Medium bore white tail caliber

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

All kinds of great answers it's a kinda take ur pick I'm sure there can be found fault in any caliber .I do hand load but can be lazy and buy off the shelf if it's cheap. I do have a 350 legend in an are AR pistol and thought of that caliber.over the years I've turned her into a bit of a romantic.so a black rifle would be out since it would be a gift.she likes dark walnut with good figure.dark bluing also.i have a nice mannlicher in 270 but she knows it's mine. A nice Mauser platform,Springfield or another m70 .I'm sure a no.1 Ruger would work too.figure jewel the bolt and the bolt rails maybe nickel the flooplate add a trigger drop on some good optics and a quality sling done

@ducmarc
Ruger made a 250 Savage or you could get a sweet little model 7 Remington and put a 250 barrel on it with a 2.5-8 ×36 Leupold on it.
Light, accurate, low recoil, wood and blued steel. Meets all your wife requirements.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The only things I've seen that drop an animal that size reliably within 10-50 yards with a chest shot are 375 and up. A whitetail doe will often go 50 yards with a perfect chest shot from a 30-06 in my experience. Maybe a 35 will do it

@Bert the Turtle
With my 25 I have never had a deer go even 10 yards.
Shot placement, bullet construction accuracy and velocity play a big role.
A 117grain SST in the chest bang flop. A 100gn speer hot core in the neck bang flop. A quartering shot behind the rib snd exiting in front of the off side shoulder with a 100gn TTSX, 2 steps and down.
A fast 25 works wonders, the deer were between 120 and 200 pounds
Bob

 

[Bert the Turtle]

I should have been more specific than chest- I shoot to take the great vessels/ top of heart and lungs. Probably should start using a high shoulder shot, but shooting for the top of the heart from whatever angle gives the highest margin of error. It's my universal shot placement and with a tough bullet that gives an exit, it isn't hard to track them. But fair enough, a relatively soft bullet and high velocity (if matched to the game) do tend to drop animals fairly quickly even with a chest shot.

This year, I'm planning on trying 340g raptors out of my 404 on whitetail. I suspect they will not go far.

 

[Bonk]

I own and have hunted deer with 25-06, 6.5x55, 7x57, 7mm-08, 308 and 30-06. If I were introducing a new hunter to whitetail deer hunting I'd loan them my 25-06. If a very experienced deer hunter needed to borrow a rifle for whitetails I'd also loan them my 25-06 too because IMHO 25-06 is the single best caliber for deer. It has all the attributes of 243 (light weight, low recoil, good ammo availability) but it hits harder. It's not my favorite caliber. That honor would go to 300H&H or 30-06 but it's my favorite caliber for whitetail deer hunting. None of that should distract from any of the other calibers listed. All of them are superb choices but keeping in mind the criteria of mild recoil I think we have to eliminate the 308 and 30-06. They don't recoil bad at all but the other four are noted for their mild recoil and efficacy on deer size game.

 

[Rell]

@Bert the Turtle
With my 25 I have never had a deer go even 10 yards.
Shot placement, bullet construction accuracy and velocity play a big role.
A 117grain SST in the chest bang flop. A 100gn speer hot core in the neck bang flop. A quartering shot behind the rib snd exiting in front of the off side shoulder with a 100gn TTSX, 2 steps and down.
A fast 25 works wonders, the deer were between 120 and 200 pounds
Bob

Deer grow that small? I’m from northern Alberta, even a spike is 200lbs. A good buck is 320lbs+ easy. Any 22,243,256 …. are all good for gophers.

6.5 and up please …

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I own and have hunted deer with 25-06, 6.5x55, 7x57, 7mm-08, 308 and 30-06. If I were introducing a new hunter to whitetail deer hunting I'd loan them my 25-06. If a very experienced deer hunter needed to borrow a rifle for whitetails I'd also loan them my 25-06 too because IMHO 25-06 is the single best caliber for deer. It has all the attributes of 243 (light weight, low recoil, good ammo availability) but it hits harder. It's not my favorite caliber. That honor would go to 300H&H or 30-06 but it's my favorite caliber for whitetail deer hunting. None of that should distract from any of the other calibers listed. All of them are superb choices but keeping in mind the criteria of mild recoil I think we have to eliminate the 308 and 30-06. They don't recoil bad at all but the other four are noted for their mild recoil and efficacy on deer size game.

@Bonk
Another 25
There's something about the 25s that just plain works.
My 2 favourite projectiles are the 117grain SST, expands well and holds together for penetration., and the 100gn TTSX just plain works but doesn't give the bang flop of the SST.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Deer grow that small? I’m from northern Alberta, even a spike is 200lbs. A good buck is 320lbs+ easy. Any 22,243,256 …. are all good for gophers.

