Trying to decide on a caliber for my son’s first deer rifle. I was going to get him a 243 and a buddy of mine suggested a 6mm creedmoor. He said it’s just a better version of a 243. Has anybody had any experience with that caliber for deer or would 243 be a better option.

How old is he? Big boned small?

Not that much better, but much harder to find ammo for it. If you roll your own it may not matter to you.

7-08 or .308 and start with managed recoil ammo. Youth stock and then move up as they grow.
I just prefer those for bullet options and a 7-08 with managed recoil has really no felt recoil.

243 be fine , id look at a short single shot . He gonna grow out of what ever you buy him now any way .

Couple boxes of 100gr Hornaday softpoint he good to go

A .243 will be fine but he will grow out of it eventually. If it were me I'd get the 6.5 CM.

You'll hear a lot of trash talk about the CM because the caliber is so popular and for whatever reason the old school guys hate it. I bought a Creedmoor about four years ago and I've killed a bunch of big bucks with it since I started shooting it, and several of them were well over 200 lbs. Out of all the ones I've shot with it only 1 of them ran and he didn't go far, maybe 60 yards. I shoot Nosler Trophy Grade 142 grains out of my Christensen and it kills them just fine, and is suitable for a younger shooter because it has light recoil. You can suppress it and shave that recoil down even more.

Can't grow out of a caliber. I'm 6'2" 400 still shoot .243 some every year.
Now I own others as well 7mag,.270, .308 , 6.5prc, 223.
But still love .243

There’s not that many calibers, but there’s a bunch of cartridges in each caliber. Caliber and cartridge are not the same. Ie, a 6 Creedmoor and 243win are not calibers, they’re cartridges inside the .264 caliber.

You’re right about cartridge/caliber BUT neither 6Creed nor 243Win are .264

You’re right. They’re right I was thinking of the 6.5 that was mentioned earlier. Good catch.

OP, either of the 2 cartridges that you mentioned will do your little one well their whole life.

Well, that is a true statement but what I meant is that most kids start out with a .243 and when they get old enough to decide on their own or even buy their own rifle, the majority are not going to choose a .243 again. Just because to their buddies it ain't a "cool" caliber to shoot. Most kids aren't going to want to shoot a .243 forever. I started with a .243 and killed a pile of deer with it. Later on I graduated up to a 25-06 and then a .308. Shot a 7 mag for a lot of years, and then finally I bought a Creedmoor several years back to shoot pigs with but I liked it so well I started carrying it as my primary.

When my kid turned 11 I got him a .308. I was looking for a 7-08. He started off shooting 165's in the .308. Has never lost a deer he has shot.

Previously he was shooting 7-30 Waters. Which they don't make in anything but is an awesome youth round. I loaded it with a 140 BT it was a single shot. Smoked 2 nice bucks he's got on the wall.

30-30 is also good for a kid. If it kicks too much he doesn't need to be out there hunting he's too little. It doesn't kick any more than a .410. Facts. The 30-30 with a 150gr. has about 10lbs of recoil. A .243 with a 100gr. has about 9lbs.

Do not buy a stupid .243 for anyone anywhere. No grown ass man should be shooting that at a deer. It's a varmint round.

The 243 is a great round for a kid. As the OP mentioned needing a rifle for. Kid's being recoil shy will lose more deer than the round they are shooting. At least that's been my experience. If they shoot without fear of getting smacked in the face they will make a far better shot.

If they can't handle a 30-30 they aren't ready. If they are recoil shy they need to shoot more. My daughter shoots a 7-08.

It's a really stupid argument and even worse to teach someone to go into the woods under-gunned with a dam pea shooter. That's setting them up for a lifetime of misery looking for wounded animals. Some of this is ethics IMO.


There is literally ZERO reason to shoot .243.

243 is a fine round and would be my suggestion between the two. The heavier 6mm bullets will easily kill if the shooter is proficient and the shooter knows where to place the bullet (as most of you know, this is true for all rifle cartidges) but there will likely be way more bullet/cartridge options with a 243 at common sporting goods stores.

And I agree with GoatKiller on 30-30s. A dirty-thrity would also be a good starter rifle for a youth.

Thanks for the suggestions it’s still a little bit early to get him started but I’m trying to get ready for it. I had my nephew out there shooting deer when he was 5 and my son is bigger than he was. He had a 243 and still has it so I guess I’ll just go with what I know. Just didn’t know anything about the 6mm creedmoor. We never really had any trouble out of the 243 with recovering deer. Only one time that he double lunged a doe and we didn’t have any blood trail in some super thick overgrown clear cut. Never found that one and I had the hit on video.

243 is a fine deer rifle if you need more caliber than that youre just a bad shot.

Now thats bs . A 243 is ok if you wanna be waiting on the right shot they fine . I don't like to wait . I'm not watching a nice buck walk off because of bad angle .

Being a good shot has nothing to do with that .


The 30-30 has been priced out as a first gun . cheaper ways to go . Singlr shot 350 legend took its place, thats the way id go or a 243 .

There's alot of truth to this, for sure, unless you want that first one to be an heirloom. If you just want an inexpensive black/syn bolt gun or single shot, there are way better (less expensive) options.

If you could find something like a CVA stalker single in 30-30 ... and handload some pointed 30 cal pills for it, now that would be an eyebrow raiser.