Savage Axis .243 youth, best deer round?

I'm faced with the same thing. I would like to get a .243 for my daughter but I'm not sure she can handle the recoil. But I believe it's a very very versatile cartridge.
 
243 is a very fine deer round. Anyone who says otherwise is lacking experience wit the round, me thinks. As for the question, a moderately loaded 80-90 gr bullet will do just fine. Pop the lungs and eat back-straps.
 
Wyoming's latest allows a 60gr bullet in a 224 caliber for deer hunting. in my opinion for a 7yr old a savage axis in a youth model 223 caliber is a good choice. the 243 will be great a few years down the road. a youngster may tough it out at the bench but in the field they may not. spike
 
Barnes ttsx. Great bullet. Its become my go to for all things on 4 legs in all calibers. Use a light bullet, push it fast. Recoil will be low and performance will be good.

Paper gets cheapies, game gets barnes.
 
Why not just pull the barrel and have it threaded for a break? That way you can still shoot the good mid weight bullets(75-95gr) and not have to worry about recoil. A brake on a 243 feeds like a 223
 
You could also try a Limbsaver recoil pad to cut down recoil. They come in a slip-on version and there is a 1/2" thick model that doesn't increase the LOP by much. I think a pad like the LS would reduce .243 standard load recoil to about that of a .223 with a hard pad. Kids are often sensitive to muzzle blast as much as recoil so I'd be sure he wears hearing protection and, personally, I wouldn't modify a barrel or use any load that will increase muzzle blast. If he can handle a bit more weight, you could consider adding 1/4-1/2 lb of weight to the stock to reduce recoil as well.
 
2 things kids/ beginners need :
1. lite recoil
2. a scope with lots of eye relief. Creaping on a cheap scope will get them bit. Very hard to recover from that.

I've killed lots o'deer with 55gr up to 100 gr bullets. An 80gr hp or softpoint is a good one for starters.
 
I have seen a bunch killed with a 223 using a 55 grn hollow point. A 70 - 75 grn from a 243 should be just as good with just a tad more recoil.
 
I bought one for my son when he was nine and he started right off with hundreds grain Sierra MatchKing but we shoot everything from 55 grain ballistic tips to the 100g Sierra is very accurately In that rifle and nice medium is a 70 grain Blitz king not ideal for long range deer but get them within 200 yards and it will do the job
 
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For factory loads if you don't reload there are the reduced recoil rounds and a 80-95g bullet will do everything that walks shy of elk in the lower 48.
I hand load and run a 80g speer/barnes tsx or ttsx bullet these days at around 3100 fps.
 
Originally Posted By: nastynatesfishWhy not just pull the barrel and have it threaded for a break? That way you can still shoot the good mid weight bullets(75-95gr) and not have to worry about recoil. A brake on a 243 feeds like a 223

That's a good idea!
 
Very good advice by T N. Would like to add a good trigger pull also. Make sure stock is short enough. Raised a daughter and son on a 243 short stock timney leopold scope. Just tell them exactly what will take place. They killed many deer with that set up.
 
Originally Posted By: bamacrowkillerVery good advice by T N. Would like to add a good trigger pull also. Make sure stock is short enough. Raised a daughter and son on a 243 short stock timney leopold scope. Just tell them exactly what will take place. They killed many deer with that set up.

What model did you use?
 
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