Whats a good deer rifle for an old man?

Reaching the final days of NY state gun season, l decided Its the last year To haul this
Remmington 3006 model 242 auto loader. It weights more than some deer I shot.
My shoulder out, backs out, one hip, and a knee.
I need a lighter rifle that performs, even if it's a single shot. Any suggestions?? Thanks.

What's your style of hunting and average range shot? I'm guessing stand or hunting from a blind and in the woods 100Yards or less?

If You're a die hard naught -6 Man you won't like this

But a .243 Bolt is a good choice .I've killed 50 deer with my 3 different rifles

How about a Marlin 30/30?

Ruger American in 7mm-08

Is 223/5.56 legal for your state? Not a deer thumper by any means but with improvements in the heavy bonded bullets such as the trophy bonded bear claw and others its definitely capable if you can place it precisely. That one in a black rifle AR is about as soft shooting as it gets.
Staying in ARs look to the 6.8 or 6.5 for more capability.

If you want light weight and smaller cartridge. I would go with a Remington model 7 in 243.

I put together AR in 300 blackout for my youngest when he was 7 becuse he was recoil sensitive. 2 out of 2 dropped.

A 357, or 44 mag in a handi rifle worked great on 125 yard deer deer with low recoil in a very light package. I love my daughter in 357mag.

A Browning X-bolt in a short round like .243, .308, 7-08 weighs 6.5 pounds.

A Winchester Model 70 Featherweight weighs about the same.

They're both quality rifles.

Jim

ruger compact 7mm 08 my wife loves hers

Henry Long Ranger Rifle, in the 6.5 Creedmoor

I had a rem 700 BDL 270 that I gave to my son because it was too dang heavy. Look at the savage axis. Light , and one of the most accurate rifles I have ever seen. I have it in a 270 with a vortex crossfire II and it is unreal shooting fed 130 gr powershok bullets.
You can find the combos for around 299-375 depending on sales.

The ruger as mentioned is basically a copy of the savage.

Use a camera, not to heavy, shoots straight, cheap to shoot and a lot less work if you shoot something and you can show your friends what you have shot for a long time. JMO

you want the rifle lighter.

how about recoil does it also need to be less.?

single shot really doesn't mean less weight the Henry Single shot is 6.7 or 7 pounds.

the 742 is really not a hard recoiling rifle it has been a few years since I shot factory 30-06 from mine it is really light recoiling with my loads that bring it down to 308 velocity

Tikka T3x superlite ss in 7mm-08 or 308win 5.9 pounds empty with no optic

the Kimber M84 empty weight 5 pounds 7 ounces

I am running a Mossberg Patriot Predator that is 6.5 pounds but by the time I have it ready to hunt I am 8 pounds 2 ounces

light costs more than heavy
optics can weight you down fast


for reference my 742 with 2-7x32 optic unloaded is 8 pounds 14.2 ounces loaded about 9 pounds even

how much less weight is needed ?

Outside the box...

TC Contender Super 14 or an Encore hand gun.

Mine is a 7-30 Waters, good out to 225 yards or so on deer sized game.

3 under a dime at 100 if you do your part.

The last 12 years I've taken deer with it, this past fall a bear.
It weighs far less than a rifle, the recoil is very manageable, and you could always put a brake on it if you wanted less.

WS

22-250 with some Hornady deer specific loaded ammo deadly combo.

260 Rem
7x57
7mm08
7-30
6.5x55
They burn bout 2/3 the powder of ya 06 to start with yet are VERY lethal and have mild recoil.
Then if that recoil bothers you learn to hand load reduced loads. ....like I did for my daughter to shoot Dads custom 7x57. Easy peezy

Savage axis .243
Lightweight , enough power , very accurate, cheap.

I have an older tang safety ruger m77 ultralight. They are hard to find but sweet little guns. Pretty to look at, light weight, and mine is a tack driver in .270. I believe they were chambered in .243, .30-06, .308, 7mm-08, and .257 roberts as well.

