Good mild kicking rifle caliber for first time female deer hunter?

[dsdmmat]

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying to use surplus at the range instead of 2 dollar a round hunting ammo.

Think you are missing the boat on this one. Vary rare is the female hunter that spends 6 to 8 hours on the range just plinking. The young lady hunter in question inherited a 30-06 and is fairly new to shooting. The OP is looking for a low recoiling rifle to get her into the game without putting her off the very first outing.

Hunters usually practice with what they hunt with ensuring the do not need to zero their scope again or try to remember what round they shot last. Surplus ammo is not practical to practice with in a hunting rifle.

 

[meketrefe]

No. Not with a bolt gun but typically when I go, it's about 300 rounds. There is nothing a 6.5 can do that a .308 can't as far as hunting goes.

As far as online goes, it's only a matter of time before the face to face database gets created.

That is true nothing the 6.5 can do in terms of average hunting.
the 308 loaded with premium ammo 180gr can take a Grizly bear in Alaska. Not the 6.5 at least so easily.
But the 6.5 can make contact much easier or take a gazelle at 800 or 900 yards whereas with the 308 is a lot more challenging shot.
The 7mm even better with more momentum and more reach than the 6.5.
None of those things are a concern to the OP for the purpose of this thread.

I think the idea is a cartrige that is light enough that has plenty of light / mild loads w/o going wild.
Also something one can hunt with authority and ideally one will practice wiht the same ammo as one hunts with.
The 308 hunting ammo in 150gr is pretty effective but it is not cheaper nor easier on the shoulder than a lighter
120gr 6.5 or 7mm.

If one reloads is a different story. A 120gr TTSX from a 308 is a very light an effective round but I think reloading
is not in the op's plans.

If one reloads then the sky is the limit.

 

[Marine Cpl]

One cannot have it all, cheap, effective, accurate, .... need to give up something. This is a world of tradeoffs.
We are talking about ready for hunting and accuracy practice / shooting not shooting call of duty style.
50 rounds of good hunting ammo will give plenty of work for a 2hr range session.

Are you telling me that a .308 or .223 is not accurate enough that the disadvantages of going with something more expensive or less available is worth the tradeoffs?

And where are you getting Call of Duty from? No one here is telling anyone to spray fire from the hip.

 

[Marine Cpl]

Think you are missing the boat on this one. Vary rare is the female hunter that spends 6 to 8 hours on the range just plinking. The young lady hunter in question inherited a 30-06 and is fairly new to shooting. The OP is looking for a low recoiling rifle to get her into the game without putting her off the very first outing.

Hunters usually practice with what they hunt with ensuring the do not need to zero their scope again or try to remember what round they shot last. Surplus ammo is not practical to practice with in a hunting rifle.

Point taken. That is true. 2 boxes usually last all season.

 

[ArmedCorgi]

I forgot to add that she has fired an AR and was fine with it. The ammo was nothing special PMC 55gr if I remember correctly. I realize a 223 probably has more felt recoil from a bolt gun and also with a more appropriate hunting load. She also fired a 9mm carbine and prefered that over the AR if that tells you anything.

 

[MilesTeg]

I forgot to add that she has fired an AR and was fine with it. The ammo was nothing special PMC 55gr if I remember correctly. I realize a 223 probably has more felt recoil from a bolt gun and also with a more appropriate hunting load. She also fired a 9mm carbine and prefered that over the AR if that tells you anything.

Why not use the 9mm with proper self defense ammo, you have 100 yds gun.

 

[ArmedCorgi]

Why not use the 9mm with proper self defense ammo, you have 100 yds gun.

She shot those when we were on vacation down in free America, so neither were mine. The 9mm carbine was a HiPoint also, so no bueno up here. Though, I may have just given myself justification to built that 9mm AR style carbine I put on hold to buy my GP100, lol.

 

[ArmedCorgi]

I know a 9mm through a 16" barrel has similar ballistics to .357 magnum, soooo would that be a choice for whitetail deer?

 

[dsdmmat]

I forgot to add that she has fired an AR and was fine with it. The ammo was nothing special PMC 55gr if I remember correctly. I realize a 223 probably has more felt recoil from a bolt gun and also with a more appropriate hunting load. She also fired a 9mm carbine and prefered that over the AR if that tells you anything.

For a light recoiling hunting gun, I would stick with the 6mm and 6.5 mm cartridges. They have plenty of guns in youth model sizes (if that is an issue) and will give you the power to take shots at typical hunting distances.

 

[MilesTeg]

I know a 9mm through a 16" barrel has similar ballistics to .357 magnum, soooo would that be a choice for whitetail deer?

I believe so, if you keep it 100 yds with the proper shot placement. But some people aren't comfortable with using such a caliber. If you already have an AR you could buy a barreled upper in one of the calibers listed above for the cheapest route.

