Mild recoiling rifle for hunting medium sized game

[skipglo]

What kind of game at 700? Elk are medium size in Alaska

Those are Canadian Elk that entered Alaska illegally..send them back!

 

[Gobears16]

Don't know if it's been mentioned but I would go with a Tikka CTR 24in 6.5CM (850-950). Then I would try and find the Athlon Ares BTR 4.5-27 for 420-550. With the left over you could drop it into a KRG Bravo .... I just did this exact set up and it shoots Hornady American Gunner .5 Moa right out of the box.

 

[Indyal]

Very nice!

 

[ATH]

I've wondered why the 243 is not more common for long range shooting. Barrel life is lower but they maintain supersonic past 1k with the right loads and recoil is the definition of mild.

Perhaps because people run the numbers and understand that the 6mms run under 1000 ft-lbs around 600 yards, and are below recommended bullet expansion velocities? I LOVE my 243AI, but I'm not shooting medium game at 600 with it. Doesn't matter how well it pokes holes in paper at 1000 for F-Class.

I learned long range hunting on this forum. I really miss the days when people spoke from experience and showed the respect of game to use reasonably large rounds to reach out there. Now we're talking .223s and 6mms to make neck/head shots at long range? Ugh...

I'll stick with my 300WM and 338 Edge, thanks. If you can't handle the recoil, man up or get a good brake. They work.

 

[CNY Yote Hunter]

Exactly what Barrelnut says. Hunt, 6.5 PRC if you are 6.5 inclined. Just for shooting? 6.5 Credemore.
I'm a 308 fan to 800 yards but the 6.5 PRC is hard to argue with. The Cede shoots extremely well in several moderately priced factory guns.

I finished this 6.5 Credemore Friday. A gift. Broke it in Saturday. 25 rounds. Fusion hunting for initial break in. Fusion shot .60"/.620" start to finish. 6 rounds of Hornady match ammo. Shot 4 rounds in one hole at 100. Thought something was wrong. At 36x it looked like a single hole. Moved 1 moa left. Shot next 2 into same hole again. Quit. I like to think its more bout the ammo than the rifle. It's hard to argue with factory hunting and match ammo that shoots like that and costs $20-$35!

Again agree with Barrelnut. Generally, with today's Name Brand Glass it merely a matter of budget and use/options/power. Vortex pretty much has it all covered in that price range.
View attachment 153410

Sweet rig you got there!!!

 

[window licker]

Yeah, for 95% of the people shooting game out there, head and neck shots at 600+ are probably a bad idea. Regardless of the bullet diameter.

 

[Memberberries]

Yeah, for 95% of the people shooting game out there, head and neck shots at 600+ are probably a bad idea. Regardless of the bullet diameter.

Aren't head and neck shots are a bad idea at any distance?

 

[Oldschool280]

Aren't head and neck shots are a bad idea at any distance?

No

 

[del2les]

Perhaps because people run the numbers and understand that the 6mms run under 1000 ft-lbs around 600 yards, and are below recommended bullet expansion velocities? I LOVE my 243AI, but I'm not shooting medium game at 600 with it. Doesn't matter how well it pokes holes in paper at 1000 for F-Class.

I learned long range hunting on this forum. I really miss the days when people spoke from experience and showed the respect of game to use reasonably large rounds to reach out there. Now we're talking .223s and 6mms to make neck/head shots at long range? Ugh...

I'll stick with my 300WM and 338 Edge, thanks. If you can't handle the recoil, man up or get a good brake. They work.

I have to partly disagree. At my altitudes, my 6mm's with 105's still carry 2,000fps @ 900 yds and 900ft/lbs of energy, and from game I have shot @ 600-850yds, it has never failed to expand. Ft/lbs of energy at or above 1,000 is a non-issue, as I have killed my fair share of deer sized and similar game with a 357Mag and other handgun calibers that do not even have 1,000ft/lbs at the muzzle. Those game are just as dead and they did not know the difference in 500ft/lbs vs 1,000.

As for shooting game in the head/neck area, that is a different topic, and one I do not practice.

Proper bullet construction for the game at hand and shot placement means far more than an arbitrary minimum 1,000ft/lbs.

A few successful hunting calibers with much less than 1,000ft/lbs @ 50yds:
357 Mag
10mm
41 Mag
44 Mag
45 Colt +P
Numerous muzzle loader loads

 

[emp1953]

I have a Sig 940SHR in .270win. It is somewhat heavy which doesn't matter when in an elevated stand all day. Shooting 130gr bullets the recoil is surprisingly mild.

 

[kiemtienspeed]

.308win, .270win or 6.5PRC.

 

[West Calamus]

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.

Indyal if your buying a factory rifle for long range paper cutting I would go with the 6.5's or 7-08. Would stick with the 24 in barrels that are in the varmint/predator/long range models. The budget models all the manufacturers make have light whippet barrels that have bad harmonics. The extra barrel weight will help hold on target and reduce recoil. Even a .270 or 7-08 in a 6 1/2 # rifle with a hot load will start to jar your teeth after 20 rounds. On your scopes just make sure it has external adjustments and all the clarity you can afford. Some of these highly advertised scopes get kinda blurie after a hour of shooting. I find that leupolds just seem to stand up to a clearer sight picture after several hours shooting. You really can't just stand at a gun counter and look though the scope to know how much clarity a scope has but you can after several hours shooting. Good luck my friend!!

 

[Gcan]

All neck shots.

Aren't head and neck shots are a bad idea at any distance?

 

[emp1953]

I never understood the recoil concerns on a hunting rifle. There is only one time that I recalled recoil after shooting at a deer. I leaned too far into the scope and it cut my eyebrow. I'm concentrating so hard on the shot that I don't even hear the kaboom.