Best lightweight deer cartridge

[buckshot roberts]

I went with the 7x57, I had one of the short mauser rifles, I never used a 308, But I did take up the .300 savage two years ago, it's about the same as the 308, I've used the 7x57 the most to date in this lightweight cartage post.

 
:D gitano,  I like the sissy joke,  I got a friend who has a 234 win, He's a big ole boy.
 
 
I did'nt see this round on here, but my grand-dad had a winchester in 25-35, and it's make'n a come back by winchester in 117gr , sierra 75gr, rem 86gr.

[Brithunter]

Hi All,
 
Hmm it's not listed on the Poll. It is of course the 6.5x54MS coupled with the Mannlicher 1903!!!!! which is certainly no heavy weight:D  now the lightest full bore rifle I really have is actually a .270 Winchester chambered  BSA Majestic Featherweight which weighs 6 1/4 lbs unscoped and it has a wood stock . Recoil is a little sharp & lively though . Never been keen on the .243W but recently got a 6mm Rem, rifle was too good a deal to pass up but it certainly does NOT class as a light weigh as it has a heavy barrel and probably weighs about 10 lbs scoped .
 
    Other wise sure I like the .308W and the 7mm Mauser and the 6.5x55 Swedish is superb. Trouble is I like and use them all :D .

[havegunwilltravel]

Strictly deer?  I would have to vote for the 260 though I currently use a 7mmo8.  It kicks a little more than i like if I had to shoot it all day and as for carrying it... the mountains I hunt seem to get steeper each years so...if I could convince to wife to mortgage the house or something, I'd go w/ a Browning a-bolt mountain TI-five and a half pounds!:eek: that's sweet.  does't come in anything I like though as far as those tried and true cartridges mentioned and I know the wife ain't gonna let me buy a 1400 dollar rifle:D so i guess i'll continue to carry her 243 when i hunt the highlands and the 7mm08 when down low:p Never had one get away yet......

[alleyyooper]

I like the whole family of 308 cartridge calibers. I would pick the 243 my self if it were on the list for this poll. :D Great round for every thing from ground squirrels, wood chuck, crows, youtes and deer. :) As for a sissy round, I have harvested more deer with one shot that dropped in their tracks than a friend with has with his 308.He normally requires 2 shots. He expects the noise and the fact he is using a 308 to scare they all to death.
Since the 243 was left out of the poll I would take the 260 as my next choice, and the 7mm-08 as my third choice. I have 2 rifles in 7MM-08, a 700 Remington mountian rifle, & a model 7 Remington.
 
:) Al

[Skip]

My favorite deer rifles was a 257 Roberts (long since gone). I would now use either  my 270 or 6mm if I still hunted deer.

[RumRunner]

I'm stuck between the Swede and the 7mm Mauser.

IMHO, That is a wonderful place to be "stuck".....it's is one of those choices where, "ya just can't go wrong".
 
That old 7x57 and the 6.5 Swede just keeps knocking 'em out with very little fan fare anymore. It seems those who appreciated them most are no longer with us, and there is just to much "new stuff" for the scribes nowadays to try to make a living by writing about the old timers.
 
Remington tried to reinvent the wheel by introducing the .260, and the 7-08 by using higher pressures for both cartridges....However, neither of the old fellers was broke, and certainly didn't need fixing.
They are both still alive and kicking...although that "kick" is hardly noticeable in both sales......and recoil.

[Crow Poison]

243 Win

[pscott]

Personally, I like the 243 Winchester in a lightweight rifle for deer.  Plenty of killing power while delivering very little recoil.  What a pleasure to shoot and reload!:)

[Daryl (deceased)]

pscott,
 
Welcome to the forum!  
 
I agree with you; the .243 is a great little cartridge.
 
Daryl

[Arctic Hunter]

Just for the heck of it, here's my comments from Canada.  Did a lot of shooting with both the 6.5X55 and the .308;  but my test platform was the larger deer ..our moose.    One annecdote that comes to mind is a time  when  i was guiding 2 who shot at the same moose ;  one was using the 6.5 with 140 grain bullets, and the other was using .308 with 150 grain bullets.  Each fired 3 shots at approximately 275 yards.  All shots were in the "boiler room" and this moose just absorbed the energy until he thought better of it and finally dropped.

The point here is that all of the .308 bullets were recovered next to the off side ribs; however, non of the 6.5 were recovered.  They continued to penetrate and the exit holes showed expected expansion.  Now this annecdote doen't offer proof of the 6.5 superiority since other factors are always present.  But it does show that the B.C. of the 6.5 can offer superior penetration to the 30 cal in similar weights.

Just for chat value, I've owned and shot several 6.5 X 55's and have never had one that wouldn't shoot.  Even the old Carl Gustav M38 military rifles were darn accurate.

Anyhow, just another hunter heard from and hope this adds something..

[gitano]

Now that's an outstanding observation and opportunity. (I actually had a similar experience with an '06 and a 7mm Mag. Three from each too.) Anyway, your opinion that incident suggests

proof of the 6.5 superiority

over the .308 is an excellent example of the differences in what different hunters consider "good". Personally, I dislike through-and-through shots, even on moose, and I would have offered that the .308 Win in your example was the one that had performed in the more superior way. I'm not arguing here. Just pointing out that one man's ceiling is another man's floor. :)[/SIZE]

Paul

[LLANOJOHN (deceased)]

IMHO, That is a wonderful place to be "stuck".....it's is one of those choices where, "ya just can't go wrong".
 
That old 7x57 and the 6.5 Swede just keeps knocking 'em out with very little fan fare anymore. It seems those who appreciated them most are no longer with us, and there is just to much "new stuff" for the scribes nowadays to try to make a living by writing about the old timers.
 
Remington tried to reinvent the wheel by introducing the .260, and the 7-08 by using higher pressures for both cartridges....However, neither of the old fellers was broke, and certainly didn't need fixing.
They are both still alive and kicking...although that "kick" is hardly noticeable in both sales......and recoil.[/quote
 
RumRunner,
 
Well, at least there are TWO OF US that are still alive and kicking!;)   The Swede is just a nice cartridge .............byw, I own several in various configurations and expect to have more one of these days if I ever get a shop to work in!

Ol' John..........the 6.5 guy!:D

[Gmoney]

John, you trying to say the .260 is just spare wheel parts then.....:)...

[LLANOJOHN (deceased)]

John, you trying to say the .260 is just spare wheel parts then.....:)...

Gmoney,
 
Now, now...........you know I think highly of the .260 and its bigger brother--the 6.5/08AI.
I have both as I believe you are aware.  If I had a short action 700 Remington to play with.......it would be chambered in one or the other.:D :D
 
How are you and the "piney woods" getting along?  And when will you be back in Mason?  You gotta make time to meet me at Castell for some BBQ!
 
Ol' John;)

[Gmoney]

Piney woods are doing me just fine....skeeters are not too bad...not too hot, yet....
 
Prolly not gonna get to Mason anytime soon...will let you know....
 
How's the shooting range coming along....I need to come burn some powder there.....