My son was interested in deer hunting last year, and my best option for a rifle was my Savage 30-06. He had been shooting a .22LR, but the step up to the centerfire was a big one. With a bit of research on reduced loads (thank you THR!) i loaded some 110g round nose bullets over Trailboss. He loved shooting them and worked on his offhand shooting skills. (They were a lot of fun for me to shoot as well!)
We stepped up to 125g Sierra Pro Hunters over H4895 (again, thanks for the advice on this forum!) and he had no problems with recoil. We were seeing 2-3 MOA at 100 yards, so I was happy with the accuracy.
Last fall we hunted Saturday and Sunday of the NY youth hunt. We had a great time, but no success. Monday morning I returned to work and he hunted with his grandfather. I got a text at about 8 AM from his mother that he had got his deer. Double lung shot, and the deer dropped in place. He’s been enjoying the venison all winter. I was thrilled he got to experience his first deer with his grandfather, and wow, did i feel proud about having worked with him on his marksmanship and creating the handloads for him.
On a side note, I did notice that the rifle went from “Your 30-06” to “Our 30-06”...clearly one of us needs a new rifle for the upcoming season, so he’s getting a Savage model 10 in .243 for his birthday in two weeks....
This story and thank you is a bit delayed...been a busy winter and spring!
We stepped up to 125g Sierra Pro Hunters over H4895 (again, thanks for the advice on this forum!) and he had no problems with recoil. We were seeing 2-3 MOA at 100 yards, so I was happy with the accuracy.
Last fall we hunted Saturday and Sunday of the NY youth hunt. We had a great time, but no success. Monday morning I returned to work and he hunted with his grandfather. I got a text at about 8 AM from his mother that he had got his deer. Double lung shot, and the deer dropped in place. He’s been enjoying the venison all winter. I was thrilled he got to experience his first deer with his grandfather, and wow, did i feel proud about having worked with him on his marksmanship and creating the handloads for him.
On a side note, I did notice that the rifle went from “Your 30-06” to “Our 30-06”...clearly one of us needs a new rifle for the upcoming season, so he’s getting a Savage model 10 in .243 for his birthday in two weeks....
This story and thank you is a bit delayed...been a busy winter and spring!