ipscshooter

There is nothing at all wrong with the .243. My son and I both use them and it kills deer just as dead as my .30-06 did.Maybe it would be marginal on those 400 lb bucks in Saskatchewan, but it's more than enough for the deer y'all have in Florida. .243 is the standard. Folks who say it is "not too forgiving" are simply lobbying in support of their own choice (and perhaps I'm doing the same here for mine...). They "dropped deer in their tracks" with their this or their that... Well, I dropped two deer in their tracks with my .243 this season. And, in previous seasons,I've had to track deer shot with my .30-06. Bottom line is this... If you hit a deer through the lungs with a .243, it's going to die. Period. All this stuff about forgiveness and margin for error is a bunch of hooey. A .260haswhat? 17 thousandths of an inch of "margin for error" over the.243. That is so miniscule that it is patently ridiculous to argue that it has an advantage.

The .243 will beeasier on her shoulder and will be easier for your daughter to learn to shoot well than cartridges that use heavier bullets.

Tigerfan

This is the difference between a .243 and a .260

time 0-250
velocity 0-250
energy 0-250

.243
t= .26 to 250 yards
V= (0) 3127- (250) 2527
E= (0) 1953- (250) 1303

.260
t= .29 to 250
V= 2896 - 2396
E= 2233-1533

As you can see the .243 is faster than the 260 but the 260 has 280 pounds of more muzzle energy and 230 more at 250 yards. So that 17 thousandths margin that you speak of does make a difference. This is shooting a Remington Ballistic tip 90 grains in the 243 and 120 in the 260. Of course the heavier bullet will have more force when hitting your target and the smaller bullet will get there faster. This proves that but, what else does this prove? It proves that the largest grain for a 243 is 100 grains and the smallest for a 260 is 120. This results in the forgiveness that everyone speaks about. If you were to check into recoil the 260 is about the same as the 243 and 7mm-08. It is a little more (maybe 1/2 to 1 pound) more than the 243 and less than (about 1 to 2 pounds) the 7mm-08. I am not lobbying for my choice as you said, I am mearly stating the facts as I found them when I was looking to do exactly what this guy is doing. As far as learning to shoot why not let her learn with a 22 instead of a rifle that has 2 to 3 times the recoil of it? I never have understood why someone trys to teach a child how to shoot with a shotgun or a rifle other than a 22 or 17.

nchawkeye

Well..I've killed about 150 with a .243...And at 51...I ain't a kid anymore...Dropping a deer in its tracks with any centerfire isn't a problem...Just put a bullet through the shoulder blade...Stay away from a .260 unless you handload...It won't do anything to a whitetail that a .243 won't do.

If you do want to go larger than a .243, the 7mm-08 is a good round, as is the .270...But, they are very close to your .308 in performance...Any deer hunter could chose any of these 3, and several more and hunt with their entire lifetime and never blame the cartridge for loosing a deer...

The .243 does give you a larger gap between the others and your .308...And it also can do double duty on crows, groundhogs, coyotes, etc...

zrexpilot

Go with the .243. Theres a reason it is in the top 5 calibers sold in America. It been my choice for 25 years. Lots of ol timers still dropping them with the .243, and will continue to do so for many more years. Try not to use it though, cause you'll probably see the light and end up making it your gun and leaving your kid without one. Ha Ha LOL.

Tbone1187

I like 7mm

ipscshooter

Tigerfan: I guess I don't read "forgiveness" and "margin for error" the way you do. Regardless of which of the two you choose, you still have to hit the deer in the vitals to kill it. An extra 230 ft lbs. through the guts is still going to result in a wounded/lost deer. The difference between hitting and missing vitals, when comparing a .243 to a .260 is 17 thousandths of an inch. The advantage that the .260 has over the .243 is that the 120 and 140 grain bullets have a better ballistic coefficient and that adds a little effective range. Given the consensus that a rifle needs to put about 1000 ft. lbs. on the deer, the .260 might be a 400 yard deer rifle, whereas, I'd limit .243 shots to 300. But, the topic of discussion is a first deer rifle for a young girl, and I doubt her dad is going to let her take many 200 yard shots, let alone 400 yarders.

I've not shot a .260, but, I really find it difficult to believe that a cartridge with 20%+ more muzzle energy has a less than 10% increase in recoil. I'd be interested to see how the physics of that works.

nchawkeye

Another idea...How about a "fun" gun....like a .204 Ruger or a .223 or even a Ruger 10/22 with the bull barrel....Everyone needs a few guns just to plink with....Heck, I have 3 daughters and can't get any of them interested in deer hunting, fishing, yep, not hunting....

They do enjoy shooting...Especially my Remington 541-T and my Ruger Mark II pistol...In fact, my 14 year old and I went out and shot down mistletoe over Christmas...She used the Ruger .22, and I used my .54 caliber flintlock...