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Faithful Retrievers wrote:If you were to get another rifle that would be a good varmit but still be good for the wife to shoot a deer with what would it be? I was leaning toward 243, but 308 crossed my mind. I have a 7mm08 270 7 mag and 300 short. The 7mm08 is a nice gun dont want to tote in truck or let others borrow who have kids. Would a 223 be a little small for someone that might not put a perfect shot on a deer?

Most any of the wssm calibers. I love the 25wssm. Between my daughter and myself we've both dropped many a deer in their tracks with it. Lightweight, very nimble, with very little recoil. Ammo wise mostly only deerc ammo readily availible but u can handload some screaming varmit loads for it! I've on several 25-06's over the years and never liked any of em but I love the balance of the wssm. Even though the loads are supposedly the same the super short justcseems to work better.

I have my daughter (8 yr old) shooting a 223 bull barrel handi rifle. First deer she killed was with a Remington 55 gr sp. Hit the shoulder and came all apart. Changed over to the Fed Premium 60 gr Nosler Partitions. AWSOME round and is a tack driver in the inexpensive handi. I have had her out shooting enough, that if a good one steps out at 200 and she has a good rest, I wouldn't hesitate to let her take the shot. BUT, it would have to be with a good rest.

I've shot a 25-06 for years. Great all around small caliber. Very little recoil and the 90gr Hornady GMX comes out smokin!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a .243 for deer. With the new bullets out today the 22 and 24 calibers are no longer an issue. I have killed most of my deer with my 1985 Weatherby Vanguard most have been dead right there. Longest shot was 246 yards. The 85 grain Hollow point put him down in less than 5 yards.. 1 jump and he was down.. Also nothing wrong with 22 calibers for deer hunting.. We have killed deer with 223,22-250 and 220 Swifts. Most impressive thing I saw was a 300 yard shot on a deer running away with a 220 Swift.. Bullet entered the hind quarter and exited the chest cavity deer fell dead.. Speed kills and when your pushing a bullet upwards of 3200 fps that does some damage..

If your looking for primarily a deer round with some varmit shooting then .243.. If your looking primarily varmit with some deer then, go with the 22 caliber of your choice, but a 22-250 is sweet..

I like the WSMs, but ammo is hard to find, and you are only really gaining about 200 FPS on those rounds and they are alot more expensive..

Here is a data filed .243 article

http://www.chuckhawks.com/243_service_rifle.htm

skywalker wrote:I've shot a 25-06 for years. Great all around small caliber. Very little recoil and the 90gr Hornady GMX comes out smokin!

Same here. It's the only rifle I've ever used for deer. Winchester 90gr PEPs will do the trick.

I would go with a 243 or a 25-06. either one is more than enough to kill a deer and the wifey will be able to handle either one of them too.

I bought a 22 250 about three months ago and that thing is sweet for varmints. I was skeptical at first because it was a 350 dollar marlin with a bull barrel but that thing will shoot half inch at a 100 yards. Of course I have a leupold scope that cost alot more than the gun. Other than it being a little on the heavy side I would definitely buy another one.

To expand on this thread. I am thinking about buying my 8 yr old daughter her first gun. She is small, she gets that honest ; ). Probably 60 pounds, that's me guessing. I'm leaning towards a 7-08 with managed recoil. What do y'all think? I have seen 260's in action and have been very impressed. I can't break the bank right now so a WSM is out if the ? unless one of you have one that you'll unload fairly cheap.

I just ordered my forty pound 6 yr old a 223 and am going to do some cutting on it. She is very small. My 10 yr old shoots a 243 with barnes tsx. She weighs 60lbs and I think she could handle reduced 7-08.

I will also add, take a look at the weatherby youth model. It comes with extensions for stock and a great trigger. It is affordable and sweet shooter. It comes in 7-08too

peewee wrote:To expand on this thread. I am thinking about buying my 8 yr old daughter her first gun. She is small, she gets that honest ; ). Probably 60 pounds, that's me guessing. I'm leaning towards a 7-08 with managed recoil. What do y'all think? I have seen 260's in action and have been very impressed. I can't break the bank right now so a WSM is out if the ? unless one of you have one that you'll unload fairly cheap.

The only problem is that 7mm-08 shells are hard to come by some times.. They only usually do seasonal runs on the 120 grain and managed recoil... Even though I have a 7mm-08.. My go to gun is still my 243..