6.5 and up please …

@Rell
A fast 25 with a good controlled expansion bullet say TSX,TTSX or accubond would be fine on those 320 pounders. Any of those leaving the muzzle at 3,400++fps will do the job nicely.
Bob

 

[CBH Australia]

My wife has a Weatherby GH2 in .243 it's a Howa action in a decent stock.

I am a fan of 7mm-08, I've shot a lot from the car with it, pigs included.

@ducmarc is it a short or long action M70?

I'm guessing a 7mm-08 could be loaded long in a long action, if required. Or elect the 7x57.

I don't think .260 got a mention, I've been reading on it. It's a 6.5 and with the right projectile it would be a low recoil hunting rifle. I'm considering one for target shooting

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

My wife has a Weatherby GH2 in .243 it's a Howa action in a decent stock.

I am a fan of 7mm-08, I've shot a lot from the car with it, pigs included.

@ducmarc is it a short or long action M70?

I'm guessing a 7mm-08 could be loaded long in a long action, if required. Or elect the 7x57.

I don't think .260 got a mention, I've been reading on it. It's a 6.5 and with the right projectile it would be a low recoil hunting rifle. I'm considering one for target shooting

@CBH Australia
The only reason your lovely wife has a 243 is because you are a mean bastard and bought it instead of a 250 Savage or a 6.5x55. Both better than the one you got her. Howa do a lovely 6.5 swede
Bob

 

[CoElkHunter]

Still makes me wonder if it wasn't bullet performance, but you're experience is yours and I wasn't there. I know a little lady (about 5 foot 2 and 90 lbs carrying groceries) in Idaho that has killed more elk than most here will dream of, not to mention mule deer and a Shiras moose, using a 243. She finally lost and elk and moved all the way up to a 270.

I would never recommend a 243 for elk or moose, but damn if I was going to win that argument with her.

Interesting? A friend of my father in law, who I've also hunted with once, told me he has killed six elk with his 6mm Remington. I WAS hunting elk with a .270 Win at the time, but have since graduated to a .338WM. Maybe we're all "over cartridged" for stuff, but I still like the effects of a 225gr bullet on elk?

 

[shootist~]

@PHOENIX PHIL
I keep blaming the 243 because it s to big for small game and to small for bigger game. Yes te projectile affects the performance in any caliber but I have seen to much failure in a lot of different weights in the 243. Even with premium projectiles and good shot placement I have seen it not work properly on game.
When you hit a fallow buck in the chest with a 100grain 243 soft point round nose you expect it to fall with in 10 to 50 yards not run for a few hundred yards and still need a second shot. Both entry and exit ones the same size and minimal internal damage. So yes I don't like the cartridge.
Bob

Bob,
The easy solution is just switch to a 6mm Creedmoor.
Hahahaha!

 

[ChrisG]

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

I second the 6.5x55. It kicks like a .243 and hits like a .280. Well not really, but it does kill better than its mild recoil would indicate. I have taken a number of animals with mine and I only recovered 1 bullet from it. All others were pass throughs that liquified internal organs. Only one deer ever ran. The others have dropped as if struck by lightning (could be because I always try to break the shoulder). But I would use it on Elk without question inside 300 yards and I would let a child shoot it as the recoil is so minimal.

120 grain Speer Gold dot loaded with Alliant Power Pro 4000MR to a speed of around 2,750 fps and it will hardly kick and kill very effectively.

 

[ChrisG]

Medium bore probably starts at .33 to below .4 over kill for deer if you ask me.....

Perfect caliber for deer sized antelope would be a mild velocity 7mm....I cannot imagine anything beating a 7x57mm for the aplication....

I was going to comment on the medium bore. See, Americans tend to think of .24-30 cals as "medium bore" and anything bigger as "big bore". I can't tell you the number of people who I have met who think the .338 win mag is a "big bore". It is a hard hitting round, but I don't think it qualifies as a "big bore".

 

[rookhawk]

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.

Indeed, a 100gr .243 lead core bullet, or an 80gr TTSX from a .243 is the hammer of god. My kids all started with .243 and we are hunting the very largest whitetail deer in the nation in this area. Smoked them all. My daughter killed a black bear with a .243 at age 8 as well. It didn't go 3' after the shot.

The .243 is an incredibly powerful gun that somehow has been brushed with a negative bias I will never understand. The pre-64 Winchester Featherweight was commonly made in this caliber. For about $1000 you can get a appreciating or at least stable price gun rather than a depreciating asset that rots away.

