Looking for ideas on a compact deer rifle

[The_Dinkmaster]

AR in 223/556. I shoot a lot deer sub 100yds in big woods. My favorite do it all riife is my 16" suppressed 223. But I also use an ar pistol in 300blk w7.5"barrel. That pistol is like 28" oal w/a 6" can on the end. Its very handy in the woods

Okay so I have a 300blk Del-Ton AR 15 that’s a tack driver at 100 yards. I literally have a target with 4 rounds in it that you could put a nickel over the top of (that’s good for me)

I say all that to say, several years ago I shot what I thought was a nice deer walking into my treestand one morning. Shot it at maybe 40 yards. Clearly the shot was good…my most accurate rifle at close range. The deer kicked and ran. Found 2 drops of blood and that’s it. No more blood. No deer. Not even buzzards circling a few days later.

So I don’t trust the 300 blk round for deer anymore. And honestly, I wouldn’t trust a 223 round either. Just my opinion, even if it’s completely wrong.

 

[omicron1792]

Okay so I have a 300blk Del-Ton AR 15 that’s a tack driver at 100 yards. I literally have a target with 4 rounds in it that you could put a nickel over the top of (that’s good for me)

I say all that to say, several years ago I shot what I thought was a nice deer walking into my treestand one morning. Shot it at maybe 40 yards. Clearly the shot was good…my most accurate rifle at close range. The deer kicked and ran. Found 2 drops of blood and that’s it. No blood. No deer. Not even buzzards circling a few days later.

So I don’t trust the 300 blk round for deer anymore. And honestly, I wouldn’t trust a 223 round either. Just my opinion, even if it’s completely wrong.

You didn’t even say what bullet you used.

 

[robtattoo]

Okay so I have a 300blk Del-Ton AR 15 that’s a tack driver at 100 yards. I literally have a target with 4 rounds in it that you could put a nickel over the top of (that’s good for me)

I say all that to say, several years ago I shot what I thought was a nice deer walking into my treestand one morning. Shot it at maybe 40 yards. Clearly the shot was good…my most accurate rifle at close range. The deer kicked and ran. Found 2 drops of blood and that’s it. No more blood. No deer. Not even buzzards circling a few days later.

So I don’t trust the 300 blk round for deer anymore. And honestly, I wouldn’t trust a 223 round either. Just my opinion, even if it’s completely wrong.

Calling a spade a spade.... your opinion IS completely wrong.

Your bullet selection is far, far more important that what size hole or cartridge length it's coming out of.
Even imortanter... is putting the right bullet in the right place.

Your .300blk is literally perfect for what you want to do. However, there are really only 2 "ideal" bullets (and they're not ideal if you don't put them in the right spot) & they're there Barnes 110gr Tac TX & the 110gr Hornady V-Max.
I've killed multiple deer & a LOT of pigs with both bullets & the 2 hogs that I remember running left blood trails that Ray Charles could follow. All the deer were high shoulder shots that dropped them in place, for hogs I shoot high shoulder or neck, if it's available. The 2 runners were both lung shots with no bones hit. Perfect archery shots, not great rifle shots.

Proof?

428lb piggy, 110gr Barnes, high shoulder, DRT (other than sliding down a hill, dead as a wedge)





I haven't killed anything that big with .223, but I've killed a lot with it & again, everything I've shot has died within feet of the shot. I've never had to track with 77gr TMKs or 65gr Gamekings.

 

[The Guide]

Okay so I have a 300blk Del-Ton AR 15 that’s a tack driver at 100 yards. I literally have a target with 4 rounds in it that you could put a nickel over the top of (that’s good for me)

I say all that to say, several years ago I shot what I thought was a nice deer walking into my treestand one morning. Shot it at maybe 40 yards. Clearly the shot was good…my most accurate rifle at close range. The deer kicked and ran. Found 2 drops of blood and that’s it. No more blood. No deer. Not even buzzards circling a few days later.

