Deer cartridges with minimal recoil

[Pickettpuncher]

@Skydog

Ruger American Gen 2's come with 1in9 twist barrels. I would bet they can handle 108's.

Savage Axis 110 apex Storms have 1in9.25 barrels.

Your choice of the 243 is a solid choice for the goals you have set. Get the rifle you like best and you will be a deer slaying machine.

I had a savage with the 1:9.25 twist and it would not keep a 103 eldx in a 2 foot square. It prefered 95gr and less.

 

[SloppyJ]

I'm in a similar situation, 81 years old, cancer twice, chemo, several surgeries, and now a torn rotator cuff, I can't handle the recoil of a .308 any more. I've decided to try a 6.5 CM. I'm going to load some 127gr bullets at around 2200fps and give that a try. If that turn out to be too much I guess I'll have to drop down to .223.

Honestly Mr. B, give the .223 a chance with 77tmks and i think youll be beyond surprised. It's more than adequate.

 

[TNHighlands]

Why is this convo still going on? OP clearly has his mind made up on a .243 and this is turning into a "prove me wrong" kind of thread. Seems like a waste of time and energy.

 

[Skydog]

Why is this convo still going on? OP clearly has his mind made up on a .243 and this is turning into a "prove me wrong" kind of thread. Seems like a waste of time and energy.

If you have nothing of value to contribute to the conversation, why did you waste your time and energy to post a comment? Makes a lot of sense.

Who knows? Maybe someone will change my mind or give me something to consider that I haven't thought of.

 

[Deere_Man]

Why is this convo still going on? OP clearly has his mind made up on a .243 and this is turning into a "prove me wrong" kind of thread. Seems like a waste of time and energy.

lol. But you still put your two cents in.

 

[KyleR1985]

What’s the budget?

 

[Skydog]

What’s the budget?

Looking at something like a Howa 1500 Walnut/Super Deluxe or a Weatherby Vanguard Sporter. These seem to be in the $600 - $800 range, or a little lower or higher depending on where you look.

I know a lot of folks will recommend Tikka, but I'm just not crazy about them. I have a T3 that I inherited from my father-in-law when he passed away. But it does have a synthetic stock and I'm not a big fan of synthetic stocks in general. I've never handled a Tikka with a wood stock, so maybe that would change my mind. However, I rarely see the wood stocked Tikkas mentioned or recommended.

Also, I know one of the big selling points for Tikka is the aftermarket support for folks who like to tinker with and customize/modify their guns. That's not something I'm in to. The .270 that I'm retiring is a 1988 model A-bolt that I've hunted with for over 25 years. Other than the scope, it's the same today as it was when it left the factory. No modifications needed.

 

[Deere_Man]

Looking at something like a Howa 1500 Walnut/Super Deluxe or a Weatherby Vanguard Sporter. These seem to be in the $600 - $800 range, or a little lower or higher depending on where you look.

I know a lot of folks will recommend Tikka, but I'm just not crazy about them. I have a T3 that I inherited from my father-in-law when he passed away. But it does have a synthetic stock and I'm not a big fan of synthetic stocks in general. I've never handled a Tikka with a wood stock, so maybe that would change my mind. However, I rarely see the wood stocked Tikkas mentioned or recommended.

Also, I know one of the big selling points for Tikka is the aftermarket support for folks who like to tinker with and customize/modify their guns. That's not something I'm in to. The .270 that I'm retiring is a 1988 model A-bolt that I've hunted with for over 25 years. Other than the scope, it's the same today as it was when it left the factory. No modifications needed.

Tikka is like any other company that offers a wood stock in that the beauty is largely dependent upon if that particular gun got a decent piece of wood. Some are ho-hum and others are great. When you are shopping for a classic rifle with wood stock, what makes most of them stand out is a good bluing job. The Winchester Featherweight or Supergrade come to mind, as does the Ruger Mark II. All that just to say that I have seen some fine looking Tikka’s with wood…especially with wood + stainless:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1085484929

Good luck

 

[Skydog]

Tikka is like any other company that offers a wood stock in that the beauty is largely dependent upon if that particular gun got a decent piece of wood. Some are ho-hum and others are great. When you are shopping for a classic rifle with wood stock, what makes most of them stand out is a good bluing job. The Winchester Featherweight or Supergrade come to mind, as does the Ruger Mark II. All that just to say that I have seen some fine looking Tikka’s with wood…especially with wood + stainless:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1085484929

Good luck

Good to know about the wood Tikkas. Thank you. The price on that one is $1,179, which is a good bit over my budget. I do really like the Winchester Supergrades, but also over budget. I believe the Ruger Mark II was replaced by the Hawkeye...also really nice guns.

Any thoughts on these Howas with the premium walnut, or the 1500/Vanguards in general?

 

[TNHighlands]

If you have nothing of value to contribute to the conversation, why did you waste your time and energy to post a comment? Makes a lot of sense.

Who knows? Maybe someone will change my mind or give me something to consider that I haven't thought of.

Saw that response coming...

