Is A Tikka T3 Lite in .243 Okay for My 8 Year Old Son?

Hey Guys,

I was wondering if it would be a good idea for my son to start shooting the Tikka .243 at the gun range for a deer hunt next year. He has shot 22LR rifles before without any issues. Will he develop a flinch shooting this gun on a regular basis? Should I use lite loads to soften the recoil? Do you guys have any gun range advice to get him ready. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Joe

The Tikka has a pretty good recoil pad. As for recoil, I was just shooting my 260 with 100 gr and 120 gr bullets. There is a definite reduction in recoil with the lighter bullet. I'd go with something less than 100 grains, and if reduced recoil rounds are available, get some of those. Also, it might be a good idea to let him shoot a 223 for practice. It's an easy step up from the 22LR and would get him use to the bigger "bang".

I have shot the "reduced recoil" loads in our 243. I can't tell any difference at all. None. If you have to resort to reduced recoil loads in a gun your better option is to go to another cartridge altogether.

I have informally (God knows I'm not an instructor!) taught 7-8 grade students to handle a shotgun on the skeet fields. I can attest to the fact that every kid is different. About half were of the "WOW ...COOL!" crowd, half were "Ehhh,it's OK" and there were always several who handed the gun back and wanted no part of it later on. The point is that they are all different in their attitude towards it. If your son is extremely excited and raring to go he could probably be ok with a 30.06 and laugh while shooting it. If he's eager but also a bit hesitant, and the gun tags him more than he expected the first shot, you've likely gotten off on the wrong foot and will have to back off a bit.

Every kid is different. There is no way anyone here can advise you about your child and his/her recoil tolerance.

I'd let him get use to a gun that's loud and has a bit of recoil before I turned him loose with a 243

If you handload, try 70 grain SMK's with Varget to produce some "soft" 243 loads for practice. Otherwise spring for a 223 for the regular practice.

Also, make sure it is not too big for him.

The Ruger American Compact 223 can be picked up for about $350 out the door, and 223 bulk ammo is cheap enough.

That is what my dad started me out with when I was a kid. While I'll admit it seemed like a cannon at the range, I never felt any recoil in the woods. My desire to shoot a deer was greater than my fear of recoil as he wasn't going to let me shoot a deer until I could be consistent on paper.
He was the same way teaching me to make sausage and learning how to smoke it.

30-06...for an eight year old? Your kidding right? Unless the eight year old is very big for his age and even then the average eight year old would get kicked hard. And if this gentleman is asking about the recoil of a 243 how in the world would you get that a 30-06 would work for him? By asking the question alone....that's enough to understand that this is not someone who could handle a 30-06 effectively...geez.

I will say this if the 243 has a "light" stock on it then it could be a little much even with a recoil pad but if you have one that has a little weight to it with a good recoil pad the 243 should be fine.

I don't know if it is true or not but growing up I always heard that a light weight gun will have some recoil and a Tikka is very light weight. I started out on a wood stock heavy barrel 7mm-08 and it had almost no recoil. I didn't get my tikka until I was 13.

Yes, it is a perfect rifle for him. I wouldn't worry about the weight of the stock, the recoil on a .243 is very low.

If you are still worried about stock weight, you can buy a Tikka Hunter or just scoop up a wood stock. They pop up on THF Classifieds from time to time. Or, just fill the Tikka T3 Lite stock with epoxy and shotgun BB's, that's an easy way to add weight and reduce recoil.

I don't know if you have a suppressor, but I would look into getting one. A .243 with a suppressor honestly feels like a .22lr.

I could be wrong but I'm thinking he wants a lite because it's left handed. I'm pretty sure no other tikka is left handed. Like I said I could be wrong though about him being left handed.

If he has shot a lot I don't think it will bother him. If he is relatively new to shooting it may take a bit to get used to.

Personally I would look for a heavier gun in 243 to reduce recoil even more. I have been very impressed with the wby vanguard rifles and they are on the heavy end of the spectrum.

Whoops, didn't see the left handed part.

+1 on the low recoil rounds. YMMV, but I can definitely feel a difference between the regular 100gr Core Lockt's and the Hornady Custom Lite 87gr reduced recoil rounds. Does it turn the 243 into a 22lr or 223, no it doesn't. However, if you shoot the two back to back, you will feel a slight reduction in recoil.

This is just an aside, but my son didn't like the recoil that much on his 243 until he started shooting doves with his Remington 870 20g. After blasting away with the shotgun for a day or two, he came back to the 243 and said this thing doesn't kick at all, can I try your 308 again?

A.243 should be fine. I'd say even more important than reduced recoil would be hearing protection. Get some earplugs or earmuffs for the kid to use while hunting. It will definitely help reduce flinching.

Good ear protection and lite loads. When I started with mine years ago. They were more afraid of the bang than the kick. Good luck with him.

I have a Tika Lite 243. I removed the recoil pad, added silicone in to the stock for additional weight and then installed an aftermarket recoil pad. It shoots like a [censored] cat....

Should be ok for him. Wear ear protection. The bang is worse on em than the recoil.