I’m going to put together something for my kid to hunt with.  Light weight and short with the ability to be suppressed are a couple requirements.

I’ve got SBR/pistol lowers if I got the AR route

Also have a 243 I could cut down to 14.5” and P&W

I’ve looked around without much luck for a barreled action I could cut down also

Max range is like 110 yards here.

300 BO
243
6.5G/6.8??

Am I missing any calibers that will preform well at that range on whitetail?

All would be run suppressed, I already have a nice older Ruger 243 that we don’t shoot much anymore since it’s not threaded right now.  May send it Adco soon.  I looked at newer rifles and honestly it’s just better made I think

Depends on the kid.  Recoil can be a real factor and you don't want to turn him away or cause any bad habits.  I bought my son a Ruger 77 in 44 mag.  Littlt/light gun with very little recoil.  He has grown quite a bit the last two years and can handle other stuff now.

44mag if definitely capable of 100 yard kills.  Guys have claimed 150-175 yards is no problem.  I will not let my now 16 year old shoot that far, but it has killed two deer very cleanly at 60-77 yards since he started hunting with it.

Hell I have been hunting with it the past couple days in PA, because he had to go home for school.  It a nice little gun to lug around.

Thanks for the input, we are going to mess around with the 243 and I ordered a 300 BO upper also to see what works best.  99% of our shots will be from 80-110 yards.  

The 44 mag is intriguing I’ll have to look into the energy at 100 yards.

Guns are going to be rested on a tree stand and suppressed.  I don’t think recoil will an issue, the suppressor adding weight as well.  We didn’t connect during modern gun but still have crossbow/bow until mid January with muzzleloader and a youth weekend in there as well

My 11 year old took his first this year with a bolt action 7.62x39, Hornady SSTs will lay them flat at the ranges you describe. It’s a very mild gun to shoot, and he shots it well.

I love my 12” 6.5 Grendel. For a gas gun it does just about everything I want it too. All the kids who have shot it loved it as well. The littler kids still prefer the 300 blk with subs. The 300 blk with the 110 Barnes is a potent combo!

Here is the proof!

Attached File

I couldn’t find any of the Barnes 110s, but I did order some of these

Attached File


Hoping they work out for us

Excellent! Let us know how she does with them. The 300 is a sweet close range weapon!