Tikka T3x Recoil - Suitable for Youth?

[el Pollero]

My 10yr old daughter shoots my Tikka T3x 308 with hornady reduced loads.
First few shots she's fine but after 3-4 she starts pulling.
The gun is so lite I find myself pulling when shooting a long session. I'm not a fan of these super light rifles even in a low recoiling rifle.
Built her a 6.5 grendel last year and she can shoot it all day .

 

[Ronald W Schaefer]

My boys started at 8 yrs old shooting a Browning A-Bolt Micro Medallion in 7mm-08. No problems and they probably shot about 70 head of game over the years, all one shot DRT kills. We started 'em out shooting 140 gr Nosler Partitions and never changed. They have their own collections now and the little "pocket rifle" we called it is still in the safe. .243 is a great choice as is 6.5 CM but they fall down when you hit 'em with the 7 aught 8 and still pretty light recoil and muzzle blast.

 

[Paper boy]

I think the Tikka .243 in t3x would be fine for her size/length.

Put a break on it to help.

 

[SEGARE]

Brake..

 

[Bill28]

Looking to get my daughter her first rifle for deer hunting. She is 10 years old and 110 pounds. I want to keep this as simple as I can. I'm going with a .243win. She's tall with long arms so I don't necessarily need a compact model with a shorter LOP. I'd like to get her a rifle that she can use now throughout her teen years if she sticks with it. I'm partial to either Tikka or Remington. I'm looking at the T3x lite vs. a Model 7, SPS, or possibly 700. I'm not adding anything to it, I just want an out of the box rifle for short distance whitetail hunting. I'm very familiar with the Remington recoil, my question is will the .243win recoil in the T3x be too much for a 110 pound 10 year old? I've never actually shot a T3x. She's only ever shot .22's and 20ga clay loads. I want to start her off right. Thank you.

Look at the Ruger Amercan, have one and my 100 pound Daughter shoots it great. It's killed over 30 Deer and Antelope. Might save you a little money for a little better scope

 

[Tommo64]

I have two T3Xs, a 223 with a heavy varmint barrel and a Lite in 308. The recoil in the former is negligible, as you would expect but the 308 does buck a little. I haven't shot a 243 but I would imagine it would be somewhere in between. There is of course always a trade off between rifle weight and felt recoil. A heavier rifle will result in less felt recoil, generally speaking. The downside is that she will tire more quickly toting the thing around. I do like the Tikkas, don't know much about Remingtons so can't really compare the two. I agree with other comments made about after market recoil pads. The Tikka ones aren't bad, but I swapped mine for a Limbsaver on the 308 and it was worth it.

 

[SEGARE]

Look at the Ruger Amercan, have one and my 100 pound Daughter shoots it great. It's killed over 30 Deer and Antelope. Might save you a little money for a little better scope

I have one of these in .243 and it's my great-niece/nephew rifle. They shoot minute of deer out of the box, and many shoot much better. Mine took a little tweaking of the channel at the forend- very typical of the earlier guns. I also stoned the trigger and clipped the spring. It's a nice, crisp, and consistent 3lbs. Mine shoots .75" with factory ammo.

 

[FEENIX]

Bought my daughter a TC compass in 308. Using H4895 reduced loads. Made the mistake of having a custom built rifle for my son and after a few years he quit hunting. Didn't keep it because he wanted a dirt bike. I only have $260 in the TC and it's a shooter.

They are very underrated but are excellent rifles of the box. I have one in 6.5 CM, won in a raffle for $20 (https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/i-got-my-first-6-5-cm-for-20.201958/page-3).

A 3-shot group at 200 yards with factory ammo.

 

[mnoland30]

My granddaughter loved shooting my TC Contender Carbine in 7mm TCU or 7-30 Waters. It only weighs 5 lbs. (without scope & sling). I used the 7-30 as a mountain Barbary sheep gun for several years with great success out to 230 yards shooting 120 gr. Barnes TTSX.

 

[257WTBY]

My 10yr old daughter shoots my Tikka T3x 308 with hornady reduced loads.
First few shots she's fine but after 3-4 she starts pulling.
The gun is so lite I find myself pulling when shooting a long session. I'm not a fan of these super light rifles even in a low recoiling rifle.
Built her a 6.5 grendel last year and she can shoot it all day .

6.5 grendel is an amazing little round. I have a few in AR i just had one built on a tikka action with a 20 in barrel that is probably the most accurate rifle I own. Sorry for getting off subject. Good luck on your choice for your daughter

 

[243ai]

I don't have any buddies with something similar for her to try. I wish I did. I was hoping someone on here has some experience with a child and the T3x.

I thought about other calibers but decided I'm sticking with a .243win. I'll only have a few hundred bucks into a factory stick and if she enjoys it, I'll just buy her a new caliber a few years down the road when she's older that can be her keepsake rifle. I load all my own stuff but don't have anything for the .243 so I'm only going to use factory stuff this year to see how it goes. Another thing that if she enjoys it, I'll make more of an investment down the road. I just don't know if I should get a heavier Remington to tame a little more of the recoil over the T3x....?

My Granddaughter has shot her 243 from age 6. She is 12 and drew an elk tag this year. in the past we would load H4895 at 65% of max...very accurate in her 243. she now regularly hits a 12" plate at 300 with 243, 7-08 and 6.5 creedmoor with full power loads. With 4895 you can use reduced loads. Search for Hodgdon H4895 reduced loads. you can load as low as 60% of max for youth shooters and the loads are also effective on deer.

 

[Full Curl]

THANKS for all the great replies and information! I put the word out locally I was looking for something last week and got a deal I couldn't pass up over the weekend from a buddy's buddy. I got a NIB .243 win Rem Model 7 with the HS Precision Stock (85968) for $600. It only has a 20" barrel but will be perfect for my 10 year old daughter to cut her teeth on. Lots of great suggestions and discussion in the posts above. Now I just need to try to find some in stock ammo for it and a base and set of rings.

 

[JMW67]

Sounds like you got a darn good deal on a fine little rifle

 

[Pulpwood]

A 243 is fine for most kids . I started my daughter off with a win compact 243 . I had to cut the stock some to fit her better and put a good recoil pad on it . My daughter was 7 and I taught her how to shoot with a ruger 22 hornet . I thought she was going to wear it out . The triggers were set up at 3 lbs each . I had her put on hearing protection at all times . She only shot her 243 at deer . She was able to harvest 12 deer by the time she was 10 yrs old . Now she is 23 , almost a pharmacist and now she shoots a win featherweight 270. She will be able to enjoy for a long time . As for the little 243 everyone suggest put a new stock on it and my answer is no that's a perfect kids gun just waiting on . Ps. Kids will tell you when they are ready and interested to shoot . A lot of times parents are ready way before the kids . It's a mistake to push them.