Youth hunting

I plan to take my little girl deer hunting this year. She has been sitting with me and been around the harvest the last two years and this year it is time for her to shoot. She will be 6 when the season opens and has been shooting a .22 cricket since Christmas. I have a couple of questions for those of y'all who have been through this. First. I have a Marlin .30.30 I've had for years. Is this too much gun?? I put a SIMS recoil pad on it years ago for my sister who killed her first deer with it at the age of 10. Could I get the stock cut down on it to shorten if for her?? Second. I want to get her something like a Caldwell field pod or the primos version. Which of these would be the best bet for the money?? I want to get her used to whatever gun I choose over the summer so she will be ready. Thanks.

30-30 might be a bit much, see if you can pick up one of the single shot 223’s.
I’ve seen them for under $200 w/ scope. My son shot his 1st with one from a blind.
I built a table that was ½ outside the blind and ½ inside the blind and put sand bags on the table.

I attached some camo to the window so when we needed to, it would drop down on the gun.
The only thing the deer could see was the barrel and some of the scope. You also can find the gun
In a combo package with the 223 or 243, .22 and 410 barrels. Great for practicing with the .22 and
Then using the .223 for deer.

I had my 8 yo shooting a marlin 30/30, and killed his first 2 deer last year. I put a recoil pad on it, and made him wear electronic hearing protection even while hunting, so i could give instructions on when to shoot, and save his hearing at the same time. I think the sound scares kids more than the kick. I also bought a shooting stick for him, but found setting up behind natural cover with a natural support worked for him.

BDD said:

30-30 might be a bit much, see if you can pick up one of the single shot 223’s.
I’ve seen them for under $200 w/ scope. My son shot his 1st with one from a blind.
I built a table that was ½ outside the blind and ½ inside the blind and put sand bags on the table.

I attached some camo to the window so when we needed to, it would drop down on the gun.
The only thing the deer could see was the barrel and some of the scope. You also can find the gun
In a combo package with the 223 or 243, .22 and 410 barrels. Great for practicing with the .22 and
Then using the .223 for deer.

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Every single shot i picked up in that price range weighed more than my marlin and was horribly balanced. That was my main concern with them.

Reduced recoil ammo will help as well. My son started with a 30/30 when he was 8. Use the pad and lighter ammo and make sure she is ok with both keep her shots inside 125 and she should be ready to go.. Good luck and have fun..

I don't get it. What's the rush. Let them grow up a bit more so that they can use a "regular" gun.

bubbafowler said:

Every single shot i picked up in that price range weighed more than my marlin and was horribly balanced. That was my main concern with them.

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The CVA .223 with a scope is 5.5 lbs, the Marlin 36 without a scope is 7 lbs.

I think a lot depends on the size of your daughter, if she can’t shoulder the 30-30
and reach the trigger you risk the chance of the stock slipping and catching the scope in the face.
If that happens it’s likely she won’t want to shoot again.

I spent this winter getting a shotgun set up for my 7 year old daughter to turkey hunt with because after hunting with me for a few years she was begging to shoot. One thing I learned through that process is the heavier the gun the better. You are going to be carrying the gun and when she shoots it she will be shooting from a rest so it is actually a benefit to have a heavier gun to soak up as much recoil as possible. I am going to start working on a rifle for her this fall and I think I will go the .223 route.

If you do stick with the 30-30 see what kind of reduced recoil loads you can find. My first deer rifle was a TC contender with a youth stock and a 16" 30-30 barrel. Keep in mind that is an extremely short gun because it had a short barrel, youth stock, and no action length. It scoped me the first time I ever shot it and It took me a couple years to really get over the flinch after that.

When I was practicing with my daughter this winter and spring I let her do all of her hunting situation practice with my 22 magnum and a tripod that she would be hunting with. Then I let her get used to the trigger pull and sights on her 20ga by letting her shoot it from a lead sled. She never saw the full recoil of the 20ga until she shot a turkey with it and then she never felt a thing. You might consider this type of practice if she is going to hunt with the 30-30 as well. Good luck! There is nothing like getting the little ones interested in the outdoors!

I made the mistake of letting my daughter, 7 at the time, shoot her first deer with a .223. She made a good shot, but too much shoulder, never recovered the deer.

My buddy told me about the Rem 7mm08 and the reduced recoil 120 grain hornady rounds. She is now 3 for 3 with two big bucks and a doe at 180 yards.





Bigger is better to give more room for error in the shot.

My son killed his first deer at 8 y/o with a marlin 30-30. I bought a spare stock which I cut down. He could not hold it up so he was limited to box stands. He practiced alot but still got hit by the scope when he actually shot his first deer. You can PM if I can be of any help.

I want to get her started because she wants to. I started that young. I do have a lead sled I will be using for practice. Can I get the stock cut shorter on it to help with length? Would actually rather buy a different stock go cut. I didn't even know they made reduced recoil for .30.30. I didn't even think about heavier better since she's not holding it and rest shooting. What about the field pods? Anybody use the different brands?

I personally think the 30/30 is way too much. I went the .243 route with my kids. Practiced with the .223 and the first shot they had on the .243 was killing the deer. Kept them to 100 yard max shots. Daughter killed her first at 10 and my son at 8 using the same gun. Stock was a bit long and barrel a bit heavy, but I helped stabilize the front out of the stand. They never felt the recoil.

Mathew
Steve and I both have the field pods and love them. Great in a blind. Turkey season and deer season.
If it were me I'd go ahead and buy her a Ruger hawkeye compact or Remington model 7 in either .243 or 7mm08. Both guns will last her and her kids a lifetime. With the reduced recoil loads available and the field pod rest she will/should have no problem.

I can't even get my 5-yr old to pick up his room properly, let alone load the dishwasher, and y'all are contemplating letting your 5-yr olds use a .30-30. Guess I need to step up my parenting...

I personally went the crossbow route for my son. No recoil, shots have to be close, teaches them discipline, they get to watch deer in a lot closer. A win win in my book.

Kris87 said:

I personally went the crossbow route for my son. No recoil, shots have to be close, teaches them discipline, they get to watch deer in a lot closer. A win win in my book.

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Thinking about doing this with my 10 yo son.

The only problem is that he'll want to hunt Kansas with me if he starts shooting a bow.

rjcruiser said:

Thinking about doing this with my 10 yo son.

The only problem is that he'll want to hunt Kansas with me if he starts shooting a bow.

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My son will be 10 this fall too. He has enough activities that he doesn't get to go all the time. I pretty much relegate him to some early season and late season which works well since I can set him up over food. Easier to hunt from a blind that way.

Id opt for a .300 blackout. 110-130gr Barnes triple shock. Its basically a necked up .223. That shoots a 30cal spitzer. And will readily take deer to 150yds no further then a new hunter should be shooting.

People attribute bullet and powder to recoil.
110gr blackout maxed load 16grs of powder off nosler website in 300 blackout.

150gr .308 off Nosler is 47grs.

Stay super sonic with a light for caliber premium bullet for the black out and you'll be impressed with it.

They have a few bolt guns An single shots out there chambered for it aswell price is limitless but Ruger American rifles are raved about on .300 blackout forums An there's piles of pictures to prove how effective it is on game.