Comments on: 5 Rifle Cartridges For The Beginning Deer Hunter

By: Colt

Colt — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:05:15 +0000

Though I dont agree with some of the caliber choices and would have added the .308. The difference in the .243 and the .257 calibers are the bullet weights. In a 243 a 100gr bullet is about max. In the 257′s you can get 120gr or larger as well as the other calibers 7mm and .308 up to 180gr or 200gr. The higher gr. the more penetration at a distance. paper ballistics mean nothing in real life. 55g -100gr under 100yards are fine with the proper bullet.But a high velocity 55-100gr bullet at under 50 yards most will pass though like a fmj closing up as it gous through. Therefore there is no blood trail and the deer runs for a long distance unrecovered.Over 100 yards especially 200+ and it is likely to not penetrate if it strikes the shoulder blade on a larger animal. The 243 just has a poor sectional density and frontal area to be a adequate deer or larger game cartridge its fine for smaller animals or smaller texas deer. 100lbs does etc. but larger northern game and bucks you will eventually loose that trophy over an in adequate caliber.Voice of experience ive shot many whitetails with my 243. lost a few,but one was a 200 lb 13pt. My neighbor handed me my bullet he recovered the next season out of the deers front shoulder. The 243 is not worth it.

By: Krystal

Krystal — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 12:52:29 +0000

I completely agree with him. Depending on the size and weight of your child a .243 can be to much and scare a child away from shooting guns. I was given an 30-06 when I was younger to shoot and it hurt!! I was scared to shoot again till I was an adult. I’m not a big person at all (105 lbs). I now hunt with a Remington youth model 7 .243 and love it. It still kicks and if I pull my gun up fast and don’t have it pocketed right I do bruise my shoulder. No way I would let my daughter (also small) use this as her first deer rifle. Not until she’s comfortable with a gun with less recoil. I came on here looking for a gun what would work for her. Thanks for all the great ideas.

By: Wayne Edwards

Wayne Edwards — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 23:12:44 +0000

Last year was my two youngest daughters first hunt here in southeast MO,ages 11 and 13, both small featured young girls and the oldest took her first buck a 208 lb 9 pointer with a flinch.
They both used a winchester lever action 30 30 and now want thier own.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:48:21 +0000

It seems to me that this list has little relation to physical reality. If the 243 is too small, as the author has mentioned previously, then how can the 257 Roberts be better? The 243 puts a 105 g bullet about 3000 ft/sec, for around 2800 J of energy. The 257 Roberts generates about 2500 J of energy (100 g bullet @ 2900 ft/sec). 250 Savage puts out about 2500 J of energy. If the 243 is underpowered, so are all of these.

As for the other comments and other cartridges, physics is not mutable, and you don’t get something for nothing.

Just one example: the 7mm with which many appear enamored carries 3200-3300 J of energy. That is 20% more than a .243, and 30% more than the .257 and .250. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, so the energy available for recoil will be approx 25% greater for the 7mm, which is significant (speaking as someone with a shoulder in not-so-great-shape). A 7mm Featherweight happens to weigh the same as a Browning Medallion .243 — 6lb, 8oz. Given equal gun weights, and 20% more bullet energy, the 7mm will have a 20% stronger kick. This is just physics, and it isn’t really a matter for debate. Whether the subjective recoil is or is not more is a different question, but that has to be a personal preference, and is unlikely to be translated between shooters (bodies are not the same).

One reason that felt recoil might feel lower is that a typical (as opposed to featherweight) 7mm may be heavier than the typical 243. Fine, but this is not something for nothing. If the gun is .5 or .75 lbs heavier, that is the extra weight one needs to lug around to reduce recoil. No physics problem then, just a decision.

Finally, my observation is that folks are much more likely to practice with a lighter kicking gun. Which would you prefer, a beginning hunter with a .243 who had put 500 rounds through it on the range, or the same hunter with a harder kicking gun and only 200 rounds through it?

Chuck Hawks has a recoil table here: http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm the guns used for reference for the 243 & 7mm are the same weight, and, within tolerances, the recoil of the 7mm is projected to be about 20% higher, as calculated above.

By: Jim Latham

Jim Latham — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:25:31 +0000

Truth be told, the 30-30 Winchester has probably taken more deer than any other rifle round…..

By: Larry

Larry — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 13:38:25 +0000

Any Left-Handed hunters out there? If so, Savage makes a great bolt action 25-06 rifle. It seems to be an orphan because its between a 243 & a 270. However, it has more than enought energy to take any varmit on the North American Continent. As for Deer keep your shots under 400 yds. Elk, get closer 200 yds. The 25-06 is a very versatile rifle and can be used all year long on any type of hunting trip. Don’t leave home without it! P.S. To my way of thinking, shot placement is far more important than the caliber of a rifle.

By: Paul in ND

Paul in ND — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 04:42:44 +0000

I shot my first Mule Deer Buck ever with a .243 winchester 100 grain soft point from 300 yards away and he fell down right away and made no sign of even trying to get back up. He came in at 308 pounds field dressed weight so he was a BIG deer!

By: Dick Hurtz

Dick Hurtz — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 05:02:15 +0000

I agree with the 30-30 Win and 7mm-08 being good rounds for beginners. I could’nt tell you the last time I saw 260 Rem, 257 Roberts or 250 Savage ammo for sale.

By: Mark in PA

Mark in PA — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:57:52 +0000

Without a doubt, #3 is the way to go. A 7mm-08 has it all… accuracy, light kick, greater application potential (brush to open fields), and enough knockdown power to drop a buck even if the shot isn’t placed perfectly (which will often be the case with new and inexperienced hunters).

By: Tom NZ

Tom NZ — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 03:46:55 +0000

A .223 is a fine deer rifle in the right hands, its the only one I’ve ever used except for a .22mag and Ive never had a deer get away once ive fired a shot. Patience and shot selection are the key, every hunter worth his salt knows this