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Insight: Youth Hunters and Big Game
June 7, 2023.
Insight: Youth Hunters and Big Game
by: Nick Fowler
After finding out my son had drawn a nonresident youth antelope tag for New Mexico. Planning and preparation began that day. Too young to hunt in our home state of ID this would be Jaxon’s first big game hunt. I had to decide what caliber rifle to put my young son behind. My initial choice eventually reared its ugly head as the wrong choice (for him) I decided on my heaviest rifle my Bergara HMR chambered in 6.5creedmoor and put on a suppressor, bought an aftermarket recoil pad, doing all I could to reduce the recoil my son would receive. When you weigh 53 pounds recoil really adds up!
Numerous trips to the shooting range and Jaxon seemed to shoot the set up fairly well. He blew up more milk and juice jugs than he missed. But, I started to notice a disturbing trend each time we went to the range the number of shots he wanted to take was decreasing. So, I tested him, I worked the bolt and on an empty chamber and told Jaxon to shoot one more. I closely watched my son and saw him flinch and jerk very hard as the firing pin dropped on an empty chamber. The Creedmoor was not shot by him again. So here we were, beginning of July and his first big game hunt only a month and half away and it was a time for a caliber change. I was feeling some serious pressure. I decided at our next trip to the range that it would be my Bergara Ridge 22-250 that he would shoot. He was visibly nervous for his first shot, after he took the first shot and he was able to actually see the milk jug explode in his scope, he was a totally new boy. He never again asked if he could be done shooting in any more trips to the range. His flinch went away and his love of shooting was back!
So, moving to a smaller caliber rifle and getting the rifle off the sandbags and into a Bog Deathgrip tripod prone made all the difference for Jaxon. I did some calculations based on body weight and the recoil he was getting from the 6.5creedmoor was similar to the recoil I would take from a .340 Weatherby… which I personally have no desire to take that kind of punishment!
My next concern was bullet selection, I had only shot Hornady Varmint Express 55 grain V-Max out of this rifle as it is my predator/varmint rifle. I was very leery about this bullet on an antelope. Time to take matters into my own hands. I have a good friend who had worked up two different loads for his own Bergara Ride 22-250. One with Hornady 68gr HPBT and another with the Hornady 73gr ELD-M. Even though the 68’s shot a little better out of my rifle. I opted for the few extra grains of bullet weight and a bullet I am very familiar with as I shoot a 147 eld-m out of my 6.5PRC. Handloads made, new MOA chart created and confirmed. The vast majority of Jaxons practice was 100-200 yards but did get him out to 400 yards and he shot very well. In the time remaining before his hunt started, he put his time in at the range I knew both he and the set up were very capable. It simply would come down to how my young son handled himself in the heat of the moment when he was presented with a chance to take a shot at an antelope.
When picking a caliber for a youth big game hunt. I would say start small and work your way up in caliber, this is much safer than starting out too big and then sizing down. Just because a gun doesn’t “kick hard” to You it’s very different for small shooters! Do what You can to help them not get punished. Gun that fits them, suppressor or muzzle break, good recoil pad, the use of a heavy tripod, lighter powder charges or lighter weight bullets. These are all things that can add up to help ensure your youth enjoys shooting the gun. I am currently looking into a .243 or 6 creed to set up as my kids deer/antelope gun for the next few years. (elk are a whole different story!) Is there a perfect rifle caliber for youth…?(.223, 22-250, .243, 6 creed, 6.5creed, 7mm-08…) I don’t think so. Not all kids are created equal not every 7, 8, 9,10 year old are the same, in body size or lack thereof. Maturity and concentration levels can vary greatly among children the same age as well. I am not here to tell anyone what caliber gun, their youth needs to shoot. You, will have to determine that on your own, on a kid by kid basis. I am simply trying to provide some insight on what my young son and I encountered, preparing him for his first big game hunt.
Best of luck to You and any Youth, You take afield!