So I don’t trust the 300 blk round for deer anymore. And honestly, I wouldn’t trust a 223 round either. Just my opinion, even if it’s completely wrong.

Based on your original post saying you weren’t comfortable with a 6.5 Grendel, I assume you are looking for a full sized short action round in a repeating firearm that is light weight with a short barrel and inexpensive. You can get the Ruger American Gen2 with a 16" barrel in both 6.5 Creedmoor and 308 Winchester for sub $600. This would give you lots of options and be shootable to distances further than you plan to use them to. These rifles come with a rail on top and ready to shoot, just add your scope.

Another option is the Howa Superlite with a 16" barrel. It has also been available in 6.5CM and 308 Winchester as well as 243 and 7mm-08 but that is closer to $1000 with a carbon fiber stock.

Jay

 

[The_Dinkmaster]

You sound like you hunt in similar stuff to me. The 16" Tikka 223 will work but I dont love it if the deer dont drop. There's no blood trail and ive tested it on multiple animals.

I think a 18" 6 creed or 6arc would work better for you. Even a 8 twist tikka 243. The easy button could be a tikka 6.5 creed cut down and threaded for a suppressor.

So per the advice I read on here, last year I did obtain a Tikka T3x in 6.5 CM. Used it last season and took a nice little 8 pt with it. But I found it to be equally cumbersome, though slightly less heavy, than my Remington 7400 in 243 (which is a deer slayer BTW, just heavy AF).

I found the barrel length on the T3x (22 I think) to be cumbersome. I thought of cutting it down, but at that point might as well get an aftermarket carbon prefit that is 16” or so. That thought has crossed my mind, but then if I’m not happy with it I’ve spent enough that I could’ve bought another gun

 

[TradLife406]

223 or a 16" 22 creed

 

[goalie]

6.5 Grendel is almost overkill 100 and in. My son's 12.5" is batting 1.000 and all DRT.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Train wreck in slow motion. The right arrows are in the quiver. Need to look at it from the angle of what bullet you're using not what cartridge.

Get a 35 Whelen, 180/200 gr TTSX factory loads and if you don't kill something bang flop at 100 yds, don't know what to say.

 

[The_Dinkmaster]

Calling a spade a spade.... your opinion IS completely wrong.

Your bullet selection is far, far more important that what size hole or cartridge length it's coming out of.
Even imortanter... is putting the right bullet in the right place.

Your .300blk is literally perfect for what you want to do. However, there are really only 2 "ideal" bullets (and they're not ideal if you don't put them in the right spot) & they're there Barnes 110gr Tac TX & the 110gr Hornady V-Max.
I've killed multiple deer & a LOT of pigs with both bullets & the 2 hogs that I remember running left blood trails that Ray Charles could follow. All the deer were high shoulder shots that dropped them in place, for hogs I shoot high shoulder or neck, if it's available. The 2 runners were both lung shots with no bones hit. Perfect archery shots, not great rifle shots.

Proof?

428lb piggy, 110gr Barnes, high shoulder, DRT (other than sliding down a hill, dead as a wedge)

View attachment 959873
View attachment 959872
View attachment 959874

I haven't killed anything that big with .223, but I've killed a lot with it & again, everything I've shot has died within feet of the shot. I've never had to track with 77gr TMKs or 65gr Gamekings.

I suspect you are correct, in that those aren’t the cartridges in 300 blk I was using. If I remember correctly, I was using a Barnes cartridge, unsure of the size or style (been several years so I don’t remember all the details on it).

 

[The_Dinkmaster]

6.5 Grendel is almost overkill 100 and in. My son's 12.5" is batting 1.000 and all DRT.

So what barrel length is he shooting? AR style platform or traditional rifle?

Also what ammo?

