Youth .243 options

[lakevet]

Any input on youth .243 options. Looking at solid, no frills, well made, functional gun with good safety, and eventually good resale. Also any input on scope brands/types/mounts. Shots will be under 150 yds. Want good value not cheapest or most expensive. Also anyone have advice on where to find a good used one? Thanks.

lakevet

[candiru]

Not a used one, but Howa makes a bolt action youth rifle that comes a youth stock and an adult stock. This gun will have a 3-postion safety. They are good functional rifles that won't hurt the budget too much. I have a Howa 1500 in 308 and really like it. The stock is built by Hogue. It is kind "rubberized" so it does not slip easily. It also has one of those "squishy" recoil pads. I assume the youth model would be the same.

[creepworm]

Savage would also be a good choice. They are quite cheap but seem to be good quality guns. The resale probably wouldn't be there for you though.

[Gordie]

I purchased the NEF in .243/20 ga single shot for my boy and I was really suprised how accurate it is. My son loves to shoot it and I do have it scoped up I also picked up a winchester model 100 in 308 for him but he said he would rather shoot the .243 so thats wht he will use until he tried of it.

It comes in youth model or adult FYI dont shoot the 20 ga as it has one heck of a whalop if you know what I mean. anyway I would recomend the NEF to anyone that has a kid.

BTW I have taken it out yotee hunting also.

[Archerysniper]

It comes in youth model or adult FYI dont shoot the 20 ga as it has one heck of a whalop if you know what I mean. anyway I would recomend the NEF to anyone that has a kid.

I know what you mean I had my buddies kid miss a deer with his NEF 20ga so when we got home I took a shot with it to see were it hit and holy cow kicks like a 3-1/2 turkey load I realized he was flinching so I let him shoot my 20ga 1100 with a sims pad and no more problems with flinching.

[Red Cabin]

The weatherby Vanguard .243 is a good value, I picked one up a few weeks ago for around $400. For a scope I am leaning toward the Redfield.

[remington 300]

are you dead set on a .243? just wondering if the choice was based on recoil or hunting situation. i got my son a savage model 111 combo,in 30-06, it came with a 3-9 cheap scope but is clear and works well so far. he was 13 when he got it, i just got him some of the managed recoil rounds for use until hes older and can start using the regular ammo,he was able to shoot a whole box the first site in without any hit of flinching, so recoil is like a .243. just a thought.

and for reference he shot a nice bear last fall with those rounds so nock-down power isnt a issue.

i forgot the price, it was 299.99 last year thats for the gun rings,scope,sling, mounted, and that model has a removeable box magazine that i really like for the new hunter, less fumbling around to unload,

check them out you may like'em

goodluck on the purchase,

mike

[Tim_Anderson]

I work in the Gander firearms dept. fall and winter. Fishing dept. during summer.

Best "bang for the buck" in my opinion would be the Savage. Well made, accurate barrel. Good triggers. One of the smoothest bolts for the money. Various options for the clip. Youth model is available with shorter stock if that's what you want. Should be able to get into a new one for under $500. Thompson Center also makes a nice bolt gun for under $500.

Nikon Prostaff is best bang for the buck when it comes to optics. Waterproof, fogproof, lifetime warranty. Clear and bright, and around $150 bucks for a 3-9 power with BDC reticle or regular. Burris has a good value too.

Just my opinion.

Keep in mind that going with a small round isn't everything. My son grew up shooting a .300 win mag in a browning autoloader - by the age of 11 he was killing deer and bear with it. The gun doesn't kick much at all, because it is a heavy bugger - probably about a 10 pound gun. Tradeoff is, he has to lug it around. But he walks a short distance and crawls up into his stand and then shoots from a rest, so it works out well.

Gun weight makes all the difference in the world. I grew up shooting a Remington pump action in a .270. Love the cartridge for deer... but that gun kicked like a mule! My Remington 700 mountain rifle at 6 pounds also kicks like crazy - it's the price you pay for a light gun. Nice to carry though, and if you don't shoot very much (as in my case with trophy hunting), it's well worth it.

Just some stuff to think about. Have fun with the shopping, and good luck hunting.

[lakevet]

Thanks for the input. Any other thoughts?

lakevet

[Borch]

The remington Model 7 is another nice option for youth. It has a sorter more compact design and also comes with a youth stock. One of my daughters has this gun and she is very small statured and the gun fits her well in the youth.

Kids in our group have shoot almost all of the option listed thus far other than the vangard. Although none of them shoot these guns in .243 caliber. Most of the guns are in 7mm-08 which is built off the same casing as the .243 but gives you more options in bullet weights and styles with very simuliar recoil. Plus I have reservations of inexperienced hunter shooting such light bullets at deer where being more selective is required.

