308, 7-08 vs 6.5cm

[SEGARE]

If she can shoot a 270, she can shoot a 308. There's so little difference in recoil as to be insignificant. I started by son with factory reduced loads in a 270 and they worked just fine for the first couple of bucks.

That said, a 243/6cm works very well for WT and recoil is negligible.

 

[john 800]

So it looks like the savage compact axis is available. I feel better about the savage than the mossberg, and the lop is plenty short for the boderline midget. 6.5 creed or 7-08, or 350 legend.
Nothing against the creedmore, but I really like the 7-08 and have everything but brass and dies for it. I have creedmore brass laying around but no bullets and not as much choice of powder… go figure.
Now, the 350 legend comes up and sounds interesting, very low recoil and should be effective as far out as she will shoot for a few years, and the savage could easily be rebarreled to whatever we want down the road, very intriguing.
Does anyone have experience with a 350 legend? 2200 ish with 170 gr 35 cal bullets. Like a 357 mag rifle but faster

 

[22BRGUY]

.243 has lightest recoil and will most likely shoot the flattest.

 

[603Country]

Go with the 6.5 CM and 100 grain bullets. Push them with a light load of IMR4064. Light recoil. As she gets older and bigger, heavy up the bullet and powder charge.

 

[snert]

I think everyone is hitting on an important principle here. Bullet weight and velocity determines recoil.

Couple recoil with a rifle properly sized and it is manageable.

My small daughter shoots a 308, 168 gr MK. But it is a varmint rifle so recoil is taken up by weight.

In a deer rifle it is a 243 and 80 grain TTSX for her.

Much easier for her to lug around and handle recoil.

So, if you chose 308, just use a light bullet. I find the 130 grain TTSX to be the bee's knees, as long as you crimp it. No need to belch flames.

In similar fashion, a well made 120 grain 7mm in 7-08, or a light 6.5, or even a 100 grain 243 bullet from a similar sized cartridge, in a well fitting rifle and you will be fine. She will handle it well.

Don't get caught up in hype. Just use a well constructed bullet and put a medium size case behind it, in a rifle that fits.

Personally, I would look for a youth 700, or an axis, or Tikka more than a Mossberg, but hey, it is a preference. Get what she likes. That is what matters. Just stay in the 130 grain or lower bullet weights, in a well constructed bullet.

 

[snert]

Another rifle to consider would be a Howa Mini in 6.5 Grendel.

I recently watched a little gal being coached by her daddy shooting one of these at the range. It was a nice set up. I personally thought it barked a bit more than a 243, but she handled it well. Cool little rifle

 

[603Country]

The 6.5 Grendel is a pretty good suggestion. It’s about the same power wise as a 250 Savage. I have one in AR fashion, and recoil is practically nothing.

 

[moorepower]

If Howa ever actually ships the 6 ARC, the bolt action loads with a 90-95 grain bullets are not far off of a .243. The Savage Lady hunter is a 6 lb walnut stocked rifle in .243 and .308

 

[john 800]

If Howa ever actually ships the 6 ARC, the bolt action loads with a 90-95 grain bullets are not far off of a .243. The Savage Lady hunter is a 6 lb walnut stocked rifle in .243 and .308

The lady hunter is a very nice setup, but way to long of a LOP. The smallest youth rifles are the mosberg and savage, and even those are longer than ideal. The savage compact axis is the winner so far.

 

[dgeesaman]

As an old fart now with a multitude of physical limitations, I've come full circle back to the 243 Win. for the lighter recoil.

Anything a 243 Win can do ballistically, a 6BR can do with 25% less powder and 25% less recoil. Not sure why it isnt the most popular youth hunting cartridge of all. I guess it’s not profitable or popular enough to become a factory chambering like Creedmoor.

 

[Beiruty]

Anything a 243 Win can do ballistically, a 6BR can do with 25% less powder and 25% less recoil. Not sure why it isnt the most popular youth hunting cartridge of all. I guess it’s not profitable or popular enough to become a factory chambering like Creedmoor.

Maybe because there is no factory loads

 

[dgeesaman]

Maybe because there is no factory loads

Yeah of course as a strict hand loader I tend to overlook that issue.

 

[john 800]

We went to Scheels today. They actually had both the mossberg and the savage in stock and she held both of them and even without a jacket I dont see either being short enough. May have to go the collapsable stock route on an AR which is not something I wanted to do. Maybe buy a 6.5 grndel upper amd borrow her grandpa's AR for deer season, cause I dont have one, and dont really have intrest in one

 

[snert]

You might be surprised what she grows into...

Like buying boots for a 9 YO boy, by the time he gets home, they are too small!

An AR might be a stop gap.

In my day dad's bought a cheap rifle and hacksawed the stock down, then screwed it back together in a few years! Gun Plumbers United!!!!

 

[std7mag]

I put a purple, Boyds AT-One stock on my daughters custom 7X57 Mauser.
The adjustable LOP & Comb are really nice.
And they have them for almost any firearm.

Just 2 caveats.

My daughter is 6'3".

And while she loves it, i'm sure there's a special place in the afterworld for someone putting a purple stock on a Mauser.

 

[markT]

 

[FryeGuy]

Something to consider with going the “light load” thing is minimum bullet speed at impact for bullet expansion. I called Sierra and nosler and they said impact velocity of 1800fps or they may or may not expand. I was trying to load for. 7mm-08. My son didn’t get along with that rifle at all, but he was only 9. So I traded his gun in on a 6.5cm, based 100% solely on the nosler 129LRAB. It will expand all the way down to 1300fps. Recoil was next to nothing. He loved it and used light loads for 2 seasons. He shot deer out to 215 yards, and we never recovered a single bullet

 

[slancey]

I discovered that muzzle blast and noise were my daughter's biggest problem, not the actual recoil. She can't even shoot her .223 under the awning at the rifle range, but she has no problem shooting anything out in the open where there isn't as much shock from the sound of the muzzle blast.

 

[Beiruty]

Comparing all those cartridges is like entering a fruit shop and asking the shop owner which tastes best?

In engineering, we have
Requirements and fulfilling those requirements with the best engineering solution we can offer at that time.

 

[CSLR grandpa]

John 800, a lot of options with a AR platform, an 6.5 Grendel hunting upper from AA, Magpul UBR stock and Barnes 115 gr.TAC-TX BT, you will be very happy. Getting your daughter accustomed to the AR platform might take little time, shoot some 90 Speer TNT for lower recoil and a Geissele 2 stage trigger.