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Lightweight deer gun

9K views 95 replies 27 participants last post by  joncutt87 
#1 ·
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.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Here the only critters i CAN hunt with a handgun are ferals

and if its feral , it's in peril

24/7 all year round ( deer camels pigs foxes cat's rabbit's Buffalo all be feral)

cannot hunt natives with a hand gun as a primary weapon .. big no no ..

or any "season" animals ( duck season etc) with a handgun
i think here there is no carry of hand guns in duck shoot's ( too many rules )
i rarely duck shoot ..
 
#29 ·
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.
So the solution is give a novice jumpy shooter with no skills a weapon with more recoil?

Seen with my own eyes a deer run after being shot with a 375 designed to take down elephants. Even worse was after I crawled on my hands and knees in the tangle he ran into to recover it AFTER a round from the 45 finished it, the original shooter claimed until I cut it open to show him his poor shot placement, he denied even hitting it. Reason was his gun takes elephants down. Pure genius.

My idea of a light weight deer hunting weapon. Is my 25oz Glock. The shocker is with proper shot placement, I have yet to lose a deer after shooting one with it.

You can give anyone a bigger gun. It won't fix chit. Poor skills are fixed ONLY by a good teacher and an even better student. Caliber used is inane. That's why it's called hunting, not shooting....
 
#30 ·
So the solution is give a novice jumpy shooter with no skills a weapon with more recoil?

Seen with my own eyes a deer run after being shot with a 375 designed to take down elephants. Even worse was after I crawled on my hands and knees in the tangle he ran into to recover it AFTER a round from the 45 finished it, the original shooter claimed until I cut it open to show him his poor shot placement, he denied even hitting it. Reason was his gun takes elephants down. Pure genius.

My idea of a light weight deer hunting weapon. Is my 25oz Glock. The shocker is with proper shot placement, I have yet to lose a deer after shooting one with it.

You can give anyone a bigger gun. It won't fix chit. Poor skills are fixed ONLY by a good teacher and an even better student. Caliber used is inane. That's why it's called hunting, not shooting....
A .375 H&H does very little damage on game the size of a deer. Hyper velocity turns poor shots into killing shots. Big slow bullets just punch nice clean holes.
My big rifles do not recoil much. They sound like cannons, but they do not recoil bad at all. I have a 7Rum that kicks like a .243. I have a 7WSM that kicks like a .223. For comparison, I have a .30-06 that kicks like a pack mule on steroids.
 
#31 ·
To each his own I suppose in this case.. I hunt with great respect for my quarry. If im not absolutely 100% sure the bullet is going to kill cleanly and swiftly I dont take the shot. Thats the way I was taught to hunt by my grandfather and if he learned I was killing otherwise hed tan my hide with a razor strap and take all my guns away.

Were getting a bit off subject here anyway.. Back on track fellas.. Were tossing Mr Jon some ideas about a good deer gun for Miss Ashley. Nothing more and nothing less. And as a general rule, the .243 is ideal for a beginner deer gun. Granted the shooter has to be able to put the metal in the meat where its gonna do the most good.
 
#32 ·
To each his own I suppose in this case.. I hunt with great respect for my quarry. If im not absolutely 100% sure the bullet is going to kill cleanly and swiftly I dont take the shot. Thats the way I was taught to hunt by my grandfather and if he learned I was killing otherwise hed tan my hide with a razor strap and take all my guns away.
Good on Both your grandfather and you ...
 
#33 ·
And its the way my kids are taught to hunt as well. The boys and I have watched game wander by, unbeknownst to our presence, because they wouldnt present me with a clean shot opportunity.

Heck i remember the first year I had Autumn in the blind with me. 3 doe came trotting accross the hay field in front of us. they never would stop. just a steady pace all the way across. Autumn later asked why i didnt shoot one.. I explained to her that there was a good chance Id miss the vitals and only hurt the deer becaus ethey were running. She said but the deer would probably die in the woods though right. I said yes, probably, but not before suffering for a long time first. And she said, Dad thats a nice thing to do for the deer. Im glad they die fast so they wont be hurt. I said, I am too.

One of the best hunting moments of my life.
 
