Low recoil red deer and wild boar cartridge

[Pavel U]

Good morning gentlemen,
What a wonderful world we live in!
I happened to be owner of extremely poor eyesight, but modern medicine can do miracles even for the most deformed eyes. I am about to be getting Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) - (google it, it is very fascinating), so I should see well again.
But there is a catch. According to the doctor, one should be extremely careful - apparently avoiding any impact or big concussions - damn, I can't even rub my eyes! So I guess shooting dozens of 9.3s from my 7 pounds O/U is something to be avoided This is not easy for me, since I am firm believer of Use enough gun approach.

I would like to know Your suggestions for soft recoiling and possibly very heavy rifle that can cleanly kill Red deer and Wild boar - having minimum of 1.500 joules (or 1.100 footpounds) of energy in 100 meters (legal min. in my country). Ideally something that can reach up to 300 yards - for close ranges and larger animals I intend to get a compound bow.

 

[PARA45]

Congratulations on getting your eye sight back. Would a 275 Rigby work? It's a mild recoiling cartridge, and I believe should be enough for Red deer and wild boars.

 

[YancyW]

I'm not sure where you live, but if I was hunting whitetail and hogs in the US and I was told to go as low recoil as possible, I would use a 6.5 Grendel. However, that may be hard to find where you live.

Maybe a .243, you could load them with a 80gr mono and have plenty for deer and hogs. If my eyesight were on the line, I wouldn't think twice about using a suppressor or a brake on my hunting rifle, even something s

 

[crs]

The old 30-30 has been taking those animals and black bear for many decades and continues to do so today. I know nothing about Joules and such , but 100+ years of proven performance means more than double speak about the energy and velocity details.
But if you need justification for a new rifle, go for it!

 

[Berettaco]

243, 6mm, 6.5, 270, 7x57, 7-08. Anything close to those should be limited recoil. I know muzzle brakes aren’t popular but when dealing with an issues such as yours, might not be a terrible idea. Also the weight of the rifle and weight of the bullet can also reduce recoil. Heavier rifle and lighter bullet - use a light premium bullet: TTSX, A frame, partition, etc and you can be set up nicely

 

[Fabnosh]

A 7mm08 with a mod fitted is lovely to shoot and great balance between knock down power and shooting comfort - the mod serve to reduce the report and the recoil and, if you reload, the options for 7mm bullets are considerable.

FN

 

[WyoBull]

The 243 loaded with Barnes 80 gr TTSX is a wonderful combination. I have one and love it for the size game you are wanting to use it for.

Also, my wife had ICL implants a number of years ago and they have been life changer for her. Good luck with your procedure.

 

[shootist~]

Any Rem 700 or clone Short Action. Remage prefit or other custom barrel. Mid weight (heavy sporter) to varmit weight. Muzzle brake or suppressor if serious about reducing recoil.

6.5 (Creedmoor, Lapua, etc). Lower volume cases than the Swede.

140 grain 6.5 carries 2,000+ foot pounds at 100 yards compared to 1,500 or so for a 95 grain 243 Winchester. Chuck Hawks K factor of 32 Vs about 16+ or so for the 243 (100 Yard calculations). Not scientific, but reasonable, IMO.

Next up in energy/momentum would be a 7mm-08, then a 308 W with heavier bullets increasing the K factor significantly, but also the recoil.

I have a spreadsheet showing the MV, Foot Pounds, K Factor, SD, etc for a number of light to heavier loads if interested. Bit of a personal hobby.

 

[AZDAVE]

Since you are currently shooting a 9.3 O/U why don't ypou see if you can trade it for a nice 7x57R O/U or a 6.5x57r O/U and go shoot some deer and boar. If you look at a bolt guin to replace the double you have a bunch of solid recommendations above, i would also say that a supressor would also add nicely to recoil and sound reduction. The downside of the suppressor would be the throwing the balance off. (That can be adjusted with proper counter balance weighting in the butt stock)

 

[Shootist43]

I put a muzzle break on my "grandkids" 6.5 X 55 Swedish Mauser. That plus a Laminated Stock from Boyds brought the calculated recoil down to 9 Lbs. While the rifle isn't what I'd call light, it is a pure pleasure to shoot.

 

[gbflyer]

The sweetest shooting rifle I ever owned was a Remington 700 Classic in 250-3000 aka 250 Savage. Excellent cartridge for the Mule Deer it was used on and less recoil than a .243.

If you really want to stir things up around here, use a .220 Swift though. Hahaha.

 

[rookhawk]

Good morning gentlemen,
What a wonderful world we live in!
I happened to be owner of extremely poor eyesight, but modern medicine can do miracles even for the most deformed eyes. I am about to be getting Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) - (google it, it is very fascinating), so I should see well again.
But there is a catch. According to the doctor, one should be extremely careful - apparently avoiding any impact or big concussions - damn, I can't even rub my eyes! So I guess shooting dozens of 9.3s from my 7 pounds O/U is something to be avoided This is not easy for me, since I am firm believer of Use enough gun approach.

