Question for Deedy

[daddy63]

Hi Deedy,

I thought I would throw this question out to you since you are an experienced guide and see a lot of shooting and hogs taken. What are the cartridges you like to see a young, new youth hunter, especially a female hunter, show up with for their first hunt? I'm curious what you would like to see them bring along for your hunts that will cleanly take the hogs you hunt, assuming the fact that they can shoot accurately etc. Thanks in advance for your time.

Hope to hunt with you soon.

Daddy63

 

[BrysonHesperiaResort]

Dear Daddy 63,
I need to ask you a question or two first...

1. What is the shooting skill level of the youth hunter? i.e. how old is the hunter and how much time has he/she had behind a rifle?

2. How old is your youth and is he/she average size for his/her age?


In our professional opinion a good starting rifle would be in the .243 class, cartridge i.e weight of bullet/grain used would depend on the animal being hunted and what cartridge the rifle is most accurate with.

The cartridge that you choose for that rifle (or any rifle) depends on the twist of the rifle barrel and the length of the barrel.

Depending on the rifle and the youth I would recommend at least a 100 grain cartridge or better on hogs. Taking your young hunter to your local rifle range will get him/her used to the recoil and the sound of their rifle always instilling weapon safety in new shooters and old.

Thank you for all your questions. I have 5 military weapons instructors/ hunters up here at the resort hunting headquarters helping answer your questions...

Deedy and the crew at Bryson !

 

[juantg]

Hi Deedy,
What is the average distance shot taken were you are,and how far booked are you and are weekdays easy to get to hunt.
Thanks.

 

[daddy63]

Thanks Deedy..

I'm still debating between rifles for my daughter who will be 12 next year. She shoots her 22 well, she knows to control her breathing, sight picture, etc.

However, I've taken her trap shooting and using a PAST recoil shield and a semi auto 20 gauge she can only handle about 8-10 shots before calling it quits.

My daughter is not tiny, built like dad, sorry honey, but her arms are a little shorter.

I would have to trim a stock down for proper fit and all.

Just curious what you, as an accomplished guide, prefer to see in a youngsters hand, assuning they can shoot it well. Any cartridges you don't like to see people bring?

Thanks for your time... I know you are busy.

 

[BrysonHesperiaResort]

Dear Daddy63,
Never too busy to answer question and be of help. Providing our young hunters with successful and fulfilling experiences in the field is of great importance to all of us. They are our future sportsman. Plus there is no other feeling like it! It is probably the most rewarding thing I do as a guide.

I think a .243, and start her on the target range with as light of a bullet as possible. Hornady makes a .243
58 GR. VX Moly, available through Cabellas for $24.99. You can increase the grain to 100 as her comfort level and confidence rises.


A .243 should last her a lifetime on CA deer and hogs. I personally carry a .308 for hogs and deer, a .204 for the coyotes, but I sometimes need to shoot a little further then I would ever expect any of my hunters to do.

Our hog hunts here are guaranteed at 75-125 yards. Most of the time we get our hunters shots at 50-100 yards.
Hope that helps.


Hi Juantg,
We hunt 7 days a week, and are not booked solid. You can reach me at deedy@brysonresort.com

Thanks everybody... if any of you have other suggestion please don't hesitate to chime in. There are many, many experts on this website.

 

[daddy63]

Thanks a lot Deedy... I was thinking along the lines of a 243. or a .308 with reduced loads to start.
Good luck to you.

 

[michaelp]

Dear Daddy63, I went through the same evaluation with my son several years back. I wanted to provide him with a rifle that would do the job today and grow with him for the future. The caliber I finally settled on was the 7mm-08. The 7mm-08 is a necked down .308 with a wide variety of bullet weights and manufacturers to choose from.

My son's first big game animal (taken when he was 12) was a nice boar in central CA -- 200 yards straight across a canyont. One shot is all it took with the hog taking one step and then folding. He was shooting 140 grain Winchester FailSafe's. The 2nd animal was a 6x6 elk he got in Utah -- again one shot using the same bullets did the job -- this guy didn't go anywhere (shot was approximately 100 yards). I know the 7mm-08 is light for elk but he couldn't be deterred and has proven it's not the size of the caliber that counts its where you put it. The last animal he took with the same gun was a nice 2 point at FHL this past year. Again, one shot, one kill.

