Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Low recoil Deer hunter

I've killed dozens of deer from the Catskills to the Adorondacks with Marlin and Winchester lever guns chambered in .30-30, .35 Rem.. 357 mag. and .44 mag.. All get the job done with aplomb and minimal recoil. I've killed a bunch more with bolt actions chambered in .222, .223, .22-250 and .243. All of those get the job done in fine fashion with light recoil too.

The 243 is really a great choice for a low recoil deer rifle. I have shot a couple of deer with mine and both went down in their tracks using regular remington core loct 100 gr. One was about 20yds the other about 200. A couple of friends that don't change rifles as much as I do have killed probably 20 more between their 243 and 6mm which is pretty much the same thing. The other nice thing about the 243 is I have sent a bunch of groundhogs to the big borough in the sky with 75-80 gr bullets. It makes a great varmint rifle too.

My .30-30 lever is nice to the shoulder and fun to hunt with, but I don't know that it is really an all-around rifle, since it is a top eject and won't accommodate optical sights. It is outfitted with a receiver sight, and 200 yard shots are possible, though not as easily as with a rifle outfitted with a scope.

I purchased a Howa .243 last year, after being without one for years, and it is quickly becoming my favorite. It is light, handles nice (it has a 20" barrel), and clusters 85 grain TSXs really close together, so I would consider it more versatile than the Winchester. It won't replace it completely, but it sure gets a lot of consideration.

243 kills disproportionate to its size IMO. People that claim it doesn't most likely are controlled by marketing or they're convincing themselves of the superiority of their own caliber of choice. Get one and profit.

Bow no recoil.

A 243 is plenty for deer. And those 788s are good rifles. I think it would seve you well. And about any hunting load from 80-100 gr should work well. I'm a fan of regular Rem 100 gr Core Loct loads. They work...period.

Bigsqueeze, Cold Bore, Big Horn, & Pastor Dan are all leading you in the right direction. 250SAVAGE, 257Roberts, 260, or 7x57-7mm08. powdr

Out of whats currently available in many rifle models I'd say a 7-08 or the 243 you mentioned. As far as used Id say the 7x57,.257bob, 6.5x55 etc as others said. I'd also consider trying the reduced recoil loads for your '06. I used to use my "heavy hitters" alot more now mostly use a 7-08 or 7x57 for whitetails.

what he said............pretty simple

The 243 is a killer, plain and simple.

If legal in your state a .223 with the correct bullets will do fine out to 200 yards, maybe more depending on the size of your deer.

250-3000, going 3000fps for 97 years...

.243 Win, although I load the 85TSX it is a capable round with any of the loads mentioned.

.25-06 and 7mm-08 would be my other choices.

I've shot deer with calibers including 30-06, 280AI, 450 marlin, 223, and 30-30. I won't pretend to be the end all but my experience is that a 243 will drop a deer inside your line of sight like no other. A 95 grain NBT is pure deer devastation with little recoil. If you feel the need for more then you would better well be served buying another rifle magazine.....

all the above are excellent. i've shot deer effectively w 243, 7x57, 6.5x55 and 260--as well as 270, 308 and 300 WM. for low recoil w definitely enough power for all sizes of deer at all angles and distances, my top choice is the 260. love mine in cooper 54.

by the way my 243 is a 788. like seemingly all 788s it is extremely accurate. mostly my loaner gun since i shot my first buck w it in 1979. didn't know much about bullet selection back then and was not happy that it took 3 shots (all in vitals) to really anchor it so got a 7x57. since then several friends have all experienced clean 1 shot kills with carefully selected 243 bullets. many folks swear by 95 grain nosler BTs.

downsides: 788 factory triggers are awful, spare magazines are pricey, and their bolt handles tend to break.

My last dozen or so over the last two years fell to the 22-250 Ackley... Kills like the hand of God.

We hunt as a club, doing large scale deer drives and some of our senior most members routinely execute deer with Sako 22-250s.

Handload!

I load my son's 06 to 30/30 specs for several years....

now he has has 'manned up' and we are loading it at 300 Savage Speeds!!!

I load it right around what Remington does with their 'Managed Recoil" product line...

I've seen lots of deer taken with a 243 in the foothills of the Adirondacks.

I've seen deer taken with 223 there as well.

Same with 257 Roberts.