9 year old first deer hunt with a rifle, any suggestions!

[74hntr]

I have a 243 788 and Ruger American in 350 legend that my kids shoot. Both took first deer at age 10 with the legend. It is pretty much perfect in my experience with kids no kick muzzle blast way less than 243 and with good 170gn bullets it gives better performance on big deer inside 150yds than 243 from what I’ve seen. Only way I’d go 243 is if I had to have them shoot past 150.

 

[Gutshot007]

Single shot 12 gauge with slugs and a box of kleenex..... not . Lots of good advise here. Not sure if you reload or know someone that does? There are "reduced -loads " that can be worked up . Used for my kids in 243 and 7mm-08 and they worked excellent on deer. The other things is kids grow quickly when you feed them. Before you know it he'll start asking about a 300 win mag for deer . Have fun and good luck

 

[Rummy]

I let my 8 year old shoot my .308 last year and he killed a spike at about 130 yards shooting off of a rest. I did not let him shoot the rifle before that day because I didn't want him flinching in anticipation. I figured he would be pretty amped up for the deer so the recoil wouldn't be much of an issue. I also bought a BOG tripod for him to use in the event we are on the ground or in a stand big enough to accommodate the tripod. Mounting the rifle on the tripod and having him acquire different targets as practice helped out a ton because you can go behind him and check the accuracy once he comes off the scope.

 

[nsewell]

I would say .243 of what you have available. But .223 would be better. My daughter is 8 weighs 48lbs and wants to shoot her first deer, she’s never shot anything bigger than a 22lr. I worried the 243 I bought for her is to much for her right now. I hope to get her started with a 223 but waiting till I get my suppressor. I would rather her wait than be scared of the “big guns”.

 

[Titan_Bow]

That new 6mm ARC round that Hornaday came out with would be ideal. Ballistically, its pretty close to 243, but form-factor would fit in an AR-15 and have almost no recoil. I'm actually thinking about putting together a new AR chambered in this round just for fun

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

My girls have been whitetail hunting for 5 years. They started with a CVA scout in .44 mag that had zero recoil with reach out to about 150. Farthest shot they killed one at was around 115. All one shot recoveries with 240 grain JHP blue box federals.

They've also killed whitetails with my muzzleloader with 85 grains of Black Horn and a 250 grain Hornady SST.

We start EVERY range session with some .22 time just to reacclimate. Then we move on to the bigger stuff once they're grouping the .22 consistently.

Out of the line up you suggested, I'd go .243, .257, and 6.5, and probably in that order.

My 17 year old will be shooting my .308 this fall on a youth cow tag, and she's pumped!

Good luck!

 

[The_Whitetail_Kid]

6.5 or 243 would be my suggestion.

 

[ssramage]

My son is 9 this year and has been killing deer since he was 7. We started with a single shot .243 and he killed a few deer with it (including this buck). At the end of last season, he upgraded to my Model 7 7mm-08 and killed a doe with it. He only wants to use that now.

Biggest piece of advice that I can add, is to get a gun rest that holds the weight of the gun and helps them manipulate it without having to worry about balancing it. We use a BOG tripod and it has helped a TON. Gun is always set up and ready to go. My son gets behind it, aims, and pulls the trigger.

 

[PressurePoint]

243! It’s amazing starter. And as he grows it makes for a fun predator gun