Deer Rifle With Least "Kick"

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ReadyontheRight

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I'm checking into possibly buying a deer rifle for my father. He got a pacemaker and they had to put it on his right side.

He's determined to rifle hunt, so I thought I might get him something with a lighter kick than his 30-06 Remington autoloader. I think he'll be OK with the 30-06, a heavy coat and an awareness of where the pacemaker's located, but I might as well check around.

The only thing I can think of is a Rem 7400 in .243. It would be nice to somehow make it heavier. I'm also trying to get him to get to know an Encore pistol, but he's not too interested.

Any other suggestions?
 
What about a Remington 700 LTR in .223? Imagine it can't kick that much and doesn't look like an evil black rifle.
 
I don't have any personal experience with it, but the Benelli R1 is supposed to shoot significantly softer than the BAR or 7400. It's available in .308, 30-06 and .300 win mag (I assume he'd want the .308) and the barrels are even interchangeable. The only downside is that it's pretty expensive with an MSRP of about $1000.
 
Owen -- That's an outstanding idea! I'll check out the reduced load 30-06. Does anyone have experience using it in an autoloader? I suppose we could just shoot it single shot.

I can't imagine my Dad willingly shooting an Italian gun (or any gun manufactured by anyone he fought against in WW2), and .223 is illegal in MN for deer. Good ideas though.
 
I have a few loads for my 270 that run down in the 2600-2700 fps range. Recoil is non-existant. I think they were 56-57 grains of H4831SC and a 130gr Hornady sp. This is the load my wife likes to shoot.

ZM
 
maybe

the .243 will work fine, itis what my son started with, if you want a little more with no more kick look at the 6.5X55 swed.
 
You don't want to simply reload for the '06? That way you could tailor loads, and have a little more "juice" than the Reduced-recoil loads if you so desired.
 
I thought .243 first as well. My second thought was 6.5x55 Swede would be good , but somebody with a pacemaker might also appreciate the weight savings with a shorter action, so how about .260 Rem? It's got roughly the same ballistics as the Swede and more lethality than the .243
 
Any of the .24 to .26 caliber chamberings would be ideal in a bolt gun or an auto loader. If it were me, I would get an auto loader in .243 Win. or a bolt gun in 6mm Rem.
 
Encore rifle in 7mm/08 or 243. The nice thing about the Encore is that he can move up/down the caliber scale as needed.
 
Ted Nugent uses a .243 Browning BAR. That's about the softest kicker I can think of in a deer rifle.
 
My wife uses a 6.5 pound 6.5X.223 Improved. With 120 grain Nosler Partitions at close to 2700fps (well over 2600!) it has negliable kick. My .250 Savage has about the same with 100 grain bullets (weighs close to same too) at about the same velocity. Both these guns have about 60% of the recoil of the tame ole 30-30!:cool:
 
I have a customized Mauser chambered in 250-3000. The recoil in that gun is very mild. This is the gun my wife shoots. She is very recoil sensitive but finds the 250-3000 very pleasing to shoot.

Jim Hall
 
Another vote for the 6.5x55 or the .260 Rem. These two ballistically identical cartridges (in factory loading) offer very little recoil, with more than adequate downrange performance.

Mr. Big Bore himself, Elmer Keith, stated that 6.5x55 was suitable for deer. Pretty strong endorsement from someone who typically recommended .375 H&H for elk... ;)
 
6.5x55- I had my wife shoot one a week ago, she has never shot a centerfire rifle before and expected alot of recoil, but she didn't even notice any recoil with the 6.5.

.257 Roberts and .243 would be good choices too.
 
How about a 6.8 or 6.5 Grendel in an AR platform. Recoil is extreamly light with either. Say a flattop w/ scope and an 18.5 inch barrel. Just a thought, plus then he has a EBR :D
 
I would vote for a bolt action .243. Stock design matters in keeping recoil down, thus I would go with one with a straight comb design over a monte carlo. This allows the recoil to come more straight back rather than back and downward as with a monte carlo. Also, put a Kick-Eez on there and that should be an accurate and very light recoiling deer rifle.
 
Lots of good choices.
Since you want a specific deer caliber rifle that has very little recoil and kills clean I would suggest something in .250-3000 Savage caliber.
Any of the loads using 87 or 100 grain bullets will kill any size deer cleanly.
The caliber meets the minimum power requirements in just about every state and blast and recoil are tolerable.
.250 Savage rifles can be found in bolt and lever guns and I think Remington made a few model 760 pump guns in this caliber too.
I also like the 7mm-08 Remington but think this caliber will belt your dad a bit harder than the .250 Savage.
 
For dear old dad might I suggest

Pachmayr decelerator recoil pad and have it ported?
 
Something like 6.5 Swede in an autoloader seems like a great battle rifle round. The other 6.8 and 6.5 calibers on an AR platform seem pretty cool too.

I think I'll check out the 30-06 managed recoil and a new recoil pad. If it still seems like too much, maybe the BAR or 7400 in .243.

Thanks all -- excellent ideas!
 
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