elk caliber for kids?

I have an 06 with the Boss system on it and a .270 with out but neither rifle fits my daughter. So I am looking at a new rifle but what caliber have some of you used on elk with kids? I feel .243 may be a bit to light for most elk applications but would like some feedback. Thanks
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The Ox
i do know people that have killed elk with 243s but i think they were cows. a 25 06 possibly its has a bit more power than a 243. i just dont think id wanna shoot a bigger sized elk with it but i think if she is a good shot it would work. alot would probably disagree but a 30-30 within a 150 yards with a 150- 170 gr bullet would probably work. its not anymore powerful energy wise than a 243 but with that bullet weight it would be able to break through the bones a bit better. but its definently a close range gun.
personally i think it has way more to do with the ability of the shooter than caliber. shot placement is just way more important (to a point obviously!!!). and also the type of bullet used ex. soft points vs hollowpoints.
have you tried any of the winchester short mags?
they reduce on recoil, so you can have a lighter gun with the same recoil as a heavier regular caliber. my 7mmwsm is lighter and still has less recoil than most 7mm's

i personally feel if shes comfortable with a gun and can shoot it well.its more important than the caliber.which i know alot will disagree with but i believe it true.
try the 25.06 or the 25 wssm. with the heavier gr bullets i believe there 120 grs.
the accubonds aree great bullets too i think there a 110gr for the 25 though
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I will look at the 25 wssm .
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NONYA
i WOULDNT GO ANY LIGHTER THAN A 270,unless you want to chase wounded elk,my cousins wife shot a spike last year at 200 yards with a 243,the bullet barley penetrated the first lung and stopped,they spent the next couple hours tracking and finally finished it off.
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yotebuster
Bullet selection is just as important as caliber selection. Get a good bonded or partitioned bullet, it's much more important that they hold together rather than fragment. 7mm-08 with a 160 gr. accubond would be a good rifle for someone who has recoil issues. In Remington model seven, would be a damn good womens rifle. My brother shot a 6 year old cow with 110 accubonds out of a 25-06 last year and clean pass through, broke both shoulders on the way through. Put her down lovely.
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The Ox
well i know of an adult cow taking 3 shots from a 243 and it just stood there like nothing was happening they realized they had the wrong bullets loaded. they put in a 100 gr soft point and dumped it flat when they got over there the previous 3 shots barely pentrated when they put the soft point in it did the job cleanly. its got so much more to do with the bullet type than most people think or realize. not sure what the other 3 bullets were i cant remember but everyone of the shots were in the boiler room.
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The Ox
i didnt even think about the 7mm 08 that would be a good choice to
if you can get a 25.06 in a ruger m77 mk2 that would be a great womens rifle also
.
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yotebuster
I killed a big whitetail buck last year with a .223, (I was coyote calling and jumped him!!) with 55 gr. soft points. The only reason I shot was because I knew I could hit him in exactly the right spot, anyhow, I put 6 shots into the back edge of his rib cage (running away at about a 45 degree angle around 75 yards). The moral of the story is, the non-bonded softpoints I was shooting separated from the jacket on the entry if they hit rib, the ones that went between the ribs made it into the boiler room. He only made it about 40 yards. Later that week I shot a doe through the shoulder with a 55 grain Trophy bonded bear claw out of a 22-250 (slightly faster i guess), but it held together and was under the skin on the far side even after hitting bone twice. I think a lot of calibers have the power to drive a bullet deep, it's just whether or not the bullet will handle it. I've been shooting 150gr. Swift Scirrocos out of my 7mm STW and been blown away by their performance.
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yotebuster
Thats what my brother has, a M77 in 25-06. THe only problem with the ruger is they put a heavier contour barrel on the 25-06 in that gun, it's a bit of an ox to carry around a lot. My girlfriend smacked a 150" 4 point whitetail with that gun at 425 yards last fall. She's a hell of a shot!! Now if I can only get lucky enough to draw a tag this year here in ND. I think women are luckier in draw then men. She drew a buck tag here on her first shot, and my sister in law got a Monroe muzzle tag with 2 points this year. I got turned down for ND antelope last year, I have enough points where I had a 98% chance of drawing and got turned down!!!!
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The Ox
another cartridge i just thought of just alittle harder to find and find bullets for is the 6.5x55 swedish great cartridge my buddys wife shoots one she loves it and so does he and you can get a 160 gr bullet for it which would be nice ofr elk
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yotebuster
Or a 6.5 Remington Mag. In the original Remington Mohawk it was made in would be a cool little gun. You'd have to look around to find one, I've got a thing for oddball calibers though!!!
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9er
ive got a weatherby 25 06 that i will sell! anyone wants more info shoot me a pm!

9er
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my 13 year old daughter shot her elk with a .6mm. one shot and she dropped where she was.
Best thing is to find a gun that fits her nicely and then see about the recoil.as long as it's legal and you have the right bullets to handle the job.
she should do just fine.
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The Ox
9er quit trying to sell all your dang guns man, i cant take it i have to limit myself this year and your not making it easy.
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My first rifle was a 7mm mauser (7X57) I killed my first elk with it when I was 13. Dropped the cow with one shot. I still shoot the 7X57 caliber (I have a Ruger model 1 and a M77). I plan on using it this fall for moose and caribou. It's a nice caliber to shoot and it doesn't have a lot of recoil and it has good knock down power.
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HighLander
I shot my first elk with a .257 Roberts.....so I would go with a 25.06.
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Levergun450
the 25-06 is a good gun, my dad killed a fairly large 6x6 a few years back with his. however, I wouldn't recomend it for elk, excellent deer gun though. I would recomend either the 7mm-08 or 7mm Mag. Both are great guns for elk or deer and don't have much kick to them. I would deffinately stray away from the .243. It will kill it, yes, but you need that extra insurance if the bullet hits a shoulder. I have a Ruger Mark II 7mm which, after I sent it to my uncle, owner of superior ammuntion, kicks less than my dads 25-06. All we did was put a new, heavier, stock on it and had the barrel ported. You can also put the sissy pad recoil pads on it too. both the 7mm Mag or 08 are very falt shooting guns with lots of power out far. Good Luck!
~Dave
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silvertip-co
CO teens and women seem to use .243 with Hornady Light Magnum ammo and take a LOT of big elk. I see the fotos all the time.

