Anyone have recommendations on a good rifle caliber for a preteen/teen getting into deer hunting? Hunting use will probably be from 50 out to 250 yards. I'm looking for something that will support him from now (age 12) up to young adult (18) when he can start shooting heavier calibers.
Youthful Rifle Caliber
- Thread starter fisherpw
- Start date
itsbob
I bowl overhand
For SoMD?? It has to be a shotgun if I remember correctly..
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Midnightrider
Well-Known Member
for southern maryland anyway. If you go to western maryland you can use a rifle and the eastern shore its OK as long as you are in a stand at a certain height
Assuming you are talking about hunting in shotgun-only areas; I bought a Remington 870 Youth Combo model for No. 2 son when he turned 11. Slug and shot barrels. He bagged his first deer with it and his first duck. He didn't switch over to 12-gauge until he was 17.
His first rifle was a .22 ...his first true hunting rifle was a Marlin lever-action 30-30 that he was very proficient with by about age 15.
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
.270 is still my favorite
A .357 carbine is quite nice also and can share with revolver if you have one.
I don't think you can ever outgrow 270 for deer though.
A .357 carbine is quite nice also and can share with revolver if you have one.
I don't think you can ever outgrow 270 for deer though.
huntr1
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Please show me this in the DNR regulations. According to the current MD DNR regulations posted online, rifles are good to go in most of the Eastern Shore. No mention of stand height.
huntr1
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If he's in SoMD, get him a 12g (best long term) or 20g shotgun. No rifles for deer in SoMD.
Midnightrider
Well-Known Member
looks like you are right. i could have sworn i read that in one of the hunting regs. maybe Va. Anyway, it looks like rifle on the eastern shore is mostly ok
VA does have stand height requirements for some areas.
jrt_ms1995
Well-Known Member
.243 Winchester. Though, as others have noted, not usable in So. MD for deer hunting. .270 was mentioned, but that may be a bit much for a 12 year-old (unless he's a big 12).
Maybe consider a Thompson-Center Encore or Contender, and barrels (interchangeable rifle/shotgun/muzzleloader) as needed/desired? If all or most hunting will be in So. MD, then a 20-gauge rifled barrel and/or a .50 caliber muzzleloader barrel (no .45, sadly) to start, then, perhaps, a 12-gauge slug barrel after he's full-sized. Should he relocate later there are (at present, anyway) 16 rifle calibers available.
I was going to make a similar comment. I don't own a .270 but fired my Pop's on a few occasion; damned thing kicked like a mule. ;-)
Then the recommendation for going with .243 Win is a pretty good one...although 250 yards would be considered a really good shot and pushing the envelope a bit. The .243 has long been considered a great "kid's rifle" for deer hunting.
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
I was probably 5'8" by the time I was 12 and about 150, still I didn't think it was that bad.
jrt_ms1995
Well-Known Member
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
I wasn't 5'8" and 150 until I was 24!
This in 357 is pretty easy on the shooter https://www.henryrifles.com/rifles/big-boy/
.45 Colt is about the same.
I like the idea of being able to use pistol ammo in a rifle and I still love the lever action, but they are not long range guns.
huntr1
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Then that's a whole different ball game. If you want a rifle that he can hunt any large game with, only change the bullet weight, go with a Remington 700 in 30-06. For lighter kick, go with one in .270. 270 shoots flatter and has less recoil, but 30-06 has a larger range of bullet weight factory ammo available, so you can use it to hunt everything from groundhog to bear. My original eastern shore deer rifle is a Marlin 336 in .35 Remington. Great gun. Manageable kick for a <100 lb. 12 year old. No good beyond 150 yards, but great in the brush.
not to hijack the thread ...
I owned a Spanish 'Short Rifle' Mauser 1893/1916 at the time, which was a nice shooter [for a 12 yr old] - it was a Christmas Present in 1978
[yes I owned it, it stood in the corner of my room, I had 5 dummy rounds for it, so I would not be dry firing it - although after a while the primers were pretty well hammered]
I also was treated to a couple rounds from a Marlin Lever Action in .45-70