.243 is a fine round for a young person. I however went the route of thinking that my boys would feel like wanting a larger caliber and then those guns would collect dust. Therefore, I bought my oldest a .7-08. Then I bought my younger son a .308. Then my daughter a .308. They started killing there first deer around 8 years old. I never used the reduced recoil loads and never did I or they feel that the recoil was too much. They loved shooting their rifles! On my oldest son’s first trip to Texas, he used my .300wbymag and killed a monster. That Christmas, he wanted a .300 mag but I sold him on the idea of it being a win mag rather than a wbymag. Once he got that gun, he never picked up that .7-08 again. Like I said before, nothing wrong with a .243 but I am of the school of thought that they will want a larger caliber and you can easily start them off with a .260, 6.5 creed, .7-08, or .308 without any issues.