I reckon the browning will work quite well

my model 7 is awesome. I'd go there or the browning.

What about a single shot H&R in whichever caliber you like? Seems like a good choice.

I'm going to say none of the above.

In the last few years, my son and daughter both have taken their first deer with a suppressed 6.8 SPC-II in an AR.

I like this set-up for lots of reasons, but here are a few:

1. My kids are small. The stock collapses shorter than many "kid" rifles, so it fits them and they can get comfortable with it.
2. 6.8 SPC-II. It's like a .270 short (not short magnum!) and will kill any deer or pig in Texas that's within 300 yards. More margin for error over the .223, but a miss is still a miss.
3. AR. It's already soft shooting. See #1.
4. Suppressor. Makes it even softer shooting, and on my short barrel, I get some speed back. The 6.8 is a superb round to shoot suppressed, plus the kids don't learn to flinch from noise...nor does the noise turn them off from shooting altogether like can happen from shooting a high powered rifle cartridge in a bolt action.

I know not all of that may be in your budget (it took me a few years to put this rig together), but you can likely still get an AR in 6.8 (likely have to buy upper and lower separately, or maybe you have a lower already?) for a decent deal if anything's in stock.

Complete uppers in stock here from Eric, one of our forum members (hdfireman, I think). I got my upper from him and it rides on an Lewis Machine & Tool registered SBR lower. Quality parts and my upper (12.5") has been sub-MOA with everything I've fed it (factory and handloads). Hope this helps! Any questions, let me know.

https://www.blackstonearms.com/category-s/100.htm

Hell, the 336 is the only thing to carry.

Lots of opinions here on brand or "style" of a Beginning Hunter's 1st rifle to buy, so I'll offer another log on the Fire. FWIW I spent 13 years selling firearms & shooting supplies in 5 states as a wholesaler's & Mfg'ers rep and have had this ??" posed to me thousands of times by anxious daddys and eager young'uns... so here's some of my thoughts.

These days there are not really many bad thoughts on what to buy...but as always ...some ideas are better than others depending on who we are really trying to satisfy, the child, the daddy, the grand daddy and the rest of Family and Interested Others Hunting Clan the child will be subjected to satisfying this choice over. Me, myself and my 2 sons were no different... but I did not "give" them a "1st rifle" they learned to shoot on my arsenal on a variety of rifles and scopes. ..beginning with a scoped 22LR BOLT ACTION after the oldest showed me the folly of him using a Spray & Pray self loader during a semi serious teaching lead exercise of hitting targets of floating leaves in a moving creek from a high overhead shooting position. He never got shoot my 10/22 again.

Oldest son & the most headstrong of my 2 never gave much effort in learning to shoot or hunt, being more interested in what things cost and If they made him "Look Studly" ....consequently, he could not hit well with anything and always blamed even the SAKO rifle's I was letting him use instead of his lack of effort. Youngest son put more effort in learning and it showed, as he killed his 1st WT doe with a ltd production SAKO 223 Classic grade with his 1st shot on game, a difficult shot at about 140 yards that was spot on out of tree limb blind that was moving around in the wind big time.....but for him it was a "One and Done" Been there and done that experience. My bigtime crippled up grandpop who'd been run over guiding a firetruck into it's service bay, hunted all his life to feed his family with anything that'd put meat on the table, from his beginnings as a dirt poor cotton farmer's 6th child and ran away from home at 16 some 30 years before the dark days of the Recession, saw me using a pitiful looking WW I sporterized O3A3 that still had the steel butt plate but never said anything about it as long as I "Made Meat", Making Meat was what it was always all about , but later gave me a SAKO 243 as a wedding present, and was my most valuable teacher with the admonition to "buy the Best Quality things you can afford in life ONLY IF you are planning to keep them the rest of your life..and if you aren't gonna keep stuff forever but just use it a few times.... then buy the cheap stuff and sell it PDQ after you've been there and done what you needed to do.