Remington 722 in 257 Roberts or Remington 600 or 660 in 308 or 243

Martini Enfield converted to 7-30 waters. You will like it. Super short and light, easy recoil and flatter shooting than a 3030

Rather than looking at a particular cartridge, look at a particular make and model of rifle, such as the Tikka 3.
A very lightweight yet comfortable rifle to shoot regardless of the caliber you pick,

X2

This one.
7.62x39 CZ 527 carbine.
About like a 22,small and light,has a set trigger-tac driver.

Outta curiosity have you messed around with the Serbian knock off versions made by Zastav ?

No wolfie,never knew about them.Do they have the .311 bore also?

Great choice

A bit less than two lynx hats.About a hat and a half.

Good advice IMO. A great choice of rifle, top it with a good scope and you'll be in business.

I would say a 6.5 grendel but old guys hear the name and avoid it like the plague lol

Not sure, wouldnt surprise me though.

^^^^^this^^^^^

I’ll second on the 6.5 Grendel .

Another vote for the .243

You have to look at the whole package, it does little good to get a nice light rifle and put a huge scope on it that weighs about the same as the rifle. If you truly want light spend the money on a light rifle and then pony up the money for one of the ultra light compact scopes you are trading some performance for the weight savings though. Leupold makes some nice compact scopes and I am sure others do as well. A Ruger American or a Tikka T3 ultralight would be a good place to start looking

There are LOTS of good options as you can probably see, so it may come down to what you want to spend or perhaps what you can find used. I like to hunt the mountains around here and get tired of hauling my Rem 700 .270 even though it is not terribly heavy as rifles go. It's a 3 mile backpack in to set up my backcountry camp, and then I spend most of every day on my feet working my way thru the woods. The 700 was wearing this 66 y/o down so I was looking for something lighter. I found a used Rem model 7 in 7mm-08 at a local gun show and put an old Redfield 3-9 scope I had on it. With the scope it weighs in at 6 lbs 10 oz. Between being a couple of pounds lighter it is also several inches shorter so is perfect for me. Many of the other options that were suggested would have worked as well but this one worked out for me.

FWIW, the CZ 527 is available in 6.5 Grendel.

7-08 in an a-bolt or similar package good for pretty much any grass eater or a 6.5 Grendel bolt gun. The 6.5 has about 7 lbs of recoil.

Model 700 Remington mountain rifle bolt action.Very light and easy to carry.

X3

The lighter the slug, the less recoil felt.

Eddy, With all your sore spots. Maybe also time to change your hunting habits, along with a lighter rifle. I can't walk far any more. I know our hunting grounds , like the back of my hand, just can't walk to them. If you have an atv , start watching runways. Let the younger , lads do the roaming. Times change sad to say. I carry a winchester model 100 in 308, fast light gun. Good Luck old243

AR pistol could be a good option.

Go to your nearest used gun store ,or pawn shop,get your self a 30/30 and you'll be good to go

Had the same gun about 20 years ago. I never liked the 270 just because...It had less recoil than any 270
I had ever shot so i bought it from my father in law. He always liked the 270 and after a couple years, he came to
the house with his little grin and asked if I would trade it. Told him no but he said you might...He had a 243 in the same
gun and knowed I was a 243 nut so...I traded. The 243 don't shoot hardly as good but it shoots good for such a
small gun. He kelp the 270 for about a month and traded it. I'd have got it back but didn't know he was trading. He tried
to trade for it back and the guy said that that was 1 gun he'd never trade and I know why, It shot way above what it
should have. Still have the 243...Love it...

If price is not a big concern then this might be something you could look into. This is a Weatherby ultra lightweight sporter in .280 Remington caliber that I have. I got it because I used to walk long distances and being the lazy person I am wanted to carry something light and efficient. It worked out well for me. I'm not sure if they are even made today but there are many manufacturers that offer lightweight versions. A couple pounds can make a big difference. I think the rifle alone is advertised at 5 3/4 pounds.