I would like to know Your suggestions for soft recoiling and possibly very heavy rifle that can cleanly kill Red deer and Wild boar - having minimum of 1.500 joules (or 1.100 footpounds) of energy in 100 meters (legal min. in my country). Ideally something that can reach up to 300 yards - for close ranges and larger animals I intend to get a compound bow.

Congratulations, Pavel.

I'm so happy to hear your health is improving with the surgery!

I'm going to give you the same advice that I used for my 6-8-10 year old children a few years back. Diminished loads are not necessarily the answer. There are better ways.

1.) First, lets get you a caliber that is pleasant to shoot in general. A very formidable caliber for a European is 7x64 brenneke. It has 95% of the power of a 7mm Rem Mag but it has about 60% of the recoil. If you live in a place in the world that does not have 7x64, the 280 Remington is a wonderful alternative. If you can get neither, the 7x57 / .275 Rigby is very good as well.

2.) Lets get the gun fit perfect. That means a soft recoil pad like a 1" Pachmayr Old English / Decellerator. Next, lets get the scope height perfect for better recoil management. A 1-6x or 1-8x straight tube scope in low or ultra low rings will greatly improve your recoil management and you'll have better stock to face fit.

3.) Lets now deal with loads. Full power loads I might add. The math is simple, all things being equal including velocity and bullet weight, the powder that uses the fewest grains/grams to achieve a given velocity will have less recoil. Just by switching powders from the ten choices they give you for a given load, you may find a 20% recoil reduction.

4.) If recoil is still too much, install a one pound REMOVABLE mercury recoil reducer in the stock. On a standard rifle, adding 1lb to the gun's weight will typically give you a 15% recoil reduction simply by weight increase.

You add up all of these factors: the right cartridge, good fit, low rings, proper recoil pad, proper powder choice, and a recoil reducer if necessary, you will have no trouble whatsoever with recoil.

This was what allowed my 6 year olds to hunt deer with a 243 winchester. My 8 year olds to hunt oryx and eland with a 7x64, and my 11 year olds to hunt croc and kudu with a 375HH.

It works perfectly and we haven't even succumbed to diminished/reduced loads.

 

[Red Leg]

Sounds like you are in Europe and are likely shooting stag and driven boar. In that case, most of the small cartridges being suggested would be poor choices for running 300 lb targets where beaters might get hammered by a wounded animal. Also, I certainly wouldn't want to show up at a Continental driven hunt with a 30-30 Winchester - poor form and all that.

I really like @AZDAVE 's suggestion. An OU 7x57R or 7x65R with a 170 gr class bullet seems to hit far above its class. It can be easily scoped and several of the modern designs have a regulation pin fitted between the muzzles. An additional benefit is that a recoil reducer can be fitted in the stock to both add weight and to actually mitigate recoil.

 

[crs]

"Also, I certainly wouldn't want to show up at a Continental driven hunt with a 30-30 Winchester - poor form and all that."
Really?
I would like to show up with my lever action .405 WCF (I do not have a 30-30, but the .405 makes big holes in warthogs and blows off the off side legs of feral boars .) . Also good for Nilgai, water buff, and cape buff.

But you are right, I would not fit in with that crowd.

 

[Alistair]

Wild euro boar, red deer, 300yds capable, low recoil.

That sounds like a 7x57 or a 308 to me. Maybe the double equivalents (7×57r or 7x65r) or a 6.5 of some kind also.

Anything lighter might be dicey for driven boar and might not make the energy requirement.

Choose a gun of around 9-10lb scoped and moderated and recoil should be pretty low.

 

[VertigoBE]

I will not pretend to be the end all expert on calibres, but for European driven wild boar or running large stag, a .243 is not a good recommendation.

Especially for wild boar in the winter, with a layer of ice on their coats and a thick layer of fat, you want to make as much destruction as possible. Perfect heart shots on them from .30-06 or 300WM regularly see them still running for a 100m before succumbing. So on driven wild boar you would want as great of a hole as possible.

7x57 at the very least or I echo the other recommendations of a 7x64 / 7x65r as a much better solution if you want to step down in calibre.

You do not want to be responsible for the tracking after a wounded boar in the dense undergrowth in our forests.

Before decreasing in calibre, perhaps also first play with fit, weight and a sound suppressor.

And for those that recommended a 30-30, that would make a lot of eyebrows go up at the very least.

 

[Art Lambart II]

It sounds like you need a Blaser R8 in 7x64, heck I could use a a Blaser R8 in 7x64.

 

[Mwag]

Congrats on getting vision restored.
7x57 or 7mm-08 with premium bullets will do the job very nicely with very manageable recoil.

 

[crs]

My grandson has taken hogs and deer with his 7mm-08; Also some exotics.

My son shoots hogs with his .223 AR15. So do several ranchers that I have hunted with.
I shoot hogs with whatever is handy. .357 revolver and rifle on up to big bore rifles.

 

[R.M.C.]

For driven hunts I'd go for a .308 , all the ones I've shot were really mild kicking and its got darn near the same as a 30.06 . Congratulations on the restored vision!