Caliber without much kick for deer?

[tpack]

I like the 6.5 PRC a lot. If I were to get a new gun it would be this cartridge.

https://backfire.tv/recoil/

[Nate Riley]

I'm a .30-06 guy, but I bought a 6.5 CM for my daughter a few years ago. Now, I am a fan (and I don't have a man bun LOL). I shot a pronghorn this year at 200 yards and dropped him. It a great amount of tissue damage. My daughter made a great shot on a mule deer at 411 yards last year and she told me as were driving back "Dad, it was crazy, it was like all of his blood just dumped out". (We never even found the heart on that one.) I have also had good performance at shorter distances..."knock on wood".

The one issue that I think causes some problems and is something that needs to be studied is bullet selection. As you know, there are a variety of bullet choices in 6.5MM that have specific performance goals and strengths. I don't like match bullets for hunting. I shoot the Hornady ELDX bullets (in fact I use the factory rounds) and its well known that they are designed for long distance and perform best past 200 yards (although they do ok inside of that from my experience). There are bullet choices that are supposedly better shorter distances. There are other bullets that are better for penetration for bigger game. There is some required study when it comes to these new bullet choices, but I find it fairly fun.

[RF76]

7mm-08 would be my choice. I love that caliber.

[sv2100]

Another option to look at is Hornady Custom Lite. They are a 125gr SST for the 30-06. My son used them when he had shoulder problems. Took a couple deer with them. They were missing in action for the last few years but I just found them again online.

[okrattler]

Honestly one of the tamest deer rifles I've ever shot was a .270 with a ported barrel. Loud, definitely. But I shot it laying flat on the ground while sighting it in and it didn't kick bad at all. Ported guns help in my opinion. Just wear ear plugs.

[Greenheadless]

Have you tried any of the reduced recoil rounds?

[Sackett]

Op, get a 6.5 Creedmoor and be done with it. Texas Hunting Caliber and Truck Manufacturer will carry a thread to double digit pages fo’ sho’.

[STX_Shooter]

243 6CM 6.5CM 7mm08 any of those and throw on a muzzle brake. You won’t even feel it.

[Yelladog]

22-250 is a good one tend to be very accurate and no recoil. The 6.5creed and 7-08 are very surprising how little recoil is. I prefer the 7/08 over the creed by just a little. But for ammo availability creed is really hard to beat.

[DeerGeek]

One other thing the OP should consider is the weight of the rifle and his particular hunting style. A lightweight rifle that weighs in the +/- 6 pound range will recoil more than a 7.5 pound when shooting the same caliber/load. Thus a 7.5 pound 7mm-08 in a 7.5 pound rifle might have similar felt recoil as a 5.75 pound rifle in .243 or 6.5 Creedmoor. Many hunters transport their rifles a short distance from a truck/atv to their deer stand so rifle weight is not as critical as it is for a hunter that treks long distances with a rifle, which necessitates a lighter rifle. If the OP decides on a particular caliber, matching that caliber to a rifle with an ideal weight is equally important. I would just hate for the OP to settle on a particular caliber and select a super lightweight rifle and then realize the felt recoil is similar to the rifles/calibers he was trying to get away from.

This ^.

Rifle weight makes a big difference in recoil. I do not hike/hunt the mountains of Colorado, so I prefer a 10+ lb weight rifle for Texas hunting.

You can’t go wrong with the .243 or 6.5 CM. Both great Texas deer rounds with low recoil (especially with a heavier rifle). Also a wide variety of ammo is easy to find in those calibers.

[muddydog]

223 with federal fusions 100 yds
243. Legit 300 yd caliber very under rated!
300 blk in ar15 100 yards
6.5 CM. Since you have ammo and can shoot it.