Im needing a project rifle, and part of the purpose is hunting, cast for me, perhaps jacketed for me, but definitely jacketed for the small size ladies that will be using it.
6.5x55
7x57
30-40
30-06, more for me and BIG bullets
they share a .243 win 770 with hornady GMX but love a marlin 336 in 30-30 but have serious issues working the lever.
What im in the market to know is, which is the better round in terms of recoil. Assuming all guns are the same weight as a 770 or Ruger american
factory rounds? Velocity? Grains? These all affect recoil. In 30-06, depending on the bullet and the velocity you can get anywhere from very, very light recoil all the way to very, very stiff. In fact, you can calculate recoil based on weight and velocity of the bullet-- then tailor the load to the recoil level you want. It al so depends on the rifle weight. for similar velocity loads, my 30-30 has much worse recoil than my M1 Garand in 30-06 because the Garand is heavier than the 30-30, but they both use the same weight bullet.
Hick: Iron sights!
I don't notice "recoil" with a 30-30 until I use 170 grain jsp and perhaps hold the butt plate off of my shoulder when I shoot.
I know 30-06 is more then needed in terms of recoil for what is needed however the bullet choices are wonderful.
Hands down 6.5x55 se. Light recoil, flat shooting and big enough for a lot of game. Deer included. You can load a lot of different sized boolits in it. Only drawback is it’s not the easiest to perfect a cast boolit load for. It can be done. Many on this forum have succeeded and you can probably get help if you want.
Just to add, I said big enough to hunt deer. There was once a famous Africain hunter who used to bring down elephants with this round. Granted bullet placement is important. Do some research on this round before you pass it by.Originally Posted by GregLaROCHE
30-40 krag and 165gr ranch dog does it for me. you can shot a whole plethora of boolits and powder too. i use h4198, rel7 and 2400 and i only go to about 1800+/-fps. it doesn't kick but the deer hate it!!!!
Recoil is first of all subjective. Secondly, there is so many variables and, especially for those who handload, it's almost a moot point. You can make it what you want. My Ruger #1 in 450/400 is a pussycat with my cast loads, kids shoot it. Full house jacketed loads.....it's a tiger to me.
Of those you listed my first choice would be the Swede and secondly the Krag. I'm a big fan of the 7 X 57 but I've worked with it quite a bit in rim formed. The Swede and Krag, not so much.
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30 cal are great with cast boolits .308/3006 are never wrong can be loaded mild to wild to suit your recoil levels.
260 rem, one of the new 6.5's, 257 Roberts, 35 Remington...all lower recoil. A few more or the "common" easier to find casings...25-06 or 257 Weatherby have a soft, mild recoil and shoot flat with lighter bullets. Ruger makes the 7.65x39 American ranch. Cheap, free brass everywhere... Or just find a couple of original Remington 600's. My buddy. Just bout that e for $300 out of his LGS for $300 being nobody wants a short, light, rifle, in the desert for some reason. I bought one day n 243 that looks like new a few years back for $470 off Gunbroker. Picked it up a few minutes after it was listed and got lucky. Maybe a box of shells though it at the most. I acraglassed it and threw in a discontinued rifle basics trigger set at 1 1/4 lbs. It shot a half inch group at a hundred yards my first try. I found an old ramline stock for a 600 and shot a .3" group at a 100 yards last week and then the action came loose and all heck broke loose. Might trade that stock to someone with a factory wood one of someone's interested.
Last edited by Tripplebeards; 12-26-2018 at 10:11 AM.
I own and have hunted with all your listed calibers. My deer rifle for years was a 6.5x55. My wife's favorite all around rifle is her 7x57, with it she's taken many deer and several elk and some African plains game with absolutely no problems, recoil with the heaviest loads is not a problem. For cast bullets for deer size game I like the 30-40 as it is so easy to work with to get accurate loads.
BIG OR SMALL I LIKE THEM ALL, 577 TO 22 HORNET.
Your Marlin 30-30 sounds like a good project rifle you for the young ones. Shorten the stock,Kick-eez or Limbsaver recoil pad, smooth and tune the action and trigger. The 30-30 is one of the best cast boolit cartridges and the Marlin 336 has along history of high-level accuracy, 1 to 2 MOA with cast. There is a great deal of information on tuning and smoothing Marlins, extraordinary amounts of load data with cast bullets.
