First hunting rifle for 7 & 8 year old

[RAGE]

So I made a HUGE financial mistake of introducing my boys to the world of shooting. My older son enjoys bankrupting me with the G17 and youngster even worse with the G42(Under very strict helicopter parenting type environment). They know their way around air rifles and shoot them very accurately. They have hit the point whereby I feel they are "safe" and mature enough to join me in the bush to hunt. And will be booking an annual hunt for me and the boys going forward.

I do not own any child friendly calibers. And need to purchase a rifle for the boys to hunt with. I went to a shop and was advised to take some oddball calibers, which wont work. I was thinking 243 or 308. My needs are the following:

1. I need to be able to buy factory ammo. Both for hunting and range use.

2. Needs to be manageable recoil for age, i plan to let them shoot this rifle a lot on the range. I will fit top tier suppressor to this rifle. Don't want to start the flinch.

3. Needs to be able to take up to BW, kudus,Nyala etc.

4. Not the heaviest rifle. (I will probably carry it in the bush and get it onto the sticks for them until they are a bit older).

What caliber should I be considering?

My youngest gets my 9.3x62 tikka lite on target at 100m's off sticks for one shot. But doesn't seem to ask for more after that. They both enjoy the 12G with lighter loads.

I'm looking forward to starting this journey with them.

[Logs]

Great to hear of younger generations entering the firearm world.

A friend of mine's 9 year old has successfully hunted impala and blesbok with a suppressed .243 for a few years, with great results.

Given BW, Kudu, Nyala are on your criteria, my opinion would be a suppressed .308 with 150gr bonded bullets.

I have a Howa 30-06 in the walnut stock, and for me, the stock shape is very forgiving regarding recoil - much better than the overmould synthetic - and the setup with a 3-9 x 40 is light. To date I've only had good experiences with Federal Fusion 180gr. I believe the 150gr Fusions in a .308, provided they group well with the rifle, should fulfil your needs.

[YankiZulu]

My kids ( 12yrs & 8yrs) have absolutely loved the 243. Very flat shooting round, low recoil especially being suppressed, and versatile for varminting with the 87gn Vmax or ELD-X 90gn with the ability to go to slightly bigger bullets for small game.

Easy to reload with lots of options to choose from.


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[Pirate]

If you don't yet have a 6.5, then I'd seriously consider a Needmoor for this application...
Less niche than 243, less recoil than 308, with the established penetration of 6.5mm bullets.

[BBCT]

Can't go wrong with a 308.

You said you need to be able to buy factory ammo, which implies that you don't reload? You are probably already aware that reloading will increase the versatility and give you the opportunity to load down and make the rifle milder to shoot.

If you can stretch your budget to 2 rifles I would suggest having a 223 for range use and a 308 for hunting, which is what I have done for my son. You mention that you want them to shoot the rifle A LOT on the range and a 223 costs much less to feed than a 308. When equipped with a silencer even hot loads have negligible recoil.

[ListerG]

Agree with Pirate on something in 6.5 - either Creedmoor or Swede I’d suggest. Soft shooting with a silencer, accurate, good range of ammo available (Norma’s 156gr Oryx is a very dependable cartridge on medium game).

But guns are like cars, everyone has a favourite. Enjoy, what a pleasure to have your youngsters involved.

[Wesley]

They don’t have to start off hunting BWB. Let them graduate there. There is a world of hunting that can be done before you get to BWB. Animals like Impala, Blesbuck, Springbuck etc. 3 or 4 years down the line first a Kudu cow etc. Get the hunting craft down to a T before they “earn” the privilege.

A suppressed 6.5x55 shooting a 120/130gr Monolithic bullet gets my vote. It is a caliber that punches above its weight. Although I believe it to be marginal for BWB and Eland, it can be done.

[aimpoint]

Another advocate for the 6.5CM. I know it gets a lot of flack and lots of memes out there mocking it. But so does the hilux
My kids all started hunting with it, impala, blesbok and nyala. Even the wife too! My daughters still do, my son moved onto the 300WSM.

The 6.5CM with a proper bullet is an excellent option. Lots of factory ammo available.

As a side note, i have seen a list and its somewhere on this forum of all the animals that TStone and his clients have taken with it. It’s a long list with lots of different species.


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[Heath Robinson]

.300 Blk might be another option, or 7.62x39 if you can find a bolt action in it.

But I would advise caution. Despite shooting and loving shooting from the age of about 4, and despite me and everyone else thinking I was ready, and despite having shot numerous birds and stuff, and having by then shot everything up to .404, I was at 12 not emotionally ready. It put me off to the extent that I was 19 by the time I tried again.

I think it was because my Impala didn't drop on the spot. All the birds had. And my dad's buck always dropped because he was a neck-shot specialist. I was thus not prepared for the fact that a heart-sbot animal doesn't drop on the spot every time.

[TStone]

I have used both the 6.5CM and the 6.5x55 extensively on game up to eland and either will do the job, provided that you use a bullet suitable for the job. I have not seen any difference between the two as far as terminal performance is concerned, which make sense as they are, ballistically, almost identical.
Either of these calibers will be perfect for your purpose. If you plan on using factory ammo, I will lean towards the Creedmoor. Both are easy to shoot accurately which is much more important than brute power.