Rifle size for daughter?

[Cuda-Cada]

Wondering what caliber rifle would be a good choice for my 17 year old daughter. She is small, about 5 foot, medium weight. Don't want her first rifle to scare or hurt her but want it to be able to knock down a whitetail. Thanks...

[baitchunker]

at 17 years old i suspect she could handle an average cal. rifle like an 06, or a .270.

but if she isnt too experienced with rifle hunting, i would sugest a youth model .243. its powerful enough to put meat on the ground. doesnt kick too much. and should be easy to handle.

[bluejay]

I agree with chunker. I would either go with a .243 or a 30.30.

[whisker maniac]

I also agree. You can also get rid of some of the kick if you get her an auto loader. An automatic uses some of the recoil of the shell to eject and load the next shell thus taking away some of the kick.

[katfish ken]

My sons both liked my Model Seven Remington in 308 Win cal when they were smaller . that has been many years ago now. The 308 Win. is light on recoil compared to an 06 or 270. The 30/30 243 or308 would be a good starter gun. The model Seven Remington is a smaller rifle than The 700 and usually fits people in the 5' to 5'6" range better. I'm 5'9" and prefer the fit oof the Model 7 over the 700 myself.

[on_the_fly]

my boy is 9 and he shoots a .243 by Rossi in the youth stock. I think its the best starter gun out for deer hunting for the price. but if your girl is 17 she might not need a youth stock I think I would go to a gun shop and let her fit and see if youth or standard stock is better. but I would still look at the .243 for my caliber choice though no matter how deep your pockets are for big name brands or not.

[BassCat]

I started shooting a marlin model 336 30-30 when I was 12, doesnt kick bad, and will lay the smackdown on a deer. Its a lever action, Super Gun, I still have it and still hunt with it in the woods to this day.

[john catfish young]

at 17 years old i suspect she could handle an average cal. rifle like an 06, or a .270.

but if she isnt too experienced with rifle hunting, i would sugest a youth model .243. its powerful enough to put meat on the ground. doesnt kick too much. and should be easy to handle.

I agree with chunker here!!!:big_smile:

[Kip Brandel]

The first question for me would be how long has she been hunting/shooting(?) and second would be where are you planning to hunt? I will explain them in reverse order because it is easier. If you are hunting Florida and southern Georgia the deer are much smaller than a Wisconsin Whitetail so even a 308 may be over kill. Now the first question, A 243 is a GREAT caliber BUT it requires proper shot placement, this requires experience and shooting experience. A larger diameter or harder hitting round will easily take a deer with a slightly off shot compared to a 243.
A 308, 30/30 or a 7mm/08 may be a better choice. I would look at the 7mm/08 as it is a gun that can be used on most North American game animals.
You can pick up a Harrington & Richardson single shot in 357 magnum, 44 magnum, 30/30, 243, 7mm/08 and 308.
A plus is if you get the regular rifle calibers you can have a barrel added to give you another choice for a different game animal.

[Jerry60k]

my boy is 9 and he shoots a .243 by Rossi in the youth stock. I think its the best starter gun out for deer hunting for the price. but if your girl is 17 she might not need a youth stock I think I would go to a gun shop and let her fit and see if youth or standard stock is better. but I would still look at the .243 for my caliber choice though no matter how deep your pockets are for big name brands or not.

I would have to agree with this statement.My son is 10 and weighs around 84 lbs and has no problem shooting his Rossi/Braztech .270.

Also you want to stick with 1 thing in mind.Shot placement has to be near perfect with smaller caliber rifles.A 30 cal (30-06 etc etc )provides a tad bit more knockdown and penetration.While some of these may have a slight kick they dont crack as sharply as the smaller guns.

Get some buddies together and take her shooting so she can try out a few different calibers.I would lean towards a 270,308 and she wont outgrow these calibers and can kill consistently any deer sized game and even black bear.

