Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Lowest recoil rifle & caliber for deer & bear

If deer only, 243. Put black bear in the discussion and 6.5CM gets my vote. 6.5CM recoil is only slightly more than 243, less than 30-30 and it kills anything a 270 kills.

For "normal" size black bear even 243 is probably enough. But black bear can vary a lot. Around 185 lbs is the norm for black bear here in GA. But some approaching 400 are killed every year and the state record is over 600.