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

A 30-30 does everything.

You probably also know a lot of pre-teens who flinch, have bad form, and miss shots because someone like you handed them larger cartridges before it was a good idea, because... you know... physics is just a mental thing.

My experience with low to very low recoiling rounds......yet highly effective and efficient Deer/Antelope cartridges are:

357 Magnum in both handguns and rifles. By far my best results have been from 180 to 190 grain LBT WFN type bullets. Seen 2 bears killed with 357 mags from handguns with the above bullets and they were very effective, but I personally have not killed a bear with them. I have killed about 15 deer and antelope with 357 handguns however.

44 Magnum from both handguns and rifles. (mostly from handguns) Most bullets work well for deer and antelope. 225 to 240 HP bullets and also the 320 grain WFN bullets have done best. On elk the 320 gr LBT WFN is the best of the lot, but for black bears I see good results from bullets of 240 and up, all of which have given me 1 shot kills. In a 44 carbine the recoil is a bit stiffer then some would like however, so I'd recommend a 225 or 240 grain bullet for recoil reduction. The 44 is remarkably effective on elk moose and buffalo so I have no qualms about deer and black bear. For bears I would recommend against the use of most HP bullets however. Stick with wide flat nose solids or good soft points.

6.5 Grendel from AR15s. Fastest kills were from the 125 grain Nosler Partitions.

6.8 SPC also from AR 15s. Best kills were from Remington 100 grain SP bullets and the newer Nosler Bonded bullets. The 6.8 has been very close to a death ray for me so far. 33 kills as of a few seasons ago

In the 2 AR cartridges above I personally cannot tell the difference in recoil from them and the standard 5.56 rounds. So that's tells you what you need to know about the kick.

From bolt actions and singles shots I'd say stick to standard weight rifles instead of the super light weight models.

The 243 Winchester is a very good round if used with bonded, Partition or solid expanding bullets. No bears with it, but a lot of deer and about 15 antelope. Used with good bullets it's just fine. Also I have seen a few elk taken with 243s and again, a bullet that holds together makes it work fine.

I have used the 25-06 with bonded or Partition bullets on deer and antelope many times. I have never shot a bear with it however, but I bet it would do fine. In mid weight to heavy rifles the 25-06 is a light kicker. I have seen about 10 elk killed with them.

I have seen many animals shot with various 6.5MM and with good bullets all seem to be OK. No bears, but again I am guessing they are fine because of the results I have seen on elk. 6.5X54 M/S. 6.5X55 Swede. 6.5 Creedmoor. 260 Remington. In standard weight rifles all the above don't kick hard.

I have not seen one yet and so have no experience with the 350 Legend, but all reports I see say it's very good and kicks very little. Seeing my results with a standard 357 magnum, (even from 4 inch and 6 inch revolvers) I have no doubts the reports are true. The 350 is way out in front of the 357 so how could it be bad?

The 270 is legendary in it's ability to kill game but it's kick is not much lighter then a 308 or 30-06, so from my personal experience I try to stay no larger then the 26 calibers for recommendations for very little recoil, other then handgun shells fired in rifles.

Go with hanco’s suggestion or get a 25-06.

I load my 270 down, about 2600 to 2700 with a 130 grain bullet. Soft recoil and penetrated through my deer quartered to me at 150 yards. So...two feet at least...in the neck and out the rear leg.

Not bad for a wimpy load lol

When my youngest son turned 12, I set up with a 243 AI and he killed a two bears and at least 3 hefty mule deer bucks with that rifle and 85 grain TSX's over his first few years hunting. All died with one shot and quickly at he hands of a novice hunter. No drama with any kills and nothing over 240 yards. I'd feel real safe with anything in the 243 range and game tough bullets.

+1 for the 357 Magnum or 357 Maximum especially in rifles. I killed my first bear with a 357 Maximum using a 270gr Accurate Mold LFP bullet at 1800fps. My son and I have both killed deer with 200gr MP Mold Penta HP bullets at 1160fps fired from the same 357 Maximum. He will hunt bears this June with his 357 Max using Barnes TSX FB bullets at 1900+ fps.

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.

I've seen numerous accounts of black bears killed with 6.5 Grendel rifles and 123gr bullets.

My choice would be the 257 Roberts or as previously mentioned the 30-30.

A 6.5 Creedmoor with 143 grain Hornady Precision Hunter loads works well on both and at appreciable distance.

6.5 cm, 127 lrx @ 2800.

Lotta factors come into play.
Bullet performance, placement, I believe diameter and bullet weight can matter....

Placement and velocity are undisputable keys though.

Placement is obvious.

Velocity is overlooked mostly.

A bullet is inert when stationary. Gotta be moving to be worthwhile.
Faster is better, as long as construction matches speed.
More damage, faster kills. And then, placement enters the room.
Head, or neck shots don't count. A 22 works well there.

You question isn't specific so my answer can't be.

I'd rather use 300 Savage speed 30-06 than some little rounds as a general gun.
Load a 30 down to 223 recoil and I'm probably wanting the 223.


Elmer Keith had a phrase, something about like,

I like my hunting to be before the shot, not after.




Sums up my feelings perfectly.
I like to see the animal on the ground before I'm reloaded.
Head,neck, or rib shot.
Or, a solid red line to where it died.

Didn't read all these response so pardon me if this has been mentioned - 7mm-08 shooting 139 LRX or 140 Partition or 140 NAB. Or about any other "premium" 140 gr bullet. The 6.5 Creed/127 is another good thunk. If you really dislike recoil I'd also keep rifle weight ~ 8 lbs. I would not do a brake - but that's just me.

bwinters, hit a key point if it wasn't mentioned before.

All too often folks buy kids a kids gun.
Usually that's a light kicking round in a light gun.

I have 3 light rifles.
243, Swede, 308. All lighter recoiling rounds.
All 3 kick harder than you expect from their rounds.
It's physic(s).

Thank you all for your replies. Lots to think about.
This generated much more interest than I anticipated.
Much appreciated.

This could go on for days but the bottom line a suppressed rifle is the answer here. Get a rifle you like in a 6 to 6.5 chambering and carry on. Forget watered down loads brakes pistol chamberings and all that. The easy button especially if you wish to use factory ammo is a 6.5 creedmoor in a rifle you like with a appropriate suppressor and barrel length. A 16-18” barrel is fine the recoil will be managed and you still have good ballistics should you need them.

Fair point. My brother and I each have a heavy-ish .308win bolt gun (a Ruger Hawkeye Predator and a 700 sps-aac) that are both just pleasant to shoot from the bench. The weight and stock design are responsible.

Based on personal experience, my vote would be for the 6.5x55 SE in a rifle that wasn't really light in weight. Using that as a familiar starting point, I would feel comfortable recommending cartridges with similar statistics (e.g. the 6.5 Creedmoor). The best thing about making a decision like this is you're going to have a variety of options to choose from. Since avoiding recoil is the goal, I think increased rifle weight & the selection of a quality bullet (possibly a custom reload) would be worth considering as much as the caliber. Using a semi-auto (include AR-style rifles in larger calibers), suppressing it, installing a mercury recoil suppressor in the stock, adding a quality recoil pad, etc. might all be viable options to reduce felt recoil.

Lots of guys here in New Jersey shoot deer and black bears with Savage 220's and Remington 11-87's in 20 ga. I own both and recoil is almost non-existent. For a rifle I would agree on an AR in 308.