Remington 700 243 Youth for my Girls

[DDawg]

I'm looking at the Rem 700 Youth 243 @ Walmart for $397.00. it has a scope with it. It also has a tag that says: Now Featuring the New X-Mark PRO Trigger.

My Daughters are 11 & 9 and they enjoy hunting with me, and I'm looking for a gun they can share and hunt with next season. I've got a 22 that their getting pretty good with.

I'd like any opinions on this gun good/bad/recoil etc.

anyone have any daughters using this setup?

I also reload, so I can make managed recoil loads. Most shots will be from 100yds in.

Thanks,
DD

 

[M1key]

Recoil is a little too stiff for girls that age. Can you hunt with a 223? That would be my choice. Teach them to shoot accurately.

M

 

[Hoth206]

I have the exact rifle that you're looking at with a Leupold Ultralight 2.5 x 20 scope. I use it as a knock-around rifle at the ranch. The shortness makes it easy to pop in and out of the truck. I think you'll find it'll work just fine for your kiddos. It 'feels' like the little barrel is pretty heavy (which is good...keeps recoil down)

If you're still concerned about recoil, you can always take the butt-plate off and fill with sand or something to add a little weight.

 

[Eb1]

Do you hand load your ammunition? That would be my first question.

 

[DDawg]

Do you hand load your ammunition? That would be my first question.

Yes I do handload my own ammunition.

 

[lowerunit411]

I think the calibre choice is appropriate. My daughters first center fire was a 7mm08, which has a bit more recoil than the .243, but it was not a youth rifle so it weighed a bit more. she is a grown woman now who still hunts regularly. In converstions we have had she has stated that she became accustomed to recoil waterfowl hunting as a younger gal with me. she used a 20 bore back then and in a duck blind you fire a lot more rounds in a day than you do deer hunting. My wife who is a smallish woman...5 ft tall 106 pounds...uses a .243. in fact as a anniversary gift i got her a ruger number 1 light sporter in .243 The advantage i see in a youth model is the reduced LOP. some of the recoil can be mitigated with a heavier rifle...so if LOP isnt a big issue that might be worth looking into..they kinda grow into it.

 

[critter]

Is 'limited recoil' ammo available for the .243? Since you are a reloader, you can make some.

I do that for a .308 for my grandkids. The lower power stuff cuts way down on the recoil, is almost always very accurate and will kill a whitetail DRT if they place their shots.

 

[sixgunner455]

I haven't had my scrawny little 12yo try my .243 yet to give you a field trial for that kind of thing. Normally, he likes to stick with his .22.

There is a difference in recoil between bullet weights. That is part of the secret to the managed recoil rounds - they drop the bullet weight but keep the bullets at the same velocity as the heavier, normally slower bullets, which automatically drops the recoil. For example, the .30-06 loads I looked at had a 125 grain bullet that was only going about 2700fps, like a 180 does. That's pretty slow - normally, a 125 is going well north of 3000fps in a .30-06.

So, in a .243, the "deer" loads are usually 100gr and going 3100fps. Drop just that load down to 2800fps, and you've still got plenty of mojo for taking deer with less noise and recoil. Drop that to an 87gr bullet (not a frangible varmint bullet, a deer bullet) still at a moderate velocity, and you've got something to start your girls out with.

 

[H2oPumper]

You are on the right track with a caliber for standard loads. I would maybe consider looking at the recoil comparison between a managed recoil 308 and a standard 243. The 308 may be a little more forgiving if dealing with hunting in heavy cover and brush.

The 700 has obviously been a good rifle over the years. However, I'm left with a bad taste with them because of a buddy's 270WSM. It's very hard to close the bolt and it ejects at such a low angle it hits the receiver and jams unless you pick it out with your finger. I know this is not the norm, and Remington will hopefully make it right for him, but I do question recent quality control. Personally, I don't care for the black matte finish on many of the new rifles due to the all the texturing and it's ability to hold moisture.

Before you make the jump, take a look at the Marlin X7Y in a 243 (formerly XS7Y), typically the base rifle can be found for about 320, however, I did see a fleet store selling the full length scoped 243's for 299. I got my son a 270 and it will shoot sub-moa; it's the best shooter we have, hands down. It makes having a $600 gun that, at it's best, shoots 2" next to it. If it has one drawback for me, that would be that it has a blind box magazine. A detachable box mag would be nicer. The Savage Axis has that option. Any will serve you, just get in lots of practice.

 

[Gunnerboy]

My mom uses a youth rem 700 243 and it has way too much recoil for a normal 11 and 9 year old unless you got some reduced recoil loads.

 

[Eb1]

Look here: http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/H4895 Reduced Rifle Loads.pdf

The first one is a youth load using H4895 from Hodgdon.

The reason I asked if you hand loaded is because you can make ammo for your specific purpose.