After that, my kids upgraded to a 7x64 Brenneke which is a heck of a lot of firepower. Its 95% of the capability of a 7mm Remington Magnum but it has the recoil of a .270 or a light .308. It's a great compromise between lethality and recoil. My math says it was producing 14-17lbs of recoil. Mannlicher Schoenauers in this caliber usually run $1200-$1400, often including claw mounts and good German glass that would cost $3000 or more to have installed in today's money.

Another terrific couple of calibers to mention:

Vintage high-end guns in .257 Roberts sell pretty cheap, all built easily on the 7x57 mauser. That is a wonderful cartridge a child will never outgrow. The recoil is nothing. Lots of sporters on Spanish, Mexican, Chilean, Argentinian, and FN mausers in this caliber.

7x57 Mauser is another terrific caliber that produces about 12-15lbs of felt recoil.

250-3000 Savage. I believe about 8lbs of felt recoil on average.

6.5x55 Swede. About 9-12lbs of felt recoil .

These are the optimal guns for kids, women, and the recoil averse. You also have to really work at it to buy one of these calibers in an ugly, low-quality gun. Usually they are 2nd hand guns of awesome quality for roughly the same price as modern plastic junk from Cabelas.

 

[ZG47]

I should have been more specific than chest- I shoot to take the great vessels/ top of heart and lungs. Probably should start using a high shoulder shot, but shooting for the top of the heart from whatever angle gives the highest margin of error. It's my universal shot placement and with a tough bullet that gives an exit, it isn't hard to track them. But fair enough, a relatively soft bullet and high velocity (if matched to the game) do tend to drop animals fairly quickly even with a chest shot.

This year, I'm planning on trying 340g raptors out of my 404 on whitetail. I suspect they will not go far.

So ... if we hear that someone bought a Saladin armoured car, had a few 76mm solid shot projectiles turned up and then took it hunting; we will know who to look at?

 

[Safari Dave]

.257 Roberts, .250 savage, .30-30, 6.5 x 55, 7x57 (heck, my dad killed 2 of the biggest bucks around in the 1960's with a 6.5 Carcano) - if you want classics


7-08, .260 Remington, .308 (you can get reduced recoil factory loads),


I've not a fan of a .243 as a serious deer rifle (with "normal" bullets anyway) - (I have had several deer and a pronghorn keep going after what should have been mortal shots) - (I recovered them all, but the pronghorn needed an additional .270 round before it disappeared over the horizon)

 

[MS 9x56]

The only things I've seen that drop an animal that size reliably within 10-50 yards with a chest shot are 375 and up. A whitetail doe will often go 50 yards with a perfect chest shot from a 30-06 in my experience. Maybe a 35 will do it

Trust me, I have never met a 35 that won’t drop a deer within50 yards. I am a 35 looney for a reason.

 

[MS 9x56]

I should have been more specific than chest- I shoot to take the great vessels/ top of heart and lungs. Probably should start using a high shoulder shot, but shooting for the top of the heart from whatever angle gives the highest margin of error. It's my universal shot placement and with a tough bullet that gives an exit, it isn't hard to track them. But fair enough, a relatively soft bullet and high velocity (if matched to the game) do tend to drop animals fairly quickly even with a chest shot.

This year, I'm planning on trying 340g raptors out of my 404 on whitetail. I suspect they will not go far.

Bert there is no such thing as too dead.

 

[MS 9x56]

My tastes and recommendations run squarely in the 35 calibers. Doesn’t matter which one I use 35 rem, 358 win, 9x56 MS, 35 Whelen, 9.3x62 the results are all the same, a short copious blood trail leading to a very dead deer. Side benefit is less blood shot meat and less follow up shots. Just one old hunters opinion. With the addition of the 350 legend there is now a 35 caliber for every hunter.

 

[rookhawk]

Trust me, I have never met a 35 that won’t drop a deer within50 yards. I am a 35 looney for a reason.

Depends how you’re killing an animal @Bert the Turtle and @MS 9x56.

A .243 can kill an animal instantly with hydrostatic shock. A 9.3x57 or 9x5x57 going slow and close (or a 35 whelen) can kill by slow-dumping its energy into an animal and burrowing a might big hole.

Some guns kill by hydro shock (all of Roy Weatherby’s rounds) whereas some light recoiling guns kill by “hang time” in the animal slowly transferring all the energy as they deplete to nothing. (6.5x55 and 7x57 are notorious for killing way above their advertised specs). 9.3 and 9.5x57 are also real killers for close work. I’m told so is 35 Rem although I don’t own and have never owned one. Certainly a 35 whelen pushing a 320 grain Woodleigh would be like shooting a mortar into a deer.