Yes Had one of those also . My son started with that rifle. When I gave him my BDL he sold it . That was the most accurate rifle BAR NON I ever laid my eyes on. Bench rest at 100 yards all 3 shots were in the same hole !!! The entire group looked like a 30 caliber hole . No triangle pattern. Depending on where you hunt and what terrain the 243 would be perfect. I got the 270 since I already own a 700 bdl in a 6mm

Savage axis and don't look back.. BUT the ruger American is a copy cat so it would be a good fit. I just don't have any knowledge of shooting ability.

Problem with all these off the wall (don't beat me up) calibers is finding ammo. If you are just now switching to a caliber you must consider the availability.

a run down by weight of many of the rifles mentioned here

if it isn't current;y in production I didn't list it

4.9 pounds Kimber Mountain accent 6.5creed

5 pounds 7 ounces Kimber m84 308

5.5 pounds Savage 11 lightweight 308

5.7 pounds Ruger Hawkeye compact 308

5.9 pounds Ruger american Ranch 7.62x39

5.9 pounds T3x Tikka super light 308

5.94 (I) CZ 527 7.62x39 marking this one with (I) because it has iron sights and would not need any added weight from an optic

6 pounds Hawkeye compact 7mm-08

6.1 pounds Ruger American ranch 6.5 grendel smaller bore same outside dimensions is 0.2 pounds heavier

6.1 pounds Ruger american standard 308

6.16 pounds (I) Zastava M85 7.62x39 iron sights

6.2 pounds Ruger american standard 7mm-08 rifles with smaller bores and the same outside dimensions weight more than their larger bore counter parts

6.2 pounds Ruger American predator 308 the barrel is shortened and threaded but a touch thicker with a rail for optics making it a shorter package and able to take a muzzle break that can greatly reduce recoil

6.2 pounds Ruger Hawkey compact Laminate the laminate stock 308 adds a 0.5 pounds

6.3 Savage Axis 1 and 2 it doesn't make much of a difference in long or short action as Savage axis are all long the magazine length is short or long

6.5 pounds Browning Xbolt

6.5 pounds Mossberg Patriot synthetic

6.5 pounds Mossberg Patriot Predator

7 pounds Mossberg Patriot walnut

7 pounds (I) Marlin 336 30-30 or 35 rem Marlin only gives the approximate weight of 7 pounds

6.94 to 7.18 pounds (I) Henry Single shot the 308 is 6.94 the others vary by caliber but the 223 is heavier at 7.18

you can see the market is fairly crouded in the 6-7 pound range and you pay a fair bit more to go lighter

optics add weight big optics can add weight fast

some of the lightest traditional rifle optics are 14-15 oucnces

14.3 Vortex 2-7x32 crossfire I run several of these 2x is a really handy power setting I have shot running deer as close as 15 yards and also shot deer running at 125 yards I have shot steel to 200 yards you can see well to pick up the deer as you pull up

the Vortex 1-4 cross fire is 14.8 ounces pair either of these with some weaver quad-lock rings is very close to 1 pound


A sling is another consideration , if you can sling a rifle over your shoulder it takes the weight off your arms if you are not running a sling you should think about it.

Accessories and what you put on a rifle are huge I run a Mossberg patriot predator that started 6.5 pounds with a Vortex 2-7x32 a lighte wight scope , muzzle brake , sling , cheek riser bag I am at 8 pounds 2 ounces so you can see how it adds up , the cheek riser bag has storage for ammo and with 2 mags and 15 rounds of 180gr 308 it is 9 pound 7 ounces but it is alwasy ready to walk out the door and shoot 10-400 yards with 15 rounds of ammo in 2 mags and 5 on the stock loops

with the muzzle brake cutting around 50% of recoil not that it is a hard recoiling round it makes it very pleasant to shoot

I won't lie it was getting old carrying all that and busting through a swamp last week

it really depends what kind of hunting you do and if you want or need optics

length is also a consideration it may not make a lot of weight change to be shorter but it makes it easier to carry in tight places

Weatherby offers a few lighter weight rifles as well.

