What would you choose.

[D.Bullets]

I am curious as to my next rifle for Deer I have my elk/moose gun
and want one for Deer and smaller (for spouse). I would like your suggestions.
Criteria is…
1. flattest shooting
2. Have Good Range
3. Hold Bullet Stabilization
4. Lead Cast Bullets
5. Must be Scoped
6. Recoil / more for my spouse

[TurnipEaterDown]

You present some strongly opposed requirements.
"flattest shooting" would be helped by a requirement of PBR that you are looking at. Otherwise, literally, you'd probably get a response of 26 Nosler or 7 RUM would would be a horrific fit for criteria 4 & 6.
If #1 is a PBR of something like 300 yds, you might get recommended a 7x57, which could fit all the other criteria.

[farmerjim]

For cast boolits, 30-06, 308, 8mm. If not cast 7mm08, 270win, 7mm mag.

What is your elk/moose gun? Perhaps you could download a cast boolit for it.

[deces]

I would with 308 for it's versatility.

[Winger Ed.]

I'd go with a .30 cal. something.

You can load cast in .30-06 or .308 right up to full house .30-30 speeds.
If all you'll ever shoot with the new gun is cast, a Marlin or Winchester .30-30 would do a good job for ya.

[Finster101]

.243 Winchester. Mild recoil, flat shooting, you can scope anything, fast twist for up to 115 gr bullets, a lot of guys on this forum use cast in them. Checks all your afore mentioned boxes.

[challenger_i]

Depends on what distance you (or your spouse) are shooting.
However, for all other requirements, 243 covers all bets.

[deces]

Hunting Moose with a .243 would seem like a spurious adventure to me, but okay whatever.

[D.Bullets]

I like the 338-06 230gr (2400+fps)for me on Deer up to Elk. But need 2nd gun for spouse. With lower recoil.

[ShooterAZ]

My votes would go to the 270 Win, or 7-08. Both are pretty decent long range cartridges, with tolerable recoil for either young shooters or the ladies. If recoil is a really big issue, the 243 "might" be a better choice. I know a young lady here in Northern Arizona who has taken several Elk with the diminutive 243Win, choosing the right bullets is the key.

[Harter66]

Once again I show my colors .

7-08 , 7×57 , 280 for mild medium muscle cartridge for 3-400 yd max . The 7 mm gives up a little at the muzzle to it's 30 cal brethren but often weight for weight is a dead heat at 300 yd with jacketed and actually hits higher and beats the 30 cal to 400.

In any other lifetime I'd have never suggested anything in 27 cal but for deer even mule deer under under about 150 yd the 6.8 SPC is proving to me to be a darned good choice and very amiable to cast . The 279-124 at 132 gr ready to load in a 20" ARP rifle gas or in a 22" bolt gun can be readily driven fast enough to exceed 1000 ftlb at 100 yd . Recoil exists but it's very light and with it being as successful as it is there are lots of jacketed from 75-120gr in more or less 5 gr steps . Most of the barrels are cast friendly with 1-10 and 1-11" twists vs the 1-8.5" to1-9.5" of the 7mm . As a bonus you can buy a cheap Savage 223 with a stagger feed mag , spend the good money on a great barrel and use 22 NOS brass vs changing or recutting the bolt face from 223 to the 30 Rem .

I've found the 358 Win to be surprisingly tame even when I have it turned up to full jacketed loads with cast . Of course you probably already have several suited light to solid deer bullets on the bench as it's .357/8 groove will happily share bullets with 9/38/357 . It's hard to get it down to 38 Special but 357 is a doable . I wouldn't consider it especially flat shooting but it is very cast friendly. Correct brass isn't common but 308 forms easy enough.

[BLAHUT]

I am curious as to my next rifle for Deer I have my elk/moose gun
and want one for Deer and smaller (for spouse). I would like your suggestions.
Criteria is…
1. flattest shooting
2. Have Good Range
3. Hold Bullet Stabilization
4. Lead Cast Bullets
5. Must be Scoped
6. Recoil / more for my spouse

Savage .243 youth model... Covers all your wishes...

[dverna]

Unless you have a sizable stock of powder and bullets, shooting cast in a rifle makes little sense in today’s market. Cast bullets give up too much in accuracy and range in calibers below .30 for hunting.

There are less expensive ways to get cheaper trigger time than shooting cast bullets.

One of the “standard” 6.5 or 7mm calibers would be a good choice, and are a bit easier to shoot with cast if you insist on wanting cast friendlier.

The 6mm and .25’s are great choices. I have had four, but was too smart, or incompetent, to waste any time and resources trying cast bullets in them.

