300 yard rifle that won't kick me to death

[mousegunner]

Is there such a thing as a 300 yard white-tail rifle that won't kick me black and blue? I can handle 30/30 OK, but not much more. And I'm not sure that a 30/30 is a 300 yard rifle, either. What would you all recommend?

[Guest Jcochran88]

I would say there are a lot of choices, but my favorite is the .270.

[Guest clownsdd]

Better padding. It works with my .308. Not fun to shoot, but does the trick.

[Alleycat72]

.243

[Guest BigJ45]

.243, 6mm Rem, .257 Roberts, .25/06, .260, 7mm-08, 7x57 almost anything non magnum 7mm or smaller.

[nb forrest]

I love my .243. I've been killing deer with it since I was 16.

[CM1021]

.270 will do it all day long!! Heck I've shot antelope over 250 and had them drop I wouldn't hesitate to shoot 300 plus with one...just make sure you have a good rifle

[Mike.357]

I dunno if it qualifes as a white tail rifle but a Garand will hit nicely ay 300 yards.

[I_Like_Pie]

.243 is the way to go....

With respect to the sectional density of the 6mm bullets there really isn't an equal. .270 will do it too, but with the heavier bullets it can still hammer you with a light gun.

[nightrunner]

I'd say a 243 and a heavier rifle will recoil less

[CM1021]

If you can find afford a browning A-bolt with a boss you can shoot a 7mag and she won't kick...I have 3 winchester boss classics and two are in .270 and one in 7mag and my wife can shoot any of them!!

[Jonnin]

308 would be my choice for long range deer. I am not expert here, but the 308 standard loadout can take you a lot farther than 300 yards (closer to 1000, I am not sure exactly but its way on out there), so you could use a lighter load too, this is beyond my know-how but you could handload a nice custom round for your desired task. Also, its not just the round, its the gun, just like pistols --- some guns kick harder than others, some feel better than others, etc. No, I don't have a recommendation for a specific gun, pick them up, see how they feel, and get a heavier one rather than lighter. Apart from a newly acquired 30-30 , all my rifles are too old to tell someone else to go find one...

Edited January 29, 2011 by Jonnin

[Garufa]

For that distance I would recommend a gas-operated semi-auto if you are recoil sensitive. You can shoot a heavier bullet with the recoil reduction that gas guns provide. Something along the lines of a Remington Woodsmaster which comes in a proper caliber like 30-06 , but also in 308, 270, 243 and some other obscure sizes.

Edited January 29, 2011 by Garufa

[DaveTN]

These help....

PAST® Recoil Pads

Blackhawk has the Knoxx recoil absorbing stock for a Remington 700 bolt. But I posted on a few forums and couldn’t find a single person that had used one. So it must not be very popular. BlackHawk didn’t bother to reply to my email with questions about if they would fit my rifle.

[Warbird]

.308, .270, 25-06. Plenty of good choices

[JeffL]

6.8 SPC.

[shaftbass]

Shot a .308 AR15 this weekend. DPMS. 24" bull barrel. Not very much recoil at all. You didn't specify what type of rifle so I am offering up this platform.

[Links2k]

6.8 SPC.

THIS!

[Curiousgb]

Swede.

[mousegunner]

Thanks for all the pointers.

[deerslayer]

.243, 6mm Rem, .257 Roberts, .25/06, .260, 7mm-08, 7x57 almost anything non magnum 7mm or smaller.

+1

[Guest MERRILL]

My choice would be a Browning BAR in .270WSM with boss on the barrel.

Edited January 29, 2011 by MERRILL

[mousegunner]

How about if we throw this into the mix: I need to stay under $600 for the rifle/scope combo.

[xd shooter]

Savage Model 10 synthetic stock chambered .243.

Cheap, acurate, & dependable.

And no I am not associated with this company at all.

Just a good choice. IMHO

[Jonnin]

You can find a cheap gun and cheap scope in many of the listed calibers (unfortunately 308s tend to cost a bit, $500ish range in general). If you really want cheap and a quality piece, you can still get mil surplus bolt action guns that make fine deer rifles. Some of them will be aggravating to find ammo that is legal, ammo for some calibers is mostly FMJ which I think TN frowns upon for deerz.

243 is probably your best bet, in this case. There are many $300ish rifles in this caliber, leaving you plenty of cash to pick up a decent scope. And, its a popular round, no ammo problems.