Medium bore white tail caliber

[TXhunter65]

Yep...7mm-08.

 

[CD24]

I use a nosler independence pistol in 7mm-08. It's a dream in a shoot house and drops them pretty well. I get 2600fps out of a standard 7mm-08 and the accuracy is remarkable. If you can get used to shooting a pistol you no longer have shoulder concerns.

 

[MS 9x56]

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

Never thought I'd say this until I saw what it can do but try a 350 legend. It hits with authority is accurate, light kicking,and lethal. The best part is it is a 35 caliber albeit shooting light for caliber bullets but at under 200 yards it is all the gun needed for whitetails. I think your wife would enjoy it.

 

[SFRanger7GP]

My wife said that wonderful phrase (I would like to hunt with you.) a little over 15 years ago. She had never hunted or fired a center fire rifle before and had never been exposed to hunting prior to our marriage. I bought her a 243 and she killed several deer with it. She now has a Rigby in 275 Rigby and loves it. She says it is no different than shooting her 243. When we were getting ready to go on our first trip to Africa, I had her practice with my 30-06 using Remington Low Recoil factory ammo. When we were hunting, it was loaded with factory Barnes 180gr. She has killed a lot of game with a 30-06 and says she cannot tell the difference between it and a 7x57.

I will suggest the 7x57 as have others. I will also add a bit of advice, don't her shoot from an uncomfortable bench. All rifles kick from the bench. Clara shoots 22's from the bench sometimes but mostly practices from sticks or a Caldwell FieldPod.

Safe shooting.

 

[Ravensview]

.257 robert, the .243 also does a nice job

 

[Rell]

Hmm, so no 6.5CM and lots of votes for the 7x57, always a classic.

I’ll go another way …. 338 Federal loaded with .338 Barnes TTSX 160gr at about 2700fps. You could load it up to 2900fps+ But not needed.

Maybe a removable muzzle break to Practice with?

If you ever needed it shoot 185gr to 210gr for bigger game.

 

[ZG47]

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

Important to restrict yourself to 120 grain or 130 grain at most. European hunters use 130 grain on red deer and I have heard (no surprise) that 120-130 grain bullets also work well on our red deer. Full power factory 139-140 grain ammo has too much bite at the back end for an injured hunter and … some bullets in that range, e.g. Hornady 139 grain Interlock were designed for 6.5 Magnum cartridges. That bullet pencilled right through a red spiker when a hunting mate took a shot and he changed over to using his Model 94 30-30 for bush stalking.

 

[shootist~]

......

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

I agree. Same for the 6.5 CM, too.

Food for thought on the recoil angle: What some do is mount a brake for practice and remove it for hunting. More practice = (fill in the blank). Also, there are less offensive brakes these days, but hearing protection is still a must, of course.

As an example, my 308W (bought strictly for practice from the sticks), came threaded. With a single port brake and shooting 150s, it has slightly more recoil than my 243 shooting 90 grain bullets. And noticeably less than my unbraked 6.5CM running 140s.

And for the utmost in a light recoiling Whitetail rifle, I have a friend that's using 129 grain L.R. Accubond reloads in a 6.5 Grendel. Not a bolt gun, however.

 

[Redneck]

22-250 I like it under 150 yards. My kids have killed deer with it from 5 years old and up.
410 slugs work great also just a thought.

 

[Tra3]

7mm-08 is great and has a nice range of bullet weight. That is what I chose for my sister. My daughter used a .270 win this summer. My son started with a 6.5 CM.
+1 on avoiding the bench. You can sight it in, then let her shoot from sticks, etc.
While a brake works, it does bring a tremendous amount of noise which can be as negative as recoil, depending on the person.
the 6.5 cm gets a lot of negative feedback because of, well, we all know. It works great on deer and I’ve watched it take multiple PG up to zebra as well as an elk. (With the 142 gr accubond LR) Accuracy is more important that size.

 

[1dirthawker]

@ducmarc,

i have had a couple of train wrecks with the 243/6mm, most recently a week ago with a borrowed rifle on a axis deer. not a fan. (berger bullet)

i would start at 25 or 26 cal for a serious yet effective and light kicking deer rifle. my 2cents

 

[SaintPanzer]

I'm biased. I fully confess to all my biases. I like flat six engines, unless you can see your way to a V-12, I think there should be Constitutional Amendments requiring the America's Cup to be sailed in the 12 meter class and outlawing the Designated Hitter Rule. I'd prefer the Navy go back to its daily tot of rum. All these things are true, and all of them fully show my biases.

With that being said, and with full acknowledgement that this is another one of my (many) biases, to me you have perfectly described the need for a Mannlicher Schönauer M1903.

For a whitetail, you could even get away with going down to a 140 grain bullet.

 

[MS 9x56]

I'm biased. I fully confess to all my biases. I like flat six engines, unless you can see your way to a V-12, I think there should be Constitutional Amendments requiring the America's Cup to be sailed in the 12 meter class and outlawing the Designated Hitter Rule. I'd prefer the Navy go back to its daily tot of rum. All these things are true, and all of them fully show my biases.

With that being said, and with full acknowledgement that this is another one of my (many) biases, to me you have perfectly described the need for a Mannlicher Schönauer M1903.

For a whitetail, you could even get away with going down to a 140 grain bullet.

A Mannlicher Schoenauer is never a bad choice. Another classic good choice would be a 250-3000 savage in a model 99 lever action.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

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

@ducmarc
Have you given any thought to the new Winchester XPR bolt gun in 350 Legend. Light weight, light recoil and accurate and ideal for white tail out to 200 yards.
Our gun editor in Australia Nick Harvey and @ K95 just tested one and it got rave reviews from @K95.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

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.

@375er
The 250 Savage, 257 Roberts or the 25-06. All more than capable for the job.
The little 250 Savage with 110gn accubond or a 100gn swift Sirroco or AFrame, even a 100gn TTSX will do the job no fuss or bother and has the recoil of a kittens caress.
You have to love the 25s. They go from very mild 25-20 to very wild in the 257 Weatherby.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

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 The 250-3000 is now just called the 250 Savage. It got its name because it was able to launch an 87 grain bullet at 3,000fps. Nowdays with proper hand loading it will do that with 100gn projectiles.
Bob

 

[Challer]

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.

Well, a 300BLK is like a .45 ACP. I’m sure with the right bullet it can work. People use them for pigs. But not a first choice. 25-06 if I couldn’t have my 30-06. And I live in VA.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

A 300 blackout would be a good option for under 150 yards in my opinion. You can get almost 30-30 ballistics with 150s and 165s.
A lot of people like the 100-110 grain monolithic bullets.

 

[AZDAVE]

It is hard to go wrong with the two metric classics. 6.5x55 or one of my all time favorite rounds 7x57.

 

[Areaonereal]

A 6.5x47 L. Minimal recoil, brass and bullets available in Normal times. Up to 140 gr bullet…very accurate. Or a 6.5 creedmore or 260. Punch without the recoil. The 6.5 Creedmore is available in numerous factory rifle…ballistics almost identical in all above noted calibers.