OK.. Here’s the deal. I've volunteered to take hunting my 12 year old cousin whom has just passed his hunter safety course. His mom is applying for one of the Managed Youth Hunts here in MO, and if drawn I will be his sponsor and accompany him (only he hunts). His mom's boss is an avid hunter and has taken him to the range some and I will do likewise, but for the actual hunting rifle this presents a bit of a challenge. I have only .22 rimfires and .30 caliber centerfires. A full charge 30-06 with j-projectile would certainly be a bit much for a young shooter, so trying to think of a compromise. J-boolits require high velocities to perform, lead doesn't suffer from that requirement (if soft enough anyway).
I would imagine a relatively slow moving, but soft enough boolit in .30cal with a nice metplate would still be pretty decent deer medicine at shorter ranges (100 or less)? Thought if shot somewhat lighter loads the recoil would be more enjoyable for him to shoot provided it would still be up to the task. Any thoughts or suggestions? If such combination is deemed desirable, I'd certainly be interested in buying said boolits to load up for him provided I have what's necessary as I've never loaded cast before. If not I could ask around and see if anyone has a different caliber rifle I could borrow, like .243 win or something to that effect, but thought I might try to stay with what I actually own, if possible.
What sayeth you, o learned hunters.........