This is going to be my daughters first year hunting and was thinking about starting her out with a 270 any thoughts good or bad. Going to probably hunt deer and elk close to home and maybe an antelope if we can get a tag drawn.
12 year girls first year hunting
- Thread starter IDELKFVR
- Start date
Calbuck
Active Member
Main thing is to get her out there and have an enjoyable experience..secondary to that is making sure she's prepared for shooting, weather extremes, ups and downs of big game hunting, etc. I'm in the same boat with my boy. Don't want to put too much pressure on them when they're starting out. Lots of fun and snacks and hopefully some good experience with the animals you're hunting.
Musket Man
Veteran member
What has she been shooting? Is she big or small for her age? I shoot a 270 and its a great caliber and it is pretty mild mannered to me but it may not be to her. At her age I think the most important thing is for her to enjoy shooting and hunting. If the gun beats her up she wont enjoy it. If you think the 270 is tomuch for her I would start her out with a 243. She will be much happier and more successful with a smaller gun she shoots well.
tdcour
Veteran member
I agree with the 243. That's what I stayed with and put my first several deer down with. Not sure I'd take it for Elk though.
Musket Man
Veteran member
My first gun was a 243. It served me well before i got a 270. I still have it and am thinking about going back to it on some hunts, mostly because it is lighter then my 270. 243 will do fine for elk at modest ranges with a good bullet. I would rather see a well placed 243 bullet then a poorly placed 270.
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Grantbvfd
Active Member
243 is a great deer and antelope. My daughter shot her first buck this year with one. That being said if she was going to be hunting elk I would have her use a 7mm-08. Almost the same recoil as a 243 but you can shoot 140 grain bullets. I agree with others a 270 might be a little much.
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I am in the middle on this one. My niece started with a .270, but she has always been pretty bad ass. We have also put down plenty of elk with .243. Easy enough to put a deer down with the 243 and then take the 270 for elk. She will be so jacked up after deer season, she won't notice the difference.
Timberstalker
Veteran member
For what it's worth, I started my oldest with a 25-06, the same rifle I started with. My middle girl started with a .280, the youngest the .243 The middle girl is a BAzz, she's gunned down three bucks in the last three years with the .280
Calbuck
Active Member
I don't think it's a concern as long as she's comfortable with what she has. I started with a 30.06 and my 11 year old is shooting that same 06 just fine. We all get wrapped up in what they are shooting. Reality is, when they aim at their first buck or bull, they won't even remember the shot(s)...no matter what they are shooting. If the gun fits her she will be fine. Make sure she has FUN!!!
My daughter turned 12 last summer. She's been shooting with me the past couple summers. I started her off this summer with my 22 mag. Then I had her cracking my 30-06. After that we moved up to my 300 RUM. I let her decide how many rounds she wanted to shoot out of each. She didn't hesitate to shoot the RUM once she got comfortable with it. In Oct she smoked a nice antelope and followed it up a couple weeks later with a nice 5x7 bull elk at 240 yards.
tdub24
Veteran member
I agree that it doesn't matter when the game is in front of the rifle.....the problem I see is at the range. If the rifle bucks too much, she will shy away from it and most likely flinch. Then God forbid she scope herself, then your dealing with gun shy habits that will be hard to eliminate. In my humble opinion, the best bet, like most said, is to start her off with something mild like the .243 then possibly progress up to bigger calibers when she feels more comfortable.
Timberstalker
Veteran member
One thing I learned from hunting with my girls is, have them used to shooting with shooting sticks. I messed up with my oldest, she missed an oportunity on a nice buck due to not being steady off hand. I have them used to shooting off sticks now.
tdub24
Veteran member
7mm-08 is a great caliber.....took an Idaho bull elk at 400 yards with no problem. Has killed multiple deer and an antelope as well. Definitely a viable option, only reason I didn't mention it before is my barrel is really short and that thing kicks like a mule. Wasn't sure if other 08s with regular barrel lengths are the same.
chasingAZelk
New Member
Take it from a girl who started hunting/shooting at a young age. I love hunting with my .243 even though I have not downed anything with it. I have put many rounds through it and I'm very comfortable with it. I am 20 now and have no problem slinging 7-8 rounds back to back of a 300 Winny. I am glad my father started me off with the .243. You don't want her to flinch when she pulls the trigger because of recoil...... just my .02
MTREELTIME
New Member
I love the 270 for a starting rifle. Have a good muzzlebreak installed before she ever shoots it. The cost is approx. $150 and she will have a rifle for life with less recoil than a 243. The first opportunity she has at an elk will make you thrilled more than 100 grains is en route.
I bought my daughter a Savage 110C in 30-06 when she was old enough, but the trick was that I started her out just shooting the Remington Reduced Recoil loads (125gr bullets with less powder), which has the same recoil as a 243 and has ballistics similar to a 30-30. Once she got comfortable shooting those loads I let her try a full load 150gr round to see her reaction. She noticed the difference but she handled it okay. She used the reduced recoil loads for deer, but for elk I slipped in the full loads without her knowing (after I resighted in the scope with the full loads). She got a shot off at a cow (hit a tree instead), but in the excitement she never even noticed that it was a full load round. At least with the 30-06 there is a wide range of bullets you can use, and as she gets more practice then it will be more of an all-around gun for the future.
OregonJim
Very Active Member
IDELKFVR:
I think the most rewarding hunts I have had were with my daughter (and other kids) regardless of outcome.
I'll try to dig up a pic of my daughters first deer harvest when she was the same age.
I put her behind a Savage 250. In any case I agree that she needs to be comfortable with the firearm. The .270 with brake sounds like a really good plan just, for pete's sake, make sure you keep hearing protection on AT ALL TIMES!!!
Our other pre-hunt range time was spent with an A Bolt .308. Might get a good mix of recoil and the benefit of a bigger projectile. My kid felt really confident and comfortable with her Grandfathers .308 but hated my .270 and 30-06.
Really going to depend on her and I echo the shooting sticks, it will help a lot.
Enjoy your hunt it doesn't get any better than that!
I think the most rewarding hunts I have had were with my daughter (and other kids) regardless of outcome.
I'll try to dig up a pic of my daughters first deer harvest when she was the same age.
I put her behind a Savage 250. In any case I agree that she needs to be comfortable with the firearm. The .270 with brake sounds like a really good plan just, for pete's sake, make sure you keep hearing protection on AT ALL TIMES!!!
Our other pre-hunt range time was spent with an A Bolt .308. Might get a good mix of recoil and the benefit of a bigger projectile. My kid felt really confident and comfortable with her Grandfathers .308 but hated my .270 and 30-06.
Really going to depend on her and I echo the shooting sticks, it will help a lot.
Enjoy your hunt it doesn't get any better than that!