Low recoil store available deer round

[TrapperBR549]

I have been playing with a couple Grendel's for awhile now. Here in Missouri any centerfire handgun is legal for our late deer season so got an AR pistol first. It shoots really well with Hornady 123SST's and kills deer dead. The pleasant surprise is how well it shoots 95 grain v-max and the nice holes they put in varmints.
I then purchased an SSK 14" barrel for my contender because I really dislike hunting with AR's. It is threaded and with a can on the end it is about my favorite thing to shoot right now.
I would recommend the caliber for your stated purpose with the only caveat being factory ammo availability. I haven't looked much because I roll my own.

 

[jbarnwell]

Had good luck meeting your criteria with 7-08 Remington shooting 120 - 140 grain bullets. Lots of factory ammo and components available. Have started several young shooters on this with no problems.

 

[David Milisock]

That 260 sounds nice. How is the recoil? The only one I have seen is a 20 inch. Does it have a lot of blast for that length? Thanks for you input.

The 260 and the 6.5 x 55 will give you additional range with deer over the 6MM and with 140 grain projectiles work with elk, the 160 in the Swede has been used reliably on Moose.

 

[AWS]

The rifle itself has a lot to do with felt recoil. My BinL thought a 35 Rem was brutal but his experience with it was a lightweight Marlin lever action. When he shot it out of my Rem 760 he thought it was a pussycat. My EX had a Rem 700 ADL that her dad gave her I hated to shoot that rifle it plain hurt, I let her shoot a couple of my 270s and her whole outlook on the 270 changed, they fit her, had nice soft recoil pads, the 700 was checkered aluminum.

I have little Mini Howa in 6.5 Grendel and think it would be a dandy but mine is a 20" HB and I shoot 90gr Speers and 100gr Noslers. I wonder how recoil would be in something really light and heavier bullets. The HB Mini Howa is actually pretty reasonable as a carry rifle. Weight is a great recoil moderator as it slows the impulse. So hunting style gets thrown into the mix, if your deer hunting from a blind or coyote call with short hikes from the truck a heavier rifle isn't a problem.

My $.02

 

[gldprimr]

My CZ-527 American is pretty light and I’ve settled on a load using 129 gr. Nosler ABLR bullet. I really don’t notice the recoil at all. I don‘t think the 6.5 Grendel is best suited to bullets heavier than 129 gr. as they take up too much powder space. I’ve also shot 100 gr., 120 gr., 123 gr., and 125 gr. weight bullet loads and didn’t really notice much difference in recoil among them.

 

[iukamedic]

I sure appreciate all the responses. Hard decisions to make. I’m wanting this for me and my kids I guess. I reload most everything I shoot. Just figuring this might be a pass it on type thing.thanks again to everyone that has give advice and guidance.

 

[Orr89rocz]

Here's a .223 deer story. About 20 years ago I worked with a nice young man who hunted deer in mid state SC using a Savage .270. Many times during deer season he would come in on Monday and tell his story of either losing a nice buck or trailing him long distances if he found him. I got tired of it and I asked him if he wanted to start dropping deer in their tracks. We all know his answer. I brought him my CZ 527 .223 with a 2.5x10 Leupold and told him to use it instead of the Savage. I also gave him long talk about having to take the time to place a shot and maybe having to pass on a shot if it wasn't right. He stopped having to trail deer and bought my rifle topped with its Leupold.

It's not about the caliber all the time. But if I lived where some of you do, where deer are much bigger than here is SC, I would have to move up in caliber I think.

Sounds like he could have just used the long talk and had equal or greater success with the 270 lol.

I also recommend the 243 for shelf ammo. Killed a few deer with a 6mm rem with 100 gr partitions. 223 would be great if you get the right bullet, but most are varmint or tactical match styles and not good for a lung/heart shot.

 

[Knotwild]

We are shooting out of stands and a long shot might be 150. I have probably killed a pickup load (without losing any) with the 55g Nosler Varmageddon. That's why I stated that if I were hunting where really large deer live, I wouldn't even be considering the .223.

I think the young man was flinching too, so the talk alone wouldn't have helped unless I could get him to the range and observe him.

I manage a place that is for hunting and I have seen MANY neophytes show up with larger calibers and they believe the gun has such crushing power that any hit in the body will work. So we aren't talking about someone with any knowledge like is on this forum.

He knew the .223 had limitations and therefore he had to think before he shot. The process he had to go through made it work, not the gun.

 

[DLT]

That 260 sounds nice. How is the recoil? The only one I have seen is a 20 inch. Does it have a lot of blast for that length? Thanks for you input.

I sure appreciate all the responses. Hard decisions to make. I’m wanting this for me and my kids I guess. I reload most everything I shoot. Just figuring this might be a pass it on type thing.thanks again to everyone that has give advice and guidance.

As far as a 260 remington goes I have not seen any ammo on the shelves in some time where I’m from in nc. It’s a fine fine round but no factory loaded options where I am

 

[MikeT49]

Another thing to consider is the versatility of the .243 for varmints/predators. You can shoot 55 grainers over 4K fps and 70 grainers around 3600 fps. Sierra Blitzkings work quite nicely in my .243s.

 

[kyreloader]

350 Legend?

 

[RabbitSlayer]

I also think a tikka in 243 is good, but 6 creed would be better. This is simply cuz the faster twist lets you shoot heavier bullets which are better for medium game. I had a 243 lite I rarely shot. Now its a heavy barrel 6 creed. In a lite gun I think 243 or 6 creed could still intimidate a new young shooter. Savage .243 has a faster twist than the tikka or they did.

 

[dgeesaman]

I believe the 243 Winchester was developed for the very purpose for which you are searching .

And 6 Creedmoor is ballistically equal.