Good luck.
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silvertip-co
...and when you decide on a gun for the kids or wife. Spend an extra bit and buy another stock for it and have the stock cut to the correct LOP to fit a young person.

Stock length is the MOST critical thing to developing good shooting skills. Heck, buy a used stock for the chosen gun offa eBay and have it cut, keep the good stock for when they grow up. LOP should be about 12" +/- for a young person or lady. Factory LOP is usually 13.25 or so. I had my wife's 06 cut off to measure 12.5" OVER the Pachmayer recoil pad the gunny installed. So the gunny lopped a lot of wood off her stock. It fits her perfect and she can shoot 150gr ammo all day with little or no bruising.

And good luck elk hunting.
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Hiker
I here good things about the 7MM-08. My wife and daughter shoot a 25-06 but IMHO it's a little light for Wapiti, not saying it's won't kill one but the few we have killed with it took more then one shot, eventhough we hit them right in the chest/heart area. I purchased a 30-06 for my daughter and plan on adding a muzzlebreak before she shoots it, she always wears ear protection even when she's hunting. I have friends who have used .243's before but still IMHO it's a little light. I like for elk to drop where I shoot them because they tend to go downhill for a long ways when wounded and then we have to haul them back up and out. ](*,)
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consider a semi auto in any caliber my wife shoots one in a 270 most of the kick is taken out by the reloading system and its all about shot placement I saw a 360 bull drop with one shot from a 243 at 120 yards. so teach her to shoot what ever you get her.
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I'll second the .270 caliber. My 15 year old shoots one with a HS Precision stock and a Limbsaver recoil pad along with a barrel stabilizer. I have shot the .270 right after the .243 and really could not tell the difference. :thumb

Most gun experts will tell you to go with a synthetic stalk and a muzzle break if you want to reduce your recoil. Good luck. It's a lot of fun getting the kids into hunting but it can get expensive. :)
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silvertip-co
Most I see in local papers and magazines are using .243. Not my choice but lots of ladies and young people take elk in Colo with .243. If I were equipping a t een daughter I would go with the .308 IMHO.
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my first deer rifle was a 25-06 and thoses are really good. it killed my buck at 300+ yards away.
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I say you let a kid hunt elk with the biggest caliber he or she can shoot well and accurately, that should be the most important thing. :thumb
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silvertip-co
Re-thinking my reply, I might thro the 7mm-08 in there as the best for a young person. It offers great 7mm 'natural' ballistics with 139 or 140gr in low recoiling rifles.
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Bulls 30-06 cows anything above 257 roberts
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i started off with a 25-06. it was perfect for me when i was younger
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Although i love my 25-06, i'll never use it again for elk after losing two spike bulls in one day with it using 120gr, Nosler partitions. I'm not sure what happened because i have killed elk with it before, but this one time it failed me. Both shots were less than 100yds and right in the boiler maker. :>/
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They don't make a 150 gr. in .25 caliber....not that i'm aware of anyway! (???)
With 1/4 bore, a 150 grain bullet would look as long as a patriot missle!!

But i AM a Bronco fan!!! =D>
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younggun
I was shooting my dads 300 weatherby when i was 12 and now i got a 7mm weatherby. But i'm to obsessed to notice the recoil, I dont really feel it unless i'm shooting at the range. It takes all my concentration to hit the target i really dont have any left to realize the kick. But start her off with something that she's not affraid to shoot.
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joesigep
If I was looking for a good big game light kicker; I would look at either a .308 or 6mm, they have enough punch to bring them down but with little kick, the .308 has around 18 lbs per ft recoil.

here are some comparisons
cartridge/ recoil(ft.-lb.)
.243 / 12
.270 / 21
.308 / 18
.30/06 / 24
7mm rem. / 27

i got these stats from Field and Stream.

hope this helps!
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younggun
My best friend's dad has had 1 gun his whole life and its a tikka 300 win then my buddy took it so now he's got a sako 300 win. He's got 4 goats, 3 rams, 2 elk, 2 grizzly, 52 bucks (2 deer seasons) What i'm getting at is u need one gun only, 300. whats the point in wasting ur money on 40 guns. Instead of wasting ur money on guns use in on good optics, swarovski or zeiss, lika, leupold are all good companies.
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cobo
7mm-08 Remington with Federal 140 grain Nosler Partition is what I have used for whitetails and mulies. I have read where others have user the same for elk.
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My son is using my Tikka .338 win mag this year to hunt elk...i had a muzzlebrake put on it and it now feels like your shooting a heavy .243 or light .270....even my wife likes shooting it...works wonders..
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My son started with a .243and jumped to a .260. with x bullets or heavy noslers they both worked very well. Last bull he shot was a texas heart shot with the .260 and 125 Gr. noslers. Broke the pelvis and put him down right now!
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