Best 1st CB Rifle for teen hunter - Recommendations?

[kentuc40]

I need to know where to start my son out casting rifle bullets for a straight-walled cartridge in a factory rifle.

My teen son wants to learn how to cast bullets for a deer RIFLE that he can use in Indiana (straight walled cartridges only - no bottle necked cartridges). What are good rifles and cartridges to start with that won't take a newby to very long to get 2" groups @ 100 yard groups consistently?

I'm afraid that if we have to play and tinker too long, he will lose interest, so I'm looking for proven ideas that will help him keep interested and see results fast.

Here are some things of concern:

--We don't care how fast/slow the velocity is. CBs will just be for practice ... lots of practice. We will load jacketed bullets for hunting.
--2 MOA accuracy is important. He wants to practice on a small metal gong.
--Would rather not have to use gas checks or paper patching. Just too complicated for him at this stage.

IS THIS POSSIBLE?

All suggestions regarding rifles, cartridge and bullet molds will be greatly appreciated!!

[Lloyd Smale]

Id consider a 357 or 44 mag marlin. Most are capable of 2 inch accuracy with some load developement. Id give the 357s a slight accuracy edge but the 44 is a bit better killer. Having said this if you can find a winchester 94 in these calibers the ones ive had tend to shoot a bit better then the marlins.

[Ben]

A father approached me with this very same question a few days ago. He had a nice Savage 110 in 308 Win. Said he wanted something to train his son with until he was mature enough to shoot " full bore " loads. Was considering buying another rifle of some type for " training purposes ".

I loaded him five rounds of 308 Win. with 5.0 Bullseye with a 160 gr. RN.

I told him, " If your son can shoot a .22 rifle, he can shoot these."

The father / son team went out and shoot them, he called and asked " Can we have more ......? if so, I won't be buying another rifle."

[rhbrink]

A lever action would be a great starter but I would also consider a T-C Encore or a Handy rifle chambered up in the .357 Mag. lots of boolit choices both plain base and gas check. If more power is wanted later have it reamed out to the .357 Max. There is also the Contender if its available might find a used one.

Richard

[bobthenailer]

IMO i would go with a 357 or 44 mag in a leaver action or a single shot rifle .
A friend also had a son not quite not old enough to hunt and wanted something for him to pratice with , he bought a rem youth model 7mm/08 with a 2x7 leupold
for him i loaded 115 gr J bullets with about 17 to 21 grs of 5744 for 1700 to 2000 fps, accuracy was excellent with every load with the best shooting into 1/2 inch at 50 yards . I think he shot over 300 of these over a couple of years , and when he was ready to hunt he had no problem shooting full power ammo for hunting.

[pietro]

.357 Single-shot - +4 ($250 Handi)

.

[runnin lead]

44mag lever or single shot.
A 240 gr plain base bullet,less to mess with.
Why not stick with cast for hunting.
If you feel you need more velocity you can have him also work up a load with a GC bullet
You /he will still be limited to under 150 yards.

[redneckdan]

357 magnum contender would be the slick ticket. Easy to up grade to more powerful or different calibers.

[snowwolfe]

Ruger #1 in 45-70. He will never out grow it and it can be used to kill any animal in North America. Tons of cast data for it as well.

[dk17hmr]

I have to agree with the 45-70 suggestion although I would probably get a handi rifle, load it up with trail boss and a 300gr cast bullet at about 1100 fps and anyone could shoot it... turn around and load it with a 400gr at 1700 fps and kill anything.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
Seeing as this is for Indiana deer hunting and the pistol cartrige restriction get the 44 mag or 45 Colt. He will never be undergunned and ammo should be sitting on every shelf in the state. A Goodyear tire dealer I know in West Indiana uses a Ruger Lever action in 44 mag and has not lost any deer I know of.
If Illinois ever gets it´s brain working I will use 18 grains of 2400 with the Lee 260 grainer in my Interarms 45 Colt 1892 model. It will do your 2 MOA easily and complete penetrate a whitetail from any angle except "up the grill doors". Not a real hard core thumper either. This is the same load I use in a 45 Colt Ruger 7" revolver.
Mike in Peru

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Handi-Rifle in 454 Casull?