Felt recoil is more influenced by gun fit and weight than caliber. I'd have him/her go into a gun shop with a good selection and try out rifles for fit. Once he/she finds one or two that fit then work out what caliber you can find it in. Some good lighter kicking ones are the .243, .260, 6mm, 7mm-08 and .308.

Another thing to consider is if the youth will ever hunt something other than deer. The .243 will be awfully light for elk but great for shooting varmits.

[lakevet]

Set on .243 and minimal recoil. Too many deer and some elk wounded by those who shot bigger gun than they should and flinched. We have never used anything bigger than 30-06 and some older relatives long gone who grew up hunting around 1900 used .22's very effectively on deer when they were legal waaaay back then. Obviously would not recommend that now, just saying I want the boys to be very accurate shots first and foremost. Have 2 friends who guide elk and have used .243 exclusively. They cringe every time a client shows up with a brand new cannon. Can start with 55 gr then work up to deer wt bullets, probably Remington Core Lokt.

Considering Remington 700 SPS w/r3 recoil pad. Comes as lefty as two kids are lefty's. Want as little recoil as possible. Any one have one that can comment on how it worked as starter rifle? I understand you can get the compact model and when the kid gets older you can just swap out the stock as the action/barrel is the same. Also heard that any .243 Youth models with shorter barrels really bark and to stay with a standard barrel. Also looking at Savage 11 Youth, but it's a little light weight and don't know if can restock to adult size readily or if comes in lefty.

thanks for the help,

lakevet

[Borch]

Needing a left hand option will definitely shorten the list in a youth sized gun.

If that gun will fit the kid then if should work fine.

[WalleyeGod]

Browning A-Bolt Micro Hunter in LH action. Nice little rig topped off with a Nikon 3-9 scope.

WG

[BEEFEATER]

browning lever.243 = end of all your worries

short action with or without pistol grip

[USDA3]

We've got a Tikka T3 in .243 cal which has proven very accurate, as well as other calibers in the tikka line. It's a smaller, lite rifle with proven accuracy.

I would suggest which ever brand you choose, consider the weight of the firearm. Although it is typical for a lighter firearm to have more recoil, I beleive it is harder to steady a larger rifle for kids if not using some sort of rest. I didn't hunt from stands when I was young so a good rest was hard to come by and most shots were freehand..it was nice that I wasn't using a rifle with a monster barrel and scope.

[nonteepical]

ruger compact

[Cicada]

Might be hard ot find now, but I bought a Remington 788 in a .243 when I was 14 years old. Fit me great then, and has now gone hunting with me for over 30 years.

[paul pachowicz]

Cicada, I bought two 788's in .243 for my sons back in '83. Both are tack drivers that are still in use. I saw one at a gun show here a few months ago with a price tag of 600.00 and the guy wasn't budging. The magazines are kinda hard to find as well.

[Cicada]

I bought mine in 1975. It was in a classmates family for at least ten years before that. The classmate traded it in for a duckboat. I paid $150.00 for the gun and a 4x scope. We talked them into throwing in a shoulder strap, and extra clip and a box of shells.

[SmilinBob]

check out the Weatherby Vanguard, they can be had in the $425 neighborhood.

[Dahitman44]

Is there a reason to get a youth over a adult model? I have twins that are 10 and can hunt this year with me.

They will be sitting in a stand. Will drive wheeler most of the way. Thoughts?

Thanks

Hit

[Red Cabin]

A smaller gun should be a better fit to a smaller shooter, but at 10 years old you might be better off with the standard size because of the difference in recoil.

[Cicada]

I got a Remington 788 in a .243 when I was fourteen years old. I was never afraid to shoot it. My brother got a short 30-06 that kicked like a ticked off mule. He only hung on to it for two years and got smething different. Start them off with a gun that fits and they may use it for life. I still use the old Remington 788.

[lichen fox]

I think that the .22 caliber options for youth are being missed here! How about starting them with a .223, 22-250, etc..."alot" less recoil than a .243 or similar cartridge... plenty of knock-down power if you keep the kids shots within 100 yards...and a wider audiance of buyers including varmint hunters, deer hunters and target shooters, should you decide to sell down the road...

[Ufatz]

Please keep the kids rifles above the .22 level. Yes, of course you CAN kill a deer with one of them IF you are a fine shot and IF you are very calm and careful and IF the deer is totally out in the open and not too far away.

Odd's are TOO high that a bad shot is made and a lot of tracking and suffering is going to ruin things.

The best advice is stay in the .243, 257, 6mm area. Speaking of which: a kid can shoot a 6mm all day long without fear.

Then get the kids out SEVERAL times and go through a goodly pile of ammo BEFORE the season starts. Spend bucks on ammo NOW and assure a good hunt later.