30-06?

[pdstan512]

would you think a 30-06 is to much gun for me? im 12 years old and really only 100 pounds and well after some of the imput on my first thread "my 22-250" ive been wanting to try and perswade my dad into a new gun for me if he says yes im gonna help him out and save up but wat would you say about a 30-06?

[joel the signman]

maybe if you use a light load.i would try to shoot it from a bench first.its got a pretty good "kick"to it.a limbsaver recoil pad is a definite must.no offense it may be too much for you right now.you don't want to develop a flinching problem

[pdstan512]

true true maby ill start with somthing lower like a .243? but when i went to alabama to hunt one time there was a kid about my age i was just amased he shot a .308 and he just had a standard rubber butpad it was crazy

[timberghost]

Before you commit to any rifle try testing them out a couple times to see what you think of them.

[eon]

the .308 has a little less recoil than the 30-06 but i agree if you can test fire a few before you make a decision

[pdstan512]

ooh ok thank vor the advice

[onehorse]

These guys have given you good advice. If you can try out some before you buy, that would be the thing to do. You really don't want to develop a flinch when you are getting started, and the 06 does have a pretty good kick. My cousin just got a .243 for his twelve year old who is about your size. It is a Savage "youth" model. Most of the gun makers produce rifles that are designed for younger shooters like this. This usually means a light or moderate recoiling caliber and a shorter trigger pull (shorter stock) and lighter overall weight. Calibers that can kill deer very nicely are: .243 Win, 6mm Rem, .260 Rem, 7mm/08 (in order of bullet size). In fact, the largest elk I ever mounted in 25 years of professional taxidermy was killed by a sixteen year old kid with a .243 - dropped the huge bull dead in its tracks with a heart shot. Remember a well-constructed well-placed bullet of any reasonable caliber will knock the socks off of any big game animal and a bad hit with any caliber is still just a bad hit! My best advice is to get one with a good safety (some are better than others) and that can be unloaded without having to work the bullets through the chamber. Stay with a bolt action and put a Limbsaver on it no matter what the caliber. Good luck, little buddy!

[TNHunter]

great post above!!!!! i am very fond of the .270 my self i have had it since i was 13 and never had a deer run more than 30 yards after a shot. but the posts above are right on the money you need to try and shot some guns to find what you can handle. if you can handle a 30-06 then i would go with that but a .243 shoots alot flater just need to be accurate.

[bubba adams]

a 30-06 is a great gun not a hole lot of kick if you dont have a heavy grain bullet.....the only thing about a 223 is that the actual bullet is so small it just goes right threw them im not sayin its a bad cal. but you got to get a pretty dang good shot on it for it to make a clean.........but if you decide to get a 30-06 the best shell you can get is the remington core-lockt

[timberghost]

Nice, that's what I use in 150 gr and I have no regrets ever.