Hey all, my buddys dad is getting on in years and has had a shoulder operation and therefore cannot fire anything with even moderate recoil, however it is important to him to continue deer hunting as long as possible. He would like an effective range of at least 150 yards. I suggested a .357mag in a lever, what do you think?
Low recoil deer
- Thread starter skokie
- Start date
TheCoachZed
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
.243 or, if he's careful, a .223? Not to start another .223 for deer thread, but the guys on 24hrcampfire seem to have no problem with it for 150 yards... might not be legal in your zone, though.
Is he looking for a particular style of rifle, lever, bolt, semi-auto? What kind of deer is he hunting? is he left or right handed, and does he do his own reloads? I would be inclined to say a long barreled .30-30 with a nice recoil pad should be about as little recoil as you can find for a decent 150yd gun.
+1. I would add that some light handloads with 129gr bullets would be effective on deer easily out to 200yds and would have very light recoil. Factory 140gr ammo is also very lightly loaded, running around 2400fps and the deer I have shot with it never complained.
Mark
Cranky Pants
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
30-30 in a heavier lever gun like a Marlin is a real pussycat. Lots around for little $$
black powder
CGN Regular
- Location
- Saint Hippolyte
243 caliber ..with a good recoil pad [limb saver] as for the bullet winchester xp3 for hunting ..i am 67 yrs. young this year and have a good idea what your dad needs ..regards ..
That sounds like a good compromise, thank you, your wisdom is appreciated
light recoil,
well as far as light recoil, the guys have hit most of the light recoil, i personally would recommend 308 winchester with 150 grain loads, in a model 700 rem or in a mod 70 rifle, not the lightweight version, but he standard versions, also i have found 303 british rifles with 150 grain factory loads to be light in the recoil dept
the 30-30 is light recoil in a beefy little marlin gun, but 150 yrds is pushing it for a 30-30, although you could find a savage bolt action 340 model, and load pointed bullets, would give a slight advantage over blunt nose bullets
also you could load 130 grn soft points in it and get flatter shooting up to that range
hope it helps
well as far as light recoil, the guys have hit most of the light recoil, i personally would recommend 308 winchester with 150 grain loads, in a model 700 rem or in a mod 70 rifle, not the lightweight version, but he standard versions, also i have found 303 british rifles with 150 grain factory loads to be light in the recoil dept
the 30-30 is light recoil in a beefy little marlin gun, but 150 yrds is pushing it for a 30-30, although you could find a savage bolt action 340 model, and load pointed bullets, would give a slight advantage over blunt nose bullets
also you could load 130 grn soft points in it and get flatter shooting up to that range
hope it helps
RememberTheSomme
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
Not famaliar with the .260 REM personally, but the external/terminal ballistics look good and so does the free recoil generated.
.250 Savage is sweet but ammos a problem these days.
The .243WIN should get it done, there's lots of premium bullets in this caliber to make a good showing from gophers to Bucks! Id say try to stay 90-100grs if recoil is a problem. My only .243 was a Remington 7400 in 1983. Recoil was light but Rifle was heavy!
One you hit 120-130grs you start to get some noticeable recoil(youths, petite ladies, elderly etc) on many Hi velocity rounds in sporter weight Rifles.
The .30-30 you mentions may hurt his shoulder being frail , if its an 1894 ,I find they climb and slap the cheek a little from the Drop at the comb/heel of the stock. Hard butt plates don't help either. This is what makes their unmatched, quick shouldering abilities.
I forgot to mention check out the variuos recoil calculators on line. Alot have generic bullet weight/charge combinationa along with Rifle weights.
If you know the total weight of the firearm you can see the different recoil energies/recoil velocities.
It will give you a good comparison between cartridges. I just checked one out and the little 250 Savage with the classic 117 factory load for deer, only generates 7.7 ft lbs recoil in a Rifle scope combination weighting in at 8 lbs total. I knew it was a sweet shooter!
I would say .243 would be the best choice but get him a light rifle.. carrying around a heavy gun all day is going to hurt the shoulder worse than anything.. and get a sling that fits his shoulder remember a big wide padded one isnt always the best choice.. fit is more important
Should try shooting using other side
If he's right handed, he could try shooting left handed. He might not hit the deer but the shoulder will be saved. As for caliber, 243 using 80-85gr bullet is really tough to beat recoil-wise.
If he's right handed, he could try shooting left handed. He might not hit the deer but the shoulder will be saved. As for caliber, 243 using 80-85gr bullet is really tough to beat recoil-wise.
I have to say that .243 is probably the best balance between power and recoil, if recoil is a big concern for you for whatever reason. Then again, the 30.30 in a heavy marlin lever is not a bad idea either. But the .243 is probably best. I wouldn't take a .223 for deer, but I guess you could if its legal in your area.
