Medium bore white tail caliber

[ducmarc]

So 1 day before the end of rifle season up here in Virginia and the wife says I'd like to go deer hunting ..what???. She likes to shoot and is a good shot but has a bad shoulder and back so she has limited herself to (her)m1 carbine and various pistols. So the question is what is a light kicking light carrying bolt gun good for around 150 yards .was thinking the bottom a 243 top out 7x57 or maybe a 308.she can't take a 3006 and thats the smallest I have short of a 556 AR. So.243, 6mm rem.257,6.55x55,7x57.no damn creedmoor I'm sick of hearing about them. Have another model 70 I could rebarrel into a feather weight contour. Thanks

 

[Red Leg]

A .308 in a light rifle can kick surprisingly hard. I remember a little Ruger International that I gave my twelve year old son that made us both want to cry. We unloaded it, and he did brilliantly the next several years with a Steyr .243. In spite of the opinions of some of our down under friends, the .243 with a 100 gr premium bullet is an outstanding deer rifle.

 

[Trogon]

6.5x55 Swede is a good choice, mild recoil. I own a Ruger No. 1 and a Sauer 100 XT. Really enjoy them both.

 

[Tanks]

Even though you don't want to hear about them the 6.5CM will do the job well, very light recoil and capable to the ranges you are talking about.

 

[Deleted member 40394]

7mm-08 maybe.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

My younger son's first rifle and only rifle he has to now is a 7x57. I load it modestly with 140gr bullets and it did great in Africa. He never was bothered by recoil. To me, albeit I shoot some much bigger bores, it feels like a pop gun.

If you load you're own, this would be a good choice to control velocity and recoil. Your other choices seem good ones too for WT and low recoil.

 

[TMac]

A number of good choices have been suggested. I’d never try and talk someone out of buying another gun, but… A 223/5.56 with the right bullet is deadly for deer to just over 200 yards or so. So if that cartridge is legal and you can get past hunting with an AR, you have one that will work. Source a 5 round mag or put a 5 round limiter in a 10 round mag and off you go.

Low recoil loads for your 30-06 are another solution. Other low recoil options, if you want more bullet weight than the 22’s/24’s, are a 257 Roberts or a 6.5 Grendel. When I attempted to solve this same problem over about the last 25 years for kids/grands, I ended up going all over the place. From a 243, to a 25-06, to a 7-08, to a 223, to a 6.5 Grendel, and now to a 224 Valkyrie. I still have and use them all. All worked great on deer with proper bullet choices.

 

[curtism1234]

257, 260, 25-06, 7-08 all good choices

 

[DG870]

250 Savage

 

[dchum]

.243 is great for whitetail in my opinion. It was my first deer rifle as a 6 year old. Guess what I shoot deer with now? A .243! I even use dreaded Berger bullets (how horrible) with great success

 

[degoins]

If she might could take a .308, then load the 30-06 with 110 or 125 gr. bullets.

 

[Andrew Short]

7mm08 would be a great choice. My father purchased a Remington model seven for me at 7 years old, I killed my first deer with that rifle at age eight and I still hunt with it to this day 26 years later. The recoil would not be significant enough to hurt her but is it extremely effective on Whitetail deer.

The 243 shooting 100 grain bullets just doesn’t compare to the 7mm-08 or 308.

 

[Trail Rated]

I second what’s been said about .243 and 7x57. But I also want to ask: Is .30 Carbine legal for deer where you are? If your wife loves her M1 carbine and you have soft point ammo, that’s a valid choice too.

 

[Graham Hunter]

I think the 26-06 is the Ultimate. I have killed a LOT of Deer with it.

 

[Alaska Luke]

Couple other ideas. Look into a suppressor (if legal). That helps a lot.

300 Blackout is lower powered but better then a 30 cal M1 carbine. In a heavier bolt action or AR I think it would be fine.

 

[Firebird]

I’m a big fan of the 7mm-08. I bought one for my girls but I liked it so much that I have used it in a couple of white tails as well as a Muley or two. Last Christmas I bought my daughter a win. Model 70 featherweight which fits her slight frame really well. I hand loaded 120 gr Barnes ttsx for it with great accuracy. Lots of good choices out there!

 

[375er]

My vote is for the 25-06. Been shooting one for over 40 years. Is effective way beyond what you would think and the recoil is mild. Also has the ability to reach wwaaaaayyy out there if you need to.

 

[ducmarc]

Had not thought about a 7mm08.or a 250 savage the 30 carbine is legal but it's more of a jump out of the truck and pump 10 rounds in to one.i left that back with my teen years.what ever happened to the 250-3000?

 

[ducmarc]

A 7mm08 in a 95 Mauser action would nice or 7x57

 

[meigsbucks]

Of the rounds you list, I’d go 6.5x55 or the .257 Roberts (110gr Nosler AB, 115 gr Nosler PT.)