Thread: what calibre for the young fella

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

NZ Hunter did great/awesome article on this very thing some 7ish years ago..calibres for under 16s I believe it was
.243 was high up on list
.223 and 7.62x39 with correct shot placement were aswell

we went the x39mm route and had ok results when range was right,our son has taken deer with the x39 the .223 and my .270 as he got older. biggest thing to be aware of is the balancing act between what lad can handle and whats needed to do the job well. suppressed with lighter projectile (barnes)going as fast as possible is good option.... or go other way with big and slow but keep range realistic. only the boy himself can decide whats ok and whats not,there is no point in over gunning him resulting in flinch,but under gunned could see wounded animal and boy put off that way.
our fella tagged along and saw 5-6 deer shot before a decent chance allowed him to do shooting,result one shot and one bang flop.

exactly mate, i dont want to over gun him and have him scared to shoot it, i can get him onto goats inside 200yds