Confessions of a deer hunting small-bore convert.

One of my hunting crew has a Ruger Super Redhawk and a Ruger Model 44 Carbine. He has killed deer with both, boom-flop. Fun to shoot, suprisingly manageable recoil.

My Grandmother hunted with a semi-auto ruger 44 Mag for many years and I don’t know hoe many deer were killed with that rifle. I think at best it shot minute-of-softball at 100 yards but that was always good enough for her. Usually we would hear “bang………bang bang bang”.

I’m becoming a big believer in the heavy-for caliber, high bc bullets pushed fast.I’ve had a fast twist 22-250 for a couple years and shoot 75grain hornady eld’s out of it with extremely good results on coyotes, antelope and a few does. It’s also a pleasure to shoot at distance because it slips the wind so well.

Currently have a different short action rem700 at the gunsmith getting rebarrel into a 22 creedmoor. I’ll be slinging 75-90 grainers 3200-3500 fps. It’s basically cheating.

Well, I was dead set on a Tikka in 6.5 creed, but I ended up saying “what the hay” and threw a bid on a Tikka Compact 308 on Gunbroker. Well wouldn’t yah know, ended up winning the thing for a pretty screaming deal. Going to work up a load with 168 ELDMs, and it should be a pretty handy little rifle capable of some moderate LR work.

Now I’m on the hunt for a Tikka donor action/rifle to spin on a 260 AI barrel.

waldo9190 wrote:

Well, I was dead set on a Tikka in 6.5 creed, but I ended up saying “what the hay” and threw a bid on a Tikka Compact 308 on Gunbroker. Well wouldn’t yah know, ended up winning the thing for a pretty screaming deal. Going to work up a load with 168 ELDMs, and it should be a pretty handy little rifle capable of some moderate LR work.

Now I’m on the hunt for a Tikka donor action/rifle to spin on a 260 AI barrel.

Congratulations on your win! I love GunBroker!

Annnnd just like that, I picked up a never-fired 6.5 creedmoor take off barrel, and will likely rebarrel my 270 to give the creed a fair shake.

I have a 1952 Remington 760 Gamemaster in .30-06. It is better than 90% condition, but has been used and well cared for. The previous owner installed a nice recoil pad. I am sure that I will appreciate that when I finally shoot her. Ive owned her for a few years. We cannot rifle hunt down here except for Coyotes/fox. I use .223 or .22-250 or .17 HMR for that. Anyways, I will more than likely draw a bear tag in 906 next year, maybe I would have this year but put in for points. Question is what grain bullet do you all think I should use? I will try different ammos to check for accuracy, but I do not anticipate shooting very far. I have bought a scope and mounts for the rifle, but I am not even sure I will use a scope.

robby wrote:

Question is what grain bullet do you all think I should use? I will try different ammos to check for accuracy, but I do not anticipate shooting very far.

Anything your 06 shoots well will be fine for black bear. They are not known to be tough to kill, certainly not in the league of the brown bear. Also, shots will be close for most bear setups.

The biggest issue I’ve heard of for black bears is hunters missing due to nerves combined with shots at an extreme downward angle due to high stand heights and close-in bears. Make sure you know where to aim for a hard-down angle shot from a stand height to a bear standing 20 yards or less from you.

tswoboda wrote:

Oh and I don’t want to derail this thread on “small bore” deer rifles, but is .224 cal still too small?? Seems to me .243 is a lot closer to .224 than it is to .308

My dad has a Rem 700 in 243 that my sister and I have taken many deer with it. It’s very deadly.

22-250 is very popular in Europe as a deer hunting caliber. I have always been hesitant to use anything that small before. With my 22-250 having a 1:9 twist, my goal is to load up a heavier Barnes TSX and let my 10 year old daughter use it this year. She’s been shooting it at 200 yds for a couple years now. I don’t think her small frame can handle my 270 WIN quite yet.

Ryan Scholl wrote:

22-250 is very popular in Europe as a deer hunting caliber. I have always been hesitant to use anything that small before. With my 22-250 having a 1:9 twist, my goal is to load up a heavier Barnes TSX and let my 10 year old daughter use it this year.

The key is that unlike the American .22-250 that generally comes with a 1:12 twist tuned for lighter varmint bullets, the European standard (like your rifle) is a faster 1:9 or 1:8 twist for game bullets up to 90 grains.

It is also worth noting the the Europeans have many deer species that are unheard of here in the US. The .22-250’s use is normally confined to the smaller species like the Water Deer and the Roe Deer. I have never heard it mentioned as a caliber of choice for the larger species like the Red Deer.

So a properly-barrelled .22-250 certainly can do the job on small deer-sized game, but in the 70-90 grain bullet category, it overlaps with the .243 that I would argue is a much more versatile choice for deer because you can go even heavier if needed.

Ryan Scholl wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tswoboda wrote:</div>

My dad has a Rem 700 in 243 that my sister and I have taken many deer with it.

Sorry, off topic but have you had your model 700 checked for a recall? A lot em work for years and then start firing without the trigger being pulled. Had mine for years and then that started.
Dangerous. I scrapped it.

Ryan Scholl wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tswoboda wrote:</div>
Oh and I don’t want to derail this thread on “small bore” deer rifles, but is .224 cal still too small?? Seems to me .243 is a lot closer to .224 than it is to .308

My dad has a Rem 700 in 243 that my sister and I have taken many deer with it. It’s very deadly.

22-250 is very popular in Europe as a deer hunting caliber. I have always been hesitant to use anything that small before. With my 22-250 having a 1:9 twist, my goal is to load up a heavier Barnes TSX and let my 10 year old daughter use it this year. She’s been shooting it at 200 yds for a couple years now. I don’t think her small frame can handle my 270 WIN quite yet.

If you were to set her up with a bolt 223 and some HEAVY for caliber projectiles (77 TMK, 75 ELDm, etc.) they are more than sufficient for deer sized game at reasonable ranges.

Sorry, off topic but have you had your model 700 checked for a recall? A lot em work for years and then start firing without the trigger being pulled. Had mine for years and then that started.
Dangerous. I scrapped it.
[/quote]

This 700 is probably 40 years old. never had an issue.

If you were to set her up with a bolt 223 and some HEAVY for caliber projectiles (77 TMK, 75 ELDm, etc.) they are more than sufficient for deer sized game at reasonable ranges.
[/quote]

you’re not wrong, but I already have the 22-250 and she shoots it well. Many bolt action 223 have the same issue of having too slow of a twist for heavy bullets unless you are buying some of the shorter barreled options out there that get to a 1:8 twist.

I figured if someone can take a deer with a 223, why wouldn’t the extra speed of the 250 pushing the same bullet be better? I don’t plan on this being a permanent solution. Once she’s bigger, she’ll be using the 243 or 6.5.