The main thing is to teach them how to shoot with a rifle that fits them. Then turn them loose with a BB gun and let them shoot every day all they want. Both of mine killed a half dozen deer apiece and no telling how many hogs with a little Sako 22 Hornet I’ve had forever. Neck shots only at less than 150 yards on deer.The youngest is still a little guy at 12 and shoots a compact Ruger in 7-08. He really likes that little rifle and so do I. Surprisingly low recoil from a rifle that light.

I think I asked you the same thing a few weeks back, sorry about that. My memory isn’t what it used to be, unfortunately.

I have killed many deer, white tail, axis, fallow, and sika with a .222 and a .223. So don't say it is inadequate, however, I was not a beginner child. I learned to shoot with a Marlin 336C in .35 Rem and that is what I killed my first deer with as a boy. Sighting it in was not fun, but it was all we had (for several years). When I was 12 or so we traded a cow for a model 70 Winchester in .243. I hate shooting it still today, kicks worse than just about anything else I own.

243 all day long

So, little girls

243 is a a great rifle for whitetail and that is what my son shot most of his deer with growing up. I recently acquired a 350 legend and its quoted as having 20% less recoil than a 243 with similar if not slightly better than a 30-30. It is a sweet shooting rifle with very mil recoil and I plan on using it for my grandson's first deer rifle.

I've always thought the perfect deer caliber for kids would be a 7mm TCU rifle. It's a 223 case with the neck expanded to .284". I've shot it for years in a 14 inch Contender.

A 6BR rifle would be great too........also two old calibers, the 300 Savage and the 35 Rem.

I just dug out my little 30/30 lee loader. I was just thinking about the 300 blk and how perfect it seems to be, then I remembered all the load data for 30/30 that comes with the lee loader. Much of it is at or below 300 blackout, all the dipper loads are pretty much at or even below starting loads.

Run the 110 grain barnes on top of 1.9 cc of almost any ball rifle powder you could find, in a 30/30 cartridge case, will give you a very mild load for sure. I think it lists winchester 748 with a 110 grain bullet at between 2,000 and 2,100 fps. That should do it. But you can’t load them in the tube.

I never got around to hand loading. Just no time, no primers, etc. Might be time to make time lol.

I started with a .243 Remington 700 and a 4X Weaver when I was 6. That gun was my dad's and before that my grandad's. I shot 100gr core-lokts and never had a deer or a pig go more than 50yds. When I have kids, that is the rifle they will start on and I wouldn't think twice on it.

In my opinion a .243 or 7mm-08 is the way to go.

One of the reasons why the 300BLK is so good for young or recoil sensative shooters is the lack of noise. Yes, still loud if you are not suppressed, but an unsupressed 300BLK will be quieter and have less concussion than 30-30, 243, 223, etc. Much less powder, and it burns completely in all but the shortest SBR's. I load 18.something grains of 300MP (a fast burning pistol powder) under a 125 gr bullet for 2200fps in a 16" barrel. This is near max. For comparison, Hodgdon's starting loads are almost all in the 30-35 grains of powder, and their max powder listing is 38 gr, depending on which powder you choose. A lot of young shooters are more scared of the concussion and noise than they are the actual push of the recoil. .243, 30-30, and .223 don't really have any kick, yet a lot of people are scared of them. It's the noise and the concussion of the blast.

That is crazy. It is crazy how powders work in different cartridges. There are 30-30 loads laying down way more power than that, yet the same pistol powder i would be afraid to load in a 30-30 at all. What do i know.

All i do know is pistol powder make some rifles go boom

7mm-08 best in my opinion

Most of us know that pretty much any caliber will kill a deer IN THE RIGHT SITUATION FOR THAT CALIBER. A .223 will certainly kill a deer but you have a little less room for error than with a .243. A .243 has a little more bone punching ability say if you hit a shoulder or something. Go up in bullet weight to something like a 117 gr. .25-06 or a 130 gr. .270 or a 139 gr 7mm-08 and you add a significant amount of recoil.

I handload a 100 gr. Round for my .25-06 that is basically the same speed as a 100 gr. from a .243. Between that load and an actual .243 me and my kids combined have probably killed about 30 deer and hogs. The longest track has been right around 80 yards.

A .243 is light enough recoil that kids can develop good marksmanship yet has PLENTY of power to kill deer and hogs as long as you're within 200 yards (which is plenty far enough for a kid to be shooting). They can always step up to a bigger gun later if they so choose but in my experience a kid with a .243 that has been taught well is a GREAT combination for success.

Blacksnake, what did you end up doing?

I have quite a few different calibers, actually a lot of different calibers, and they have all taken deer, elk, antelope and pigs. Also African game. If close I use my open sighted 30 30. But, I generally get out my 30-06 that has performed on 3 different continents for everything but rabbits and turkeys.

7mm-08 120grain is a good combo

Without reading the rest of the posts, I am of the opinion that a .223 is a little light for deer anyway and not sure I would put one in the hands of a novice. But I know it is done often, including by several of my nephews, and they shot deer dead.

I would suggest a .243 with a wood stock for a little added weight. Academy sells the Mossberg Bantom Patriot with a wood stock in .243 which is what I bought my kids when they were 9(boy) and 12(girl) . It has been a fantastic rifle and is the only rifle we use nowadays. Very little recoil.

Also, and I hope you read this part, when my son was 9 we practiced with Hornady SST reduced recoil. I HIGHLY suggest using these for practice. Replace them with whatever you want to kill with when you get into the stand and they will never know the difference. I found that Power Points shot to the same spot so that's what we went with. We actually did shoot one deer with the reduced recoil stuff and while the old buck did expire I probably wouldn't do it again. Maybe on a small doe from close range.

Most all mentioned are low recoil. Took my Grandson out this year for the first time . He is 7. Had him out 3 times . Mostly to get him use to what happens out there . The hunt itself . I knew he wasn’t ready to shoot a deer . He has a BB gun and has been with that for 2 years . He had a great time every time I took him out . He watched me shoot a doe and really enjoyed it . I let him target practice with a 6.5 Grendel howa mini action . He needs more practice at this point . I am hoping year he can shoot his first deer. My biggest concern is not him shooting a deer but learning safety and having fun . The last thing you want is far them to have a bad experience. A 223 will easily take a deer . My experience. Still like the grendel more . The howa is cheap and very accurate. Good luck with the Grandkids and have lots of patience.

I'm 50, I have killed at least 20 deer with a .223 and have never lost one (all within 220 yds) I have shot around 10 - 15 with 30-06 and have hit and lost 3 of those. I love my Rem. Model 7 .223 I call it the "Grim Reaper". Just what I like and what I am confident in.

30-378 is what you’re looking for.