Mild recoiling rifle for hunting medium sized game

[Indyal]

Regarding my budget, it is whatever my wife says it will be.
But up to $2000 including scope. I would rather spend money on hunts.

 

[Alibiiv]

I just wrote a three paragraph reply; it's now in the black cyberspace hole. I hate it when that happens!!!!! So...the brief reply was to purchase the same make and model rifle that the 300WinMag is only in a lighter cartridge. I'm a fan of the .270 Winchester for lighter recoil and medium sized game, the 6.5 Creedmoor ought to work and the .308 Winchester is another good round. If you can let us know what you've decided. You've come to the right place with your question, there's a lot of good people on here, with a lot of knowledge/experience, who are willing to share it. And....welcome to the forum and good luck with your choice.

 

[aushunter1]

The answer is an individual thing but.308 ticks all those boxes & has the biggest factory ammo choice of any cartridge in the world!

Also to add to the thread this a totally unbias opinion!

I don't even own a .308.

I do own 2 6.5's, a .270 & any of them will do the job.

Really my point is that the world is your oyster with .308, just about every rifle manufacturer in the world makes all their rifle models available in .308

Again the factory availability & range from game to target is astounding & plentiful!

Budget is everything, so is asking the question of barrel profile, do you want detachable magazine, synthetic or wood stock etc?

How important is weight in this factor?
For something that I like to shott LR I like a barrel on the heavier side, standard varmint, so these are a bit heavier to carry for hunting but I don't have an issue with that.

There are so many very modestly priced & very accurate rifles on the market these days it really comes down to your very personal like/dislike on the configuration.

On the scope, well its another budget question but anything in the range of 6-20/25x50 will do the job in the hunting & long range work.

Actually Im not even sure why I don't have a .308 but then again I an thinking of turning one of my rifles into a multi cartridge/barreled rifle or just get a cheap .308 because I have room in the safe

 

[the blur]

7mm-08 kills anything.

 

[Buzzsaw]

i think your budget is way light for what you want. but i like the Ruger American predator 6.5 Creed. Meopta Optima 6 scope

 

[Aussie Hunter Steve]

Either the 6.5 CM or 308 Win are economical and easy to shoot in whatever rifle takes your fancy.
The Vortex PST II 5-25x50 is good value for money and easy to set up.

 

[RetiredSniper]

Hello, new to this forum. Looking for recommendations for factory rifles for this purpose. My planned shooting range on game would not exceed 600-700 yards but I would like to try target shooting out to 1,000 ish yards. The 6.5 CM gets a lot of press and it seems like there are a lot of choices in rifle and ammo. However, I am open to other caliber choices. I don't plan to handload.
FYI, I have a 300WM that I use for elk hunting and shoot it well but would be nice to practice with less recoil and lower ammo cost.
I would like scope suggestions as well.
Thanks in advance.

The 308 (7.62 X 51) is my choice. I shoot one often and can put 100 rounds down range with excellent accuracy and the recoil is not bad at all. When I was in the service we shot the M 14 900 meters with great accuracy. As has been said, ammo for the 308 is plentiful and many weight bullet configurations to choose from. I shoot 165 and 168 grain bullets through mine as the 150 grain bullet I find too light to hold a very good group. The 165 and 168 grain bullets hold a better group at longer ranges even out to 900 meters. As for a scope I have a Vortex 3 to 16 X 40 MM on mine and it seems to do just fine.

 

[jd5521]

6.5x284 or 6.5 prc built in a long action. Ballistics are close on these two and both have proven to be accurate hard hitting rounds.

 

[kynjm82]

7/08

 

[SidecarFlip]

The answer is an individual thing but.308 ticks all those boxes & has the biggest factory ammo choice of any cartridge in the world!

Yep. All I use out to 500 yards. You can build a nice sub moa stick easily and the recoil is lady like.

 

[Bang4theBuck]

I think there is plenty of opportunity within your budget. I have numerous Vortex PSTs. Both Gen 1 and Gen 2. I dont think you cam beat them for.the money, as mentioned previously. It really just comes down to the features and specs that you want. Barrel weight will make target shooting much more fun, need to figure out if you want a magazine or not. From there, get yourself a Tikka T3 CRT, or Savage model 10 or 12 in the configuration that suites you. You will have a few bucks left to buy some ammo to practice and get to know your new rig.

 

[RobStar]

I went from 300WM to 7mm Mag for elk and to 6.5CM for mule deer and antelope as the 6.5CM allowed me to practice more with less recoil. Any of these calibers will take down any of the animals I mentioned and then some. If I had to choose just one it would be the 7mm Mag.

 

[noluck]

7mm-08 I was using one when I was 11 weighing less than 100lbs and the recoil it didn't bother me. Also have a 6.5-284 Norma and the recoil is about the same to me but it's a 8lb rifle we're my 7–08 is lighter

 

[Carl McCants]

I love my 6.5 Creedmoor, I have a 300 WM, and a 308. All 3 of these are great, but like you mentioned, the 300 WM has a lot of kick. The 6.5 has very little recoil and it is a tack driver. My 308 is a Remington 700 tactical, heavy 18" barrel, the only thing I did to it was change the trigger and the stock, but even with the Houge stock, it was an excellent shooter, and it would be in your price range ( and comes in 6.5 Creedmoor now). good luck.