Do not ignore gun fit. If your wife is of smaller stature, a gun that fits you will not fit her. I would look at replaceable recoil pads to address LOP. If you can afford it, look at the Boyd's At-One stock. It will allow both LOP and comb adjustment.

As to recoil, have your wife shoot some light loads in your current rifle(s) and evaluate her tolerance.

[challenger_i]

Seriously? Did you simply NOT read the gent's post?

"What would you choose.
I am curious as to my next rifle for Deer I have my elk/moose gun
and want one for Deer and smaller (for spouse). I would like your suggestions."


Hunting Moose with a .243 would seem like a spurious adventure to me, but okay whatever.

[trails4u]

7mm-08 would be my answer. Based on your list....for me at least, it checks the boxes. And...FWIW...it's the same road I went down for my young sons as they learned to shoot and hunt. Easily down-loaded to manage recoil, even with heavier bullets, and just as easily dialed up to full-house.

[georgerkahn]

I am curious as to my next rifle for Deer I have my elk/moose gun
and want one for Deer and smaller (for spouse). I would like your suggestions.
Criteria is…
1. flattest shooting
2. Have Good Range
3. Hold Bullet Stabilization
4. Lead Cast Bullets
5. Must be Scoped
6. Recoil / more for my spouse

As this will be for "Deer and smaller", I cannot suggest anything other than a good old lever action -- .30-30, .32 Win Spec., .28-55, or .38WCF (.38-40). Two factors affecting me are weight and safety. Some fellows (like my younger son's father-in-law) trudge to their "blind" -- a teeny cabin in the woods -- and sit for hours waiting for Bambi to walk by... Others "really" hunt -- putting on quite a few miles trek in the course of the day. If you and your spouse hunt as my son's f.i.l., weight is moot. BUT, if you and your bride will be doing the hike -- a well balanced, easy to carry lever (with open sights) would be my choice... However, you wrote, too, "must be scoped" -- and 'scopes are readily available for levers. My "1st I grab" hunting rifle is a Marlin 336 adorned with a Tasco (the old, relabeled Redfield) 'scope. Easy to carry, more than necessary accuracy, always reliable -- with relatively inexpensive, easily cast for and rerloadable ammo in .30-30 Winchester.
BEST!
geo

[Jedman]

I think considering all 6 of your requirements, you have to “ give “ a little and maybe settle for about 5 of them. To me a 30-30 fits all from 2 through 6 plus has good availability.
Being a cast friendly caliber means you must handload or else you would go crazy trying to find the ammo you would need.
If the flattest shooting is one of the most important aspects, I would chose the 243 as you say deer and smaller. If smaller ment coyotes and varmints mostly than maybe a 223 ?
All of those cartridges would work but I have no experience or interest in trying to load cast boolit hunting ammo in 223 or 243 , it would have to be jacketed bullets.

Jedman

[Kosh75287]

If these two rounds have already been mentioned, then pardon my oversight, but there would not be a great deal wrong with a 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser, or its higher-pressure analog, the .260 Remington. The Swedes, Norsemen and Finns seem to find the round adequate to the task of taking their largest game, with the right projectiles. I would expect it to work similarly for your spouse, given enough range time and familiarization with it.

For scoping a military Mauser, these people can probably be of help: https://www.badacetactical.com/

[sundog]

Sporter model .308 with 12 twist.

[Randy Bohannon]

7mm/08 all day, and ditto on everything d verna said.

[atr]

7X57...if you are lucky enough to find one

you could also get a 7MM Remington Mag which can be loaded down to match 7x57 velocities

[D.Bullets]

I am curious as to my next rifle for Deer I have my elk/moose gun
and want one for Deer and smaller (for spouse). I would like your suggestions.
Criteria is…
1. flattest shooting
2. Have Good Range
3. Hold Bullet Stabilization
4. Lead Cast Bullets
5. Must be Scoped
6. Recoil / more for my spouse

Thanks everyone Good Suggestions, and good points. Below a .30 cal. D Verna is correct. Lead Cast just give up a ridiculous amount of performance. So with that said I am looking at 3 choices.
1. 30-30
2. 308 Win
3. I was hoping this was do-able 338-08. Or is this a bad Idea? Never mind its a bad idea for her (Spouse) #2 (308 Win) it is

[Finster101]

Hunting Moose with a .243 would seem like a spurious adventure to me, but okay whatever.

The man said he already had a moose/elk gun.

