I have a nine year old daughter who has an intrest in getting into shooting ( Daddy isn't mad about it ). What caliber rifle would yall look into and any brand suggestions ? Looking to start around 100 yards and move out from there .

Thanks

Some background would help…..ever shot before, what gun, why interested, etc. Need to first figure out how recoil is for her.

Not sure where you're willing to go with this, but I got my kids shooting years ago on a suppressed SBR. Both were kids small-framed for their age at the time, and with the collapsible stock, it was the only rifle I could find to fit them. Even a 10/22 was a little big. The suppressor reduced noise and recoil and kept them from ever experiencing a need/desire to flinch. The short barrel kept the rifle from being too heavy and unwieldy for the kids. Both ended up taking their first deer at 11 years-old with my 6.8 SPC-II SBR.

If that's not your bag, then I recommend something in .22LR like a Crickett or Ruger 10/22. If you have an AR, you could always adapt it to shoot .22LR to keeps costs down as well. Not sure there's a need to shoot 100 yards starting out, and would recommend a closer target to establish some quicker "wins" for the youngster.

For 100 yard shooting, it's really hard to argue with a good old .223. Still recommend an AR if you can swing it.

She has shot a 17, 22, Ar in 556. She dosent seem to have alot of fear of recoil, but I obviously don't want to scare her by her getting alot of recoil. She just has an intrest , idk why.

Most people recommend what they are familiar with and I will too. Since we don’t really know what type of shooting I’m going the ‘target’ route….6mm Creedmoor has very slightly more recoil than the 5.56, is available from pretty much every manufacturer and plenty of ammunition choices off the shelf. Were I to buy one today it would be a Ruger American in whatever model that has a heavy (varmint) barrel. It is relatively inexpensive and shoots extremely well for its price range.

Shooting, especially if bitten by the accuracy bug, can be very expensive yet also very rewarding. Going the budget route for rifle, scope and ammunition can easily get to 1K. Personally, I would start looking online for something used that already has decent glass (at least 12x magnification) on it, you can always upgrade down the road.

Might be worthwhile to find a Ruger 77 compact in 223. Relatively small and light and practically no recoil. I don’t know if Ruger has the Hawkeye in a compact version. I had a compact in 260, and the LOP was short enough that it might be just right for a kid.

And, kry226’s suggestion about an AR is a good one. I have a real light AR in 223 that kids and women (and me) like to shoot. The only downside is that it’s more complicated then the Ruger compact, but the LOP options are great.

Browning makes a similar one in the Micro Midas. Find either one in 7-08 and use reduced recoil loads to start and you’ll have a rifle that last a lifetime for her.

The Brownings all come with a short lop and 20” barrels. The Ruger I believe has shorter barrels as well as the shorter lop.

I have had 4 opportunities teaching my 4 kids how to shoot and the path each one took was always different than the other. This was mainly due to what I had available at the time. First child learned on a Ruger 10/22 then went straight to a "youth size" size .243, I believe it was a Ruger or a Savage. It worked but was something I did not repeat with the next 3 kids. For my second child, I bought him a Browning 6.5 Creedmoor and he was off and running. While it was a little big for him I knew he would grow into it and while young, he would always be shooting off a bipod or with it resting out a blind window. I didn't care about how much it weighted. Fantastic caliber for the kids. We borrowed this for my 3rd child, my daughter to shoot her first animal with. She had never shot a firearm prior. To this day she had only pulled the trigger once but it was a "bang flop" on a nice buck at 80 yds. The 6.5 Creedmoor is easy to shoot and minimal recoil even for a 9 yo girl. Next up was my youngest, she was 9 as well. I took my AR 5.56 and collapsed the stock for her. It fit her perfectly. While she wasn't' able to harvest a deer with it because we never saw any she did limit out on javelinas in a bout 3 mins time of work.

So, lots of options out there. I steered away from the "youth sized' rifles after the first child because they quickly outgrow them and they are few and far between, at least when I was looking to find them.
Caliber wise, 6 or 6.5 creedmoor, I believe several on here have 7mm-08s their kids shoot with great success. Bolt action setups may be a little large for them, but they will grow into them. The other option is go with an AR lower and pick your upper/caliber of choice. Some don't like this option as much with youth since it puts another round in the chamber once you dispense one. It did not bother me because my kids weren't hunting or shooting alone. Suppressors are your friend however none of my kids learned with a suppressed rifle and none are recoil or shy of the muzzle blast. A great set of earmuffs will help with the muzzle blast at least.

The first thing would be getting something that fits her now, and possibly can expand as she grows (new stock or expanding). Caliber wise, anything in the short action calibers would be fine. I had both my kids shooting my reduced recoil loads in 308 Win and full power 223 Rem to learn on. Once they progressed, we went full power loads on the 308 Win for my son, and I built a 6mm Creedmoor for my daughter.

Almost any caliber can be loaded as a reduced recoil load, so what cartridge becomes less important. Something based on the 308 Win (243, 260 Rem, 7-08. etc) would be fine and easy to load for.

