Advice on a super light recoil rifle build for a dislocated shoulder (Rifle built!)

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jaydog

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A couple weeks ago I dislocated my shooting shoulder on my goat hunt and was faced with being out of hunting commission for the rest of the season. Things are starting to heal and physio starts tomorrow so I'm hopeful that there is a rifle build out there that I can shoot by mid/late November and still save my season. That and I can't bear the shame of making my wife fill the freezer alone! :redface:

Must have:
ULTRA light recoil!!! Light like you are holding onto a box of Kleenex that shoots bullets. Think 'kitten recoil'.
Ability to kill deer at up to 200 yards. Not meant to be a long distance rig.
Price tag under $800


Basic parameters:

.243 cal bolt action
Either heavy to start or have cavities in the stock I can fill with lead shot.
24" or 26" barrel
Black, blue or stainless- don't care.
Wood or synthetic- don't care.
Doubt I will have the time/ability to work up a handload so will have to go with factory ammunition.

Expected pimping (as in I will add these things after I buy the gun):
Vortex viper scope with ?? rings.
Muzzle brake (did I mention low recoil???) :cool:
Pachmyr or Limbsaver recoil pad.
Lead shot to make this a 10-11 lb rifle.

Optional pimping:
Pink paint job and Hello Kitty stickers. I have no pride. :):eek:

Thoughts/comments/suggestions??????
 
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If you are going to fatten the gal up, I would buy a 6.5x55.
Mine has very low recoil.
Far better chambering for fur than the cough cough 243......arrrrrrgh..
 
The softest recoiling centerfire you will find is going to be the Browning ShortTrac in .243 Winchester. As far as accuracy goes it will give the bolt gun a good run for its money and be much lighter to carry around as well.
 
Remington makes a reduced recoil load in 7-08 140 grain.Also in .260 , they would be mild as a kitten and still take deer to 300 yards.

Lot's of rifles available in 7-08 a few less in .260.
 
jaydog said:
A couple weeks ago I dislocated my shooting shoulder on my goat hunt and was faced with being out of hunting commission for the rest of the season. Things are starting to heal and physio starts tomorrow so I'm hopeful that there is a rifle build out there that I can shoot by mid/late November and still save my season. That and I can't bear the shame of making my wife fill the freezer alone! :redface:

Must have:
ULTRA light recoil!!! Light like you are holding onto a box of Kleenex that shoots bullets. Think 'kitten recoil'.
Ability to kill deer at up to 200 yards. Not meant to be a long distance rig.
Price tag under $800


Basic parameters:

.243 cal bolt action
Either heavy to start or have cavities in the stock I can fill with lead shot.
24" or 26" barrel
Black, blue or stainless- don't care.
Wood or synthetic- don't care.
Doubt I will have the time/ability to work up a handload so will have to go with factory ammunition.

Expected pimping (as in I will add these things after I buy the gun):
Vortex viper scope with ?? rings.
Muzzle brake (did I mention low recoil???) :cool:
Pachmyr or Limbsaver recoil pad.
Lead shot to make this a 10-11 lb rifle.

Optional pimping:
Pink paint job and Hello Kitty stickers. I have no pride. :):eek:

Thoughts/comments/suggestions??????
Click to expand...

Shoot quality bullets - either Barnes or Nosler Partitions, and enjoy.
 
Hey Man. Depending on what you want to spend, I could have the solution for you.....
6.5x47Lapua
37grs of RL15
120gr TTSX
2950fps
9.75lbs scoped
Doesn't come out of the bags at all and has killed deer out way past what you're talkin. And kicks less than any .243 I have fired.
 
VLT79 said:
The softest recoiling centerfire you will find is going to be the Browning ShortTrac in .243 Winchester. As far as accuracy goes it will give the bolt gun a good run for its money and be much lighter to carry around as well.
Click to expand...
I'd never seen one of those before and was excited until I hit the price tag.... $1300! Yikes.

Kelly Timoffee said:
Remington makes a reduced recoil load in 7-08 140 grain.Also in .260 , they would be mild as a kitten and still take deer to 300 yards.

Lot's of rifles available in 7-08 a few less in .260.
Click to expand...
I found a 7-08 reload recipe some guy made for his 12 year old kid that has similar velocity to the reduced recoil loads and ran the numbers. I can download my .270 and get the same effect. Nice caliber though, it was looked at when my wife bought her first big game rifle.

Bowie said:
Shoot quality bullets - either Barnes or Nosler Partitions, and enjoy.
Click to expand...
Good bullets and careful placement.... great advice for everyone who hunts!
 
One of my 243 is a Rem 700SPS varmint. It has a heavy barrel & you could add to the stock. A past shooting pad (the vest one) is a good investment. 243 is the smallest I would use for deer. Smallest legal in AB. If I could find a heavy barrel in 260, that is the way I would go. Both my boys started young with a 7x57 and both have light recoil. Good luck
 
jaydog said:
I'd never seen one of those before and was excited until I hit the price tag.... $1300! Yikes.
Click to expand...

