Best hunting gun for deer with medium recoil

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This year was my first hunting with a 6.5 Creedmoor in a very lightweight rifle. My biggest motivation in the move was to reduce recoil and I am very happy with the cartridge and the decision overall. I shot better this year than I ever have, enjoyed practicing in the off season more and felt more confident when a shot presented itself from the stand.

There are many calibers that will accomplish this goal. I am now much more interested in them than the .308, .30-06, .270, and .45-70 in my safe! Anyone looking for a thumper?
 
I don't like recoil very much at all, so I gravitate towards guns that don't produce much of it. I have killed many deer with 243 (my favorite) as well as 223. I killed one with 300 blackout subsonic this year (range restricted to 100 yards or less- with a 50 yards zero, it drops about 6" at 100). 300 B-O can also be had in supersonic, and the Ruger American ranch bolt action is a joy to shoot. I recently got a 6.5 CM, and it's not bad at all either.
 
Well, when I was growing up, I started with my grandpa's .257 Roberts, but today, the Bob doesn't have that much on a .243. The introduction of the .243 in the late 50s was the beginning of the end of the .257 as the light recoil alternative. The .257 can be loaded much hotter, but then it loses some of that light recoil. :D I could say the same for the .250-3000 Savage. The only round now days that upholds the .257" bore diameter is the .25-06 which has more pop than a .243 on both ends.

I've always said to those who tout the .22-250 or other .22s for kids to start hunting with, if said kid can't handle the .243, they ain't old enough to hunt deer. Now days, there are much better .22 caliber bullets for medium game like whitetail, but I still hesitate to agree with those who start their kid at age 3 or 4 with a .22 centerfire. That's just wrong on so many fronts. LOL
 
The 223 with good bullets is about the minimum for deer, but nothing bigger. Recoil is in the 3-5 ft lb range, which means almost none. Bullet choices and shot placement are very important and ranges should be kept under 200 yards. I really feel better closer to 100 yards. I've killed deer with 223 but it isn't my 1st choice. For a small kid or someone very recoil sensitive it'll work if the shooter understands and accepts the limitations.

A 243 with bullets designed for big game will kill any deer that ever walked and at ranges farther than most of us should be shooting. On game larger than deer it is borderline, but can work. Recoil is about 10-11 ft lbs. Exactly the same as 30-30, but due to the stock designs on most rifles a 243 will feel more comfortable.

The 6.5 CM with 140-150 gr bullets will take any animal in the lower 48 including elk, bear or moose. And at ranges farther than most of us should be shooting. Recoil is only slightly more than 243 at around 12 ft lbs. I think the 6.5 gives you the most capability for the least recoil. Going bigger than 6.5 adds a little insurance on game bigger than deer especially as range increases.

Going up from there rounds like 7-08 and 308 recoil in the 14-16 ft lb range. 30-06 class cartridges are in the upper teens or lower 20's and are about the most recoil almost anyone can master. Once you get into the magnums recoil is at or near 30 ft lbs and not everyone can handle them.

If you never plan to hunt game bigger than deer the 243 makes sense. If bigger game is a possibility then rounds like 6.5 CM, 7-08, and 308 make the most sense if you're concerned about recoil. Most people can deal with any of these.
 
I bought my first daughter a .243 for deer hunting. The 2nd daughter got a 7mm-08 and usef managed recoil ammo the first year.
 
The .250 Savage was nick-named the .250-3000 because it was the first commercial cartridge to achieve 3000 fps.
Not quite. Depending on the source, the 250 Savage made the scene in 1910 or 1915, I've seen both dates listed.

In 1907 the 280 Ross was introduced, featuring a 145 gr. .287 dia. "Copper tubed expanding point" bullet....

At 3145 FPS. Today, it can be loaded about half way between a 280 Rem and a 7mm Rem Mag.
 
Recoil is subjective.


