What gun is good for kid deer hunting?

AR-15 in .223/5.56 with solid copper bullets does a good job with no recoil!


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He's in the limited rifle zone.

 

I would just make sure he could hold it and carry it comfortable.And most important that the kick isn’t to hard for him.You don’t want the recoil to hurt him and than be afraid to shoot it

 

I dunno, I guess I as a parent would work a bit backwards.
What calibur is required for a efficient harvest?What can my kid handle now?
When will he/she be able to handle the calibur needed to do it efficiently?

Once requirement is met, might be at age 8, might be 13.

THEN they get to do the mature business of killing deer.


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Best post

 

My 9 year old uses a .350 legend. Dead accurate almost no noticeable recoil and he is small framed.

 

Word!

I ruled out the "one size fits all forever" approach to firearms selection with my kids from day one. Taught plenty of kids (primarily in boy scouts) to shoot & hunt over the years. Start them on smallbore with low recoil and minimal report, and they'll come back asking for more, especially when they're older & ready for bigger.

My 6'5" 210" son is 20yo. He was little more than a flyswatter at 8-9yo. Still, taught him on .22's (for learning, not hunting) then moved him up to 20ga early teen years. He continued preferring 20ga (due to recoil fear) for hunting until last year when he was 19yo and finally wanted a 12ga. He doesn't understand his previous reluctance to move up to 12ga, but it was real to him just one year ago.

Shooting & hunting should be fun! Recoil is the #1 fun killer for kids.

 

AND, one of the best ways to control "recoil" is good hearing protection. That should be worn at all times, even when hunting.

 

Huh?

 

We have "proven" that on MANY occasions. Kids, and often new woman shooters will complain about the "recoil". In some cases they were not wearing hearing protection, and in others, cheap junk. We would tell them we were giving them "weaker" ammo, with less recoil, and put better hearing protection on. Then gave them the same gun, same ammo, and all say it's much better, hurts less.

Muzzle blast affects everything.

 

So this still makes no sense. If you use a noise suppressor on a high powered rifle you're saying the recoil will be less? Same idea physics wise right? Sound vs no sound...I don't believe it but I've only been shooting for 55 years now.

 

Started mine off with Mossberg 20ga. pump with youth stock, rifled barrel and scope. No wrong answers, a shotgun setup is very versatile, switch out barrels, adult stock etc.

 

And it is an AR style so even less recoil and adjustable stock.

 

No, but it makes sense from a physiological response perspective. Yes, felt/perceived/ anticipated recoil will be less. Setting aside the physics of sound suppressors and their impact on actual recoil mechanics, your body's response to "felt recoil" (mechanical force) is not the only physiological reaction by the body. Anticipation of (and reaction to) recoil can be worsened by loud reports (audible force). DecoySlayer is talking about shooter's response to the total physiological inputs (recoil + sound), not just the physics of recoil.

Ever pull the trigger on your gun which didn't go "bang" but you flinched and shoulder reacted nonetheless? Same thing. There was no physical event. But there was a physiological response. Seasoned shooters can train themselves away from these reactions, but novice shooters are very much influenced (and overwhelmed) by all these factors.

Mathematically:
Recoil = ouch.
Loud bang = ouch.
Recoil + loud bang = triple ouch.
Nonlinear.

 

Suppressors are known to reduce felt recoil. They add mass to the rifle and direct the gasses differently that straight out. Also, decreasing muzzle blast noise improves accuracy in young and inexperienced shooters by helping eliminate the flinch from a loud report. My wife is an immensely better shooter when shooting suppressed.

350 Legend gets my vote. In an AR platform he can grow with it