Actually, the Browning site has higher MSRP than actual street price. Wholesale has them listed for $1089.95 (.243 Win., wood stock, right hand) and believe me they are one helluva nice rifle! Their are some used ones around as well and the older BAR and recently discontinued Winchester SXR are pretty much the same guns.

http://ca.wholesalesports.com/store...oil-finish-walnut-left-right-/prod263950.html
 
Judging solely on your $800 budget and what you want done. Why not bubba up a Chinese sks? Have it drilled and tapped for a real side scope mount, have a soft recoil pad added and a muzzle brake. As much it would not be ideal, it would fill your needs for the price and should be reasonably accurate out to 200yds.

Either way you go, you will probably not get much of a return if you decide to sell afterwards.
 
A .243 will work . . . I guess, but I'd sooner go with a 6.5X55 which would still be within the same recoil class as a .243 with 100 gr bullets at 3 grand. As your shoulder recovers, you would have a big game rifle that is superior to the .243, with bullet weights up to 160 grs.

But instead of a new rifle, why don't you just soft load the rifle you use now? As an example, the .30/06 load I use to encourage new shooters is with 125-130 gr bullets loaded to 2600. A .308/130 gr TTSX at 2600 shoots flat enough to reach 300 yards, outperforms any .243 load when it gets there, and does so gently.
 
It's almost impossible to beat 243 Win loaded with a Barnes 85gr TSX at 3200 fps.
It's the lightest bullet which will reliably and legally kill a deer at long range.
Any 9 1/2 pound 243 Win rifle with a muzzle brake will generate 223 Rem level recoil.

Unless you can legally hunt deer with a 223 Rem or 22-250, 243 Win 85gr TSX is simply unbeatable recoil wise.

Alex
 
'have you thought trying to shoot weekhand ? i found with ar matches after i installed a riser for the scope i could shot my ar fairly close week hand as i can strong hand but im not sure if it will work with rifle but it may be worth a shot .
 
If it's just going to be used for a short time until your shoulder heals, try an H&R .243 single shot. Get a heavy barrel, laminate model, they are reasonably heavy, team it with some reduced loads and fire away. Very little recoil.
Bonus is it would be well below your price range.
 
SuperCub said:
Fast twist 22/250 or 223AI with TSX.
.
Click to expand...

Legal in BC and a buddy of mine has a target .223 that is a plush 10lbs before you even start. Its been my 'back pocket' plan all along. Bullet placement will be critical, but I'm long over buck fever and tend to be a thinking mans shooter.

Boomer said:
A .243 will work . . . I guess, but I'd sooner go with a 6.5X55 which would still be within the same recoil class as a .243 with 100 gr bullets at 3 grand. As your shoulder recovers, you would have a big game rifle that is superior to the .243, with bullet weights up to 160 grs.

But instead of a new rifle, why don't you just soft load the rifle you use now? As an example, the .30/06 load I use to encourage new shooters is with 125-130 gr bullets loaded to 2600. A .308/130 gr TTSX at 2600 shoots flat enough to reach 300 yards, outperforms any .243 load when it gets there, and does so gently.
Click to expand...

Excellent advice but I have a .270 and .30-06 and reload for them already which sort of answers your questions. Between my Tikka T3 .270 and my Remington 742 .30-06 we have created a couple powder puff loads *for those calibers*. When you run the math though, they are still producing 30% more recoil easily. Even the heavy semi Remington.
ASIDE: Who knew the action on that 742 would cycle 125gr bullets at 2650fps reliably?? :confused:

I guess this is all about having a gun that is a solid performer (within the usual caveats of me not being an idiot shooter) that produces the minimum recoil possible. The 6.5x55 is definitely a light recoil rifle, but not quite as low as you can go.

WestIslandRifle said:
'have you thought trying to shoot weekhand ? i found with ar matches after i installed a riser for the scope i could shot my ar fairly close week hand as i can strong hand but im not sure if it will work with rifle but it may be worth a shot .
Click to expand...

Shoot weak hand??? LOL I'm nervous each night eating dinner with my left hand! We won't even discuss the first 10 days that butt wiping was done with the left hand...... :redface: That idea lasted about 2 seconds before the reality set in- some guys might do it no problem, but I'm not them. :)
 
There are no secret recipes, everything is physics:

100% recoil value is 308 Win 165gr at 2600fps

308 Win 165gr at 2600fps = 100% recoil - braked 60-70% recoil
260 Rem 120gr at 2900fp = 60% recoil - braked 35-40% recoil
243 Win 95gr at 3000fps = 50% recoil - braked 30-35% recoil
223 Rem 60gr at 3000fps = 25% recoil - braked 15-18% recoil

In the US, an AR15 rifle in 6.8 SPC launching a 95gr TSX at 2800fps would be an excellent low recoil choice.

Alex
 
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