What do you feel is the best caliber that meets these requirements for deer hunting
1. Not too much recoil (rifle for a woman)
2. Capable of 1000 lb of energy at 600
3. Rifle under 7.5lb scoped
4. 22" barrel
5. Feeds well through mag box or dbm

I thinking a .260 shooting 130gr bullets would meet these requirements.

25-06

270

25 caliber

Not sure I'm concerned with energy figures, they are plain stupid.

260 Rem.

Can you get 1000 at 600 with the 260?

Seems to me that the only deer that ever get shot at 600 yards are on Internet forums. I've been seeing lots of inquiries about rifles to make 500 yard and longer shots. whatever happened to hunting? I'm. Sure there are still plenty of hunters but I doubt many concern themselves with 600 yard performance.

h

The 130's at 2900 is right at it. Not sure if its feasible out of a 22" tube though.

7-08 shooting 120 gr barnes

+1

Really? At 600 yards? Too far for my limited marksmanship abilities. I'm thinking there's a lot of guys around here who kill their deer inside 100 yards with a 30-30 with open sights. The only place I hunt where I could ever see that far is on a powerline. I'm set up for 200 yards max, and that's a pretty long poke for me.

The best deer rifle to me is one that's optimum for the circumstances. I pack at least two with me for back up anyway.

For the forests up North I chose the .358 Win. as I wanted to take running shots and the extra effect of that round provides superior "shot placement".

For open spaces I have some rifles with more range.

Of late I have been using a custom 30-06 because I like the rifle.

The one on the right is an 264 M70 Westerner.

I have certainly handled and owned and shot my share of P-64-70s, but, I do not recall EVER seeing a "Westerner" with the solid, red Winny pad, that is QUITE the piece.

I also have one, stock was bubba'd, metal and bore like new and I put it into a Micky G&H handle about 16 years ago, mounted a fewe scopes and then put a Conquest 4.4x14 on it, old Warne QD mounts and my 140NPs go 3250 into sub-moa, most of the time.

I never use it, as it is too heavy for mountain hunting and I just bought it for the action,for another .338WM, but, if I EVER learned how to shoot at 600 yds, well, there you go, I have the rig to do it with!

For the OP, I would choose a 7-08 in a light platform, a Remmy Mod. 7 or a Kimber 84S and load a good bullet. Mine is a fullhouse custom Mod. 7 STS and it weighs 6,2 all up, I have yet to shoot it and am hoping to do so Thursday next.

This little cartridge is, like the 9.3x62 and the .338WM, just SO useful and inexpensive to shoot and gives such performance that I think it is about an "ideal" round for most hunting.

jsthntn247;
I'd like to address a couple items in your post if I may, but first would like to send you a tip of the hat for getting a new hunter involved. Well done sir.

Before continuing I'll say that my background and life experience have enabled me to be a part of several hundred folks beginning hunting with roughly 25% being female - I've been a Hunter Safety Examiner in BC for over 2 decades now.

Both of our daughters hunt as did my wife up until they were born, so I'm quite familiar with female hunters.

I've been present when somewhere north of 100 deer sized animals have been shot with projectiles ranging from .257" to .338" and have helped skin, cut and wrap about half that many again, but now we can include projectiles down to .224" and arrows in the mix.

Although some were shot a long, long ways away, I have my doubts any were 600 yards from the shooter.

Although you said caliber, I'll talk about specific cartridges and calibers as well if that's OK.

So with that in mind I'd let the new female shooter choose her own rifle as much as possible. They aren't built like we are - thank heaven on several levels - and so what makes sense to us and fits us may or may not fit them.

If possible they should shoot the cartridge of choice as much as possible because females - the same as males - vary widely in their recoil tolerance.

Cases in point, for her first rifle my good wife chose a 788 Carbine in .308 as she liked how short it was, liked the DBM and liked how the rifle felt in her hands.

As a second case in point, I built her a .308 Norma a few years later with which she proved to be most capable of. Several male acquaintances felt it had too much recoil for their taste.

One of the quickest ways to turn off a new hunter that I'm aware of is to have them not succeed. Success to most of us in hunting certainly means the experience as well as taking home some meat.

If a new hunter hits and does not recover an animal, it seldom is characterized as a positive experience by them.

Depending upon the terrain being hunted, the further away one hits a deer sized animal the more exponentially difficult it MAY be to recover. I also find it helpful in the mountains here to give a rule of thumb for at least two minutes travel time for every 100 yards from the target. So 100 yards and I should make it over there in 2 minutes - 300 yards is 6 minutes and so on.

If you are hunting agricultural land that's level you can cut that in half I'd think, but a poorly hit animal can still go a long ways before you get there.

Animals or people too for that matter, die in trauma situations when there is a breakdown in the cardio pulmonary system or nervous system. Energy plays very part in this equation when it comes to hunting.

One could perhaps argue that only enough energy is needed to propel a projectile through the animal and then to help that projectile open up as well.

That said, arrows with hunting broad heads kill extremely well considering they have so little "energy".

