re: Deer Rifle for 14 yo girl

Deathly afraid of recoil and 30-06 prolly shouldn’t be in the same discussion. A youth model savage axis in most any popular short action caliber .24 and greater will do the job at the ranges your talking about. Just keep in mind that some of the small rifles due to weight seem to kick harder than the larger caliber heavy rifles.

I got a weatherby vanguard youth. Not sure of price because I got it at cost from my FiL who is a dealer. That’s how how know it was even the distributors that were out of 7-08’s and not just one store. This was before Xmas so that may have changed. I’d guess about 500 retail and that was about the same as all the 7-08’s I was looking at.

Short answer: 260 Rem, 7-08 Rem or possibly 308 Win.

The question of gun recommendations for newbie hunter always brings a lot of opinions and suggestions. For AR guys, I'd suggest the 6.5 Grendel or 300 Blackout. In bolt guns I'd personally suggest a 260 Rem, 7-08, 308 Win, 270 Win or 30-06. The 6.5 Creedmore will work too, but be aware ahead of time re: local availability of ammo. My local Walmart doesn't carry the CM nor the 7-08. In addition, I don't think the CM has reduced recoil loads yet. A few have already mentioned using reduced recoil/managed recoil loads and I agree. A reduced recoil 308 Win load actually has less recoil than a full power 243. W/ equal bullet weights, a short action round like the 308 Win will always recoil less than a similar long action round, like the 30-06, because the short round uses less powder. You may want to look at a youth rifle. Be sure the gun/stock fits the girl. Some gun makers, e.g Mossberg, make a youth rifle that has an adjustable length of pull by means of different thicknesses of the butt pad. If they get a regular youth rifle that can't be adjusted one can always later buy an adult stock as the hunter grows. Or one could add the the length of pull using a slip on recoil pad. The Axis looks to be a good gun. The only Mossberg bolt action I shot was very accurate. I have a Marlin bolt action that's also very inexpensive. When shooting at the range, insist on them using both the foam ear plugs and ear muffs. Consider using a "sissy pad" (small sand bag between shoulder and recoil pad) at the range. Be sure the gun has a nice recoil pad (Limbsaver or Kick Eez are two than come to mind). While the 6.5 CM is a fine cartridge, a lot of its current popularity is based in culture, not results. For hunting , it has no advantages over the 7-08 or 260 Rem and minimal advantages over the 308 (the CM will have slightly reduced recoil).

When my son was 10 years old I was faced w/ the same decision. I bought him a Savage bolt action (w/ the scope included) in 308 Win. I almost went w/ the 7-08, but this was before factory reduced recoil loads. I planned on making my own reduced loads and already had everything to do so w/ the 308. OTOH, fast forward 15 years later and I now have a 7-08 handgun. Last fall I bought a Thompson/Center Compass in 7-08 for a "grand child's" deer rifle.

7mm08 and Hornady reduces recoil loads. That’s a sweet shooting combo.

It’s loud, but very little recoil. Make sure she has good ear protection because that can sometimes be as painful to kids as the recoil.

Savage axis 2 in 7mm08 with a scope and mounts can usually be found for around $300 and it’s a very good starter rifle. Light and inexpensive and all a new hunter needs.

I've got a ruger deerfield 44 mag and ruger 6.5 grendel. Plan on letting my girls shoot these. Low recoil and deadly on deer and hogs.

I’m big on .270 right now.

Creedmoor is a great round, but don't get caught up in the hype. There are plenty of rounds just as good that have been around a lot longer but don't have a cool new name. For a kid, take a pick of anything suggested in this thread in a rifle that fits and buy it. Spend more money on the glass.

My daughters have been stacking deer like cord wood since age 7 with a 7mm-08. They can shoot it for the rest of their lives as well. Ammo availability isn’t an argument anymore for any cartridges, as you can get anything you want on the internet shipped to your house (or office if you are like me and want to hide it from your wife).

Savage Axis in .308 with the reduced recoil round. Kicks less and makes less noise than that Rossi .243. Get a better scope than the Bushnell that comes with it though.

I guess she got too good for a 243 to kill a deer?