[Jeff Higgins]

First of all, let me say "hats off to you" for introducing the young ladies to our fine sport. Well done, sir.

That said, I thought we were discussing which calibers we, as grown men, have available to us. Yes, recoil and all of that are a huge hurdle to young people - I get that. Anything we can do to lessen the intimidation of getting familiar with the rifle is a good thing. The very best rifle for this is, of course, the .22 rim fire. But that doesn't make it a suitable hog caliber either.

Your implication that if they cannot use the .22 centerfires that the next step up is some form of .30 caliber is, of course, a red herring. We both know there are a number of choices in between that are eminently suitable to young, recoil shy hunters who are new to the sport. The .243, 6mm Remington, .257 Roberts, the various 6.5mm's, and others offer both low recoil and substantially increased effectiveness on game.

You very much implied in your earlier post that these hot .22's are pretty much the provence of the experienced hand. The vast majority of your shots are head or neck shots, with a very few "classic broadside" shots as well. The former requires a fair amount of skill with the rifle, and the latter a fair amount of patience as a hunter. 10-14 year old girls?

I'm a big proponent of being adequately armed for when things go wrong, rather than being barely well enough armed for the perfect conditions you describe. If one has hunted enough, in spite of our best laid plans, we will all too often see things go sideways. I'm sure there is an adult by their side, and one would hope that adult is properly armed.