Quote:
Originally Posted by
rwelfley 
| I am an experience shooter. I have a 10 year old little girl that will drop everything to go to the range and shoot with me. In my home state of Pa, they have a youth mentor hunt program now that enables her to hunt. I know a 223 caliber round will kill a deer if placed right and I know a 243 is ample but I dont want to get her gunshy. My only other option is a 30-30 that is my stepson's. Any advice? Thanks |
The first dear rifle has more considerations than just caliber. You may wish to consider that you are in a mentoring phase with her, and that there is still much to teach. Therefore choosing not only a suitable caliber, but a suitable pattern rifle with a few things in mind.
She is not only learning to shoot and to hunt, but care and maintenance of the weapon as well. You need also to think about the fact that she is a beginner or novice at this initial stage in matters of gun safety. These are the years when accidents are most likely to occur because of the lack of experience.
It was almost a tradition in the USA to begin with a single-shot weapon in a pattern that was easy to disassemble and care for, and easy to understand the inner workings / mechanics of the weapon. Some of the best pattern weapons were break-over hammer guns. The primary range and field discipline being that the hammer on the weapon is never cocked until it is time to aim and fire the weapon at the game or target. A casual glance at the weapon on the range or in the field will tell either the young hunter or the mentor what stage that weapon is in, simply by glancing quickly at the hammer. There is much less chance of an accident when this type of weapon is used for the beginner. The break-over single shot rifle (or shotgun) is affordable, normally rugged and long lasting, and easy for a beginnger to learn and maintain the care and cleaning of it.
You may wish to find her a single shot hammer gun in most any moderate caliber. You can trim the stock to fit her very easily, and you can cover the butt with a good recoil pad. .243 or .270 will work. .30-30 will work if you are keeping the shooting down to 75 yards .... maybe no farther than 150 yards.
Another variant or pattern to consider might be one of the Thompson Contender single-shot rifle variants. You can scope them if you want to, and they retain their resale value. They are light, well made, plenty of parts available for repairs, and very easy to teach a beginner on. There is a wide variety of stocks, and you can even do pistol training with the same weapon. Changing calibers is as easy as changing out barrels. You might consider one in .556 (.223) to begin teaching her on, and then you can graduate to larger calibers simply by picking up another barrell. If you can get a barrel in 7.63x39, you will find plenty of range fodder out there to train her on. You can hunt with that caliber within the limitations of the .30-30, and it is less expensive to shoot at the range. There is little or no recoil to speak of with 7.62x39 (or with .223 for that matter) and the "boom" is light to moderate.
If you dont want to lay out the money for that Thompson, consider finding one of the popular break-over rifles being built now on the old Harrington & Richardson model 158 Topper patterns. It has a different name and a different manufacturer now, but it does offer different barrels that you can purchase in different calibers.
Go single-shot for the beginner.
