Looking to buy a gun for a girl

Tackdriver VillenTactical

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A little girl I know (11 years old and about 70 lbs) expressed her desire to hunt deer with her father (not me). I was moved by her desire to take to the woods with her dad and thought a rifle was in order on her birthday. I am looking for recommendations for her first rifle given her age and weight. Ideally I'd like to get her a .243 but think it might be too much gun at this time. So I am now thinking about a 44 lever action or mabe a 30-30.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave
 
Another vote for .243! LOW recoil, flat shooting & will take down deer to 400 yds.

30-30 is too much and most likely hard for her to cycle the action IMHO. No experience w/ 44 mag carbines unless you are thinking a TC Contender single shot?

Great that the girl wants to deer hunt w/ her dad! [smile]
 
IMO, if it's a first rifle.....go with a 22.

I'm not a rifle instructor or coach, but from experience with kids and shotties, I can definitely say that too much gun, too quickly, can be a turn-off. And by too much I mean physically.

My son (trap125+) was a big kid - he "stole" my 12 ga at 9 years old (and went 25 straight, showing that it was not too much gun!) - I've had 11-year-olds unable to handle a youth 20 safely or comfortably. "Come back when you're a little bigger, in the meantime, try a .22" I've advised.

Now if the question was "A first DEER rifle"....that's another matter.....
 
.44 lever action has a definite kick - not sure how your 11 year old will like it. I find it to be a bit more kick than a 30-30.

Has she ever shot ANY rifle? If not... Appleseed coming up on June 17th at Harvard.
 
As a petite person who is still much, much larger than this girl...please get something for her with an appropriate LOP. Trying to wrestle with a gun that is too large is going to make the recoil harder to handle and negatively affect her shooting in several ways. Remember she is also likely to be bundled up while hunting and that will lower the upper LOP limit for her. Please don't underestimate this - IME most grown men rarely have to deal with out-sized equipment in their lives and the memory of how that affected them when they were still tiny creatures has faded considerably. :)
 
First, Awesome that the 11yr old girl is interested, not only in shooting, but also hunting with her dad.

What kind of hunting is she interested in? Just Whitetail deer or will she also be looking for Turkey, Small Game, Upland Bird, Water Fowl? Make sure you under stand this. A rifle is great for Whitetail, but you'll want a shotgun for most birds.

Next, the most important things are going to be ergonomics. Size of the gun (as Nicole pointed out clearly) weight of the gun, since she's likely to have to carry it for extended walks over rough terrain and recoil when fired. A .243 Winchester in a short, light sport profiled barreled bolt action with a light weight youth polymer stock and fixed glass would likely be a great choice.

They're entry level, inexpensive rifles, but a Mossberg Model 100 ATR in .243 Winchester would be a good starting point.

Make sure you include a carry sling, cleaning kit and scope covers with the rifle so she has everything she'll need to take good care of it.
 
Adjustable LOP is an awesome feature. As a reference, when I go out for deer and am all bundled up, a 13" LOP is just about right. I am 5'4" and about 125. Depending on how willowy she is, she may very well need a 12" LOP right now. Adjustable means she can fit it to the season and wardrobe and it will still fit her until she's old enough to buy her own!
 
Doesn't Rossi make some nice youth model combination guns? 20GA / .22 or .220 Swift, maybe? I can't access their website from here, but that might be something to look at.
 
I remember when I was about 10-12 y.o. and i took my first shooting with .22lr
I had a hard time handling rifle because it was just too heavy for me. i remember it clearly because it was my first time shooting anything ever, i was very excited. That was not out in the woods, it was at the range on the shooting table. I only had 7 rounds to shoot and while feeling was awesome i only hit target once. i probably would have hit more if there was a shooting rest or something but... I just remember feeling of disappointment for not putting all 7 rounds on the paper and being surprised about how heavy rifle really was and how difficult it was to balance to get sights aligned.

as for recoil and loud boom, unless the child has been previously exposed to shooting even 'second hand shooting' i'd vote for starting with the smaller round/caliber possible not to scare them off. i wish i would have known that before i brought out my wife shooting for the first time ever. i figured if I didn't have such problem on one else should. boy, was i wrong...
 
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Son Lance got a .243 single shot (I forget the make and model) with a scope for 9yo Sadie and 7yo Little Jack. They have been shooting it for a while now to get ready for the NH youth deer hunt. I think it will be the perfect first youth deer gun for them. Jack.
 
.243 is the consensus I've found in the past, but I have no direct experience yet.

She won't be deer hunting in MA though, right? In MA she would have to use a shotgun or BP only.
 
Son Lance got a .243 single shot (I forget the make and model) with a scope for 9yo Sadie and 7yo Little Jack. They have been shooting it for a while now to get ready for the NH youth deer hunt. I think it will be the perfect first youth deer gun for them. Jack.
This, look at H&R if they have one with a heavy barrel it will be still a lightweight gun and make the recoil felt less.
 
According to the rifle recoil tables the 243 will have less recoil than the 30-30 and the 44 magnum. Definitely a better choice, and I tend to lean towards bolt actions. Take a look at the Howa 2-in-1. It is the same rifle as the Weatherby vanguard and comes with both a youth stock and an adult stock. Also, take a look at the Marlin XS7Y. Both are excellent values. I have a 7 year old son and will be looking to make the same choice in a year or so.

One more thing. Don't overlook other calibers with the use of reduced recoil ammo. The 7mm-08 is a great deer cartridge and with the managed recoil loads should have less recoil than full load 243. Remington and Federal both have reduced recoil ammo that shoot close to the full power ammo at 100 yards.
 
AR in 6.8 spc. LOP issue goes away. Unless I'm mistaken, not much recoil and it's just plain awesome.

I also agree with an AR and the LOP issue is non-existant. I know it's pricey, but uppers are available in 243 http://www.rrarms.com/barrels/dpms-20-quot-sst-bull-barrel-assembly-243-cal.html
Rguns has the 6.8 lower at a lower cost http://www.rguns.net/rifles/rifles-semiauto-ar15-uppers-68-A3Heavy.shtml

Heck, even a 5.56 isn't that bad for recoil and is a great deer round. You can even take deer with a 22 magnum, although shot placement really comes into play there, not much room for error.
 
We don't know what state the girl lives in. If it's MA, then she needs a shotgun for deer and she can't have an AR with an adjustable stock (unless it's a pre-ban). Hopefully, she lives in a free state where those restrictions don't apply.
 
A little girl I know (11 years old and about 70 lbs) expressed her desire to hunt deer with her father (not me). I was moved by her desire to take to the woods with her dad and thought a rifle was in order on her birthday. I am looking for recommendations for her first rifle given her age and weight. Ideally I'd like to get her a .243 but think it might be too much gun at this time. So I am now thinking about a 44 lever action or mabe a 30-30.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

How 'bout a little handgun for that little girl??? Now aim for his crotch honey and squeeeeeeze the trigger... that's it, goood girl!

 
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Son Lance got a .243 single shot (I forget the make and model) with a scope for 9yo Sadie and 7yo Little Jack. They have been shooting it for a while now to get ready for the NH youth deer hunt. I think it will be the perfect first youth deer gun for them. Jack.

H&R makes an "Superlight compact Youth" handi rifle in .243. Not too bad on the price either. http://www.lowpriceguns.com/product.php_265113

(first link I clicked on, you could prob. find lower than that)
 
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