The Firearms Forum banner

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.
 
#58 ·
Next time we head to bps I'll see if they stock a .44
One more thing John, my brother has had two surguries on his right shoulder, he's a righty. The .44Mag doesn't bother him in the least, and he can not tolerate guns that kick! He shoot mine a while back, and is now looking to get one himself.
 
#60 · (Edited)
One more thing John, my brother has had two surguries on his right shoulder, he's a righty. The .44Mag doesn't bother him in the least, and he can not tolerate guns that kick! He shoot mine a while back, and is now looking to get one himself.
I had my shoulder re-constructed a while back. screwed the shoulder blade back together, re-attached a completely torn Labrum, and re-constructed the rotator cuff. I was shooting my 300 win mag with a muzzle brake 3 months after surgery. My Point? If recoil is really the objection, put a brake on it. They dont cost much anymore. Before that rifle had a brake on it, it was absolutely brutal. It kicked worse than anything I have ever shot. It put my .458 Win Mag to shame. Some guns just kick like mules and that WAS one of them. Now, it is tame as a little puppy.
 
#61 ·
I had my shoulder re-constructed a while back. screwed the shoulder blade back together, re-attached a completely torn Labrum, and re-constructed the rotator cuff. I was shooting my 300 win mag with a muzzle brake 3 months after surgery. My Point? If recoil is really the objection, put a brake on it. They dont cost much anymore. Before that rifle had a brake on it, it was absolutely brutal. It kicked worse than anything I have ever shot. It put my .458 Win Mag to shame. Some guns just kick like mules and that WAS one of them. Now, it is tame as a little puppy.
Of course, your fellow hunters and shooters will not like you very much...
 
#62 ·
I hate brakes at the range. Part of the reason i dont shoot at public ranges much anymore. Theres always somebody with a 22" barreled .300 WinMag with a muzzle brake right next to me. Even worse are those cheap M44 mosin nagants with the cheap twist on brakes. Those are rediculously loud to begin with, and then they add a brake..
 
#66 ·
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.
You should take your wife to the range a little more often. Shooting deer in, mid-section, is just wrong.
 
#68 ·
I hate brakes at the range. Part of the reason i dont shoot at public ranges much anymore. Theres always somebody with a 22" barreled .300 WinMag with a muzzle brake right next to me. Even worse are those cheap M44 mosin nagants with the cheap twist on brakes. Those are rediculously loud to begin with, and then they add a brake..
You would love being beside my 338 Lapua with its very aggressive brake.
 
#71 · (Edited)
I can't imagine that a case loaded like that in a .264 would be accurate.
It is sub MOA. Hits skeet discs all day long at 425 yards. Not too bad for a thin contour barrel. My hunting load ruins the primer pocket. If you reload one time, the primer usually backs out when the brass is fired the second time. We were developing the load, and the higher we pushed it, the tighter the group got. We pushed the load considerably over maximum before we found the sweet load for the rifle. Oddly enough, the accuracy load for many rifles is above maximum.
 
#75 ·
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.
Speaking of cal.. small one.. 243 will do nice.. dont forget to look into the .270 cal.. it is mild but good choice also.. for 243 I usw 100 gr bullet for deer other than that light weight good for small critters.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top