Rifle for Scotland

danban

Well-Known Member
Hi guys
I'm looking to book a week starting in Scotland for my 40th.
What calibre rifle would you suggest? I have a .243 at the moment but I'm sure a bigger cal would be better off up there!
Any comments I will appreciate.
Regards Dan
 
Hi Dan, I have stalked reds in Scotland on 3 occasions Stags and Hinds. I use 30-06 or 270. However my son and my hunting buddy both use 243 and everything they shot dropped no different to mine. in fact my mate shot a hind at 300 yrds with 243 stone dead. My son shoots upwards of 100 dear a year from Roe to Reds all with 243.
In my opinion 243 a very underrated cal.
Tusker.
 
I was under the impression that a lot of land in Scotland had to be a certain cal rifle. Is this not true?
 
Not to knowledge ,
If going with an estate or guide then email / phone check as some won't allow but others will ..

Paul
 
Can you recommend an estate to go with? I'm happy with roe or red. It's just a different environment to where I shoot!
 
Scottish legislation is all about bullet weight, velocity and energy.

Roe - a bullet designed to deform on impact in a predetermined manner of not less than 50g with a muzzle velocity of not less than 2450 ft/sec and a muzzle energy of not less than 1000 ft/lb

Other deer species (effectively fallow, sika and reds) a bullet designed to deform on impact in a predetermined manner of not less than 100g with a muzzle velocity of not less than 2450 ft/sec and a muzzle energy of not less than 1750 ft/lb

This has an effective limit of calibres but calibres are not mentioned in legislation.

Many shoot Reds with a .243 although some estates will have a requirement for a larger calibre. Ask when you book you stalking
 
Lots of choice regarding estates,all of whom will act professiionally and I don't feel I could recommend one over an other, others who provide stalking? There are few that advertise on here and you can read plenty reports from happy clients.
 
There are some that don't like it but as a pro Highland stalker .243 was my weapon of choice.

I believe the .243 was also the choice of the highly respected, late Lea MacNally, who like bogtrotter, knew 'just a thing or two' about stalking Red deer on the hill.

From reading Mr Macnally's books and articles I understand that he also favoured the .222 Rem Mag for Roe.

I have never stalked on the hill and am probably not fit enough now. However, I have shot a small number of large woodland Red with a .243 at sensible range and killed them cleanly.
 
I certainly know of at least a couple of estates where the estate rifle is a .243. But as I'm thinking of going bigger myself for exactly the same reason as you I should probably keep quiet :lol:
 
On ground you don't know, in conditions you're not familiar with, under observation by a possibly impatient ghillie and shooting at animals perhaps bigger than you're used to at ranges a touch further than you might be comfortable with...

...a .243 will usually be ok, but I think it's nice to give yourself a bit more margin for error. Any of the standard large deer calibres will do. For simple ease of finding a gun you like and a consistent supply of ammunition, a .308 would be hard to beat.
 
Here's a debate that's been done to death many times before...

Friends & I all used .243 for over 20 years taking reds. Then I decided to get a .25-06, friends soon followed getting 6.5 & 7mm rifles...suddenly for our aging eyes & ability, life with a little more knock down thrutch was just a little more comfortable.

.243 is fine as long as you stay in your comfort zone. Step out of it and you'd probably rather have a little extra available.
 
Some very sound advice on the above posts.

For myself I have always used a 270 on stags, although in the early days I used a 243. Noting wrong with the calibre as long as you know the limitations of the calibre and yourself, especially on the open hill.
In the hind season I use a 25.06, simply because as the year progresses hinds become more switched and shooting can sometimes be challenging.

malcolm029.jpg

Three stags in a morning near Kingussie 1989. With a 243.

Oh and by the way I have lost the tash, and put on a lot more weight since the photo was taken.
 
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As has been said .243 is plenty enough gun for the hill - the reality is that a stalker will not let you shoot unless he's happy and in the end of the day bullet placement is everything. Find a 100 grain your rifle likes and crack on.
 
I've grassed Reds in Scotland with Remington 700 BDL .243 100 Grn soft point it does the job perfectly, I never had a problem.

now I reach for the .308 every time, 160 Grn soft point home load on Reds, it may be just that extra bit I feel is necessary nowadays, or could possibly be I don't think I could keep up with a runner if it goes wrong

Good luck with your choice, it's all about shot placement and know your range your comfortable with, you don't have to test yourself on distant shots or anything your unsure about, clean kill is what it's all about, the rifle will do the rest with ease

atb

phil
 
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