I’ve talked with a few folks that were very happy with the Sig Cross rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor for their kids. Adjustable to fit smaller kids all the way through adults. Slap a brake (or suppressor) on it and go. It is not a cheap rifle, but one they can keep forever.

sig cross in 6.5 CM & a Bog pod death grip

Ready to be suppressed, adjustable stock/LOP, ambidextrous saftey, 18” barrel. adjustable Two stage trigger

I switched my daughter over to a sig chassis at 8 and was best decision. Having a rifle that she can grow into and fits is a big deal.

With that said you can put and rifle into an adjustable chassis

I really appreciate yalls answers. Looks like I have homework .

Thank you all

I used to hunt coyotes with a guy that used a Browning Micro Midas in 223, and that was one great looking rifle. He wouldn’t sell it to me. I forgot all about that possibility, but certainly would be happy to have one. As for the Ruger Compact in 260 that I had, it did have a short LOP and a short barrel, but I reached out to 400 yards with it on coyotes and pigs. I only sold it to get a longer barrel.

And, worth mention is that the 260 or the Creedmoor, when loaded with 100 gr Ballistic Tips (which you can’t buy these days) really doesn’t kick much.

Simple....

Tikka T3x Lite Compact 7mm08, 20" bbl and 12.5" LOP (comes with a 30mm spacer to lengthen the LOP out to 13.7"), top it off with a decent quality lightweight 3-9x40 scope and feed it light bullet low recoil loads. Once the kid is grown it will still be good for most North American game with heavier loads.

I bought my wife a Remington 222. She killed a deer and decided that just wasn’t for her. Next, my 8 year old grandson wanted to hunt and killed several deer with it and a couple of hogs. He out grew it and I’m waiting for the next kid that wants to hunt. Almost no recoil.

My youngest son is small. He deer hunts with a Ruger American compact 7-08. The rifle fits him well and is light and easy to carry. The recoil is surprisingly light with full power loads. It’s also very accurate. I can’t really find anything I don’t like about the little gun.

If she’s just interested in target shooting a 22 will do just fine.

1:8 twist Tikka .223 Rem.

Last week my 15 year old daughter said she's ready to learn long range shooting. The next day I loaded these.





80 gr ELD-M
They will run my entire range, and almost zero recoil. It gets shot suppressed as well. A tight shooting bolt action .223 Rem is extremely fun!

Fast twist 223 is pretty salty shooting 80 grain bullets. It just works well, light and easy recoil super accurate. Personally I’d take a 250 yard shot on a white tail with mine. Maybe even more with the right conditions.

I agree with this option or a Tikka put in an LSS stock

This is a version of the Ford vs Chevy question. You'll just have to do your homework. I put together a 6.5Grendel on a Howa mini action for my kids. It can hunt deer & pigs and shoot LR. It shoots great but took work to get there. I got myself a Bergara 223Rem and shoot it suppressed with 80 grainers. It's about as much fun as I can stand and still have my pants on. Bill's idea of loading a 7mm-08 weak with light bullets then moving up over time sounds like a winner too. Of course, that could be done with a few other cartridges too. So many variables for you to wade through, good luck to you and her.

A suppressed AR platform is a ton of fun for gaining interest and buy in-- but I think a youth sized bolt gun that can 'grow' as needed is a better way.

Tikka compacts (.223, 7-08, .308) depending on what you need and where you hunt. Stock can be changed out easily and if they need to 'grow' into a larger cartridge that can be accomplished easily as well.

Whatever you choose I think the biggest considerations are noise (can it!), recoil (reduce it without too much weight) and last but not least fit-- teaching the right way to get behind a rifle and line up-- the fun will come with the gunsmoke!!

Been looking to upgrade my wife’s rifle this offseason and have reviewed these 2: weatherby vanguard compact hunter model and savage 110 with accustock. The weatherby has adjustable Lop and threaded. The savage accustock is adjustable for lop and cheekweld. 243 or 6.5 creedmoor are great calibers if hunting is part of the plans as well.

Put another vote for a Tikka 223 for me as well.

I've mentioned before, my wife has an older T3 varmint model and now sits in a BRG bravo chassis. Because of the overall weight on a 223, it is so easy and soft to shoot. To this day, my best 5-shot groups is with this rifle at 300yrds. My 5'2" 120# wife shoots it easily, up to 80-100ish rounds in one day no problem.
there's the obvious drawback of weight if you were to take it hunting. But i think most of us gun nuts have plenty of "spare rifles" that can be used. Like Chad said, there is room of a light recoil load.

Lots of compact models are available in calibers that are well suited for recoil sensitive shooters. Reduced ammo is another option if you want something where they can advance to full strength loads in the future. Inexpensive ear plugs offer more than adequate hearing protection.

Years ago I purchased my youngest a Browning A-bolt Micro Medallion which she adores. Browning's current Micro Midas in walnut is also a beautiful firearm, as is the Weatherby Vanguard Compact. My Vanguard is the most accurate rifle in my safe.

Good luck.