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I am considering buying a.243 youth rifle for my young grandson. Remington, Savage , and Mossberg all make an economical rifle with a scope . Which one would you recommend ? Let me know what you think.

I also considered the 243 until a friend of mine talked me into the 7mm 08. I knew very little about it and looked at the #'s and was impressed. I ended up buying my nephew a Ruger American Compact in 7mm 08 and couldn't have been happier. I bought some 140 grain Rem Core Lokt in Managed Recoil and it has very little recoil. I would highly recommend looking into that versus a 243, but that's just me.

Any of those will work. You only shoot them a few a times a year so they last. I have a savage 270 that I got as a teenager with just a tasco 32 mm scope and it has always killed whatever I shot. I got my boy a savage 7mm-08 with a Nikon 40 mm scope shortened the stock and added a muzzle brake and it is pretty sweet. He was killing deer at 4 years old with it. My girl who is 3 has been shooting a 410 and I think she will be ready for a deer this fall with the 7mm.

there's a youth model 7-08 for sale on ms gun owners, didn't notice the brand, though.

*nevermind, looks like you're looking for a better model (the one for sale is a handi rifle single shot)*

My dad bought a 7-08 for my little sister to hunt with when she was 10 or so, and everybody in the family has killed a deer with it since. It's a Remington 700,and isn't a youth model, but my nephew killed several deer with it starting at 5 or 6, and my wife has killed a couple with it as well.

The .308, 7mm08, 260Rem, and .243Win, 338 Federal, 6.5 Creedmoore, and 358 Win are all based off the .308 case. They are short cartridges with mild recoil. The difference in recoil is the amount of lead you choose to push down the barrel. A 243 will handle 55 grain bullets up to about 105 grains, 260/6.5 Creedmoore will use 115 to about 140. .308 Will use 150 to 185 grain bullets.

Consider these quotes from the Alaska Wildlife Hunting website
"If you presently own a rifle chambered for the .270 Winchester, 7mm-08, .308 Winchester or .30-06 and can place all of your shots in an 8-inch circle out to 200 yards from a sitting or kneeling position you can be a successful Alaska hunter"

In other words a 7mm-08 will take any hoofed animal in AK. If it can take a 1500lb moose, it is plenty for a 150lb MS deer.

Rifle Weight Reduces Recoil
Rather than rely on a muzzle-brake to reduce recoil, use a rifle heavy enough to reduce recoil. If you are planning on packing out moose meat, caribou meat, or a brown bear hide weighing hundreds of pounds, you can carry a 9- to 11-pound rifle including scope. A rifle of this weight in .300 or .338 magnum can be mastered with a lot of practice. You can also avoid using a muzzle-brake by selecting a cartridge that you can shoot comfortably and enjoy shooting enough to practice with frequently. For most hunters, the upper limit of recoil is the .30-06 or 7mm Remington Magnum®. A majority of hunters are more comfortable with a .308 or .270.

Read more at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?ad ... g.firearms

A .243 Winchester is plenty of rifle for any Southern Whitetail. Youth 7mm08 are great guns, but the light weight rifles increase felt recoil and flinching. Going up in caliber/recoil to compensate for poor shot placement only increases the chances of flinching and poor shot placement.

Good info cwink. A good thread overall as I need to be buying a youth rifle too.

I agree with cwink. I started off with 243 for my kids because they were so young. When they got to about 8-9 I moved them up to 7mm08. I have killed many with a 243 still have and use my first rifle. But shot placement and bullet selection are key with smaller calibers.

I agree with cwink. I started off with 243 for my kids because they were so young. When they got to about 8-9 I moved them up to 7mm08. I have killed many with a 243 still have and use my first rifle. But shot placement and bullet selection are key with smaller calibers.

Don't discount the Mossberg youth. They are nice economical little rifles.
http://www.mossberg.com/product/mossber ... mbo-27840/

35 whelen h&r