Lightweight deer gun
 

Looking to get my fiancee a light gun with minimal recoil, what calibers do you guys recomend? I have been leaving towards .243 and.22-250.

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Savage-11F...ackage/5057211

This is where id start.. ;)

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

Or here if you, i mean she favors rem 700s. ;)

http://www.remington.com/products/fi...ung-bucks.aspx

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

.243 is the way to go. IMO

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

Seems to be too small of a caliber for deer. Just my opinion. Again we have Michigan beasts here! I'd go with a 270 to start and get a blackhawk knoxx recoil reducing buttstock.

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

Those were the two models that I was looking at. A guy up the road had a ruger m77 I thought might be worth checking out

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

.243 is ideal here, hard to crack a shot past 125 yds

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

Poachers choice is .22LR around here

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

.243 is good for a beginner

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

The .30-06, .30-30, .300sav, and 7.62x39 have more recoil than she likes

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

And her favorite gun, which actually fits her very well is her 1890 winchester

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

243 is best for beginners and for those that are recoil sensitive. If she likes the lever guns or that 1890 style Browning makes a BLR 81 Lightweight in a 243 but the price tag will make you pucker

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

Muzzle Brake!! They work wonders.
My friends 4 year old son shoots a Rem 700 ultralite mountain rifle in 7mm-08 with a brake on it. It recoils about like a .22mag.

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

Well, she handles the finances so if I pucker then she will have a fit

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

243 & 7mm-08 are great for beginners, but remember no matter how light those calibers are a light weight rifle will increase felt recoil. So maybe a standard rifle like a Rem. 700 or a Savage Axis in 243 or 7mm-06 would be a better choice.

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

243 too small for deer ??

1x 22WMR ( it just walked out in front of me , i was chasing foxes , but 30 yards POP )

2x 223 60 yards and 130 (maybe a bit more but not that much )

1 x .17 Hmr ( never again ... got rid of it )

3x 5.56 nato all 100-140 yards ( ambush in a narrow pass from above )

the rest .308 and thats this year ... but as ya can see the listed ones are way under a .243's capabilities

wish i had a rifle today , on the train to the city today the biggest stag i ever saw here just watching over 3 ladies in a clearing 60 yards from the train line , not a care in the world

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

If ya can hunt with semi, get an AR. Last few years, we have been almost hunting with AR's exclusively mainly because they carry so nice on 4 wheelers & snowmacines with a 2 point sling and with 16 inch barrel very short in length. All my kids started with 556's chasing wolves & caribou. My 6.8 spc is like a 22, recoil and usually I have a 10 round clip. We killed bear, caribou, wolves, lynx, pretty much everything except moose so far with the 6.8s. They are around 800 bucks, never regret getting one.

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

How far will she be shooting? Will the gun do other duty than hunting deer? If she is inside 150 yards, I would recomend a lever gun in the .44 Mag. All the knock down you need, low recoil, and accurate.

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

I deal with a lot of hunters who can not shoot paper, much less an animal when the adrenaline dump hits them. I like to ponder what the rifle they are equipped with will accomplish when less than ideal hits are the norm. I do not like the 6mm round for novice hunters. I like to figure in a pretty large forgiveness factor into the equation of round selection.

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

I've hunted with many calibers, from a .375 H&H to a 25/06 and .243. The .243 will do the job to 300 yards. !00 gr. bullet same weight as 25/06 but a little less velocity. If she likes a lever rifle, try to find a Savage model 99c with the box magazine in .243 Win. Used but not much more than several new bolt actions, and good for several lifetimes. Depending on condition in my area from $400 to $600. No need to cycle cartridges through the action when unloading with the box magazine. Open the action, remove the magazine, and it's an empty rifle.

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

Anyone who uses a .243 will tell you that it will easily take any deer in this country. IMO it is the perfect deer caliber. I have larger, but seldom use them unless I am elk hunting. I have killed deer and large hogs well beyond 200 yards with mine with no problems. I use the 100grain loads and if you put that bullet where you are supposed to, the deer is going no where. And it doesn't matter if it is a northern whitetail or a West Texas deer.

You will not be disappointed with the .243 should you go that route. I would also recommend the used Ruger M77. They are great rifles.

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

I think a novice will wound more animals trying to use a larger caliber. I do not believe that you can compensate for a lack of ability with brute firepower. Rather than making up for a bad shot, that will cause bad shots.

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

I'm with you, Sandman. The .243 will do the job on any deer in the country if hit proper. Last season I killed a, North Carolina, 10pt. Field dressed at 204 lbs. One shot to the boiler room with an, 85gr. Sierra BTHP put him down on the spot.

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

My experiences do not seem to agree. My wife being a prime example. She shot 4 deer with a .243 and my dog could not even find them. I finally told her I have had enough with this, hunt with my rifle. I gave her my .264 Win mag. loaded up to super screaming, primer backing, non reloadable cases, velocity. A very large 8 point buck walked out at 260 yards. She shot him right smack in the middle of the body hitting nothing but guts. The deer dropped like it was struck with a ton of rocks, got up and ran about 60 yards, leaving a blood and guts trail a blind man could follow. Had she shot him in the same place with the .243, a couple hours and a tired dog later we still would have found no deer.
I can go on and on with similar examples.

Re: Lightweight deer gun
 

I can see one issue right there in print.. Your letting an uncertain shooter take an uncertain shot at far too great a distance for an uncertain shooter to be shooting in the first place. Its not the size of the caliber that drops game, its the placement of the bullet. Gutshooting a deer at 260 yds with a .264 winmag is cruel. That deer dropped because the kinetic shock of the bullet broke its spine. I guarantee you that deer suffered until it bled out and finally passed away..

My go to deer load in .243 is 85 sierra gameking at 3200 fps. It will anchor deer with authority out to 300 yds. Cleanly and quickly. The .243 is more than capable as a deer cartridge.

Point im trying to make is the size and power of the rifle/cartridge isnt a substitute for lack of shooting skill. My wife hunts deer with a .223 loaded with 53 gr Barnes TSX bullets, She can put a magazine full into 2 inches at 100 yds but i dont set her up in the hunting field for that long a shot. Her blind this season is set up where she will have a maximum of 61 yds between her and a deer. Her and I are both confident she can cleanly kill at that range, even though she is more than capable of 2 MOA 100 yd shots, thats is taking the adrenaline factor into account. And part of being a responsible hunter.