Well if they like lever actions. A savage 99 in 300 savage or a win 88 in 243 or 308 can be very slick accurate rifles. I find them smoother and easier than the 94s to operate also. Another would be the browning BLR in 243 or 308. Not the calibers you have posted but they are good.
A bolt action in 30-30 or 30-40 krag might be a good performer also but harder to find. A Number 1 or High wall in any of the mentioned calibers also would be a good rifle.
there hands are on the very small size. they have a rather hard time holding the lever closed enough to activate the safety system marlin uses, and im not messing with that at all. To work the action they have to lay it on their lap and work it.
They can NORMALLY get a round off per minute. Not enough for hunting no matter how well you hit an animal. They do fine with a bolt action. And .308 is a tad to much for them recoil wise. And I simply do not trust them without a JSP for deer unless im there to watch the deer after impact.
Sounds like the marlin needs a tad of work, the lever safety doesn't take much pressure. Don't jam the lands with a bullet, that does take pressure to hold in. Actually the 243 should work fine. Youth hunt I went on, 15 or so kids were all shooting 243 and got several deer @ 100 or so.
Whatever!
Why jacketed for the ladies?? Do they particularly like long range shooting? I would be suggesting one of the 308's I see on sale at very good prices all the time then just using cast in it for both you and them. Maybe I just misunderstand.
The 308 is an easy cartridge to load down to 30-30,300 savage velocities or slightly lower. Brass is readily available as is components. Its available in a lot of rifles of vartius makes models.
Here's my Remington 600 chambered in 243. I believe they were manufactured from 64' to 68'. It has a 16.5" barrel and weighs 5 lbs max. The "dog leg" bolt is flat and the trigger guard and vented rib is plastic...zytel I believe, to shave weight. It's light and has a short length of pull for small framed shooters. My smith owns a half dozen of them. He bought them for his kids and nephews. It reminds me of holding a small BB gun. They are so light that it doesn't feel like it's a real gun. The common calibers were 6mm, 308, 222, and I think they made quite a few in 243. The rare ones were 223 and 35 rem. They made some laminate stock magnums is 6.5 and 350 rem mag as well. Haven't seen too many smaller, lighter rifles out there compaired to these. I own lever actions but IMO they are not a gun to start someone out on. I let one kid and my dad both try my 1970 100 th anniversary 336 35 rem with no safety bar or button. Both ended up accidently firing it while letting the hammer down. I even had them both practice letting the hammer down with the rifle unloaded before hand. My dad even let one fly being he didn't get the hammer all the way back when trying to cock it with his thumb. Needless to say neither want to ever shoot my or any lever action again. I even have an aftermarket thumb catch I installed on the hammer to add more leverage that didn't help them. I'm not a fan or ever will be of levers but they have their place...with the Cowboys...the 1800's AR15. Probably would sell my 100th anniversary 336 35 Rem if the price was right. It looks like brand new. There's been about a box and half of shells through it since it rolled off the production line.
Last edited by Tripplebeards; 12-26-2018 at 06:32 PM.
I don't think people listen well these days.
Theres nothing wrong with the Marlin. its an OLD marlin, made before things went bad with their modernization programs.
Its an issue of "hands to SMALL" to work the gun. And two shooters who have no issue with taking marginal shots because they aren't the ones dragging the animal, or even really tracking it.
ANYWAY.
Ive been looking at the 7x57 to be honest. Easiest on the cases right now as Remington ammunition in my area is knee deep in October and November.
30-30, 30-40 and 30-06 are all very mild recoiling with the 311041 and 2400 powder.
I push all three to 1800 fps and have taken a good many deer with these loads. I know I could go faster with a slower powder but haven’t seen the need.
I believe I use 17 gr, 18 gr, and 20 gr respectively. Above that accuracy goes south in a big way.
Some people live and learn but I mostly just live
Leave the marginal shooters at home till they aren't. Since you don't reload the 770/.243 will work precisely.
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