[j-brenta]

just wanted to see what other people thought . my sons 10th birthday in june
florida hunting hogs and deer (deer if you want to call them that ) sons first rifle
i'm thinking 243 son shoots sks 7.62 no problem

 

[hailstone]

If he shoots the SKS okay that cartridge does make a fine white tail deer slayer. I would believe it would work equally well on hogs. Several companies have made bolt actions chambered for that cartridge among them the CZ 527 and a Charles Daly mini-mauser type rifle (believe it was same as the Remington 799).

 

[MikeG]

Should work fine. Use 100gr. bullets. Rem factory loads have worked fine in my wife's 6mm Rem on pigs and deer.

 

[pruhdlr]

.243Win And Deer

I have been in the process of setting up a 16" bbl pistol chambered in .243 for the Flah-Dah sized deer that we have down here in(you guessed it) Flah-Dah. This is the very first .243 caliber weapon that I have ever owned and/or reloaded for, so I have been doing some fairly extensive research.

I assure you,your son will be able to handle the .243 just fine. To me,a little more crack vs a bang,definitely no more recoil. If using factory ammo,as Mike stated,use upwards of the 100gr bullets. My recommendation would be in the 90-100gr weights. Or you could go even lighter if using one of the "no lead" style. Stay away from the lesser weights because I(for one)consider these varmint bullets.

Remember also,the .243 will adequately handle any deer residing in Florida. The bigger hogs are another story. For these critters,heavier,well made/designed bullets are mandatory. So is shot placement. Google -->images,hogs anatomy,have your son read up/study up on this. There is a "sweet spot" to hit a hog,especially the larger ones. Then.....there is several bad spots that would normally be lethal on deer.

The 80 pound hogs are fairly easy to kill....a 300+ pound boar is altogether different.

Have fun with that .243. -----pruhdlr

 

[cowpoke1955]

A .243 makes a nice deer rifle and good for small hogs. Like pruhdlr made referance to, if you don't get it right with that first shot you better have a .50 BMG with a 100 round belt as a back-up or a good climbing tree close by. I would think something in a .30 caliber would be better for an all round rifle. You can shoot lighter bullets for deer and heavier ones for hogs. Good luck.

 

[artist1018]

I would look at a 30/30 carbine. Find someone who has one and take your son to the range. See how he handles recoil, which depends on the ammo, more than the rifle size does.
He will never out grow it, and, can use it for that larger hog!!

 

[broom_jm]

The 7.62x39 has about 7lbs of felt recoil, the .243 Win 9 lbs and a 30/30 around 11 pounds. Unless you handload, I don't think there is a better option than a .243, for a young hunter. If you DO handload, you might consider a 260Rem or 7mm-08, with reduced loads, as those cartridges will offer better big game performance, as your son grows and can handle more recoil.

Just my .02

 

[cowpoke1955]

I like artist's idea. You can get .30-30 ammo from 125 to 170 grains. Both Winchesters and Marlins are short and well suited in heave cover. Both have a short LOP that will fit a boy up to a full grown man. The lever action offers a fast second shot, if needed. More deer have been taken with a .30-30 than any other caliber. A .30-30 lever action will be a rifle that your son will use the rest of his life. My personal favorite is the Winchester 94. The .30-30 has been around for 115 years, which speaks for itself. You would also be giving your son a piece of American history. Something to consider.

 

[Combat Diver]

Two other good intermediate cartridges are the 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC. Only disadvantages is readialy available guns and loads as the are both new within the last 8 yrs or so (not like the .243 which has 50+ yrs head start) Believe NEF and TC make single shot rifles in the 6.8. Very little recoil with these two cartridges.

CD

 

[Chief RID]

I think you could get .308 in the same wt. rifle. Whatever you get him it will be his favorite rifle for a long time. Way to go Dad.

 

[Tnhunter]

The 7.62x39 has about 7lbs of felt recoil, the .243 Win 9 lbs and a 30/30 around 11 pounds. Unless you handload, I don't think there is a better option than a .243, for a young hunter. If you DO handload, you might consider a 260Rem or 7mm-08, with reduced loads, as those cartridges will offer better big game performance, as your son grows and can handle more recoil.

Just my .02

I agree with perhaps getting a bit bigger cartridge, being more useful as your son grows, and using reduced recoil loads in it. You need not be a handloader to enjoy reduced recoil loads any more as both Remington and Federal have come out with reduced recoil loads for several different calibers. In reduced recoil load, the '06 recoils about the same as a .243, a huge difference. I'd think the two best choices might be the .308 and 7mm/08, shooting reduced loads initially and then moving up to higher power loads as your son grows/ages. Just another twist on the caliber question....

This is a short quote from Chuck Hawks' Guns & Shooting Online's article by Chuck Hawks on the then new reduced recoil loads by remington:

QUOTE:
Remington has published a graph showing the dramatic recoil reduction achieved by the Managed-Recoil cartridges. Judging by the Remington recoil graph the 115 grain bullet in the Managed-Recoil .270 Winchester load delivers about 9.5 ft. lbs. of recoil energy, compared to about 21 ft. lbs. of recoil from the standard 130 grain Express Load. The 140 grain Managed-Recoil load in 7mm Remington Magnum generates about 17 ft. lbs. of recoil energy, compared to 32.5 ft. lbs. for the standard 150 grain load. And the 125 grain Managed-Recoil load in .30-06 kicks the shooter with barely over 10 ft. lbs. of kinetic energy, instead of the 22.5 ft. lb. kick of the standard 150 grain factory load. END QOTE


Link to the entire article:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/rem_managed_recoil.htm

Another article:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/federal_low_recoil.htm


some reduced recoil loads:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=116133

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=683994

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=233209

 

[Bird Dog II]

Look at the Howa 1500 youth models with the dual Hogue stocks. Those are the nicest handling stocks available IMO. These guns sport a 20" barrel, a youth stock, and an adult stock so he can grow into it. I got my boys one in .308. I handload, so I can let them use reduced recoil slugs for a while. You can buy managed recoil loads OTC as well. They make them in 7-08 and .243 as well. They are a sweet and affordable package that he can grow into. Get him a bolt gun would be my advice. Or let him load up only two rounds with that SKS. Teach the value of accuracy is my 2 cents. There is nothing more ridiculous than hearing someone rip off a 5 or 6 round string with a SKS or AR during deer season.

 

[Combat Diver]

Weatherby just came out this year with a youth rifle and Ruger has the Compact Hawkeye (believe thats the model) that has a short stock, bbl and chambered for several excellent short action calibers including the 6.8. The Rem Reduce Recoil 270 load gives you exactly the performance of the 6.8. The 30-06 load mention is ballisticaly a 30-30 loading.

CD

 

[langenc]

I like the 243. Shot MI doe and she dropped-spined her. Hogs??

I dont think anyone suggested 308-the big 243!! First year or two you could download the 308 for the 10 yo.

See Hodgdon website for 'youth loads' info--for ANY caliber..

 

[shane256]

I'm quite biased but the .260 Remington and 7mm-08 Remington both have factory "Managed Recoil" loads that still use 140gr bullets but just have a bit lower MV. I have a .260 Remington and love it but factory loads are a little harder to come by than a 7mm-08. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a big hog with my .260 Rem with 140gr (that's what I normally carry) bullets.

 

[bubbinator]

After my wife bought her own deer rifle(youth 243Win M70) after being cheated at shot @ a 12pt, AL Buck, she now shoots a Ruger Compact 7mm-08 and a Rem 700 260. She 7 + 1 shot kills, with little off season shooting except to 0. These calibers re really good, low recoil per on traget results.