Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Help me choose deer cartridge for the recoil-sensitive.

He's tried my .270 Win. and says it's too much - my .243 Win. is "O.K.".
Mix of woods and field whitetail deer hunting. Max. shooting opportunity - 300 yds.

Any recommendations greatly appreciated.

Also, I noticed in a recoil table on another site that the recoil of a .30-.30 is less than the .270 - explain that, please.

Get a 250, or better yet a 257 Bob. Hardly any recoil and with the right bullet will drop anything in Continental US. Les

Gotta remember the 30.30 holds a helluva lot less powder than a 270, the explosion in the cartridge has a lot to do with recoil. for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Les

The .30-30 has a lot less powder than the 270.

Just based on what I can figure out, the 243 with 95 or 100 grain Partitions will reliably harvest deer. I suspect that the 243 gets a bad rap because people sometimes use lighter, non-premium bullets that are going fast enough to break up on impact.

I doubt that anyone would much notice the difference in recoil between the 243 and the 260. The capability of the 260 is not in question... or, 257 Roberts for that matter.

Quarter bore is always the answer for the recoil sensitive, 243's blow dog! Bet JO has one, a 243 that is.

Agree with Denton above on the 243 with the right bullet, and also like the Bob. If I was going for a really lightweight deer killing rig, the Bob would be my first choice. And in a standard weight, there should be no recoil issues. I had a 6mm Remington (aka, a 244 Bob) for awhile and the recoil was practically non-existent. A 100 gr TSX or a 110 gr Accubond going from 2900-3000+ fps should do the job quite nicely.

25-06!

Any quarter bore is great, but if he says the .243 is "OK" he may just need a heavier gun until he gets more acquainted with centerfires.

I would go with the 260 Rem. i have shot quite a few Mule deer and White tails with the 6 mm Rem and the 260 and the 125 partion from the 260 just penitrates much better than the 95 grain 6MM partition, On broadside lung shots i do not think it would matter but throw in off angles that end up with a shot through the shoulder or any other shot needed more penitration, the 260 is just better. Also you have the option of using the 140 grain bullets in the 260, the 140 factory loads are that I have tried are quite mild, but stiff handloads with the 140's in a light rifle start to buck a little bit. The 260 also is a lot more versitile, 85 grain Varmint bullets to 140 premium or even 160 grain bullets for Elk.

I would suggest them in the following order:
.257 bob
6 mm
.243
.260

And avoid light weight rifles. BTW, my 30-30 kicks awfully hard with its metal butt plate.

+1

How about a 7mm-08 with 120-gn bullets? I load mine that way for fun, and recoil is very moderate and accuracy is fantastic. Guys report that the 120-BT is a surprisingly stout little sucker on game. I dunno about that, but it is a very accurate bullet in my rifle. Or, I believe there is a light 7mm TSX that has been well-liked in the 7mm-08.

But terminal performance aside, the 120-gn bullet loaded mild in a 7mm-08 is real easy on the shoulder IMHO, plus then they would have a rifle they could grow into, if things went well.

-jeff

The .250 Savage would be an excellent choice, if you can find a rifle chambered in it that is.

Have you tried Remingtons managed recoil load in the .270? They list the recoil at under 10ft/lb with the 115gr bullet. They list the .243 with the 100gr bullet at just over 10ft/lb.

This should prove useful. My son, with any luck, will have his first opening day of deer season in 2008. I'm looking into youth rifles now for him. I'm not sure what he will end up using but it sure is fun looking.

I have been carrying them in my .270 for pigs lately. Still have not goten an opportunity to test them for performance on game, but they are great at the range.
Interesting to note the energy of the .243 is much higher.

I suggest a .257 Roberts. Definitely easy to shoot. With the .260, the 140's have more recoil than my tiny wife likes. I will be adding a Pachmayr pad to that Model 7 soon for her.

stumpy

My Ex girlfriends son was about 5' 100# when we started him shooting. he shot a 7mm-08 i got him for his birthday, loads were middle of the road loads of 100 Gr hornady's on 4831 i believe, they were fairly quick (close to 3k IIRC)and hell on yotes, punched shoulders and seemed to stay together fine. he shot 140 NP's for deer but i wouldnt hesitate to let him run the 100's on deer either

.260 will do anything the 257 Roberts will do up to 120 grains, usually faster, has more and better factory loads, and has good 125-140 grain bullets too.

With 85-100 grain bullets it does anything the .243 will do too.

I don't know if there's a better light deer cartridge.

I would go 7mm-08 like Jeff said above. I loaded some 120's that I had sitting around for fun. It was amazing how light the recoil was. I did 2 loads one was about 3100 it shot well and had light recoil, the other was a 120 at about 2800-2850 (which is faster than most 257BOBS's 120's and approaching a 260's 120) and I couldn't believe how light it recoiled. Would almost swear it was less than my 243. The gun was a 6lb ultralight and it didn't even hardly take me off the target when I shot, I mean it felt like a rimfire LOL!

I have noticed that as you go up in bore the recoil becomes more a push than a sharp rap! At least to me the 7mm-08 seems to be about the right mix for a new shooter. Light recoil loads for when your learning to shoot the gun and the ability to move up for bigger game.

I'm liking the 7-08 suggestion, as well. You sure get a lot of punch for the recoil you endure and it's mighty versatile with lots of bullets at a variety of weights.

DJ

Agree with Parko.

Before going out and buying another rifle, get a box of Remington 115gr. Managed Recoil for your .270 Win and let him try again.

Felt recoil is less than the .243 and will take deer out to 200 yards.

If a new rifle is going to be purchased anyways.... the 7mm-08 would be hard to beat.