I've hunted all my life and have to say the 7mm-08 is one of the sweetest rounds I've ever had the pleasure to shoot. Very mild recoil which is well suited to younger hunters, with the added advantage that the investment will last a life time.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[XDHUNTER]

Where do you live Daddy63? The reason i ask is there is a sportsman show in Norco(like a gun show)every summer with most of the manufacturer participate,They will let you shoot different gun but you have to pay for the ammo.let her try different caliber.
I second deedy on the 243. my daughter started on a 22 same age with your daughter use my 243 to bag her first deer at FHL (junior hunt) and now using my browning 270 regularly. she will be 16 in may.It's expensive,but memories in the field ...... priceless!

Where do you shoot trap?

 

[DanV]

Daddy63 ,

While your doing your homework on a rifle for your daughter you might want to check out the 7-08 as suggested above although its little sibling the .260 Remington is really worth a long look .

My son started out with a Remington model 7 in .243 at around 12 years old , a head taller and 20 lbs. heavier that most 12 year olds . That little .243 beat the heck out of him , one day at the range he was complaining about the recoil so I shot it a few times , damn thing had a real sharp kick and recoiled about the same as my ported 7mm mag . We replaced that gun with a 7mag and he never complained again . Talking to my gunsmith in Woodland , he said quite often .243 just have a real sharp kick and generally the 260 and 7-08 have more of a shove and less recoil . I although surely not with the majority don't reccomemd the .243 for a beginner ! Not sure about availability but the .257 Roberts is another oldie but goody .

 

[BrysonHesperiaResort]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (michaelp @ Feb 6 2008, 01:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I've hunted all my life and have to say the 7mm-08 is one of the sweetest rounds I've ever had the pleasure to shoot. Very mild recoil which is well suited to younger hunters, with the added advantage that the investment will last a life time.[/b]

That was another one of our favorite choices here, however I worry about that caliber for availability on lead-free bullets. I think we're pretty much destined to switch here in CA. July 1, 2008.
Deedy

 

[michaelp]

Deedy, Federal carries Barnes Triple X copper bullets in 140 grain for the 7mm-08 (my son had to use copper for the FHL buck).

 

[daddy63]

Thank you all for the help. My 14 year old son has a 7mm 08 and he loves it... so do I actually. He is a big kid though. I found some reduced recoil loads for the 7mm 08 so maybe I should try her out on that.

XDHUNTER,

I like the idea of shooting the different guns at the shows. I didn't know they offered that. I live in San Jose here so I'll look into it. We shoot trap, not well mind you,at Coyote Valley. You are right about the memories hunting with your kids. I will never forget my sons look when he took his first hog. Fortunately I have it on video also.

michaelp,

Your son sounds real fortunate to be so successful. Was his hog hunt guided?

Deedy,
Thanks again for your help. It's nice to hear that your suggestions aren't too far off what I was thinking.

Thanks

Danv

The 257 Roberts would be a nice choice. I've never shot one but I hear good things about them.

 

[michaelp]

Daddy63, fortunate and extremely lucky it seems. The hog hunt he was successful on was guided (Tom Willoughby and his son). I made him pay his dues by hunting public land (primarily FHL). All in all we spent many days afield without success. I thought it necessary for him to understand the importance of putting your time in and understanding what to look for before "guiding" him to a pig. The elk hunt was guided, the deer we took on our own. Good luck!

 

[daddy63]

michaelp,

I totally understand and agree with your outlook on paying your dues before success.

Can you say what outfit you went with for the elk hunt? I'm looking into a guided cow elk hunt with my son for this year hopefully.

Thanks a lot

Daddy63

 

[michaelp]

Daddy63, the Utah hunt was on private land which I leased along with 3 other guys. It was a great deal and allowed us to take 1 x elk, 1 x mule deer each. The land owners brought some guides on-site to help us. I let my son make the decision on which animal he preferred to hunt (the season is seperated over a couple of weeks). He obviously picked the elk and was the only one (out of the 4) who got his elk despite seeing plenty. I followed up a couple of weeks later and passed up on some small mulies (all the big ones had already moved to lower elevations). Unfortunately this land was sold off just this past year as a mining concession so I don't think it will even be available for hunting. That was the only Utah hunt I went on so I can't recommend anyone else. I'm sure there's plenty of help available on this sight from other people. Again, good luck!

 

[daddy63]

Too bad the land was sold off... sounds like it was a neat set up. Thanks for all your help.