#35 ·
I have been hunting with a .243 for almost 30 years. I got it when I was 10, but it is still my favorite rifle. I would guess that I have shot about 20 deer with it along with some turkeys, a few hogs, javelinas, etc. The longest a deer ever ran was about 100 yards, and it was hit in the heart and left a blood trail about two feet wide. Many have dropped in their tracks, a few have run 50 to 100 feet. I have never been in danger of losing one. A couple of years back I shot a big hog at 225 yards and it dropped like a rock. If you put the bullet in the vitals, they will go down, and quickly.

I am training my two daughters right now. I will start them on a .222 or .223. Some might feel those rifles are too small. I do not. The girls will NOT bring them to the deer stand until they have proven to me at the range that they can put the bullet in the vitals EVERY time, and even then, I will limit their shots to ranges they are comfortable at. They have been working on it for some time and are getting better every time, but neither is at the point where they will get to bring a rifle along this year. When they are big enough to handle the recoil I will get them each a .243 and that will probably be the last rifle I buy them.
 
#36 ·
Thats how I was taught too, she was shooting great with the .30's I just think that they scared her a little.
Sounds like what she might need is a little more time behind the gun! If she likes it, it fits her, then let her shoot it a bunch, that fear will go away. And as she become more familure with the gun, her groups will improve. I recomended the Lever gun due to the fact that they shoot hand gun caliber bullets, not much recoil, and they are light weight.
 
#38 ·
I am a big fan of the .243, with 100 grain bullets on deer. I have killed my share of hogs with that load as well. It is bullet placement that matters. The hogs I killed are all neck shots. You should have your charge shoot enough to be comfortable with the gun and the load and you watch enough of it to know what their capable of. I would be hard pressed to let a novice hunter take a shot over 100 yards even if they were using a heat seeking missle. I have a Handy Rifle in 243 topped with a 4X scope, I usually use with novice hunters. That way you give them 1 bullet at a time so when they shoot you know the gun is empty and a bit safer. MY personal 243 is a Styer with a 24 inch barrel and is is efffective out to 300 yards and even to 400 yards if the wind is quite. For long range shooting I prefer my 338 Remington Untra Mag with 250 grain bullets. Holds its head better.
 
#40 ·
I am a big fan of the .243, with 100 grain bullets on deer. I have killed my share of hogs with that load as well. It is bullet placement that matters. The hogs I killed are all neck shots. You should have your charge shoot enough to be comfortable with the gun and the load and you watch enough of it to know what their capable of. I would be hard pressed to let a novice hunter take a shot over 100 yards even if they were using a heat seeking missle. I have a Handy Rifle in 243 topped with a 4X scope, I usually use with novice hunters. That way you give them 1 bullet at a time so when they shoot you know the gun is empty and a bit safer. MY personal 243 is a Styer with a 24 inch barrel and is is efffective out to 300 yards and even to 400 yards if the wind is quite. For long range shooting I prefer my 338 Remington Untra Mag with 250 grain bullets. Holds its head better.
Thats quite a contrasting pair .243win and .338 Rum. ;)
 
#42 ·
John, the CJ ain't the most accurate gun you could have chosen! Why not take a look at the .357, or .44Mag, lever guns?
 
#45 ·
The circuit judge is rifled with a slow twist so it doesnt disperse the shot too quickly when using .410 shells. it makes the .45 colt slugs destabilize quickly and theyll likely have a shotgun pattern at as little as 100 yds. If that fit her well then I think the leverguns chambered in any of the revolver cartridges will fit her similarly. Look into a Marlin 1894, or a puma M92 or rossi M92 carbine. Those can be had at around 400 bux for a NIB one. And one chambered in .44 mag would drop a deer or hog DRT out to 100 yds easy.
 
#46 ·
#49 ·
How bout a Remmy 700 Mountain LSS in 7-08? 6.5 lbs, stainless, laminate with a 9.25 twist. Mild recoil and plenty to knock any whitetail down even at good distance. Lots of good bullets to choose from.

okie
 
#50 ·
I have to go with the 25-06.I have shot praire dogs out to 500 yards ,mule deer at 300 and saw an 11 year old boy take a moose with one.The one I have[ Remington 700 Classic] is very accurate with just about every bullet weight I have tried in it.The recoil is low enough that my grandson can handle it.
 
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