I'll throw the mini action Howa into the mix in 6.5 Grendlel .... way enough to tip over a deer

Get you an e-bike too. Makes it a lot easier getting to the stand . Don't sweat walking in or out LOL

My AR pistol with optic weights 6.5 pounds , but I don't think they can have those in NY

crazy Eddie, I have health issues also. At this time I'm using a Remington 742 in .308. The recoil is mild. It is a little on the heavy side, but with blood thinners, recoil doesn't bruise me up.
Here is what my H&R 10ga. did to me during a Turkey season... my arm ballooned up, black and blue and very painful for nearly two weeks. I use an Remington 11-87 12ga. now.

Just shoot em out yer back window.

That's not where your supposed to rest the butt of the gun.

You got that from a 10 ga???
I shot a 10 ga for a few years,never seen anything like that.
I think you got some kind of a medical problem causing you to bruise up like that
OK,Just read back and seen where you mentioned that you are on blood thinners.

Are you on a blood thinner, Rendezvous?

Never mind if I'm prying.

I used to be on two blood thinners, now one, and my shoulder and arm would bruise up like that when I shot a rifle. Haven't been able to shoot for a while, so I'm not sure how badly I'd bruise now.

Jim

Whoa! That's a lot of information.
Wolf dog91 if I walked out the back door with that gun in N.Y. state Our governor would have a heart attack.
(Maybe I should get one).
I was digging around through my artillery collection and found a 20ga. Franchi. I put it on the scale at 3 1/2 lbs loaded. Its level out to 50 yards, so I'm going hunt'in in the morning.
Thanks for all this info. I learned alot from it. I have got more information from trapperman than any other source, including school.Thanks.

I was gonna suggest a shotgun with slugs,but you indicated rifle in your original post.

I’m 60 and I carry a 7mm bolt action, wouldn’t take a gold monkey for it..
Hornady 154 grain SST, drops them in their tracks
No tracking..

I have the tikka t3 ultralight 270S.M. and it kicks like a mule. The only gun that I have shot at game with and immediately thought oh that kind of hurt. That said I carry it 95% of the time. It is super accurate and a joy to carry. I would like to get one in a 308 and see if that has less recoil.

"4.9 pounds Kimber Mountain accent 6.5creed"

I bought one of these in .280 AI a few years back, but it wasn't cheap. $1750, if I recall right. The recoil isn't bad on it, despite its light weight.

Jim

buddy you need to talk to your DR I am on thinners also since a blood clot in May

xeralto https://www.xarelto-us.com/?&ut...WQHaSmCOAhoCd_4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

my dad was on warfin and a few others he is now on a different one it is similar to the xeralto , my uncle and I are on Xeralto

you can even have a beer or three

my 308 bolt does not bruise me at all

I may be X3 on this one.
Old man, young man and everything in between can take any whitetail in Wisconsin with that.
I'm tired of loading and unloading one round at a time through my old 110.
I mainly would give the nod to Savage because they make most everything left handed too.

Pete, do you shoot a lot? The more you shoot, the tougher your shoulder muscles get. More resistant to bruising.

It's the same for boxers. They get used to getting hit, so their body toughens up. That's how they can take a punch that would floor an ordinary man.

When I was getting ready for Africa, I was shooting about every other day. Despite my blood thinners, the bruising went away.

Jim

not that much this year , in a normal year 3K this year more like 400 and that includes 22lr hard to want to shoot when you can't hardly even find primers league was shut down.
even pheasant loads were hard to find this year get a box here and a box there only found 4 boxes all summer.

hunted more this year than most , pheasant and deer just shot a lot less.

my 308 wears a muzzle break and even with a 180gr bullet is very light recoiling.

my shotgun isn't heavy and is a pump but wears a Morgan Pad so the fit is very good I mostly use 2 3/4 #4 hunting loads or 7 1/2 trap loads

I have had very little bruising with Xeralto taking 20mg once a day

The last time that I had a notion to buy a rifle for an old man, I bid on a Savage 99 in .250 Savage, but it went for more than I could afford at the time.
Too bad that I passed it up, it would have been worth it and I would have wound up with it in the end anyway.

