first deer/elk rifle

[PJgunner]

Originally posted by jojo
My son turns 12 in two weeks. He's thin and lanky and growing like a weed. I'm not sure if he can take on a 7x57 well enough. A .243 seems too small. I want something he'll keep and pass on.

Any thoughts?

First off, it would help to know if you handload ammo? Second, modern rifles in 7x57 can be hard to come by. Three, current factory ammo is a bit scarce, which in turn makes handloading almost a must. I could probably come out with a few more negatives, but won't. Why? because I think the 7x57 is just about perfect for your son's needs. One, recoil is not all that bad, especially from factory ammo as it's not loaded to it's full potential due to all the old weak 1893 and 1895 Mausers still floating around. My suggestion would be to handload a 120 gr. Nosler ballistic tip using the starting load. Once he gets a bit used to that, increase the charge by one grain and let him shoot those for a while and so on. Them you can graduate to one of the 140 gr. bullets and work up with them for a while. Most of the 140 gr. bullets will be just fine for deer, even the big deer in your area. When it comes time for elk, one of the 160 gr. bullets should work just fine. Heck, the 7x57 made it's reputation with a 175 grain round nose bullet as 2300 FPS, and I wouldn't worry about taking an elk down with one of those provided I could get within decent range.
If you can chase down a Winchester M70 Featherweight in 7x57, give it a decent trigger job and add a Pachmeyr Decelerator recoil pad, you'll have a package your son can literally use forever.
However, practicality being a necessity, I would also give consideration to something in .308 Winchester. With proper handloading techniques using the light loading data from the Hodgden site, both the .308 Win. and 7x57 would be good choices for your son. BTW, thin and klanky is good. it means that as long as he holds the rifle properly, he'll roll with the recoil and not get hurt. At 12, I looked like a soda straw and was shooting a 30-30, .270 Win. and 30-06 without too much discomfort. I think it's more important that the rifle fit the boy, even if you have to cut the stock down some to fit him. I started my stepson on a 30-06. The gun weighed about 8 pounds with a scope. I stuck it in an old stock that I could cut down to fit him and put on a recoil pad. Loads were in the 30-30 range in power. he shot it wothout trouble. I saved the piece I removed from the stock, and when he outgrew the cut down stock, I glued the piece back on, trimmed it enough to fit another recoil pad on it it and he continued to shoot it well. Of course, we worked up to full power loads. When he graduated from high school, I bought him a Remington 700 in 30-06 and he's used it ever since. He runs some pretty stiff handloads though that rifle now.
If you go with a 7x57 or .308, 25.0 gr. of IMR or H-4895 is a very midl load. The 120 gr. bullet for the 7x57 and a 150 gr. bullet in the .308. it would probably work just fine in a 30-06 as well. Good starting loads for a young boy, and he's shooting a real "deer rifle".
Paul B.
Anyway, that's my thoughts on the matter.