looking for a new deer gun

Brian46 said:
I have one of those, recoil is much worse than the 308 I shoot now in a similar weight rifle.
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All things being equal (rifle weight and model) the 243 is substantially less.
Cartridge (Wb@MV) Rifle Weight,,,,,,,Recoil energy,,,,,,,,,Recoil velocity
.243 Win. (100 at 2960) 7.5,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,8.8,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,8.7
.308 Win. (165 at 2700) 7.5,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,18.1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,12.5
 
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For brand, right now the Weatherby Vanguard is an extremely hard to beat rifle,lots of rile for the price.

As for chambering and recoil, like others stated, fit is a bigger issue.Try a few out see what rifle "feels" more natural when you shoulder it, how easy to you feel it aims?

Just deer? Anything short action and can shoot a 90-120gr projectile will be your ticket.

If you load, a 7-08 with 120gr Barnes is a wonderful solution for living deer.

You can also get get managed recoil if you are buying loaded ammo, turns these light recoiling rifles into basically a stick that makes a noise kinda.
 
Having used the 243, 7-08, and 308 extensively on deer, for your purposes I'd go with the 7-08. I find it recoils less than the 308, and not that much more than a 243, BUT in my experience it kills better than a 243, and I haven't noticed a difference in that department between the 7-08 and 308.
 
captonion said:
All things being equal (rifle weight and model) the 243 is substantially less.
Cartridge (Wb@MV) Rifle Weight,,,,,,,Recoil energy,,,,,,,,,Recoil velocity
.243 Win. (100 at 2960) 7.5,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,8.8,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,8.7
.308 Win. (165 at 2700) 7.5,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,18.1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,12.5
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You made me put them on the scale, the 308 weighs 80 grams more than the 243 on my kitchen scale.
 
Brian46 said:
It kicking is the only real reason I kept it, I let other people try it when they get the idea of a 243 for their kid because someone told them it doesn't recoil. Their experiences with it are not much different than my own.

An old timer once told me it is because of the bottle neck case it gives a sharper hit and the 308 is more of a push....maybe he was on to something?
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I also own a .243. It has very little recoil. Shoulder angle of a case has no bearing on recoil energy or velocity. It's a function of rifle weight, bullet weight, velocity and powder burned (which itself is broken up into a few components.)

However stock design is huge in felt recoil. I used to own a Lee Enfield No. 5, AKA Jungle Carbine. This rifle, despite anemic factory .303 loadings, kicked as hard or worse than my 8lb .375 Ruger with a 1/2" recoil pad.

The jungle carbine had a recoil energy of 15.8ft/lbs and a velocity of 12fps. The .375 has an energy of 43.7 and a velocity of 18.6. The numbers say the .375 should kick way more. And in identical rifles it would; however, because of the stock design and fit of the carbine it had felt recoil like the .375.

The push vs. Sharp crack feeling of recoil has to do with recoil velocity. A fast recoil veels sharper than a slow one because the recoil energy is absorbed over a shorter period of time. Cartridges shooting heavy for cal bullets slowly have a slower recoil and generally feel more tame than the recoil energy leads the shooter to believe. I imagine this is where the bottleneck cartridges kick more myth comes from. Often cartridges with a bigger bottleneck have a faster recoil, this does not mean that recoil speed is caused by a bottleneck though.
 
im starting too look at the 7mm-08 and the 6.5x55 if that is the sweed one and for reloading is the dies and bullets easy to get ..... thanks for all the help so far hound13
 
I looked at 7mm-08 as I had read up on what to buy for deer. A lot of rifle makers advertise the 7mm-08 as the lady hunter. I assume it has to do with recoil. My choice then went to the .270 win as they did not have a 7mm-08 in stock. I did a few upgrades on it before even firing it. I changed the stock to a Boyd's thumb hole. That stock weighs more than the plastic one that came with the Savage Axis I bought. Also added a bipod and bigger and better scope. You will find that total rifle weight has an effect on recoil. I dunno how it all works together but if you look at it this way, Put a 500 horse v8 in a 57 chevy then take a run, Take that engine out and put it in a Chevy Vega and then you can feel the difference on acceleration. . As for my .270, sure it has recoil but I honestly thought it would have had more. I suppose I should have test fired it before and after.
 
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