Deer cartridges with minimal recoil

[Skydog]

I won’t bore you with all the details, but due to a combination of medical issues (prior cervical fusion surgery and ongoing neck/shoulder issues) I was recently informed by one of my doctors that I need to minimize recoil as much as possible. This means that I will be retiring my .270 Win and looking for a new caliber for deer hunting.

I’ve been doing a lot of research into the various options for reducing recoil – muzzle brakes, suppressors, reduced loads, etc. – but for various reasons I don’t like any of these options.

I’ll be looking at full size, wood stocked bolt action rifles with 22+ inch barrels, so the gun will likely end up weighing around 7.5 to 9 lbs. with a scope. I hunt from stands and won't be hiking long distances, so weight is not an issue.

So, the criteria for what I’m looking for is:

• The minimal recoil available in a cartridge that will take deer out to 300 yards.

• Good selection of factory ammo that is readily available.

• No suppressor, muzzle brake or reduced loads.

• “Traditional” bolt action platform...no AR cartridges.

• Good selection of rifles available, not a niche or hard to find cartridge.

• Nothing smaller than .24 caliber.

It seems to me that the obvious choice is .243 Win if I want to have the minimum recoil. I also considered the 6.5 Creedmore and the 7mm-08, but both of those would have more recoil than the .243.

Is .243 the right choice? Any options I’m overlooking?

I know some folks seem to think that the .243 is marginal for deer, but there also seem to be a lot of people who swear by them.

 

[JMundy84]

243 or 6 creed seems to be exactly what you want

 

[Bugger]

Not a darn thing wrong with the .243 as a 300y deer gun.

 

[rookieforever33]

243 is fine for those ranges. Different stocks mitigate recoil better than others also. My nephew has a weatherby vangaurd 308. Side by side it is noticably softer shooting than the savage and browning rifles I have in 308

 

[ADKHTR]

I have both a 6 and 6.5 Creed and honestly I can’t tell the difference in recoil between them, both weigh around 7 1/4 lbs hunt ready, my 7/08 is a step up in recoil from either of those rifles, and my 270 has more than all of them, all my rifles are run with no brake and ultralights.

 

[BigDuckHunter]

243 has taken plenty of deer, big and small. Make sure you pick a good bullet and you won’t have any issues. I understand not wanting a brake, but I’d look hard into the suppressor. They definitely mitigate recoil and with the silencershop they aren’t much more difficult to get than buying a gun. And the wait times now are a non-issue.

 

[Jake Larsen]

Have a look at this thread

6mm /.243 hunting success on Big Game

6mm /.243 hunting success on Big Game

With the success of .223 and 6.5 threads on big game, thought I’d throw this one into the mix. Show and detail your results harvesting big game (deer, bear, elk, moose, African game) using 6mm/.243 cartridges. Please detail bullet, MV, impact velocity, and whether hand load or factory ammo.

r.tapatalk.com

A .243 or 6Creed will be an excellent choice


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JMundy84]

6 arc would also be a great choice

 

[sneaky]

6 ARC with a 108 ELDM or 95 TMK if those unicorns ever show up again

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[mtnbound]

6CM is the easy button.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

My mother in law shoots the hornady reduced load .243 87 SSTs and kills deer every year. Excellent factory ammo option.

A Tikka or Sako in .243 shooting those with a reliable scope would be a great choice.

 

[SloppyJ]

6 creed all day long. You can do this with a 223 as well. My son shot a 16" .223 this year and i shot 18" 6 creed. I would have no problem using either to 300yds. A 243 would work just fine too but you won't get the fancy new heavy bullets stuffed in there so that's where the 6 creed is better. Nothing wrong with a 95gr Nosler BT though.

 

[pacoalcracker]

243 or a 6.5 Creed. There isn't a lot of 6 Creed factory ammo on most gun shop shelves yet. Tons of factory ammo choices for 243 or 6.5 Creed and fairly cheap.

 

[ColPenguin]

I would lean .243 Winchester, rather than 6mm Creedmoor, for ammo availability now. You'll probably be able to buy more ammo at a lower cost if you plan to practice with it at the range and not just use it as a dedicated whitetail hunting rig. The folks that reload or shoot game at longer ranges will have a different perspective.

In the whitetail woods, the .243 will be a perfectly adequate tool.

 

[MuleyFever]

Like New Tikka T3x Hunter 243 Win 22.4" 1:8" Bbl Rifle JRTXA315

Like New Tikka T3x Hunter 243 Win 22.4" 1:8" Bbl Rifle JRTXA315 For Sale

www.eurooptic.com

 

[Castle Rock]

6ARC

 

[General RE LEE]

243 since you didn’t mention reloading and you want a wood stock rifle. It will kill deer no problem.

 

[Deere_Man]

6 ARC is the best choice here, but there is not very much factory ammo. I do see it nearly everywhere, just not a great selection yet. That will probably change.

6.5 Grendel is second best choice, when considering recoil and factory ammo selection. 300 yards is well within its capabilities. There is plenty of factory ammo available, especially online. Maybe not at Wal-Mart.

243 and 6mm Creedmoor are both great, with a bit more recoil, and range. The traditional low BC projectiles that get factory loaded into a 243 Win are absolutely capable at 300 yards. But if you want the high BC low drag bullets and factory ammo, the 6 Creedmoor is the best place to be.

 

[rhagenw1988]

243 and whatever 100gr ammo your rifle likes. If it's a 1-10 twist you will need to stick with flat base bullets. If you reload or you can find it in box ammo. Sierra 87 HPBT Game King is legendary.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

The performance you claim to want is being adversely impacted by your self imposed 24 cal min and refusal to use a suppressor.

6x45
6 arc
6 br
6 dasher
6 xc
6 bra
6x47

But the real answer is 223.

Suppress whatever you pick. We had a 300 yard bang flop kill with the 223 and 77 tmks this fall, others have used that combo to much further ranges on much larger game, it is very effective.