Choice for 10 year old hunter hunting from a blind

[megasupermagnum]

I'd move the blind about 50 yards closer, and just shoot whatever you feel like.

[HWooldridge]

My 8 year old grandson just killed his first deer with his dad’s AR in .223. He has been shooting the rifle for about a year, with a suppressor and a good scope. The doe dropped with one hit to the shoulder. They were using 60 gr SP bullets.

[skeettx]

Use the proven rifle, he has enough other things to think about
Mike

[Dinny]

Send the Howa to JES for a 350 Legend rebore and rechamber. 357 Maximum ballistics in a bolt action.

Thanks, Dinny

[725]

Although on the light side, Speer makes a good 70 grain for the .223. Placed well, it does the trick.

[AnthonyB]

Don, expanding the horizon a bit since this is for next year and we all need something to do until then.

You don’t use .30 cast to hunt, so don’t set your grandson up with something you don’t trust. You/he would always wonder about the choice if something went poorly. Why not have him use one of your 308 Win bolt guns with a lighter bullet? No new manual of arms to learn and keeps things simple. He might have LoP issues, but the main issue is that you may lose a rifle. I “used” to have a Sako full stocked 308 carbine until my son’s first hunting trip. I thought he would pick the lever action…

The 5.56 works on Alabama deer. I think yours are probably larger, but 5.56 through the lungs should work well. Got any 70 grain Speer round noses from 30 years holed up anywhere?
Tony

[AnthonyB]

Just saw the 70 grain Speers are still out there. I would buy them and not look back. I have an old article on them as deer bullets in a 22-250.
Tony

[sigep1764]

Best Friends son used my 223 Axis this last fall for his first deer. 20 grains of 748 and a 75 grain Miha boolit left an exit hole the size of a golf ball at 50 yards. He can hold a 1.5 to 2 inch group with it at 100 yards. Cans don't stand a chance with this kid. If he's good with the 223, keep letting him build some confidence with it until he gets the itch for something new.

[1hole]

Since the kid is already familiar with and shoots the .223 well, that's the rifle he should use; there's nothing to be gained by him using either of the others.

Proper shot placement on deer is always important but some people make it too specific and therefore difficult to locate. Truth is, the lethal zone is a moderately large area, not a tiny pinpoint spot.

From whatever the shooter's view, the proper place to hold is with the vertical cross wire half way between the front legs and the horizontal wire halfway between the visible high point and low point of the body. A hit within 3 inches of the center of that very easy to see heart-lung-liver place will bust his bubble and kill as well as any other. (Well ... anything save a "drop right there" spinal hit but that's smaller and therefore a much less reliable spot to aim for!)

Good luck on you and the kid!

[Lloyd Smale]

want something that punches above its weight. get a ruger american in 300 bo and load some 110 barnes x bullets. Ive shot 9 deer with the bo (in ars) All between a 100 and 200 yards and all but one was a bang flop shot and the one that ran made two leaps and piled up. LOTS of internal damage and an exit on every one of them. Much better deer round then a 556.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I think moving the blind closer makes good sense. My youngest got his first deer at 10 from a ground blind with a 20 gage 870 youth. We chose that gun because he had shot it at clays so often. But the range was only about 50 feet. A couple years later we got him a Savage in .243 and he got a decent 6 point first time out with it at about 50 yards.

[Rapier]

The 223 and shot placement is everything, so he will need to pick his shot.

[badguybuster]

Ive had great results with the 75 grain Speer Gold Dot in 223 BUT you could swap.the barrel to 300blk and have a much better hunting round. That being said my kids all learned to hunt using a 357 mag levergun

[Thumbcocker]

How big are the deer he will be shooting at?

[dverna]

How big are the deer he will be shooting at?

I do not see big deer in my area. Normally about 125 lbs. A 175 lb deer would be big. But I am guessing. I do not scale them. It takes two of us to lift a deer into the back of a pickup or UTV and it never feels like I am lifting more than an 80lb bag of cement....so double that is 160 lbs. But most are smaller.

[Bigslug]

Buddy of mine killed a Texas "Hogzilla" of a boar testing the factory Barnes 5.56 62 grain TSX load.

A single quartering-away shot punched through 18"-24" of pig, did it's job on the thoracics and was stopped by the heavy structure on the opposite side. As I recall, he was already running when shot, and piled up inside of 75 yards.

Load it right, shoot it straight, the round will do.

[KWJohnston]

My Opinion....I will always suggest the bigger bore. The 30-30 loaded a bit lighter OR a good 357mag (no hollow point) load makes an excellent kids first hunting cartridge! The .223 is dependant on good shot placement and not hitting heavy bone that I personally don't like to endorse it for kids. I've been hunting for decades, I still get excited at the sight of nice Buck. I have to slow my breathing, relax, and steady my aim. It's hard for a youngster to do that sometimes.

Wounding a Deer and loosing it would be much more disappointing to a young hunter, than a small increase in recoil. The bigger caliber just has more margin for error.

I will be starting my Daughter on Centerfires soon. A reduced load, flat nose cast boolit will probably be what she takes her first big game animal with.

[dverna]

want something that punches above its weight. get a ruger american in 300 bo and load some 110 barnes x bullets. Ive shot 9 deer with the bo (in ars) All between a 100 and 200 yards and all but one was a bang flop shot and the one that ran made two leaps and piled up. LOTS of internal damage and an exit on every one of them. Much better deer round then a 556.

Lloyd, is this the bullet?

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.c...-base-50-count

I am leaning towards loading it in the .308 T/C Compass I have at about 2400 fps to duplicate .300 BO performance that worked for you. I have H4895 so I can load down to 60% of full power safely and work up from there.

I have never done reduced loads in the .308 but H4895 seems the best powder I have to achieve .300BO performance in the .308. I am not interested in acquiring a new rifle/caliber or a barrel for one of the AR's and frankly do not want the boy to hunt with an AR. No "Rambo's" in this house...LOL.

As to loads, I found this:
https://www.ballisticstudies.com/sit...oad%20data.pdf

I noted they used pistol bullets to insure expansion at the lower velocities. But what you did worked so I am going to go with the Barnes bullet you suggested. 60% of H4895 looks like a starting load of 30 gr.

If anyone can run a Quickload on that load in the .308 (110 gr Barnes, 30 gr of H4895, Win LRP, LC brass) it would be appreciated. Rifle has a 22" barrel.

[psweigle]

I have killed a lot of deer with a 357 magnum, a few with a 30-30, and not one with a 223. That said, given your stated situation, I wouldn't even hesitate to have him use the 223. He is obviously comfortable with it and his grouping will surely put the bullet in the ethical kill zone. A jacketed soft point of course.

[kingrj]

Pick what ever gun/caliber he can consistently hit with...shot placement is 90% of the game...