 

[ArmedCorgi]

For a light recoiling hunting gun, I would stick with the 6mm and 6.5 mm cartridges. They have plenty of guns in youth model sizes (if that is an issue) and will give you the power to take shots at typical hunting distances.

She has feakishly long arms and tall girl problems, lol.

 

[dsdmmat]

She has feakishly long arms and tall girl problems, lol.

Look at the Ruger American in 6.5 Creedmoor or .243 both are pretty mild calibers and are not very expensive to get into.

 

[Marine Cpl]

I think any. 223 rifle with a recoil system is a good fit based on what you described and her past experiences.

You don't need a bolt gun to hunt.

 

[GuyMontag]

Tikka T3 Lite Compact .243 Winchester Rifle JRTE315C - Display Rifle

Under $500, well worth a look.

 

[meketrefe]

Are you telling me that a .308 or .223 is not accurate enough that the disadvantages of going with something more expensive or less available is worth the tradeoffs?

No, nobody said that. Service cartriges are great cartriges including for hunting but in this case considering the role and recoil
one could go with an offspring of the 308 for the very reasons those were born in the first place and became very popular
at what they do. The 7mm-08 derived from the 308 and has proven to be superior in every single aspect ballistically talking.
Based on the expected use and 7mm options this makes it a better alternative.
If one was going to have an all around caliber for many uses including plinking and defense then the 308 would be a better choice
but for a petite lady or kid perhaps the 6.8 would be more effective w/o sacrificing firepower and shortcomings of 223, blackout,
x39 and pistol calibers. This is an exercise any shooter should do by looking at needs, expectations and pehaps use a scorecard
to truthfully reflect pros and cons. However I think there are a lot of benefits to using service ammo but that is probably a subject
for another conversation and considering other important roles.
If I was going to have one single rifle would probably be a rifle in a service round and then prepare to reload accordingly to different
needs. the 308 could be perfect for anything ... the 223 too but with its obvious limitations.

And where are you getting Call of Duty from? No one here is telling anyone to spray fire from the hip.

I was referring to the 300 rounds of ammo for a range session for hunting preparation.
...Just joking. Sorry not trying to offend anyone.

 

[ArmedCorgi]

I believe so, if you keep it 100 yds with the proper shot placement. But some people aren't comfortable with using such a caliber. If you already have an AR you could buy a barreled upper in one of the calibers listed above for the cheapest route.

.50 Beowolf it is, lol.

 

[MilesTeg]

.50 Beowolf it is, lol.

Go big or go home! Plus nobody really likes venison anyways.

 

[Marine Cpl]

I wonder what caliber Trump would pick? In all seriousness, at least we are debating guns and not lifetime SCROTUM appointments by Trump.

 

[ArmedCorgi]

I wonder what caliber Trump would pick? In all seriousness, at least we are debating guns and not lifetime SCROTUM appointments by Trump.

Is there a motion on the table to talk about SCROTUM? LMAO!!

 

[Snappo]

Just as the title asks, what would be a mild recoiling but adequate rifle caliber for deer hunting? The perspective person is female, she's been around guns all her life, but hasn't necessarily had much experience shooting. She inherited a very nice Winchester Model 70 carbine in 30-06, but I'm concerned the rifle's light weight and short barrel will result in a harsher kick and I don't want her getting turned off to shooting/hunting.

White tail and mule deer here in the Northeast, right? If so, she should consider the .243 Winchester. She can get a 1:10 twist and shoot the 110 grain stuff. I am a huge Remington bigot by pretty much every defnition; so I of course suggest a Remington 700. Their model 783 is half the price of the 700 if you are on a budget. Savage and Ruger make a camo pink color .243 Winchester if you prefer going that route.

 

[nortatoga]

Before buying a new rifle, has she shot this model 70? She already has a great rifle how about trying some of these, Claims to 50% less recoil.

 

[1075tech]

If you are ever in Orange County and want to test drive my 6.5 Grendel, I have plenty of Wolf steel case plinking ammo. At $.23 - $.27/round it's cheap enough. I'll let her try my 30-30, 308, 243, 7.7 Jap, 12 gauge, 20 gauge...

But seriously, she will not shoot well with something she is not comfortable with. You're talking about hunting. Maybe a box or two before season? Get whatever SHE is comfortable with.

 

[ECU Pirates]

.260, 7-08, .243 or a 30-30 bolt gun are all good choices in my opinion. I don't have experience with it but the .257 Roberts is also a light recoiling cartridge. If it's hunting and not a ton of range sessions ammo costs won't be a big deal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ArmedCorgi]

So we had an outing to a friends gun club this past Saturday for some fishing and shooting. Unfortunately (for the trying out guns) she was way more into the fishing. So there was a 243 and 30-30 available but she didn't get to try them. She did however, hook a good sized trout! I got two smaller trout which put together equaled her one trout, but then she caught another trout so she beat me.