[country gent]

While the various calibers have gotten discussed well one thing barely touched on was the actual rifle. Fit and weight are a big part of felt recoil. Length of pull, cheek piece height balance and thickness of the butt stock will all affect the felt recoil. Weight is the other that will make a big difference in felt recoil. If your hunting from a blind consider her rifle in the 10 lb range much easier recoil than a 7 lb rifle

[TurnipEaterDown]

Thanks everyone Good Suggestions, and good points. Below a .30 cal. D Verna is correct. Lead Cast just give up a ridiculous amount of performance. So with that said I am looking at 3 choices.
1. 30-30
2. 308 Win
3. I was hoping this was do-able 338-08. Or is this a bad Idea? Never mind its a bad idea for her (Spouse) #2 (308 Win) it is

338-08 is not a particularly bad choice, but that is your call.
It is not a wildcat, it is a 338 Federal now. Std reamers and factory ammo (if anybody shoots that...).

[D.Bullets]

338-08 is not a particularly bad choice, but that is your call.
It is not a wildcat, it is a 338 Federal now. Std reamers and factory ammo (if anybody shoots that...).

338 Federal, I did not know that. I still think she will be happier with the 308s lighter bullets.

[dverna]

My hunting rifles are .308's and full power loads with 150 gr+ bullets are going to be more than most women want to tolerate. JMO.

I am 72 and recoil does bother me so I am biased. I have looked at getting 125-130 gr bullets to keep velocity up and still have a 300 yard practical range.

Here is a link on reduced loads that may be of interest:

https://www.ballisticstudies.com/site/ballisticstudies/files/Hodgdon%20H4895%20reduced%20load%20data.pdf

H4895 is a good powder to work with in this caliber as it will allow you to go from 60% to full power safely. Not all powders work well or safely at reduced loads.

If you decide to shoot cast in the .308. "The Load" of 12-13 gr of Red Dot (or Promo) is a good place to start and should give you about 1500 fps with 150 gr cast bullets in a 22" barrel. It will be a very pleasant load for your wife to start with. Just my opinion, but in the 1500 fps range you might be able to get good performance without needing a gas check. Like I said, I am not a fan of "plinking" with CF calibers as there are less expensive ways to get trigger time.

[Uncle Grinch]

7mm/08 all day, and ditto on everything d verna said.

I concur, the 7mm-08 or the 7x57, would be my choice. It has a decent bore diameter and adequate energy and mild recoil.

[Texas by God]

6.5 Creed-more or .243 based on availability.
As far as new guns go.
If the 6.8 SPC were available in a lightweight bolt action I’d recommend that.
The .308 is a great one, but I’d put a good recoil pad on it for sure for a lady.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rbuck351]

I would probably go with one of the 6.5s loaded to what ever your wife can handle. The 6.5x55 has proven to be effective for a long time. It fits all you're looking for about as good as anything.

[D.Bullets]

My hunting rifles are .308's and full power loads with 150 gr+ bullets are going to be more than most women want to tolerate. JMO.

I am 72 and recoil does bother me so I am biased. I have looked at getting 125-130 gr bullets to keep velocity up and still have a 300 yard practical range.

Here is a link on reduced loads that may be of interest:

https://www.ballisticstudies.com/site/ballisticstudies/files/Hodgdon%20H4895%20reduced%20load%20data.pdf

H4895 is a good powder to work with in this caliber as it will allow you to go from 60% to full power safely. Not all powders work well or safely at reduced loads.

If you decide to shoot cast in the .308. "The Load" of 12-13 gr of Red Dot (or Promo) is a good place to start and should give you about 1500 fps with 150 gr cast bullets in a 22" barrel. It will be a very pleasant load for your wife to start with. Just my opinion, but in the 1500 fps range you might be able to get good performance without needing a gas check. Like I said, I am not a fan of "plinking" with CF calibers as there are less expensive ways to get trigger time.
Thanks ..Ya I was thinking the 125 / 130 grain for her in cast @ 2350 fps that should be mild.

[725]

.308 is never a bad choice. It's the only thing I took to Africa and everything died with one shot. Load it up or down and brass is everywhere. I just love the 7 x 57 & its bigger brother 7mm-08. Brass is always a consideration when it comes time to feed whatever you decide on. A sleeper in many circles is the .270 Win and that is an even toss up with the .308. Have to consider what platform you have available for the given cartridge you choose, and then if you can find it in that chambering. good luck.

[stubshaft]

338 for elk/moose and hands down a 7X57 for everything else.

[Rapier]

+ on the 6.5x55, a far more versatile cartridge. If you want a standard bolt face a 260 which will out perform the 6.5 CM or the 308 either one, hands down, no contest, except in a gun writers wildest marketing driven dreams.

[Half Dog]

Well you have many suggestions. I’m in the camp that recommends 243 or 6.5 CM. Kiddo can hit a 5mm bullseye with ours, before we lost them in a boating accident, at 200 yards.

[Wadsworth]

I've seen several western mule deer fall to a 6mm rem. and 100 gr. factory loads. 300 yards and closer.