My daughter will be twelve next august and would like to hunt with her dad on the youth hunt day. But I not sure what rifle to

[vodge72]

My daughter will be twelve next august and would like to hunt with her dad on the youth hunt day. But I not sure what rifle to let her use? I have 30.06 or wincester 30/30. I want her to have the best experience for the day and hope she will take up hunting.

[sucngas]

remington makes some great reduced recoil loads for the 30-06. She may find the recoil a little stiff with standard loads. Range will be limited with the 30-30, but if you are hunting thick stuff where shots are usually short, there is nothing wrong with that choice either. The 30-30 will likely be shorter, and balance better for a shorter, or youth shooter. So if you hunt open country, go for the -06 with reduced recoil loads, or if you hunt the brush, go with the 30-30.

[bigjake]

for a 12 year old girl id go with the Managed- Recoil in 30-30 over the 30/06. As a new hunter ranges will most likely be short.Im thinking the o6 will be a little to much gun for a young woman, even with the reduced recoil shells.

[Taylor Pommier]

i would use a 30-06 with reduced loads when i was 11 i started with an -06 and i was a pretty little guy. the recoil with reduced is no more than a 30-30 but i would just do exactly what sucngas said

[pineywoods]

Let her use the 30-30 or borrow .243. She might not like the recoil of the '06, even in a reduced load, and the size of the gun might be an issue.
Good luck to you both.

[bigjake]

taylor, even the smallest of 12 year old boys is still most likely going to bit a bit tougher than most girls at that age....point is this, if she feels any amount of uncomfortable recoil she most likely wont be interested in picking up the sport.

[Taylor Pommier]

alirght that makes sense consdiering some 06's recoil quite abit and if he has a lighter/smaller gun for her it will be worse.

[mattginter]

the 30-30 is a great fir rifle for 12 year old and the recoil wont be too bad, i do disagree with sucngas that the 30-30 will limit you for range. the new and even the old marlins can hit hald dollars a 300 yards.

[Kody]

A 150 round nose 30-30 bullet leaving the muzzle of the lever gun at 2200 fps is traveling 1325 fps at three hundred yards and has dropped 43 inches from the muzzle. A 10 mph wind will have moved the bullet over 23 inches by the 300 yard mark. A 30 mph wind will have moved that bullet over 76 inches. At three hundred hards the hard working 30-30 doesn't generate much muzzle energy meaning it will not be much of an effective killer. A bullet taking that much time to get to that distance is unlikely to get where you are aiming. Give the old 30-30 some respect as one of the classics but allow her to do what she does best at ranges that allow her to perform well and kill game effectively.

[Kody]

Wow! I get a negative comment report for quoting the data on velocities and drop and wind deflection on the round nose .308 bullet out of a 30-30. You have a problem if you allow your opinions to form in complete contradiction to the laws of physics. the bullet is moving that slow and does not generate much energy and your wishing it to be otherwise or having it beat the odds and kill something at such ranges does not change the fact that is a poor choice for 300 yard shots. Do expect it to perform at such ranges is clearly poor judgement and shows a complete lack of respect for the animal in you sights.

[Kody]

Repair job-- To expect it to perform at such ranges is clearly poor judgement and shows a complete lack of respect for the animal in your sights.

[AlaskanExile]

I agree with Sucngas; if you expect shots over 100 yards go with the '06 with the managed recoil loads. My wife shoots those in her 308 and they are awesome out to 200yds or so, and that's far enough for a beginner to be taking shots, without a lot of practice. Remington is trying to get us all hooked on the reduced recoil loads so they sell most at a loss or at their cost. They are often some of the most reasonably priced hunting loads on the shelf. They use lower power charges and lighter bullets that are specially designed to expand at lower velocities (130 grain in 308 if I remember correctly). Great stuff, wish I thought of it. The 30-30 would probably be a lighter gun and better for brush, a 243 or 260 would be my choice if you were starting from scratch.
AKX

[vodge72]

thanks for all of your opinions, and none of her shots will be beyond 150 yds. we hunt in wooded area, not alot of long shots.

[pineywoods]

Kody is right concerning the ballistics and drift of the .30-.30 and I can't figure why the negative marks were given. I give a +. Thanks for your observations, Kody.

[Kody]

Your welcome vodge72 and thank you pineywoods, I appreciate your comments.