I would not recommend the .270 for a young, new shooter. Shooting a capable deer cartridge in 85gr vs one in a 130-150gr is a huge difference in recoil.

Thank you so much for all of the replies and advice.

For my price range, I think I've narrowed it down to a few.

Savage Axis II (Accutrigger)

Ruger American

Remington 783

Will go with the .243 round. These all look like solid utilitarian to the point shooters that would work quite well for her I think. i'll try to track some down locally so she can feel them.

Think all of them come in packages that have a scope, but may get the rifle by itself and get a little better quality scope to go with it.

Think any of those would be a good starter and if she catches the bug, upgrade to something a little nicer down the road.

Thanks again!

Might look at the Howa as well.

In small $ increments you can make significant jumps in quality over the rifles you are looking at.
Buying unscoped is a very good idea. The optics on these low end packages are junk.

By the way (WarPig maybe) had an add for a very nice used Tikka package in .243 win. in our classifieds here.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Might look at the Howa as well.

In small $ increments you can make significant jumps in quality over the rifles you are looking at.
Buying unscoped is a very good idea. The optics on these low end packages are junk.

By the way (WarPig maybe) had an add for a very nice used Tikka package in .243 win. in our classifieds here.

Definitely. I'll see if I can increment my budget a bit and see what we end up with.

Thanks!

CDNN has the Marlin XS7 bolt, 243, adj trigger with Bushnell 3X9, for $270.

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Perry:
CDNN has the Marlin XS7 bolt, 243, adj trigger with Bushnell 3X9, for $270.

Thank you!

I would stay away from Marlin and Mossburg in their low end bolt rifles.

Look at the rifles by Howa too.
Great value and accurate.

I would have recommended a Tikka, the prices have gotten a bit high, though it all depends on budget.

Same for CZ.

Both of my children started hunting with a Remington Model 7 in .243. Both shot there there first deer with that rifle, and both deer, although well hit in the heart, lungs ran off. We recovered one and lost the other.

Now, my 14 year old daughter hunts with a Remington 700 mountain rifle in .260. No difference in recoil. IMHO a noticeable difference in performance. I'd strongly consider a 7mm-08 or a .260. The 7mm is more available in my area and has a wider selection of bullet weights.

Two years ago my daughter started hunting at 12 years old. I picked up a Savage 111 Trophy Hunter in 25.06, came with the Nikon BDC 3-9x40. $500ish. It's a nice rifle.

She didn't have any problem with shooting it at 12 years old, however she is a little bigger than most girls her age. The recoil doesn't bother her at all.

She's dropped two deer with it thus far, between 100-150 yards out.

According to this recoil table, 6.5 Grendel has a little less recoil than a .243, and comes in a 1" shorter action (mini-action). Link to Howa's mini-action.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
According to this recoil table, 6.5 Grendel has a little less recoil than a .243, and comes in a 1" shorter action (mini-action). Link to Howa's mini-action.

I also wouldn't hamper a new shooter/hunter with a niche round like 6.5 grendel which may be hard to find ammo for.

Typically that is not something I think too much about, but for a young girl, I'd tend to stick with a widely available factory round.

I've killed two of my biggest bucks with my Winchester Model 70 243. I love that little rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
According to this recoil table, 6.5 Grendel has a little less recoil than a .243, and comes in a 1" shorter action (mini-action). Link to Howa's mini-action.

Yep love the 6.5 Grendel. I picked up a Howa Mini 20" in it myself last fall on sale. You can get wolf ammo cheap for practicing. CZ and Ruger also make bolt action rifles in LiL 6.5.

You might check out a weatherby vanguard, those can be found for a good price.

If it was me, I’d probably get a Ruger American predator in 6.5cm and throw on a leupold of some sort.

What distances will she be shooting at? Do you reload?

Are you open to the idea and or can you take an AR15?

(I've got both 6.8SPC & 6.5 Grendel rifles that would be excellent for new shooters, and keeping in the 250-300 yard range).

I have a Savage 7mm-08 and really like it.

It's very soft shooting compared to 30-06's that I've also used.

How big are the deer you’ll be hunting? I’ve seen mule deer dropped in their tracks by the .243, and more than one well hit that ran off a good distance. I believe the 85gr factory loads typically are put together with lightly constructed bullets not really meant to be used on medium game. It won’t make a new hunter feel very good if she wounds a deer and loses it. If you’re set on the .243, try to find 100gr loads with a premium bullet. I’ve had good luck with the Federal Premium Nosler Partition loads in the past. I don’t know if they’re even available these days.

The .250 Savage, .257 Roberts, 260Remington/6.5mm 7-08 or even a “reduced recoil” or “managed recoil” load in the .270 or .308 would be a lot more effective.

The .243 win has been used on deer of all sizes effectively for decades. Is more better, sure. But a 14yo girl is what we are talking about. So teaching taking and making a good shot is the key. The .243 will do the job every time on deer.

I would not waste my time on "reduced recoil" ammo. That is such a silly concept imho.

I shoot 100gr Partitions in my 243. Have killed 180 lb whitetails DRT. I love that load.

These will be smaller mule deer for the most part.

I seem to have horrid luck hunting as Ive only ever taken one deer before and that was like 5 years ago. So chances of even finding one for her to shoot may be pretty slim with me as her guide

But, there is always hope and still fun to get out and try. Its usually just myself and my father out there getting skunked. 3 generations out there to get skunked sounds like a party!