This. I'm 71 and I like the light recoil and light weight. Use good ammo. I use Nosler Partition, 85 grains. Sho-nuff medicine on them old whitetails.

Ok you guys got to stop suggesting calibers that the man has no hope of finding shells. He can't reload without brass. He will be lucky to find 243 or 270 shells. The 243 is the best choice if recoil is causeing bruising. PLUS please stop telling people they are holding the gun wrong. Where you there? His bruise runs past his elbow so I bet he didn't hit that area. If he is 60 plus he's not going to develop a new way to hold the gun!!! PERIOD !!! ALL people that have hunted very long hold the gun the most natural and comfortable way to them. The guy that runs the local gun range told me that I wasn't holding my pistol correctly that The special forces manual said to do it a certain way . I laughed at him and said sonny you heard of the cup and saucer grip? No sir. Ok google it see what grip the marine corp used for years. Rambo wannabe punk grabbed his phone read something then walked off with his tactical chest slumped over mumbling !!!!

They do make reduced recoil factory loads for 243 and 270 . I'm sure other cal also but that is the 2 I have seen .

Jbryd63 , you can do better than cup and saucer it is like a 1 1/2 handed grip yes the army used it for some years , they also taught one handed only for years a good argument it does not make.

they currently teach a 2 handed grip with both thumbs forward and it is proven in both combat and competition to be fast accurate and effective.

the role of the handgun in combat has changed significantly in the last 100 years

but if saucer and tea cup works for you rock it.

as for the cartridge I don't think he is getting a new gun in the next few days one would hope that by next year there will be some ammo .
it is going to be really sad if 300 days from now the ammo selection still stinks this bad.

for this year I think a sling is the most doable thing if he doesn't not already have one. getting a new gun mid season with a NY waiting period and getting sighted in and practiced is fairly unrealistic since their gun season ended about an hour ago.

although it sounds like he found a shotgun in his collection to use the last couple days.

The fun thing about killing deer is it’s easy and the choices are endless.

My first gun was an 30/06 I got when I was 14.

From there I’ve used a 30/30, 35 Remington, .357 and .44 mag (all marlin lever guns)
.22/250, .270, .308

My fav for longer shots .308/.270

Closer shots any of the lever guns.

I would advise to get a 6.5 creedmore.

I have a winchester 7mm-08 that i love.
You can also go the single shot version in 7mm-08 in thompson center.

Surprised no one has mentioned the 350 Legend

Pete we can only hope !! But even if shells do become available some of the calibers being suggested will be outragios in price. 243. 30/30, 270 , and 30-06 are always the easiest to find and the cheapest priced calibers. BUt the 30-06 has recoil. 270 does also but like I said they make reduced recoil in that caliber.

Walked thru the sporting goods dept. in Walmart, the only two boxes of ammunition in the whole store were both .35 whelen.

I sure hope the ammo situation gets better , part of why I suggested 308 very versatile good for most any deer range and comes in some light weight short action packages

they make 308 all the time and not just limited runs a few times a year it is popular but had been mostly available this year

he asked about weight reduction , for carrying.

the 7400 and 742 have very manageable recoil for a 30-06 being semi auto but a 742 with scope even a light one and 4 rounds is right about 9 pounds.

reduced recoil rounds would further reduce the recoil but I think 9 pounds is the issue not the recoil

unfortunately guns are nearly as unobtanium as ammunition in many placed

to see big weight reduction something with iron sights in the 6-7 pound range or something that needs an optic with a lightweight optic you can fairly easily get to a touch over 7 pounds which doesn't sound like a lot lighter but it is 22%

one of the approximately 6 pound 7.62x39 mini Mausers with the the iron sights and no optics is a 33% reduction in weight ammo is still available for these just not as available as it had been.

lighter than that is possible but more expensive

https://www.remington.com/firearm-history/model-seven-history

I have one in a 7mm 08 caliber and love it. I have a 6-oz Leopold 3-9 scope on it. I retired a 700 Rem 7mm mag when I was in my 60's.