Whats a good deer rifle for my son? Hes a beginner. Would a .30-.30 be to much?

[Spence]

Whats a good deer rifle for my son? Hes a beginner. Would a .30-.30 be to much?

[Edward J. Palumbo]

As his first deer rifle, I presented my son with a well used Winchester Model 94 chambered for the .30-30 and equipped with a William receiver sight. He was (is) delighted. I handload, so the first loads he used were assembled with light (110 gr. RN) bullets, but he quickly transitioned to 150 and 170-grain bullets.
A Marlin 1894 in .44 Mag is another good choice in dense brush and, if you handload, you can provide him with affordable light loads for plinking and practice. Your son is a fortunate lad. Best wishes to both of you.

[Southtexan]

Im 13 and i took my first buck, 11 points, with a
300 win. mag. I was 9. That thing kicked so hard, but I was so excited I didnt even feel it. I think a
30-30 would be great. If not, a .223 kicks like a bb gun but it definitely does the job fine.

[Golfing Sportsman]

other virtues of a 30.30, i'm assuming it is a lever like a model 94, is that it is light and compact, which makes it easier for a youngster to carry, handle, and shoot comfortably. The only downfall is that many 30.30s have hard plastic or metal butt plates that can bite the shoulder if he is practicing with only a t-shirt on. Padd it a little bit or add a rubber recoil pad and it should work out great.

[bomberpride]

30-30 would b really good

[rabbitpolice88]

A 30-30 is a great gun for a first time hunter to start with. I started off with a 30-30 and loved it.

[deerslayer2]

A 30-30 would be a great gun. But if he is big enough I would get him a 30-06.I said IF he was big enough.

[T]

My first deer rifle was a .243 and it worked out great for me. It just depends on what your son is built like and what he feels comfortable shooting.

[Bigbuck14]

NO im 14 years old it also depends on his age if he is under 13 start him of with a .243 or .308 those would be the to guns I would use but i also use a 20 which is a great gun some people think its a short range gun but it really isn't it can reach out about 200 yards

[Cantrell44]

30-30 would be a great gun to start with

[pumakitchen]

I have a .243 and I love it, it is great for deer, pronghorn, and even elk. However if I was buying for my son I would buy a .270 it is a great gun for many species, its big enough to take down an elk, but small enough its not going to blow a hole in smaller game. It has a great range of bullet grain sizes and they are popular enough you could probably find one for a good price. Take the money you save and buy him a really good scope, it will make all the difference.

[rrmont]

I would go with a .243, but it also depends of what type of terrian you hunt in. If it's brush and up close then go with the 30-30, if it's alittle more open then the .243.

[Del in KS]

Most 30-30's are lever actions with exposed hammers. The only safety is the half-c0ck notch and you can't see what's in the tube magazine. No companies make lever-action youth guns that I can recall. Because of safety they are not the best gun for a beginner. There are several youth model bolt actions that can be loaded like a single shot and have excellent safeties. A 243 or 7mm08 is about as good as it gets cartridgewise accurate, light recoil, plenty power for deer sized game.

[ishawooa]

Although the .30-30 is not a bad choice I tend to start kids with either a .243 or .270 bolt action. I have owned .30-30's that were more obnoxcious to shoot than a .270 of reasonable weight with a light bullet and a good recoil pad. I don't ever remember a kid complaining. I own a .243 that has killed over 40 deer and antelopes. Most of them by kids or beginning adult hunters. Invariably it was their first kill but not their last.

[kolbster]

30-30, 223 or 243 all kick about the same 223 is the lightest kicker of the bunch though, and will bring down a deer just fine.