Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

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ihookem
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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby ihookem » Mon Dec 15, 2014 6:52 am

I got my son a Tikka t3 light .270 Win. It kicked like a mule. After 3 shots I had a headache. My son refused to admit he didn't like the kick, at 15 I didn't believe him. We put a imbsaver on and it tamed it down quite a bit. I would suggest it to anyone with a kid if they flinched at all.


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Hodag Hunter
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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Mon Dec 15, 2014 7:01 am

My son shoots a .243 in a Browning BAR. It is an autoloader and very little recoil.

Any autoloader will reduce "the kick" a lot......probably 50% is my guess.

He has been shooting it since he was (8) years old. Now he is (13) and doesn't notice a kick at all.

I belive the noise can be a big factor also.

When he started shooting I gave him ear plugs and ear muffs. Did not want any kind of flinch habits starting at a young age.

Youth light weight guns are kind of counter productive as any light weight gun will kick more than a heavier gun in the same caliber.

To fit his size I cut the stock down to fit his smaller frame trigger pull.

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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby whitetailassasin » Mon Dec 15, 2014 7:26 am

Ballistics on .270 130 grain bullet rival almost any gun for 300yd and in accuracy. Shells are relatively cheap as well. Stay away from light synthetic stock and gun will not kick as much. I have a savage .270, has limbsaver recoil pad and it shoots moa with little kick. Doesn't destroy much meat and puts me down like a sack of taters. That's my recommendation.

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bowmike
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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby bowmike » Thu Jan 22, 2015 5:32 am

Thanks for all of the insight. I sold my Remington 30-06 710 to my buddy who shot his first deer with it, and put a 7mm-08 on lay away. I decided to go with the Marlin XS7S. it is stainless and Black. I am just putting a cheaper silver tasco scope on it for now, and will save up for a much better scope in a few years. With twins coming soon, I can fathom spending a ridiculous amount on a scope right now.

I also traded a gentleman my Inline Muzzle loading pistol for a Savage Axis in 243.

So I kind of got exactly what I wanted. LOL

He swears by the Hornady SST in both the 243 that I traded for, and his own personal 7mm-08. The SST's that he gave me are only 87 grains. Which makes me a bit nervous for using a bullet that small on deer. I think I may use the 243 as my target and yote gun and use the 7mm-08 for deer.

Thanks again for the input. I still have a 30-06 in that A3-03. So I pretty much and covered for deer, except a big boy gun like 300 win mag or something. LOL

50 cal inline,
30-06 Springfield A3-03
Marlin 7mm-08
Savage 243
50 cal flint lock
Mossberg 12 GA rifled slug gun
and of course my favorite PSE BOW.


LOL maybe if I get my buck early next year I will try and use my 20 ga O/U and some pumpking balls. LOL
NEXT YEAR I' HOLDING OUT FOR A BIG ONE!!
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jlh42581
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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby jlh42581 » Thu Jan 22, 2015 5:48 am

I shoot a .243 on the regular, that new hornady superformance bullet flat SLAMS them, I shoot the 95

The doe I took this year I hit her on a frontal, she made it ten feet.
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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby Ghost Hunter » Thu Jan 22, 2015 12:00 pm

25-06, .243, 30-30 an 30-06. Depends on ammo availability.
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Tennhunter3
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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby Tennhunter3 » Thu Jan 22, 2015 12:30 pm

I wouldn't reccomend a 30.30 they can't do much over. 150 yards. I would go with 270 all day long . 25 06 is ok from what I have heard.

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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby Ruger » Thu Jan 22, 2015 2:10 pm

Didn't read all comments and maybe someone has said this but I don't think you can beat a .308 with reduced recoil loads. Great out to 200 yards and a little bit more.

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Jeff G
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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby Jeff G » Fri Jan 23, 2015 7:32 am

like my 270 with 130 grain bullet for light shooting
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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby rutjunkie » Fri Jan 23, 2015 2:07 pm

I have a Tikka t3 in 7 mm 08. Love this gun, accurate beyond my capabilities, next to no kick. Only shot one deer so far and it never took another step.

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checkerfred
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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby checkerfred » Fri Jan 23, 2015 2:14 pm

bowmike wrote:Thanks for all of the insight. I sold my Remington 30-06 710 to my buddy who shot his first deer with it, and put a 7mm-08 on lay away. I decided to go with the Marlin XS7S. it is stainless and Black. I am just putting a cheaper silver tasco scope on it for now, and will save up for a much better scope in a few years. With twins coming soon, I can fathom spending a ridiculous amount on a scope right now.

I also traded a gentleman my Inline Muzzle loading pistol for a Savage Axis in 243.

So I kind of got exactly what I wanted. LOL

He swears by the Hornady SST in both the 243 that I traded for, and his own personal 7mm-08. The SST's that he gave me are only 87 grains. Which makes me a bit nervous for using a bullet that small on deer. I think I may use the 243 as my target and yote gun and use the 7mm-08 for deer.

Thanks again for the input. I still have a 30-06 in that A3-03. So I pretty much and covered for deer, except a big boy gun like 300 win mag or something. LOL

50 cal inline,
30-06 Springfield A3-03
Marlin 7mm-08
Savage 243
50 cal flint lock
Mossberg 12 GA rifled slug gun
and of course my favorite PSE BOW.


LOL maybe if I get my buck early next year I will try and use my 20 ga O/U and some pumpking balls. LOL


For scopes look at vortex diamondback, Redfield, and Nikon prostaff. All are budget oriented scopes but perform very well. They should all be sub 200 scopes. You can also find deals sometimes on the higher quality lines like vortex viper and Nikon monarch series. I bought a vortex 2-7 viper for cheap on closeout. It's a great range for the South where all my shots are within 200 yards with most being within 100

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Lockdown
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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby Lockdown » Fri Jan 23, 2015 2:24 pm

IMO anything smaller than .243 is too small. I'm a big 25-06 fan. Check the ballistics on them... very little kick and flat shooting. I shoot 110 grain accubonds and I don't drop a lot of deer in their tracks, but most go anywhere from 10-40 yards. Good enough for me :lol:
fishlips
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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby fishlips » Mon Jan 26, 2015 12:48 am

Lockdown wrote:IMO anything smaller than .243 is too small. I'm a big 25-06 fan. Check the ballistics on them... very little kick and flat shooting. I shoot 110 grain accubonds and I don't drop a lot of deer in their tracks, but most go anywhere from 10-40 yards. Good enough for me :lol:


I love my 25-06. Only complaint is some places don't carry ammo for it

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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby bowhunter » Tue Jan 27, 2015 12:20 pm

I started hunting with a .243 when i was 9 i killed my first doe with it i would recommend that caliber to any deer hunter. A .243 is all your gonna need for a whitetail if you hit it in the right spot and not to mention has little to no recoil and is a very flat shooting rifle.
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Lockdown
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Re: Looking for a good small caliber deer rifle

Unread postby Lockdown » Thu Jan 29, 2015 7:30 pm

Tennhunter3 wrote:I wouldn't reccomend a 30.30 they can't do much over. 150 yards. I would go with 270 all day long . 25 06 is ok from what I have heard.

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x2 on the 30-30 comment. The older generations call it a brush buster, but numbers don't lie. A 30-30 is a gun of the past IMO


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