I need to get my 15 year old daughter a riffle for hunting deer,She's all into it and I need to get it done.So my uncle say's a .243 and I say a .270 she will have this riffle for as long as I'm around and into her adult life.Which one should I get??????.Thanks.Good luck,
SZ

I have to go with the .243 for young girls. No kick, not that .270 has much either but certainly more than the .243. Shoots flat and no deer has ever run away from a well placed shot I have seen. Nice little guns as long as you are only going for deer/roadies.

Start her with the .270. That way she could always hunt bigger critters. There isn't a lot of kick with a .270 and 130 grn bullets. Start her slow not many rounds at a time, and she will get used to that gun in no time. Much better all around caliber than the .243.

Good luck
Buck

.243




Light, easy to carry, little recoil, very accurate with the right loads. Ryan carried that .243 for 3 days and made a 130 yard neck shot at the age of 10. Ryan weighed less than 100lbs at the time.

She can always upgrade to a larger caliber later.

Do the 243 then get the 270 later. Easy to find a smaller framed 243 that she will be more comfertable with. If she stays with it get her a nicer 270 later or semi auto -06 if she happens to get the Elk bug. Don't want her flinching while she is learning to shoot. .22 are way under rated for kids on many levels. My kids can put a couple of hundred bucks of ammo into dirt hill so fast it will make your head spin. Thank god for the 22s when they get bored with em they are bagging for the bigger guns.

Thanks for the reply's.I forgot to mention the she can hold her own pretty well, being solid as rock 5' 2" and a buck 30 in weight.She maybe able to take me in a couple years.I wish she shot lefty so if she decides not to stick with it then I can take it over.I'm gonna get her the .270 that way if she drops out her mother can take it over.Good luck,
SZ

I have one of those rossi single shots with a 243 and 20 ga barrels for it that was a waste of time and money. It has seen about a box of shells and I doupt it will ever leave the house again. Do not buy one. Your welcome to use mine to let her try it if you would like. Don't know if its the cheep scope or barrel but I couldn't get any type of group with it. You can try the kids model 70 that they have both killed deer with too.
My brother has an old rem 243 that is one of the ugliest guns you will ever see and has spent more time under a truck seat than any gun ever should. That thing is always dead on. Probably has killed a dozen deer and a hundred yotes.
Let me know

I have both, so my kiddo will probably start with the .243 but I think if I was buying 1 rifle I'd get the .270. She sounds like a solid kiddo, so she should be able to take the recoil of the .270 (load it down a little). Look at the Tika T-3. That's what my .270 is, and it's been a great rifle. Adjustable trigger, detachable mag, and very accurate. A solid rifle for the money IMO.

Thanks again for the reply's and offer's(Achewter) and yes she get's one riffle and it's gonna be the .270 and I will load it down and see what happens.She may get one this weekend if she's lucky.Good luck,
SZ


P.S. What size scope for a .270??????.

3X9?????

Fixed 4x

Simpler,less weight,and will do everything a new hunter needs.

Good choice! A fixed 4 is a good bet, less to worry about. But I am a fan of the 3X9X40. Or a combination close to that. Don't go super cheap on the scope. Looks like you are going to have some fun!

Good Luck
Buck

This is spot on advice. Get what is best for her, not what you want.
Let her master the .243 and maybe someday she will want to step up to something else.
.243 and my favorite, 6mm Rem are very effective deer cartridges and hell on varmints.

Nothing wrong with either choice in the right package that balances well. The primary variable(s) at this point is your daughter's changing stature and the game animals that the two of you will pursue. A rifle that is too heavy will preclude wandering too far afield and the .243 would be considered by many to be too light for the likes of a heavy-boned bull elk....

If you roll your own ammo, there may be other options with light recoil and proven terminal performance. I have tipped over elk with a magnum and have also harvested mulies with a .270. I'm liking the weight/balance/ballistics of a quarter-bore -06 with a 100 gr. TTSX over an ample dose of R22 and a Federal 210M go button for deer & elk. It carries easy, and the X's at 3,400+ fps will seal the deal. For your initial choices, go 130 gr. X's in the .277 or 80/85 gr. (TTSX/TSX) in the .243. Federal loads 'em too....

For glass and light rings, you'd be hard pressed to beat Leupold on Talley Lightweights or Leupold 2-pieces. From lightest to heaviest-- 6x42, 2.5-8x, 3.5-10x with a standard duplex reticle. The fixed six may be a bit much for westside bush whacking. Lacking an elevation turret (M1) on the above, sighting in at around 2.5" high at 100 yards will put you right on at 250 and around 3 inches low at 300 yards. POA = POI for lung shots out to that distance. Federal's website has ballistics tables and a calculator for their ammo. JBM's trajectory/drift calculator can be downloaded for refined analysis of hand loads....

http://www.jbmballistics.com/

Have fun hunting for a new shootin' iron!

My son has shot game animals with both the .270 and the .243.
He shot his mom's .270 win m 70 until I gave him a win 70 in 7mm-08.

