Posted this in hunting rifles & it was suggested that I post this here in the reloader section for more details. Seems our options are greater than ever before. What's your preferred low recoil deer cartridge. Options that I have considered include the following. feel free to include others I had not considered.

.223 with a good bullet for the application at hand.

7.62 x 39 " "

300 blackout " "

6 x 45 " "

6mm ARC " " my personal favorite

6.5Grendel " "

22 - 250 " "

350 legend

45/70, 444 Marlin, 44 Mag, loaded with 5744

30-30, 35 Rem, loaded with Varget.

243 and a Sierra 100 gr pro hunter at 3K MV.....

We've used the .223 on deer and pigs with 55gr. Hornady, 62gr. Fusion and TBBC and would have no problem with Gold Dots or TTSX. I have 75gr. Gold Dots and 77gr. Sierra TMK in the line up to try.

The 7.62x39 with 123gr. Hornady SP on deer and .308 Win. with a 125gr. Sierra Pro Hunter with 32gr. RL7 on deer.

My brother and his wife have used the 350 Legend with factory Win. 150 Deer Season XP with good success on deer and pigs.

I haven't used them, but would think the small case 6.5s might be the ideal.

22/250 with a 63 grain Sierra SMP is nice. Recoil is next to nothing.

243 with 95-100 grain bullets.

A good 30/30 with 150 grain bullets ain’t bad either.

Hunterapp, some time ago I saw reduced loads for a variety of cartridges from a Campfire member "Seafire". I ended up adopting some for my use in the 270 winchester (involves either IMR/H-4198 or Reloder 7). I'm sure he will see this and reply but you could PM him or do a search of his posts. It will be well worth the effort. Good luck.

Fast twist 6 creed

I have been increasingly impressed with the .350 Legend for a low recoil/low muzzle blast option. IF your ranges are going to be 200 yards or less

375 H&H magnum with either 200 gr Sierra or 220 gr Hornady loaded to about 1800 fps (per Mule Deer article from long ago). Recoil is minimal in most 375s and the shooter gets a charge out of shooting such a large cartridge.

7mm/08 (or any other cartridge) with Hornady or Remington reduced recoil loads or reloaded equivalent.

8x57, 150 gr bullet, starting load (2400-2500 fps) of Varget or 4064 (found Varget to be more accurate)

Replica Winchester 1876 in 45/60 with 300 gr lead bullet behind 53 gr FFg

50 or 54 caliber muzzleloader using round ball or conical with 50-70 gr FFg

Any "normal" load out of a heavy gun.

Seafire and others guided me toward the 30 grain IMR4198 load for 308 win . Use 125 grain speer tnt bullets for that load .
Tried several charges between 29 and 31 grains 30 grains proving the most accurate for me . My Win 88 lever gun will never
be a target rifle ( the trigger pull ) but now can be used comfortably at the range . Wouldn't have a problem using it
for deer inside 200 yds .

Low recoil and deer?

Casual situation, like shooting does for meat, etc.: A .223 has worked fine for me and everybody seems to have a .223 on hand.

Shorter range propositions: Inside 200yds or so, the .350L has worked well, kicks lightly, and ammo is everywhere

General Purpose Deer Season: I'd lean toward something like a 6mm Creedmoor if I had to pick one for all ranges and low recoil was paramount.

Other situations: A)If picking a youth rifle that will turn into a "lifetime" rifle, I would go with the 6.5 Creedmoor and load it down, like the 4198 loads mentioned above. I've seen them work nicely. B) If making any of the above choices where a suppressor is allowed, this changes the game. Your typical 6.5CM, 7mm-08, .308 with full-power ammo is now going to be a "low recoil" option, due to the recoil mitigation of the suppressor.

Edit: I've used all of the above and they all work, considering their limitations. Having said that, I'd easily give up several "extra" rifles to purchase one mid-size suppressor to use with my favorite hunting rifles. Shooting something that feels and sounds like a 10/22 but hits like a .308 carbine is tough to beat.

223 and 243 win are the first ones that come to my mind. Wondering why people directed you to this forum? Are you looking to handload? You can handload just about anything so it is "low recoil"...

I see a lot of people recommending a .243 with a 100gr bullet. That .243 in a 7.5 lb rifle gives 11 ft-lbs of recoil energy.

My 7mm-08 with 120gr bullets gives 12.1 ft-lbs of recoil energy and has the option of moving up to a 140gr bullet if later on you choose to hunt larger game.

When I shoot my Sako .243 side-by-side with my Tikka 7mm-08 from the bench, I can't tell the difference.

Of course, rifle weight and a good recoil pad make a LOT of difference!