My wife settled on a .308 and a .308 Norma, our eldest daughter a 6.5x55 and our youngest a .250AI.

Our youngest's rifle is by far the easiest to shoot well and it's proven to be a lethal little cartridge on local mulie and whitetail bucks, though none much past 250 yards or so.

Anyway sir, I apologize for taking so long to answer your question. Hopefully that was some use to you and good luck on your choice whichever way you decide.

Regards,
Dwayne

I have Kimber Montana in 7mm/08. That thing without a doubt is my favourite deer rifle.

It would be VERY hard not to like that one!

Another vote for the 7mm/08.

I'd also look at a 257 Roberts.

I have both and they both kill well with little recoil.

I would go 260 rem with 130 gr bullet, 7mm-08 with a 120 gr bullet, 257 bob with 120 gr bullet..all good choices

Were I to buy a gun today that matches the OP criteria, it would be a 7mm-08. I'm sure I could find or load ammo for any medium game at medium range.

7mm/08 launching 120gr Ballistic Tips.

7mm-08 is my favorite of the bunch but there are many choices out there to choose from.

7-08 would be my choice.
Rem MD 7, 3X9 Leo.

love my cooper 54 260, would fit the bill nicely

is she in a wheel chair?
just curious as thats the only reason i can think some body would be interested in shooting deer at 600 yards.
If you want to check your ability at that range , why insert a living animal into the equation. shoot a fking paper plate.
They dont run off gut shot and die an agonizing death.

+1

I have a Browning A-Bolt with a 22" barrel that wears a Leupold VX3 1.75-6x32 in Tikka Lightweights. Right at 7.5#.

With a 120 NBT/45 grs Varget or the Winchester Supreme 140 CT load, it will do under an inch all day long from a bench, and I can routinely ring a 6 inch gong at 200 from field positions. I don't hunt areas with shots farther than that, so I don't practice any farther than that.

I have two little ones at home and don't get much time to shoot or go where I can shoot farther, but I have no doubt that combo would do fine out to 300+.

The recoil is negligible (I'll be the first to admit I don't like recoil), but the round just works on deer.

If you're thinking .260, think Remington 120 Accutip load. That was our favorite when we had a snubnosed Ruger Compact, and it killed very well albeit no shot longer than 100 yards on deer.

So I checked Rem's ballistics table, just now, and the 120 AT outperforms all the other loads in .260. Shoots flatter to 500 (-41 in.) and carries more energy (1,146 ft. lbs.) than the other heavier rounds.

Best rifle is one you can shoot. IMO, 30-06 is hard to beat unless you anticipate or are scared of recoil. I enjoy most calibers people have mentioned, .243 to .30 cals. Right now I'm really having fun with the .257 Weatherby and .250 savage. The .250 is far less expensive to shoot

600 yard capability is for when its in my hands. Just so you know she can outshoot 99% of men, she's not just a fat troll like you undoubtedly are. Thanks to everyone ( except for few) for your input looks like I'm going with a 260.

I have this gun in 7-08. By far my favorite deer gun.

I use my CZ 6.5x55 almost always, but I also like my little Sako L579 in 7-08 a whole lot.

Let her pick the rifle & you pick the caliber, of course. 7-08 would be hard to beat for a all around deer gun. Remington Model 7 or Maybe a Tikka Hunter.
The Tikka will out shoot about anything out of the box, when it comes to accuracy

My personal choice would be a Winchester Featherweight in 7x57 with a Compact Leupold VX-III 2.5 x 8

Once in awhile we hunt with a little gal in Wyoming who is a bit over 5 feet tall and might weigh 110 pounds....she has the horns on the wall, having killed some pretty big old mule deer and I have seen her in action a number of times.She has killed numerous mule deer, elk, and antelope, some when I was around,and she tends to be a very good game shot.

Her only hunting rifle is a Rem 700 in 270 Winchester. She does not read many ballistic tables or worry about foot pounds at 600 yards...

She knows that if she needs ammo she can pick it up about anywhere in the vicinity of Laramie.....not sure that can be said about things like the 260 and in some cases even the 7/08.

It would meet all around requirements, but what size of a target shot group are you expecting at 600 yards?

Because of wind drift, she may need to step up to something faster and heavier like a 6.5/284 with 140 bullets for extreme ranges.

I prefer my model 70 featherweight in 30-06. Light to pack and works for anything in this country.

She won't be shooting it past 200 yards. All of my guns are 10+lbs so I will use this gun often because it's going to be light weight. All of my guns will shoot .5" or under with handloads and I shoot them out to 800 quite often and keep a dope chart on all of them. If the wind is blowing hard then a long shot won't be taken, period. However, I do shoot in 600 yard competitions and can keep it in the 10 ring most of the time with bullets that have no where near the bc of a 130 Berger.

One of our forums very skilled/lucky trophy hunters "scenarshooter" posted a lot about his .260 chambering, you may want to go back over the past year and read some of them.

Happy Hunting

600 yards is to dang far for me......pizzz 300 is to far for me