Musket Man
Veteran member
Since you are having a gun built on your action and you reload if you wanted to do something different the 250-3000 or 300 Savage would be good choices too.
What is a good youth caliber for big game hunting?
- Thread starter papabearxx
- Start date
6mm Remington
Very Active Member
It would be hard to beat the 7mm-08 as a few have said. A couple very good ones that would work for what you have outlined would be the 25-06 with a 120 gr. Partition or 110 gr. Accubond. The 7x57 or 7mm Mauser whoever you want to call it would be fantastic also with a 140 gr. Partition or Accubond. All three of these really need a long action though, but they would kill elk very nicely and would not beat your son up on the other end. Very shooter friendly!
David
David
missjordan
Veteran member
Our neighbors 12 year old daughter has a savage youth model in a 7mm-08. Its a very light gun which has made her a little uneasy with the recoil too. We'll probably help them mess around with it next spring to make it more manageable and hopefully another year will help her feel more comfortable with it
Thanks again for all of the reply's! I thought about it a lot last night. I had it narrowed down to the .260 rem and 7mm-08. Both I think would be great rounds for him. The .260 with a little less recoil. But the 7mm can handle heavier bullets for the possibility of elk. I think the 7mm-08 is going to get the nod. I am going to build a relatively light rifle and have a brake installed. Thank you again for the help on this!!
Be safe,
Paul
Be safe,
Paul
hoshour
Veteran member
Try the low-recoil ammo and see how that works. You wouldn't have to change a thing on the rifle except maybe get a better recoil pad.
My son and nephew both used the Rem reduced recoil 140gr. load in 7-08 successfully on multiple mule deer and cow elk. Just keep your range short and it works well. The recoil is more of a soft slow push. Used it in a light Model 7 and heavy barreled Model 788, recoil was moderate even in the light M7.
If your rifle will shoot it, you'd not need a muzzle brake. May want to consider a removable design to give options as the child is able to handle recoil. Those things are murder on ears.
If your rifle will shoot it, you'd not need a muzzle brake. May want to consider a removable design to give options as the child is able to handle recoil. Those things are murder on ears.
Againstthewind
Very Active Member
I will second the low recoil ammo at least for practicing. It got my kid a lot more confident with the gun. We did make sure to re site in with the regular ammo. Those low recoil ones get pushed around in the wind a lot more from our practicing it seemed like.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Silentstalker
Active Member
7mm-08 loaded with 120 gr. Nosler BT is a deadly combination. Jump up to the 140 gr. Accubond and it will cleanly take elk. Mild recoil with huge potential!
alaska2go
Active Member
The 7-08 is my caliber of choice. Many critters have fallen to mighty little 7. If you reload you cannot go wrong with 7-08 for any of your family members. My 11 year old twins shoot the 7-08 w/ 120 bullets for practice and my 14 year old killed a bull moose last year w/ 160 gr bullet. Coyotes to grizz, Sitka blacktail to moose and everything in between have fallen to the mighty little 7 . If there is 1 caliber/gun that you want past from generation to generation the 7-08 is the BEST there is. Accurate, easy to reload, long life in the brass, lots of bullet selection, short action, & many manufacturers offer the caliber.
libidilatimmy
Veteran member
I agree with most that have already commented in that the 7-08 is a solid choice. I bought one last year and when going through the selection process the choice of bullet weights in 7mm is what steered me towards the choice over the 6.5 counterparts. I've only killed a couple mulies with it so far but have been satisfied with the performance
rcfireninja
Active Member
Awesome job!7mm-08 we just got it done this morning on my daughters first buck.
Savage youth 7mm-08 250 yard shot.
Eberle
Veteran member
I like the 7mm-08 & .308, I own both of them. But for a kid I would build the 6.5 Creedmoor. They are very accurate & extremely light recoil. My son is only 9 y/o, he shoots a 300 Blackout. But down here where we live in Oklahoma, our shots are typically less than 200 yards. He has killed 8 deer with it, but they have all been less than 120 yards.
Lots of good advice, the 7mm-08, 260, or 6.5 creedmoor would be my picks.
Another thing I'd throw out on a kids gun thread is that a 7.62x39 bolt gun can be a great thing to have around if you have a kid who likes to shoot. I picked up a CZ 527 a couple years ago and it's a sweet little gun. My daughter will use it for her first buck when old enough. I put a low powered Leupold VX-R scope on it. It has a huge field of view for finding animals and the red dot on the crosshair can help a kid focus on a precise aiming point. It's a real accurate rifle with quality hunting ammo like the Hornady SST loads and cheap to practice with using Russian steel case stuff. It isn't a long range gun but I don't want kids shooting to far anyway early on, nothing to ruin a new hunter like wounding and losing a deer.
Another thing I'd throw out on a kids gun thread is that a 7.62x39 bolt gun can be a great thing to have around if you have a kid who likes to shoot. I picked up a CZ 527 a couple years ago and it's a sweet little gun. My daughter will use it for her first buck when old enough. I put a low powered Leupold VX-R scope on it. It has a huge field of view for finding animals and the red dot on the crosshair can help a kid focus on a precise aiming point. It's a real accurate rifle with quality hunting ammo like the Hornady SST loads and cheap to practice with using Russian steel case stuff. It isn't a long range gun but I don't want kids shooting to far anyway early on, nothing to ruin a new hunter like wounding and losing a deer.
Sawfish
Very Active Member
That and the 25-06 is what we start a lot of kids off with on the lease. 140gr accubonds out of the 7/08, 110gr accubonds out of the 25-06. 25-06 is out of the question for this scenario, but I actually like the 7-08 bc a young'un will never actually grow out of it in the right rifle.
Thank you for all of the suggestions. The 7mm-08 seems like the over-whelming favorite. Yesterday after going through my shop I realized that I have a Douglas 6.5 barrel blank that I purchased a while back for a build that I was going to do. This build got put on hold so I think that this made my decision on my son's rifle a little easier. Since I have the action and the barrel I am going to go with a .260 rem. The .260 should be a great round for him. Even if he draws a cow elk tag the 260 with 140 grain accubonds should do pretty good within a reasonable distance. Again thank you for all of your suggestions!
Sawfish
Very Active Member
The 260 Remington is very close to the old 6.5 x 55, which has been used successfully on moose in Sweden for many years. Cow elk should not present a problem.
crzy_cntryby
Active Member
- Dec 9, 2014
- 269
- 0
Good rounds, but out dated. .308 win killed the savage. Packed my model 99 this year. I would say 7mm-08 is the way to go. Limited recoil great ballistics. Also a proven stopper. You can buy ammo in most decent size gun stores, very important if you don't reload.