Thread: what calibre for the young fella

heres my can of worms, my 10yo whats to hunt with me but wants to pull the trigger what calibre would you use, 243 and the 8mm have the least lick out of what i have, but i might be able to borrow a 6.5 x55. can i have experienced recommendations please, my sons nickname is noodle so gives you a idea on his build. cheers Mike

Do you reload mate? My young fella shoots my .270 with reduced loads no dramas. He is 9 and weighs 24kg so nothing to him either. I personally would go with 243, should be abe to shoot that with off the shelf ammo no worries.

22-250 or 243

243 or the 6.5.
I would imagine if the game is a little bigger where you are heading then the 6.5 would be preferred of the 2
8x57? is the factory ammo that soft in them now?

243 and suppress it if you can to take a little more recoil out and cut the noise so he enjoys it a bit more

+1 for 243 with suppressor given you already have it.

6.5x55 or 243. I grew up with the 243 but a suppressed 6.5 would be my recommendation all day long.


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NZ Hunter did great/awesome article on this very thing some 7ish years ago..calibres for under 16s I believe it was
.243 was high up on list
.223 and 7.62x39 with correct shot placement were aswell

we went the x39mm route and had ok results when range was right,our son has taken deer with the x39 the .223 and my .270 as he got older. biggest thing to be aware of is the balancing act between what lad can handle and whats needed to do the job well. suppressed with lighter projectile (barnes)going as fast as possible is good option.... or go other way with big and slow but keep range realistic. only the boy himself can decide whats ok and whats not,there is no point in over gunning him resulting in flinch,but under gunned could see wounded animal and boy put off that way.
our fella tagged along and saw 5-6 deer shot before a decent chance allowed him to do shooting,result one shot and one bang flop.

Originally Posted by mawzer308

Do you reload mate? My young fella shoots my .270 with reduced loads no dramas. He is 9 and weighs 24kg so nothing to him either. I personally would go with 243, should be abe to shoot that with off the shelf ammo no worries.

yeap i reload everything i own, 243, 8mm, 308, 3006ai, 264wm 6.506

Originally Posted by csmiffy

243 or the 6.5.
I would imagine if the game is a little bigger where you are heading then the 6.5 would be preferred of the 2
8x57? is the factory ammo that soft in them now?

it is compared to my 3006ai the 8x57 is quite soft to shoot, more push then snap recoil.

.308 and 125-130 grain loads....125 ballistic tips or 130 speer hps...job done.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

NZ Hunter did great/awesome article on this very thing some 7ish years ago..calibres for under 16s I believe it was
.243 was high up on list
.223 and 7.62x39 with correct shot placement were aswell

we went the x39mm route and had ok results when range was right,our son has taken deer with the x39 the .223 and my .270 as he got older. biggest thing to be aware of is the balancing act between what lad can handle and whats needed to do the job well. suppressed with lighter projectile (barnes)going as fast as possible is good option.... or go other way with big and slow but keep range realistic. only the boy himself can decide whats ok and whats not,there is no point in over gunning him resulting in flinch,but under gunned could see wounded animal and boy put off that way.
our fella tagged along and saw 5-6 deer shot before a decent chance allowed him to do shooting,result one shot and one bang flop.

exactly mate, i dont want to over gun him and have him scared to shoot it, i can get him onto goats inside 200yds

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

.308 and 125-130 grain loads....125 ballistic tips or 130 speer hps...job done.

yeah you reckon, its hard to judge what he will feel i dont mind a bit of recoil, i can get 130gr impala bullets.

That king of calibers, 6.5 swede

only thing i have a can for is the 8mm.