PM sent with same offer as jgiles - I am in Katy. That should cover both metromesses in case you are close by.

Jim

I would have to vote for the .270 you currently have. The 25-06 is going to kick only a little less than the 270. Not even enough to notice a difference.

You can always set him up target practicing with a gun like a .22 so that he understands how the scope works, and how to acquire the target and then when you go hunting, give him the .270 with a Limb Saver on it. Just don't let him target practice with it! Once he is on game and pulls that trigger for the first time, his adrenalin level will be high enough that he won't notice the kick at all. My only concern doing this would be that he hits his eye with the scope. Honestly .270's don't kick that hard, and if he is not too close to the scope-it won't be an issue. I am taking my 8 year old hog hunting in the next week or so. When I do-he will be shooting my .270 with reduced loads that I loaded. I will instruct him to head-shot the animal!

Regardless what decision you make-you are doing a great thing introducing him to hunting. He will have fond memories for a life time of hunting with his old man.

When I was working in Houston, a co worker of mine who was in his late 20's still shot the .243 he started out with. The gun his father gave to him. For texas deer it's all you ever will need and doesn't have a whole lot of recoil. Sure a .308 and/or 3006 is nice to have to have also (as I do) but I also having a .243 to shoot texas deer out of a stand works well..Just so you stay within 250 yards. I am a 180 pound 53 year old guy. Myself I shot a single shot 20 ga. slug gun when I was 12 and that kicked a lot harder that most deer rifles. Moved into a 30-30 when I proved I could do the single shot safely. I vote .243, but the ,308 with reduced loads sounds good too. He will pro9bably be ready for full loads anyway in 2-3 years.

See also the discussion on youth model .308:

http://www.texashuntingforum.com/ubbthre.../gonew/1#UNREAD

I say just get some reduced loads for the 270 you already have. I made some reduced loads for my brothers 270 for his girlfriend to shoot, they dont kick at all, and out to 100 yards have the same point of impact as the other bullets we shoot, they also still have plenty of power to provide a clean kill.

matt

I saw some Federal Fusion reduced loads yesterday in 270 at Gander mountain

For alot less than the cost of getting a Muzzle break installed, pick up some reloading equipment and reload some lighter loads for both your Son and yourself. You can very easily load that 30-06 down to 308 levels so that you won't have the problems with your bad shoulder. Secondly, the 270 can be just as easily loaded down so that the recoil out of it is about that of the 243. And believe it or not, reloading your hunting ammunition is fun and easy. It will also give you and your son a reason to hit the range together more before you go out hunting. Most importantly, you will not have to deal with the high level of muzzle blast noise and ear damage caused by the muzzle break and then when your son gets a little bigger, you can begin full power loads in the 270 and he'll still have an elk rifle. (I don't trust anything less than a 270 for elk.) After getting a few muzzlebreaks installed, it's my firm belief that they should ONLY be put on the large magnum calibers, and then ONLY if they are absolutely needed by the shooter. The added noise blast and accompanying ear damage just isn't worth it. (Virtually no one ever wears hearing protection while we are hunting.) Check around, you can get into reloading for alot less than most people spend on a muzzlebreak, and regardless of what some may tell you, Lee makes some very good equipment at very reasonable prices.

Regards, & Good Huntin' this Fall,
LlindeX

.243

7mm-08 w/ 120gr bullets

MY VOTE IS 243
REM OR SAVAGE EITHER ONE

I guess any of the above would do. I like the 243 and 308.

My vote is for the 243- thats what my 10yr son uses and it does a fantastic job of dropping deer.

First of all lets tell you what not to get at the risk of insulting (not intential) of a few here. The 7.62 X39 is a definite no no. It hits less hard than a 30.30, is not much good beyond 100 to 150 yards, is not known for its accuracy and you're limited in the rifles you can use.
Secondly, the 243 is popular and tons of them are sold with ammunition being cheap, however it's not the best deer cartridge out there. The round doesn't have the weight behind it to give good penetration and many of the rifles chambered for it have 18 inch barrels which means they're not going to give you the advertised velocity. Look up what the experts say and they'll tell you the 243 wounds lot of animal.
The best choices are three with a FULL size rifle with a 22 inch barrel. Remember your son is not going to be shrinking. In order the 7mm-08 and the 308 are truly superb and you can find ammunition for both easily. If memory serves me the 7mm is one of the top ranked cartridges sold and everyone knows about the 308. You can always use the reduced recoil stuff from Remington. There is absolutely no reason to put a muzzle brake on these rifle or any standard caliber for that matter.
Lastly the real dark horse is the 260 Remington. It was introduced commercially by Remington in 1997. It has not become very popular but it is absolutely superb and perhaps the best development of the 308 case. It is what the 243 wanted to be. It's a true long distance cartridge and is inherently very accurate. It can also shoot 140 grain bullets which give much higher sectional density and strength for penetration and bullet toughness. You're also not looking at very much more than 243 recoil, which is minimal anyway.
Also don't make this a first gun, make it the right gun and you'll see your grandsons use it. Hope this helps.

.243/.25-06/7mm-08/7.62X39/.260 any of these should be fine...or .270 or 30-06 w/muzzle brake/and or reduced recoil loads. My son shot a 243 from the time he was 7 until last year, he is now 12 also. Last year he started shooting a .270 w/regular loads, but he is big for his age. The main thing is always going to be shot placement. My son shoots 100's of rounds through a 10/22 w/ a scope all summer and I really believe this is great practice and it's fun. If you can take some of these guys up on their offers and let him shoot some different guns before you buy one that would be great. If it fits him and he can handle the recoil he should do fine with any of these calibers. Congrats on taking the time to do these things with him, kids are without a doubt the future of hunting. Most of all, have fun!!

Lets go over this item by item. No one ever said that the 7.62X 39 wouldn't kill, it's just not optimal. The same for the 243. The little Russian round is just not a long distance cartridge so I'd have to say you're "mistaken" about producing minute angles of acccuracy with it. The 243 while very very popular has it's problems. It's marginal but it's a good marginal cartridge for deer. No one ever said it wouldn't kill. There are just better ones out there, the 260 Remington being a very good example. As far as felt recoil of a 243 vs the 7.62 X 39 both are marginal in terms of recoil anyway even for a child. I doubt one could feel a significant difference between the two.

My daughter starting shooting .243 at Nine, no problems she wieghed 58 lbs at the time, Never had issues with the recoil, Bought a zeiss conquest 3x9x40, great eye relief no issues with her getting scoped (momma wouldnt have liked that much) with 85gr TSX no issues she can shoot tight groups and every deer is DRT. I have to agree on 7.62X39 not being optimal, the .260 is a great round, also 7mm08 for kids, One of those two will be my daughters next rifle, or 25/06, but I am waiting until she is ready. My .02 cents

Helomech if your grouping 2" at 200 with the blue monach boxes from academy I'd have to highly praise you. My mini-14 and AR hated them things.


Maybe I'm wrong but I believe the reason people are so fearful of the 7.62x39 for a deer rifle is the availability for non mil surplus/fmj rounds.

just shot the thing yesterday at 200 yards. Have you ever? I aint shooting it out of a AK, it is a single shot break barrel rifle. I am willing to bet you I can do it. I can post pics if that is necessary.

I am really begining to think you have never shot a 7.62X39. If you think the recoil is even close to a .243. I have to kids here that would say different. Hell I can tell a big difference

Number one there is little recoil for both cartridges. Secondly are you sure you don't mean 200 feet, because with yards I'm having a hard time with the alacrity of that statement.