Almost. Felt recoil, aka "kick" is subjective and depends a lot on the fit of the gun to the shooter. ACTUAL recoil is a physics equation and does not take gun fit into it. Mass of the gun, velocity of the payload, mass of the payload.

In short, the heaviest gun shooting the lightest and slowest bullet will have the least ACTUAL recoil; same for handguns and shotguns.
 
45 caliber caplock long rifle, with a wide buttplate, launching a 125 grain, .440 patched round ball, over top of 60 grains of 2Fg,

Loyalist Dave got it all wrong. :D

The very best gun for deer hunting is a .50 caliber side lock muzzleloader shooting a 177 grain .490 patched round ball driven by 80 grains of Black MZ powder. Worked well for me.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/took-a-deer-with-patched-round-ball.842730/

BTW: Sniping at deer from long range is not the mark of a hunter. It's much better to sneak up within 30 yards and put a round ball in the animals ear.:p
 
.45 caliber caplock long rifle, with a wide buttplate, launching a 125 grain, .440 patched round ball, over top of 60 grains of 2Fg, like this https://www.davide-pedersoli.com/sc...ifles-frontier-frontier-percussion-model.html will probably kick much less than the .243 or the .30-30, etc.

:D

LD

I like this direction too. Thing is, just as with modern cartridge rifles, muzzleloader barrels can be funny too. I was fooling with Pyrodex RS. My old .45cal shot much better with 45grs. All the 60-70gr charges did was kick harder. When I dropped it back to 45grs, accuracy really picked up.
 
I personally prefer a bit more bullet weight than the .243, but I've also done my best field shooting with one, and taken my largest, or second largest (can't remember right now) buck with a borrowed .243.
My wife dropped an 800lb feral cow with a quartering away heart shot, and a friend downed 2 with headshots on a later hunt. I've taken the same animals with my 6.5-284, 7mm rem and STW, and .458 Socom. They arnt particularly easy to kill.

I currently have a .243, .250AI, 6.5CM, and 6.5-284, as my low-medium recoil rifles. The .243 is actually my wife's, but I shoot it more than she does.
Of the lot my favorite is the .250AI, but I like using oddball cartridges. Functionally I think the 6.5CM to be the best in terms of logistics, and performance/versatility, but none are a bad choice.

My suggestion is handle some rifles, find one you like, and then decide on caliber/cartridge.
 
I was just having fun with the OP, but in truth there are folks who are quite successful with a .223 bolt action and a heavy bullet such as 70+ grains on deer, not to mention those that use an AR platform and configuration, and many many who have used .243 as well as the 6mm Remington to take deer. (.243 Winchester being a .308 necked down to .243 bullets and 6mm Remington being a 7mm Mauser necked down to .243 bullets). Although folks often look at these two as "kids" calibers, there are plenty of adults who have harvested deer with them.

LD
 
Yeah, but it doesn't have rails, man! :D

Actually my next project is an octagon to round caplock with a rail on the octagon portion to mount an aimpoint….
Gonna be a suppressed "deer eradication tool", as an experiment..., BP with a suppressor since you don't need a tax stamp for a ML. Should be weird.

LD
 
Actually my next project is an octagon to round caplock with a rail on the octagon portion to mount an aimpoint….
Gonna be a suppressed "deer eradication tool", as an experiment..., BP with a suppressor since you don't need a tax stamp for a ML. Should be weird.

LD

I'd say weird is an apt description :rofl:
Better post some pictures because that's something I'd like to see.
 
Actually my next project is an octagon to round caplock with a rail on the octagon portion to mount an aimpoint….
Gonna be a suppressed "deer eradication tool", as an experiment..., BP with a suppressor since you don't need a tax stamp for a ML. Should be weird.

LD

You'll definitely have to post pics of that build. lol
 
BTW: Sniping at deer from long range is not the mark of a hunter. It's much better to sneak up within 30 yards and put a round ball in the animals ear

I am NOT a BP hunter, but the part about actually HUNTING the animal by sneaking up close is spot on, no matter what your weapon of choice is.
 
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