Help needed for New build for my Son

[pburton]

For some time I have been considering building my son a new rifle for hunting and long range shooting. He has been shooting a .243 for about 5 years and shoots it very well. He is 14 and has slowly extended his range. He wants to start putting in for Elk tags next year, so in my opinion it is time to step up to something bigger. He has shown a tendency to be a little recoil shy. It has gotten better over the last couple of years, but I still want to be cautious. I have a couple of options to build off of. I have a Rem 700 SA with a standard bolt face. For this I could go 7-08 or 308. I have a Win 70 SA push feed with a magnum bolt face. I could go with a 7SAUM, 270wsm with good muzzle brake. Or he is currently shooting a Tikka T3 .243. I could change out the bolt stop, have it rebarreld, and go with a 6.5x55 or 280 rem (with a brake) or any long action non-magnum. I know all of the mentioned calibers/casings would do fine for elk at modest ranges, but would like to hear some experience with young shooters and recommendations. Thanks in advance!

 

[WeiserBucks]

I think a 7 SAUM with a brake would be great . You can load modest recoil loads with 140's at first and ramp up the bullet weight as he grows bigger and can tolerate the recoil .

Any of the other choices you mentioned would also work fine on elk , just load a quality bullet and shoot straight.

 

[pburton]

That is what I was thinking. I already load for 7SAUM, so I already have components. That would make it easier.

 

[BallisticsGuy]

6.5x55 is an easy shooting kitten even with the full house 140's @ modern pressures. Will definitely kill the hell out of an elk. Won't need a brake which I personally don't like on hunting guns.

 

[FEENIX]

6.5x55 is an easy shooting kitten even with the full house 140's @ modern pressures. Will definitely kill the hell out of an elk. Won't need a brake which I personally don't like on hunting guns.

Yep, she's not pretty or fancy but simply very effective and has been around longer than our venerable .30-06. There's something very nostalgic about the 6.5x55 Swede.

Both my sons started hunting at age 10 with a Carl Gustaf 6.5x55 carbine with 140 NABs.

 

[pburton]

I agree, there is something about the 6.5x55 that has intrigued me for years. I have considered building one on a couple of occasions. Maybe that is what I should do with the Tikka. Thanks for the input everyone.