 

[deerhunter628]

I have a Q Fix and love it. Im glad that i bought it even if it is just chasing whitetail, but if i did not want to spend that much i would get the Bergara Ridge SP. Its a nice compact rifle with an 18” barrel. Mine is a 308 and shoots great.

 

[Antares]

Is it dumb that I sort of want to SBR a Tikka like @hereinaz? Like a 12.5” 22CM with an OG and Rokstok with the forend cut back to fit the can. THAT would be a compact deer rifle.

 

[peaceful_ruler]

I adore my 94 lever gun with the Hornady leverevolution rounds. I just pulled the scope off my 30-30 Winchester 94ae. Not only is it my handiest and shortest gun, I can ratchet a second round faster than any bolt gun is capable. Those guns are definitely NOT designed to be used with scopes. The 1-4X that I had on it was a sweet scope but it made it too heavy and top heavy and the stock is way too low for any kind of cheek weld…I like it way more without a scope. Except, I don’t like the factory iron sights.

I’m thinking a receiver mounted peep sight except I don’t know how well that will work for fast acquisition situations. The other possibility is replacing the irons with fiber optic replacements. Anyone know of a better third option for the old classic?

If I were going a modern route, a compact 308 or 7-08 would be it. Probably a Savage SA or Tikka. Throw a 1-4X on there and go kill stuff

 

[schmidty3]

Ive got a 16" 6.8 spc AR. Stuff hit with the 120 SSTs goes down fast. The 90 gr gold dots werent quite as authoritative.

Id go 6 arc in 2025 though.

That being said. I just put together a 20" 6# AR. I'll be slinging 77 gr tmks and am confident.

I am tempted to get a howa mini for a bolt gun for the thick woods purpose.

But a nicely balanced/suppressed AR with a 2 point sling is hard to beat for woods purposes.

The reality is it doesnt really matter

 

[RobertLosekamp]

Midwayusa has a CVA scout 20” threaded in 308win and many other cartridges for around $350 that I’ve been eyeing up for quite awhile.

Had one of those in .300BO, neat little things. Wish I hadn't sold it but I'll probably pick one up again in a different caliber.

 

[35WhelenAI]

OP, back to your post #21. You say clearly the shot was good. You found two drops of blood at 40 yards. I'm not necessarily saying the shot wasn't good however something doesn't add up. If you put a hole through the vitals at that range the animal is dead.

 

[Ringbill27]

Had one of those in .300BO, neat little things. Wish I hadn't sold it but I'll probably pick one up again in a different caliber.View attachment 959974View attachment 959975

What length barrel is that? It’s a pretty neat looking rifle. I’d probably go the 308 or the 6.5 creed. Although the 44mag would be cool.

 

[UnckleBob]

Easy Button: Howa Mini in 6 ARC is the easy button.

My other choice would be a Tikka T3x in 243.

 

[Dave0317]

Okay so I have a 300blk Del-Ton AR 15 that’s a tack driver at 100 yards. I literally have a target with 4 rounds in it that you could put a nickel over the top of (that’s good for me)

I say all that to say, several years ago I shot what I thought was a nice deer walking into my treestand one morning. Shot it at maybe 40 yards. Clearly the shot was good…my most accurate rifle at close range. The deer kicked and ran. Found 2 drops of blood and that’s it. No more blood. No deer. Not even buzzards circling a few days later.

So I don’t trust the 300 blk round for deer anymore. And honestly, I wouldn’t trust a 223 round either. Just my opinion, even if it’s completely wrong.

Lots of things could happen with that shot.

I wouldn’t write off a caliber because of that. I’ve had some odd results from 45-70 as well. And I don’t think it can be argued that it was due to lack of oomph.

I think your concept of terminal ballistics is off a bit. I’d almost put money on it that a .223 with heavy match bullets is a better choice than most 300 blk rounds marketed for hunting. 6 ARC might be another to consider.

 

[77TMK]

Sounds like you already have all sorts of bows and arrows, but the Indian in the mirror is the issue.