Dealer Light-weight deer rifle for my wife

[Cigar Face]

if your wife is just getting into hunting and wants a light recoil rifle, for the sake of the deer and its suffering, please make sure she can reliably hit vitals.

 

[Reyer Farms]

My wife had a very nice mark2 m77 243 when got married. It is a tac driver, given you allow it to be. It is probably my favorite rifle we have. Of all our rifles she now claims my 7mag with Nikon monarch gold glass aka "meat wagon". Point is start her shooting when she is comfortable she can handy any reasonable caliber. Weight cuts down on kick for what it's worth. Any caliber can be used and the right rifle can make a good fit for anyone. The 243 is what I let kids shoot when we take them, most it is their first time. They do well.

 

[whistlepig]

I think .243 is the best caliber for deer.

 

[CurlyDave]

I agree that .243 is an excellent choice. And is exactly what you want if the largest game you are after is deer.

A step up in power among the "commonly available" calibers is the 7mm-08. This is still a light recoiling cartridge, but is suitable for anything in the lower 48 states. I would have no hesitation to use it on elk, black bear, deer, cougar and even moose. I would want more gun for brown (grizzly) bear, and polar bear.

If I am buying a weapon, I like to get one in a caliber that can be purchased even in small towns, and where a few boxes of ammo doesn't break the bank.

 

[Nashville]

if your wife is just getting into hunting and wants a light recoil rifle, for the sake of the deer and its suffering, please make sure she can reliably hit vitals.

I agree. Don't go for the lightest weapon. If you can shoot a deer, you can lug a 9 lb rifle to a stand. The Remington 700 VLS, for example, is heavy. It also has VERY low recoil for a .243. If you're going to use a .243, which IS a small caliber but a great deer rifle, make sure you can drive tacks with it. It's more important to be a crack shot, than to sport a huge caliber. I hunt dangerous game with a .300 Weatherby (and a .44 Mag backup), and guides love me for it. I can't tell you how many times I've seen empty handed hunters who've paid $15,000+ for a guided, once-in-a-lifetime hunt. They couldn't shoot their .416 Rigby or .500 Nitro to save their life. Literally. They only shot it at the range to sight it in. Kill the animal clean and mercifully. Good luck!

 

[JerryK]

I like a 30-30 lever action, or 35 Rem lever... Short, easy to manuver in the brush, and proven dependability in putting meat on the table up here in Michigan for many many decades...

 

[super55]

Agreeing here .243 is an excellent choice. 25.06 is another good cartridge but the .243 round is much more readily available cartridge so I would probably lean to towards that.

 

[BIG DOOLEY]

I know all the guru's who who invest huge amount of time and money for hunting every year like to think that big caliber high priced guns are the best ticket.
I'm note poking fun at anyone or trying to make insults for your hobby and your techniques.
Practice with a weapon to hone your skills is a major key to hunting.
Wether you carry an old Browning .410/ .22 combination, .44 mag pistol, 7mm mag or a lever action 30-30.....
Our ancestors/ relatives hunted with some pretty low tech weaponry as compared to todays guns.
Most never had a scope, GPS, camo, tree stand, scent bags for their clothes.
My uncles always smoked cigarettes in the woods while hunting with success.??
Investing time and honing your shooting skills is a far better investment that buying the latest and greatest technology in my humble opinion.
When you learn your capabilities with your weapon you can make a sound decision whether or not to shoot at the animal.
I would never attempt to shoot a deer moving moving across a field 150+ yards away but my father in law has been dropping them for years.
He always fills his tags and never preps at all for hunting.

 

[Egon]

A Deer Rifle:

Along with many others I'd suggest one in .243 Winchester caliber. It will work for short or long shots.

For short shots a .44 Ruger Carbine would be another one to consider if one can be found. :thumbsup:

 

[sdkubota]

I grew up deer hunting with my father's .222 Remington rifle. It is the smallest allowable caliber in SD and an excellent flat shooting gun for coyote or anything else. I have personally watched deer blown sideways when hit and fell in their tracks. Placement of bullet is most important and the .222 is traveling at very high speeds creating a massive amount of tissue damage.