I?m planning to let my boy shoot his first deer with a handgun this year. So far, he has been successful with a rifle chambered in .243 Winchester. Taking 5 deer in 2016 and 3 deer in 2017. I think he is ready for handgun hunting. He will be 12 by next season.

Right now, I?m looking at 2 possible guns.

CVA Scout Pistol in .243 Winchester - 85gr Sierra HPBT-Game King
TC Contender in .30-30 AI

CVA results:



I used a reduced load I?d made 5 years ago for my girl to take her first antelope with a rifle and it worked well with little recoil from a heavy, braked rifle.

The recoil in the unbraked CVA was a little more than I expected and shocked my boy a little as well. Until that day, he had only fired .22 lr handguns. It wasn?t painful to him. Just startling and abrupt. But, he hit the plaster at 50 yards with his first shot!!!





Yeah, it?s only 50 yards. Gotta start him somewhere.

Velocity was 2,440 fps with plenty of room to lower the powder charge and reduce the recoil a little more. Sierra said I need to keep the impact velocity of the bullet around 1,600-1,700 fps.

Contender results:



I went on a guess and used a 165gr NBT, .30-30 Win case (to fire form for my use) and a 20gr load of H4895 from Hodgdons reduces load data.



Recoil was darn near unnoticeable! And he hit the plaster on his first shot AGAIN!



The disadvantage was the velocity. Only 1,300 fps and too slow for the bullet to expand in water at 50 yards.



So, that load needs to be scraped and a new one made. I am going to change to a 125gr SST bullet that I use in my .30-30 AI load and up the powder charge to get a 1,600 fps impact velocity that Hornady recommends. My fear is that it could increase the recoil above what he is comfortable with. But, the gun has a brake and that should help.

My question to you gentlemen:

-Should I stick with the current .243 Win load and just slowly let him get use to it with short range trips?
-Should I reduce the .243 Win load to lower the recoil and maintain an acceptable impact velocity?
-Should I try the 125gr SST in the .30-30 and increase the powder to get the needed impact velocity?

His shot will likely be within 125 yards and most likely 75-100.

Really would like your opinions and suggestions.

We finished the range session shooting the Ruger Charger at 50 yards.





It was a good day and I?ve got time to get a gun selected, load developed, and practice sessions in the bag.

What say ye?