Need Advice - Straight Walled Cartridges for youth hunting whitetails

[wolfdog]

I think the 357 mag would be fine.

[BunkTheory]

All suggested are gonna Work.

But as you already stated he is recoil shy or at least sensitive. Excellent calibers like 44 mag & 45/70 are OFF THE TABLE!

My suggestion from my heart is the 357 Maximum. But not many chambered for it. Any single shot can be reamed to accept in 30 minutes.

You didnt say if you hand load, but its assumed being here. So that also opens allot of options.

A Henry, CVA and others can be had in 357 Mag. Using proper Reamer a Dinny suggests you will have quite a versatile package. Able to shoot 38,357 Mag & Maximum. Hand loaded you can reach 2100 fps W/180g thats square in 35 Rem territory.

If you dont hand load, look at the 350 Legend.

ALL are ample for under 200yards on Deer Bear & Hogs.

Good luck

CW

Pray sir, do you have much experience with a lever gun in 44 magnum? The only issue a lever gun may have is the persons physical size in relation to the ability to operate the lever action mechanism while it is in the shouldered position.

Recoil becomes MEANINGLESS when you put the 44 magnum into a LONG GUN.... sort of like shooting 44 special in a super redhawk...

[Daekar]

Pray sir, do you have much experience with a lever gun in 44 magnum? The only issue a lever gun may have is the persons physical size in relation to the ability to operate the lever action mechanism while it is in the shouldered position.

Recoil becomes MEANINGLESS when you put the 44 magnum into a LONG GUN.... sort of like shooting 44 special in a super redhawk...

While I see where you are coming from, I will cordially disagree. I was shocked by how much recoil a 44 magnum levergun had the first time I shot one. Not that it's anything like a full-power rifle cartridge, but it is a good deal more than I expected to feel. My wife is even more recoil-sensitive than I am and she absolutely would not shoot a full-power 44 mag rifle for fun. She was pleasantly surprised at how mild the recoil was on a 357mag 158gr Hornady Critical Defense load out of my Henry Single Shot, even though she preferred my Trail Boss loads in that gun.

Could she learn to handle a 44 mag rifle? Yes, I believe she can do anything she has a compelling reason to do. But would she enjoy it? I doubt that she would. There is no virtue in spending more lead and powder than necessary to get the job done, especially if it results in less fun in the process.

[cwlongshot]

Pray sir, do you have much experience with a lever gun in 44 magnum? The only issue a lever gun may have is the persons physical size in relation to the ability to operate the lever action mechanism while it is in the shouldered position.

Recoil becomes MEANINGLESS when you put the 44 magnum into a LONG GUN.... sort of like shooting 44 special in a super redhawk...

Winchester levers have more drop in there stocks. So perceived recoil is far more along with muzzle jump. Marlins are a but better/ less recoil as they are designed with scope and Iron site shooting in mind. Yes I have shot & hunted with most all pistol caliber lever rifles. The OP has a slight, young person who has already expressed dislike for recoil. They will NOT LIKE a Winchester in 44.
Even though, we both know, how effective the 43 mag is for these needs.

[ChristopherO]

A Henry Big Boy that I've shot in 44 Magnum kicked more than I would have thought. The brass butt doesn't help. I don't mind but if a young person, or slight man or woman has an aversion to recoil then it wouldn't be the weapon for them to use. I agree that they won't feel it shooting at game, but their minds will tell them otherwise and may not execute a good shot.
If you reload then a reduced loading would be the option for a bigger bore than the .357. Hope they will, or have already, enjoy their season afield.
Cheers

[warren5421]

My grandson started at 9 hunting, got his first deer with a Uberti model 66 in .44-40, not straight walled. He couldn't keep the lever gun to his shoulder and operate the lever. The next year he used grandpa's Ruger Deerslayer in .44 mag, gun was lighter and he operated it much better. He owns the gun at 18, as grandpa had 2. He did not like recoil of the 12 ga or .45-70. Letting him shot the Ruger auto he wanted to shot it every time he visited, he would shot it over the .22's. My fellings is a kid will not shoot good enough to make a .357 mag human.

[downzero]

Pray sir, do you have much experience with a lever gun in 44 magnum? The only issue a lever gun may have is the persons physical size in relation to the ability to operate the lever action mechanism while it is in the shouldered position.

Recoil becomes MEANINGLESS when you put the 44 magnum into a LONG GUN.... sort of like shooting 44 special in a super redhawk...

I dunno about that. My 6ish pound lever gun sure makes .357 Magnum feel like a cannon after a few dozen rounds. Certainly 1-2 of them in the field are nothing, but shoot a whole session of them and you won't think so.

[wolfdog]

I'll have to disagree here just a bit. Open sights take some work, but scoped, it's going to put things into a small enough group that it's as humane as anything else. A scoped Henry single shot isn't going to kick much and even a kid can put it into 3-4" at 100 yards. That's lungs all day. And the gun really isn't going to go much beyond 100 effectively. If the kid can keep everything in lungs out to whatever distance, that's the distance they should be limited to. If he can't shoot well enough to keep the rounds in the lungs, I'm unconvinced that a bigger gun of any type is going to help. Just my thoughts.

[wolfdog]

That Henry single shot makes them feel like a pop gun. It's got heavy wood, heavy bbl and a recoil pad. You can shoot it all day and it's nothing.

[cwlongshot]

What caliber are you speaking about Wolfdog???

[wolfdog]

357 magnum.

[Jeff Michel]

Pray sir, do you have much experience with a lever gun in 44 magnum? The only issue a lever gun may have is the persons physical size in relation to the ability to operate the lever action mechanism while it is in the shouldered position.

Recoil becomes MEANINGLESS when you put the 44 magnum into a LONG GUN.... sort of like shooting 44 special in a super redhawk...

Had a 1894S in .44 Mag break my ex wife's nose about 40 years ago. Scope whacked her when she fired it. She sorta thought it "kicked"

[longcruise]

I've been playing with and having a lot of fun with a CVA scout in 44 mag. Recoil is not a factor IMO even with 320 gr cast at 1500 fps. It would be even less a factor loaded with lighter bullets for deer.

[BunkTheory]

Winchester levers have more drop in there stocks. So perceived recoil is far more along with muzzle jump. Marlins are a but better/ less recoil as they are designed with scope and Iron site shooting in mind. Yes I have shot & hunted with most all pistol caliber lever rifles. The OP has a slight, young person who has already expressed dislike for recoil. They will NOT LIKE a Winchester in 44.
Even though, we both know, how effective the 43 mag is for these needs.

I helped teach my neice to shoot with a WINCHESTER 94 we got her chambered in 44 magnum.. She loved it, just had a hard time working the action so we ended up getting her some thing in a bolt. Funny thing is, she was only 9 at the time.