Hey whats a good gun for a 13yr old kid who is 80 pounds and wants to take a deer in florida?

[gator fan 2017]

Hey whats a good gun for a 13yr old kid who is 80 pounds and wants to take a deer in florida?

[Treestand]

I have some Sons with Dads come in with the same Question,I recommend the 243Win or 223Rem in a Savage Axes youth Mod, here in Central Florida..If you Hunt N/Fla the 243Win the deer are Larger.
What part of Fla.are you in???
Safe Hunting....Good Luck.

Join the NRA.

[Bioguy01]

Agreed with above, though .243 ammo is going to be easier to find right now than .223.

[99explorer]

I agree with Tree and Bioguy. The .243 would be the ideal caliber for your situation. I would stay away from the .223, however. It is not legal for deer in some states.

[gator fan 2017]

I'm in central florida. Thanks for the great info! I can't wait to go hunting I just got into the outdoors thing and can't wait to go!

[gator fan 2017]

What scope should I use?

[99explorer]

A low fixed-power scope should be adequate, and save you some money. A Bushnell Banner Dusk and Dawn 4X32 runs about $90.
Zeiss and Leupold also make good 4-power scopes for about $300.

[Bioguy01]

Nikon Pro-staff...I have one on every one of my rifles and I have yet to be disappointed.

[Weazel4]

Can't go wrong with the .243 with a 3-9 scope. Used this set up several times, and dropped an antelope at 250 yards 3 years ago.

[capt.seagull]

I use a 243 win single shot with a Bushnell banner 3-9 scope and its excellent hardly kicks and I'm 12 and 160 pounds

[DakotaMan]

Good choices above. The .243 is a nice rifle for beginners, especially for the small Florida deer. If you can handle a long action rifle, a 25-06 Rem has about the same recoil with a LOT more range and knock down power. I'd suggest handling one of them and choose the rifle that is most comfortable for you.

I put my .243 in the closet when I was about 19 and have shot 25-06s for most hunting over the last 45 years. I do that because I find them more effective for everything from prairie dogs to deer/antelope than any other cartridge. With a little luck, you will be 19 soon yourself and it would be nice to be able to use the same rifle for the rest of your life. Florida hogs will be fun for you too and the 25-06 is far better suited to that if you decide to do that one day.

Regarding scopes, you might consider a Vortex Diamondback 2-7x or 4-12x scope for around $180 to $200... much better than the Pro staff (although the Pro Staff is a nice scope)... look at them side by side and you will see improved clarity and field of view which are nice for hunting. When you get to the field, you will also see better accuracy. This will be especially important if you intend to shoot varmints or if your rifle and you are capable of long range shots.

[gator fan 2017]

thanks DakotaMan I'm 13 so a little bit longer till I am 19!

[DakotaMan]

Gator... I know it seems like a long time at this point but time will pass quickly. During that time, you may do a lot of practice shooting and develop your favorite loads. It helps to be very familiar with your rifle and it takes a few years for most of us to accomplish that. Had I realized the virtues of the 25-06 over the .243, I would certainly have started out with that when I was younger.

The 25-06 is capable of shooting light bullets just like the .243 with similar light recoil (a mono-metal bullet like the Barnes TSX 90g is deadly on deer and has about the same recoil as the .243 in that bullet weight). However, it is also capable of shooting larger bullets giving it greater range and knockdown power for longer range shots.

It is also capable of greater velocity than the .243 making it a better long range hunting rifle. The only downside is that some 25-06 "long action" rifles are a little heavier than the "short action" .243s. This is NOT the case with all of them however. My stalking 25-06 weights 5.5 lbs and my long range 25-06 weights 12 pounds so as you see, you have a wide variety of weight choices.

[gator fan 2017]

thanks dakota man. My grandpa is taking me to the range soon so I will figure out what gun I like!

[erikgilbert]

Don't know how big you are or what kind of range you are looking for. I think 243 is ok for deer but .308 is much better. if you are over 100 pounds I think you might want to consider something closer to 30 caliber. Very versatile hunting rounds. I know a 243 will take a deer with great shot placement.... maybe a 30/30 would fit you well. I know the kick is minimal with those.