FWIW IMO I learned to shoot accurately enough with that SAKO 243 to "write" my initials on the back of a business card at 100 yards, to win my next weeks lunch money, or go hungry as I had spent my lunch money on gas to get to the shooting range, but depending the physical size of the Youngster I would teach them to shoot one of the newer more efficient, cheap to buy, easy to find ammo calibers with about the same amount of recoil as a 243 in a 6.5CM or 7-08, But my #1 caveat is I'd make dang sure the rifle, regardless of brand or finish "FIT" the youngster THE VERY best of the available choices. To me, today I'd probably start one of mine after they showed a continuing interest in hunting .... a stainless Tikka T3 in one of those more efficient modern common calibers, something they could keep and use anywhere in North America on everything but Grizz for the rest of theirs. FWIW SAKO's were and I assume still are built as something a grandfather gives to his grandchildren as a Lifetime Investment kind of tool.
Just my Opinion after coaching too many of kiddo's & daddy's thru this event to count.
Ron

Browning. My son has used an Abolt Medallion since he was 8.

My pick would be the Weatherby, my daughter started out on with and still hunts with it. She’s 30 now.

Speaking of lever guns and manual transmissions, my son wanted a 30-30 for his first deer rifle. Got him a 336 which he used for a couple of years and then wanted a 30-06. I got him one because I’d started liking the his 30-30. His first vehicle had a standard transmission because he wanted one. Took him about two hours to master it.

This, with a scope.

IMO, by this point in the process he or she already knows how to shoot from a lot of experience behind iron sights on a rim fire. I mean like a couple of years on a bench, off the tail gate, popping cans, spinning targets and turtles from a tank damn. This teaches the fundamentals of trigger pull, staying on the gun through the shot, etc.........

The "learning to hunt" part of the equation is equally important, but different. My dad wanted me to be successful on my first deer. After he knew I could shoot he moved me up to what I would spend my life hunting with, a scoped rifle.

Chris my son started with a .243 as well, great caliber and pick the gun that best fits them.

Went through this whole ordeal back at Christmas trying to get our 6yo his first rifle. Ended up getting a 700 SPS Youth in 7/08. No complaints from him about recoil (shooting reduced hand loads), so I’d imagine the 243 version would be very similar.

I didn’t read every reply but here’s my thoughts.
I’d get a Ruger American Compact over the Browning AB3. They’re cheaper. Have one in 223 and it’s easy to shoot. Only draw back would be increased muzzle blast from a 243 as they are 18” barrels. If you change it from the AB3 to the Xbolt Micro then I could go for that.

Not sure but I think the M7 predators are difficult to come by at that price. Like the previous poster, I’d just get a 700 youth for less money. Walmart has the combos for $379. Have one of these as well but haven’t shot it.

Weatherbys can be heavy. And the 20” #1 contours like the one listed can be butt heavy. If this is the one that has the trimmed down action (like Howa youth/compacts) then it may be better. My walnut stocked, 22” barrel Howa 243 went 8lb 11oz with a 3-9x40 in Talleys.

I’d probably get a Tikka compact over the ones listed, the only drawback being you have to take the safety off to unload.

Edited to add: Of those three, I’d pick the Weatherby. Three position safety and a good trigger. Especially if it’s the lightened action.

Why do you like the xbolt micro over the AB3?

Personally I think they’re finished out a little better. Bolts are different. Like the mag better on the X.
But it comes at a price.

My brother got his boys a wby vanguard youth in 243. Its a good shooting little rifle. I like it.

I ordered two.

Weatherby vanguard Camilla .243 for my 14 year old daughter

Browning AB3 micro stalker .243 for my 10 year old son

80 gr TTSX bullet in the Barnes Vortex ammo, is really impressive on game!!!

Sorry for the dumb question but I don’t know much about twist rates. 1-10 twist ok for 80 grain.

True story.

Yes, almost all your OTC for 243 will be for 1-10.