This buck he killed with Mom's .270.



He's put the hurt on a nice bear with mom's rifle as well.



Things really took off when Thomas started shooting the 7mm-08.
This was a rifle I won at a banquet, it is a stainless Winchester model 70.
I topped it with a Leupold 3-10 x 40 Boone & Crockett multi plex reticle, a Harris bi-pod and a Butler Creek sling.
The Leupold scope matches up very well with the ballistics of the lil 7 when using 140 gr bullets @ 2, 3, 4 & 450 yards.
The 7-08 has virtually no recoil or flinch creating muzzle blast, and due to that instills confidence instead of fear .
He absolutely loves that rifle for deer hunting.
He has used that rifle to take big muleys, antelope & blacktails.
None of them have required a second shot.
















He whacked this fine Wyoming antelope at 520 yards with the trusty 7-08.




I find myself sneaking the little 7 out of the safe as well proving that it ain't just for kids ...




Not really recommending it for kids, but he borrowed my .300 weatherby mag to put the hammer on this goat.
Using the skills of proper shooting form that he had learned using smaller calibers, he proved that he can shoot even heavy recoiling rounds with authority...




I won a Remington 700 SPS in .243 at a Rocky Mountain elk foundation banquet a couple years back.
I had a choice of calibers and chose the .243.
In my younger days I was a big magnum fan, but I have really fallen in love with these accurate, low recoiling calibers.
The Remington SPS is a very affordable rifle that shoots like a much more expensive unit.
With the .243, you can see your hits through the scope due to it's almost nonexistent recoil.
It is a superb choice for a kid.
We have pretty much designated the .243 as a coyote rifle, it shoots great groups using cheap Federal factory ammo within 80 gr projectiles.
I have a hard time prying it from Thomas's hands...




Bottom line, I HIGHLY recommend either the .243 or the 7mm-08 as a youth rifle.
Both will put deer on the ground with authority.
Most importantly these calibers will teach kids to shoot well as they will not fear heavy recoil or muzzle blast and will in turn be able to learn good shooting form that will last a lifetime.

As usual, Sal is in the center ring. The efficiency of the '08 case combined with 7mm ballistics can't be argued. It is also one that could be used for larger game such as elk. Bullet technology/manufacturing have also improved in the past couple of decades, affording higher velocities/ballistic coefficients with nearly 100% bullet weight retention. This is another reason why lighter calibers are much more effective and popular.

As I get older, my gear has gotten lighter with the vertical staying about constant in a typical day afield. That also includes my choice of rifle. After toting a 7mm RM for many years, I was considering either the 7-08 or .284 but inheriting my father's .25-06 SPS (in stainless = hint) gave me another option. I also liked that the 100 gr. TTSX trajectory was significantly flatter than the 7-08 pushing its ideal 140 gr. TTSX. Both share the same kinetic energy and minimal recoil with the long action tipping the scale a bit more that the short. Hopefully, I'll be able to sort out a spike bull this fall and see what the zippy quarter-bore will do at the terminal end of the equation....

I look forward to seeing your daughter's smiles in the forthcoming range and hunting trip photos. Seems to work well for both Sal and Thomas....

another option that i went with for my wife is the 25-.06 in between the 243 and 270 and one sweet flat shooting gun. look into the ballistics between the three and youll see why i went that route

Well,I pulled the trigger on the heads up from deerlick.She ended up with a .270 22" barrel savage with the 3X9X10 combo camo synthetic on sale @ cabela's for $329.99.Bought a box of 130 to run through it this weekend and maybe even tonight if she's lucky.We will up grade and change thing's later down the road if need be,maybe for graduation in 4 years if she sticks with it.I was real close to getting the 7mm-08 but held back.She doesn't know it yet but she will in an hour or so.I'll let her pick out the sling & case later this weekend.Anyone know were a girl can get a pink camo rifle sling???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? and case.Thanks all.Good luck,
SZ

Congrats Dad! Good for you (and her). Be sure and clean the barrel before shooting, and do a good job of breaking the rifle in the first 15-20 shots. Have fun!!!!!!

Bernie,

If you have .270 dies and want to reload for that rifle, I have about 8 different bullet weights from 95 grain TTSX to some 130 gr Accubonds, so I could slide you a few of each. For plinking I have a few thousand 115gr FMJ's, if you need them.

Good choice on the 270 Winchester.


I have both calibers in my rifle rack & my is that of most guys, the .270 Win is simply more versatile if your going to do all our NW hunting w/ one gun.

My 1982 Ruger M-77 .270 has killed a ton of big game (Montana & Washington) w/ some shots out to just under 400 yards.

Mine might be a freak, but off a bench it will shoot 5 Sierra 90 grain HP's into 1.25" @ 100 yards, & put 3 Nosler 160 grain partitions into .75" w/ my loads. Mine has a lightweight taper 22" bbl.


My current hunting load is a Nosler 130 grain Ballistic Tip @ 3100+ fps w/ a maximum charge of Reloader 17.


c/22