6 pages of people offering you exactly that and you're still not convinced. You specifically asked in your first post for examples of cartridges that meet your criteria and you've analyzed this down to ounces of recoil energy.

To contribute, i just made this same choice (though not recoil shy or injured) and went with 6 arc. Ammo is plentiful, meets your range/energy requirements with a devastating 108 ELDM and has virtually no recoil.

I'd recommend a howa or the new gen 2 ruger in a 20" and go kill stuff.

Don't overthink it man.

 

[Ringbill27]

Why is this convo still going on? OP clearly has his mind made up on a .243 and this is turning into a "prove me wrong" kind of thread. Seems like a waste of time and energy.

Yep he is definitely going to end up with howa in 243. Reading through this posts and the responses his mind was made up before the post.

Not a bad option but not the route most are recommending.

 

[Bugger]

Any thoughts on these Howas with the premium walnut, or the 1500/Vanguards in general?

View attachment 829113

Dude, it’s already in your cart. Just click “checkout” and be done with it.

 

[TNHighlands]

Not trying to be a dick to OP but we've outlined multiple examples of rifles that meet these criteria that aren't a .243.

You can "what-if?" This shit to death. Your questions have been answered. In my opinion, some of your criteria are inflexible and contradictory. You should consider the experience and knowledge people have offered. Do you care more about your shoulder or how classic the firearm looks? What you're looking for is a 6mm of some flavor with most minimal recoil to 300 yds. You then start talking about 500 yd ballistics and questioning a 25% reduction in recoil to the ounce. So its hard for anyone to follow what is actually important to you. Honestly, you're splitting hairs and we've all been there.

"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."

 

[Skydog]

i just made this same choice (though not recoil shy or injured) and went with 6 arc

Do you mind if I ask which rifle you went with in 6 arc? Thanks.

 

[KyleR1985]

Howa mini 6ARC in wood stock.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/product_info.php/products_id/155133/howa+m1500+walnut+hunter+rifle+6mm+arc+22+in.+walnut

Jefferson outdoors hinged floor plate. 150.00.

Oversized bolt knob from legacy. 20.00

Then call this company and ask them to load you 2000 of this round. I would assume probably the killingist .243 (the cartridge not the bullet) bullet in America.

6mm ARC 95gr Nosler Ballistic Tip – Copper Creek Cartridge Co.

coppercreekcartridgeco.com

Combine your desire for wood stock, with a maximum efficiency action, a bullet known to put whitetail down with ease inside your desired range, with no recoil, not requiring a brake or suppressor unless you wanted.


If the budget is 6-800, range is 300, .243 bullet required, and you don’t hike 10 miles deep to hunt for days at a time, honestly cant come up with any rational argument for anything else.


I would buy cheap 108 factory ammo for it, but you seem hung up on not doing that.

It doesn’t get easier.

Get a sticker that says .243 and tape it on the barrel for nostalgia’s sake.

 

[TNHighlands]

Do you mind if I ask which rifle you went with in 6 arc? Thanks.

Absolutely. I built my own. My criteria were a bit different. I wanted an AR and it fits my use cases a bit differently.




If i were to go bolt gun, i'd have gone with a howa barreled action in a stocky's vg stock or the ruger gen 2 in a different stock. You could expect ~ 2600fps from a 20" bolty with factory ammo. This gun's terminal ballistics make it a 500 yd gun on big game with no recoil.

 

[freezerfull]

As many have mentioned. For sub 400 yards where 105-115s won’t matter I’d highly recommend .243 win. Very available and popular without having the new cartridge demand spikes, granted hornady and what not have been good at distribution of ammo and components for their cartridges . Personally I’d be looking at light and fast for low recoil out of the 243. 90ish grain bonded or cup and core and 80ish grain for mono. I understand you don’t hand load and I don’t spend time researching factory offerings but the 87 gr vld at 3100 and the 80 ttsx at 3250 handloaded are absolute hammers out of a 10 twist. My wife has shot pretty much all of her animals with the 87 gr Berger and it punches much over its weight.

Eurooptic is blowing lots of tikkas out right now for decent prices BTW. A word of advice with Tikkas, unless you want to bed at minimum the recoil lug, I’d stay with synthetic. Recoil lugs in wood and laminate stocked tikkas are way sloppy. Back when it was still the T3 the lugs came glued/bedded from the factory.

 

[Ringbill27]

I’d rather spend the money you are going to spend on this new rifle and thread and suppress the 270win you already have. And then start reloading light bullets as hot as possible. I’d keep my shots within 50yds or so. Probably swap a plastic stock in to.

 

[Joelweb]

I'll throw out .257 Roberts because it has more style than a .243 Win.

With that said, I'd definitely choose a 6.5 Creedmor before a .243. .264 is a bigger diameter than .243 and it's just a more capable cartridge.

 

[kkp005]

Wood Stock tikka for $750

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

Tikka T3x Hunter 243 Win 22" 1:8" Bbl Rifle JRTXA315 | Only at EuroOptic.com!

www.eurooptic.com