Deer rifle recomendation

[DoubleJ]

  just a thought. If the stevens ever get back down to 199 like they did last year all bets are off and dad is getting one in 7mm 08 also!

man o man. if they ever do that sale again i'm gonna be buying a few of those suckers. I've bought two now at 289-300$ price range and they are sweet for that price.

Where do you find them for that price?

[Hangfire]

I would not use the 243/244/6mm for mule deer. They are great pronghorn, blacktail guns but to many wounded whitetail and mule deer. They have a lot going for them for introducing to shooting, low recoil and normally very accurate.  If you can not get any thing else, get loads with nozzler partitioned or some thing similar. I and my wife have shot many pronghorn and blacktail with them. I have shot several whitetail and seen them used on mule deer. I have only seen one buck go right down (spine shot). All the rest 150-200 yards of trailing, no exit hole.

[addicted]

  just a thought. If the stevens ever get back down to 199 like they did last year all bets are off and dad is getting one in 7mm 08 also!

man o man. if they ever do that sale again i'm gonna be buying a few of those suckers. I've bought two now at 289-300$ price range and they are sweet for that price.

Where do you find them for that price?

i bought mine from walmart. last one was about a year ago. i think the 7mm08 was cheaper than the 308. bought the 308 last.  both shoot pretty darn good with the heavy trigger. I took some weight off the 308 trigger and it still breaks pretty clean. Its hard to decide what to do with the 308(7mm is the wife's) i was thinking i could either buy a heavy match barrel and other accessories to shoot 1k or i could buy a 338 federal barrel and get it so shoot heavier for bear and such. I'll probably do the 1k set up and buy a sako or kimber in 338fed. dont want to ruin a perfectly good excuse to buy a new gun.


theres a cool caliber you could buy your kid. shot a father in laws kimber 84m 338 fed and it doesnt kick nearly as much as the 308 or 270 or 3006. just a well built gun.

[Redmist]

Lot of posts on this.  Only read a few pages.  What triggered my reply is "less kick than a 270".  Alot has been written on the 270 because of Jack-O.  Probably the most debated high velocity hunting cartridge in our time.  My dad bought me my first 270 when I was 12 years old back in 1970.  A wood stocked Rem 700 BDL.  I was maybe 120 pounds.  What I have found is that taking this rifle and restocking with (for example) a Bell and Carlson composite reduced recoil tremendously, and increased accuracy the same.  I have also had the 243, and it also has an escalated recoil for it's size.  Restocking would retransmit recoil laterally with the same results.  In short, if you restock a 270, it will transmit less than a  wood stocked 243 to the face and shoulder.   A big shove to the shoulder, but not a WRAP.  I've read many shooting articles talking about the 270 and 243.  Both calibers have some simular recoil profiles.  A rather slow pressure build to the shoulder, escalating into a sudden burst felt by the face and shoulder.  In field it isn't noticed, and the bench it starts working you over pretty painfully.  One of the most outspoken gun nuts compared the kick of a 270 and 243 to the sudden shocking jab of a welterweight boxer to the slower but heavy punch of a heavyweight fighter. On the bench you learn to roll with the heavyweight punch, but the welterweight velocity of the 270 and 243 you can't roll-off.  What the stock reworking does is retransmit recoil laterally outward, rather than along than longitude grain of the stock.  I have (3) 270 Winchesters in 700 BDL.  I don't intend to change calibers, but I don't hunt Brown with it like Jack'O did. My uncle Pete was the 1956 Olympic Gold Medal Heavyweight Champion in Melborne.  I kind of know what boxing is about anyway, maybe?  

[huntinhick]

buds gun shop online right now has about the best prices for the stevens.  there where a couple places doing 199 around nov-dec 09.  I have time so I will wait a bit to check it out.

[DeerThug]

Ok tried to reply to this a couple of times - but the pics would not load.  

Here is a pic of Matthews 08 bull and buck.  He shot two times in 08 - in washington that is.  One for an elk and one for a buck.

A .243 is a finegun and he has never lost an animal.  It has put a bunch of racks on his wall.

Don't get caught up in the hype and spend a bunch of money.  Get a good used gun that fits the kid - let him grow into it - provide opportuity and stay out of his way.  When Matthew was 10 he fell off of a big rock straight on his back smashing his scope and banged up his gun pretty bad.  BUT later that day he shot a two point with it.  If you intend for a kid to use a gun - and i mean really use it don't spend at ton.  A cheap gun will hunt as good as the most expensive.

Stay away from the hype and do what you think is best for the boy.  The main thing is to teach him to hunt and to have good values.  When the hunting is slow you can grow the man you want him to be.  the caliber of the gun will not matter.

[smitty8202]

Get a Marlin xl7 in .30.06. i Purchased on last year and am very happy with it. it does not have alot of kick for an .06 got mine for just over 400.

[grizzlygibbs]

Why all the .243 hate?  I've never left a wounded animal with mine.  In fact I have three nice bucks most guys would kill for, and two lesser bucks that have fallen to my .243.  I better not mention the cow elk I stop in her tracks with my .243.  It's all about shot placement and being comfortable with your gun!  Also dont take a *censored* at an animal that doesnt present a good shot!  I'm not going to use it for elk hunting again, as I now have other guns but it's my go to gun for mule deer hunting.  Sorry to hi-jack to the OP I just wanted to explain that there is nothing wrong with a .243 for deer hunting for a young kid.  After all this 26 year old "kid" still uses his successfully on deer year after year.

I wish the WDFW would allow us to use the .22-250 again!  I would be all over that, although it will probably just leave too many wounded animals!

[DoubleJ]

I got a .243 barrle for my gun and swapped it out.  He likes it much better.  I am giving thought to training him on the .243 and then, without his knowledge, switching the barrel back to a .308 and sighting it in just for the season.  He'll think he's shooting the .243 and won't know he's shot the .308 until the deer he's shooting at is dead.

[grizzlygibbs]

That's one way to train him!  I do like that .308 round as well, pretty much an any game type gun.  Have you considered a limbsaver? They are very inexpensive and very worth it!  I put one on a .30-06 and it kicks like my .243, just something to think about. 

[DoubleJ]

Have one on there already.  It's a Savage Stevens 200 and that synthetic stock isn't the best recoil absorber