I have been pleasantly surprised with how little the 6.5 Creedmoor kicks.

For Deer....

and you can handload...

.........270 Winchester 130 grain loaded down to 2700 fps....you can go lower.
This is soft shooting and easy to shoot...flat to 230 yards.

next up..

.223 and 6 x 45......

have fun.


Best
HeavyDove

After shoulder surgery I used the 6.5x55, 120 gr, 36 gr of 4895. 2,580 fps in a 20 inch carbine. Accuracy was more than satisfactory...and that from a long military throat.

7mm-08 , 120 gr, min load of 4350. That’s my wife load.

7mm-08 light bullets, low velocity is a kitty cat.

My wife shoots a 25 Creedmoor loaded down with 4350 and it kicks the same as a 204 Ruger. It is a blast to shoot.

7-08 or 260 Rem.
Both soft shooters, and very versatile.

300 Savage is pretty low recoiling. Ammo is probably harder to find these days though. I saw a nice Remington 722 a few weeks ago, chambered in 300 Savage, and also a nice Savage 99.

Take any rifle you own and use H4895 and follow Hodgdon’s reduced recoil guidelines for reloading.

The two most recent for me were
6.5 x 284, 120 gr bullet with 16 gr through 20 gr of Bluedot. All were 1-1/4 or less groups at 100yds.

7.62x39, 150 gr Hornday .312 bullet and 6.9 gr of Titegroup, subsonic. Load data from Hodgdon and works well from the bolt gun.

I'm hunting close range woods distance and don't need max velocity and don't want to sell my rifles for something smaller.

The 223, 22-250, 6mmBR, 243, 6mmCreedmoor and 7x57 have also worked well with reduced loads.

Nudge Seafire for more load ideas!

300BO. As shown in the other thread, it kills stuff just fine inside its range, and recoil is negligible.

You're looking at 5-6ft/lb recoil from a sub 7lb rifle, depending on the load. It's also a powder sipper, which is nice with prices being what they are these days.

Who the heck is this Seafire Character?

I agree with this. For hunting deer, I generally use a 127grain LRX or a 130 grain Accubond, and recoil is quite light with plenty of power for any deer out to 400+ yards.

My little, tiny, petite 12 year old grand daughter killed her first mule deer with my 700 ADL with 6mm-284 barrel using the 95 gr ballistic tip. It could have just as easily been a 243 or 6mm.

The 260 is essentially a ballistic twin of the heralded 6.5 Creedmoor, especially in my fast twist barrels and extended mags. Both of which are irrelevant using a 100 gr or 120 gr bullet at reduced velocity.

Yes, I would hand them one of the 260s with a 95 or 100 gr bullet at 2500-2600 fps.

A 7-08 with a 120 at 2500 fps would work equivalently.

Or Hell, just hand 'em a 30-30.

That, 12 year old grandson shoots mine.

I bought a very nice little 700 bolt action 6.8SPC a few years back. It has very mild recoil. I have a 6..8AR as well. Never killed a deer with either but have killed several coyotes,foxes, coons and hogs with the 6.8AR. 90gr federal gold dot LEO overrun ammo has worked extremely well. Buddy of mine also uses a 6.8AR on hogs and loves it with 115gr fusions.

I’ve killed piles of deer with 223 and 22-250. No trick bullets just 55 sierras and 55&60gr hornady SP. 22-250 usually bang flops them. 223 they usually make a mad dash then flip ass over tea kettle in 35-50 yards. I bought several hundred 62 gr fusions to try but never got around to trying them as I never felt the need to switch from the others mentioned.

6.5 CM using 4350 and a 100 gr. TTSX. My kids have killed 18 deer with it. I’m having that gun cut and threaded now for a suppressor so I’ll bump up the load now.

I found a good 100ttsx top-end load with Big Game in a 22” .260 bolt gun several years back. Made 3200fps. It was a heck of a killer. I’ve thought about revisiting the concept with my 18” suppressed 6.5CM.

I see the 6.8SPC mentioned above. One only has to look at all the good field data for that round to see how effective a downloaded 6.5CM, 7mm-08, or the like can be with the right bullets.

We have used 222, 22-250 and reduced power loads in 270 for many deer as my nephews and boys were growing up. A bunch of cartridges listed were not really available back in the early late 90's -2000's when we were using them.

There are many cartridges that will work with simple reduction of powder. Starting to moderate powder charges in most cartridges make for very pleasant.

That Seafire character is is kind of a savant when it comes to low power loads.

Thanks!

I knew I had 'friends in low places'... just like the song...

I'm just another redneck in the Trailer Park on the road outta town.

Seafire, you have no idea how low!