Rich

[DIRT Farmer]

Indiana limits length to 1.6 inch so basicly stright wall pistol cases only. I got a deal on an H&R handy rifle in 45 Colt, mild to wild, it will work for pratice or hunting with cast.
Last Fall one of my granddaughters got her deer with a Rossi 357 and a 155 grn Kieth style GC casting I cast and loaded. One round put the deer down 10 feet from where it was hit. She dosen't like recoil (8 at the time) so she practiced with 38spl wad cutters. She never knew the differance with a deer in front of her.

[para45lda]

Leaning towards 45 Colt - more powder space if needed, same length as 357 and 44.

In a Handi Rifle that could be rechambered to 454 if ever needed.

My .02

Wes

[LEADLUBBER]

Ruger m77/44 ?


Seems like an awesome looking bolt action repeater with magazine; an interesting, reliable, and super strong way to shoot straight walled cartridges like a .44 magnum that can be loaded a zillion different ways....

Not the cheapest rifle, but, I have seen these around here for $450-$500 and it will last for a lifetime of fun!

[MBTcustom]

Indiana limits length to 1.6 inch so basicly stright wall pistol cases only.

Is that the case length or the overall length?
Either way I would get a handi rifle in .500 S&W and make it work. The case length on the .500 S&W is 1.6 and you could seat R.E.A.L. bullets flush with the rim? Just an idea.
How about a wildcat made from the bases of 50BMG cases? You could call it the .700ACP.
Seriously though, .500 S&W.

[kentuc40]

Thanks for the really great input!! 44 mag or 45 colt sound most interesting to me. Gotta keep the cost to about $500 or less, so what about these rifles for best no-gas-check accuracy:

Ruger 77/44 -- quite a few reports of poor accuracy with CBs, but good with Jacketed. My son really likes this rifle, but I am afraid to invest in something that requires a lot of tinkering with CBs for 2 MOA accuracy. Comments?

Lever actions: Winchester looks to be out of our price range so am looking into Marlin or Rossi lever action in 44 and 45 LC. Heavier octagon barrel sounds really good but price jumps out of reach with an octagon. Rossi or Marlin (not microgroove) - which one has a better reputation for CB accuracy?

Handi-rifles -- reports of oversize bores. True or just a few? Doesn't this make it awfully hard to get good CB plain base accuracy?

Thanks again for the great input as we try to narrow down the field.

[Mk42gunner]

My Marlin 1894CB in .45 Colt (24" barrel) puts my plinking load in nice tight clusters and also groups hunting load- Lyman 452424 under a healthy dose of 2400 into suitably small groups. Unfortunately, I believe unless you find a real deal you are not going to find a Marlin for under $500.00

Honestly, I would get a Handi-rifle in .45 Colt and start load development; You can vary the sizing of cast boolits to get one that fits.

I started out many years ago with a single shot .22 and the next year an H&R .410. To this day if I really want to put meat in the pot, I take a single shot.

Robert

[tacklebury]

Hard to beat my favorite .45 colt. The H&R .45LC CLassic carbine. I got one and love it for my long range kin for my .45 colt blackhawk. Bud's still has em for sale, but when they are gone, that's it. Not being made anymore. 8(

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/p...ducts_id/41772

I shoot 300 gr. Magnum XTP's out of it at about 1820fps. It'll put down anything in N.A. I load my carbine loads with Reloader7 to take advantage of that 20" tube, but have shot my pistol loads also very accurately. Some of the guys shoot these with scopes out to 200yards with 250 grainers.

[smoked turkey]

I believe the newer Marlins have better triggers than the older ones. Unfortunately they are also a little out of the park price wise unless a great deal is found. I think in addition to the caliber that the sights and trigger need to be good. It is hard to shoot accurately when the trigger pull is too heavy and the sights are not too good. I realize the younger eyes can see open sights more clearly than us old dogs! I do think though that a good trigger is needed for young and old alike in order to be able to shoot accurately. I say +1 on light reloads for lots of trigger time prior to season. My grandson started out with a 243 and light j-words bullets. So far he has taken two whitetails with two shots. We are going for number three this year.