[catfish_clayton]

If she needs a target gun I'd say a 22. If she wants a deer rifle, a 30 30 or 35 would be a good choice. I was using a 30 30 when I was about 10. My dad broke me in with a 20ga. shotgun.

[CountryHart]

The little 260 mountain rifle is a sweet gun for youth, women or big he-men. Shoots flat and has plenty of horse power for deer.

[Poppa]

The most popular rifle for women and young hunters in recent years
is the 7mm/08. Manageable recoil but does the job well. I have known
two cases when after daddy got the young'un fixed up and sighted in
he liked the gun so well he had to have one to.

[Andrew Y'Barbo]

I'm 14 and shoot a 243,but I am fixing to get a 270.I am 6'2'' . I have used the same gun since I was 8 . Make sure you get a good gun. A regular weight gun does not kick as bad as a light weight youth single shot.Bigger the better ,but you have to compermise some where.

[poisonpits]

ive had a lot of rifles from 22-250 to 47-70 and my go to rifle is my 30-30 it has plenty of knock down on all but the biggest deer and little recoil.reguardless of caliber id go for single shot.shot placement is more important than big holes.

[Bill in SC]

<Rifle size for daughter?>

.243, and it's not just for kids.

BB in SC

[223reload]

I bought my first rifle at 17 I was 53 and about 120 lbs dripping wet,I still use it to this day 30 years later. My son is close to that same size and I bought him a 7/08 just in case he got the chance to hunt elk. I think any of the 308 family will suit your needs fine.

[Snagged2]

Yep good stuff,,
.243,,,, .257 Roberts,,,,,, 6.5x55 Swedish,,,, 7mm-08, good calibers, using lighter bullet weights, excellent terminal performance..Can load or purchase heavier bullets when needed..

I'd suggest a recoil pad,, make sure of proper length of pull, on the deer calibers. Helps keep the butt on the shoulder, and takes most of the sharpness away if the rifle is light.
Most manufacturers I'm sure make a shorter youth model if needed.

Main thing is engineer in some success while she's learning,, start w/ a .22, get used to handling a long gun...and learning to shoot, if needed.

After the basics are ingrained a bit, shoot at some sort of reactive target,,, seeing something get hit, keeps the fun in it,,, water jugs, clay pigeons , etc..

[stoney53]

yep 308 or 30/30 should be managable i still have my first deer rifle winchester 30/30 and still use it along with my savage 308 the recoil isnt bad in either

[youngbuck]

well iam 13 and have been shooting a 270 for about 3 three years but probably a 243.

[bownero]

I would recommend a 22-250. There is virtually no recoil at all. It has plenty of knockdown power at close ranges. I owned one when I was a teen-ager and loved it. Wish I still owned it!! It was a Remington BDL. Don't over power the girl when starting out. Just be concerned on the accuracy of the shot and her determination of hunting!!:wink:

[bluejay]

I bought a Savage .243 for the wife with the youth stock. They will give you a regular stock at no cost when someone out grows the youth model. At least that is the deal I got from them. I shoot a reg stock but had no problems shooting the youth model my self.

[TOPS]

My niece kill her first deer this year and she shot it with a 243, She loves her rifle.

[catfishjon]

Lots of good advise out there. Take your daughter out shooting a .22 first. Let her practice a lot till she gets all the basics down. Then move her up to a larger caliber and let her decide where her recoil tolerance level is. Recoil causes trigger jerk and misses or wounded animals. Stress shot placement as a priority and make all the practice sessions fun. Properly done and you will have a hunter for life. Good hunting, Catfishjon

[Txbluecatman]

I would definetly let her get comfortable with a .22 first. Preferably a the same action as the rifle she would be shoting. Get her started on the basics that way when she is comfortable shoting the 22 you can transition her right over to the larger caliber rifle. I would suggest the 7mm/08. Its a great caliber with minimum recoil and pretty good terminal performance out to reasonable ranges. This is how I started my wife out shoting. Hope this helps.