[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 :wink:

 

[timberghost]

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

 

[onehorse]

During 20 years of professional taxidermy, the biggest bull elk I ever mounted was for a 16 year old kid who used a .243 with Barnes bullets. That's not a caliber that's recommmended for elk, but shows what you could do with the right bullet and good bullet placement even with a relatively small caliber. Here's a picture of that mount. By the way, the big bull dropped dead in its tracks to a heart shot!

 

[wmi]

Just a thought. Maybe it would be a good idea to look into a T/C Contender or Encore. As you grow or change your mind just buy a new barrel instead of a whole gun. In the long run you will save money and they are hard to beat in quality. I own both and absolutely love them.:thumbup:

 

[Mosin]

Once sighted in you are OK. Trust me, squeezing a shot off on an actual deer you won't feel a thing!! Good luck with your choice.

 

[joel the signman]

mosin you really think a 12yr old should be shooting a 30-06?

 

[Hunting Man]

I would probably start a young hunter with something smaller. 243, 260, I have a couple of 30-06's bolt, pump, I remember watching my 13 year old have tears in his eyes after just 1 shot from my 270 rem mountain rifle, they weren't happy tears. I ended up getting him a Browning A-bolt in 260 rem. This was a great choise for him. The 260 will shoot heavier gr bullets than the 243. My favorite load for the 30-06 is 150 gr with either swift a-frames or nozsler partition bullets. For long range shots out west I'd go to 165 gr boattails maybe one of the new winchester bullets.

 

[joel the signman]

thats what im saying.no need to torture the kid or create an aversion to shooting.or the dreaded "flinch":no::no::no::no:

 

[Mosin]

I did at 13. I think it will be fine. To be honest, between a Remington Mohawk 600 .243 and Remington 700 Classic .30-06, I could not tell little difference. 12 gauge slugs is where the dividing line is!!!!

My advice is, shoot what is comfortable and what you are confident with. Just keep shooting, practicing, and work on just squeezing the trigger.

 

[joel the signman]

well i guess this is where we agree to disagree.Thats all i got to say anymore on this topic

 

[Hunting Man]

The real truth is after 50 the 243 looks very nice,very nice indeed. These old shoulders don't like a lot of heavy pounding anymore. In fact I like to use an old Savage 99 in 300 sav. Still a great deer catcher.

 

[ronn]

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