any doubts in that department, I'd up it to something with a little higher margin of error.
Personally, I'd step her up to a .243. I've shot both from bolt guns, the .243 is not much more recoil IMO. Add a nice recoil pad and she should have no problems. You get better ammo selection, more power, a round she can stick with and have some more options, etc.
As for the round though, some considerations (from an admitted hunting novice with more range work and research than field experience, so take my advice for whatever you think it's worth)-
.223 will work fine for deer, they aren't armor plated after all. BUT, keep in mind that deer are pretty well the upper limit for the round. You are going to need a heavy well constructed round, so what you have on hand in abundance may or may not work to start with. So you're potentially adding ammo anyway.
Along those same lines, shot placement is key and the margin of error isn't going to be as large as it would be with a more powerful round. How good a shot is she? If she understands good shot placement and can deliver accuracy, it stays an OK choice. If there's any doubts in that department, I'd up it to something with a little higher margin of error.
Personally, I'd step her up to a .243. I've shot both from bolt guns, the .243 is not much more recoil IMO. Add a nice recoil pad and she should have no problems. You get better ammo selection, more power, a round she can stick with and have some more options, etc.
Shrapnel762
Well-Known Fanatic
have you thought about 25.06? I'm in the group that thinks .223 is borderline for deer
rotarymike
Well-Known Fanatic
I'm going to plug for 6.8SPC. There are a couple of bolt guns in the caliber, and recoil is only a teeny more than .223. Plenty of ballistics to take a deer or hog.
thebrasilian
Well-Known Fanatic
300 AAC Blackout.
Use the AR platform. Has lower recoil than most bolt guns and plenty of successful threads on the internet for deer.
Use the AR platform. Has lower recoil than most bolt guns and plenty of successful threads on the internet for deer.
thebrasilian
Well-Known Fanatic
If your around Columbia PM me. I'll let her shoot mine (pictured below).
