Best gun for deer

[sikamalc]

The first deer rifle I ever owned was a 243 BRNO. With a Leupold scope. That's all I could afford at the time. It did the job on deer, cheap but effective.

At days end Pine Martin is correct, the deer are not going to know what calibre they are shot with. And its about bullet placement, not who has the biggest gun. If you are starting out I would look for a good second hand 243. More importantly is the glass you have on the top of the rifle. Buy as good as you can get, with a good 50 aperature to collect plenty of light. Also a rifle that fits you well, pick. Make sure when you pick your rifle up that it comes up to the shoulder smoothly, and that your eye lines up easily with the scope. It should feel comfortable. If it does not feel right, dont buy it.

Shooting 100g bullets a 243 will take any of the deer in the UK no problem. I would also suggest that starting out you keep any deer you stalk with 100yd range. Dont start to be tempted with longer shots. Deer welfare comes first with stalking, not big egos thinking they can shoot at silly distances.

 

[Erik Hamburger]

What’s the best CHEAP rifle for deer

What is the best CHEAP car to drive?

But seriously, a pre-loved .243W purchased from a reputable Firearms Dealer (so it has been cleaned and checked over and be sold to you with some kind of warranty) should be easy to find around £300-£500. I would look at Howa 1500's to start.

 

[Stevie/P]

Whats so wrong with a 243 ?????

Nothing great rifles for stirring paint.

 

[sh1kar]

Expensive?

Take a look on gun trader

 

[Klenchblaize]

When the Op has his rifle sorted and assuming I will be more or less over my disappointment in his lack of interest in a rather fine ice auger, may I draw his attention to a no less pleasing and a well-priced scope:

Sold: - TR23-2 Trijicon/AccuPoint® 5-20x50 Scope

As new. Only been out of the box once. Comes with a green tritium iluminsted dot. As you can see from my photograph the central aiming dot is helpfully much, much smaller than depicted in the on-line drawing. 30mm tube: TR23-2 AccuPoint - Trijicon, Inc. £515.00 posted Cheers K

www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk

ATB

K

 

[Fair Hill]

Get yourself a .308 Yanik, they are very popular and the ammunition is cheap enough.

 

[bluesako]

dont bother with 243 wast of space in any cabinet get a 6.5x55

that statement is the biggest load of bull crap, ive ever heard in my life bs .

 

[terrier1]

308 tikka t3

 

[berg]

I would say a 7mm08 tikka 595, funnily enough i have one for sale on here at the moment

 

[25 Sharps]

Yanik is 14. I would advise you to have a look at all the deer-legal calibres on guntrader.uk. You have to think not just about the rifle, but probably a scope and moderator as well. As it will be a while before you can even apply for an FAC, if you can get out stalking with an adult in the meantime, it's worth seeing what the stalker has as kit and equipment and asking a few questions as to why they are using what they've got.

Lots of choice, and lots of prices but at least you have a bit of time to save up for your first rifle.

You can have an FAC at 14

 

[25 Sharps]

Whats so wrong with a 243 ?????

Um, its a .243!!

 

[25 Sharps]

What is the best CHEAP car to drive?

But seriously, a pre-loved .243W purchased from a reputable Firearms Dealer (so it has been cleaned and checked over and be sold to you with some kind of warranty) should be easy to find around £300-£500. I would look at Howa 1500's to start.

I would avoid a SH .243 personally, they can have a short barrel life if they've been running fast light foxing rounds there is more chance of excessive barrel wear than a .308 or .270 which makes them a better choice (plus the fact they are not a .243)

 

[Mountain Bug]

I'm not terribly familiar with your market across the pond, but if you were in North America and asked the same question, my answer would be a Savage rifle. They are inexpensive (not cheap), and in my experience have all shot very well. My caliber recommendation, although not my personal preference, would be a .270 for light recoil and no worries about cartridge availability. With proper bullet placement there is nothing wandering your country that would show immunity to this caliber.

Scott

 

[glasshalffull]

You'll still find the odd Parker Hale knocking about in firearm dealerships and you could do a lot worse for under £250. Here's one on a well known advertising platform

Get a clean Leupold and mounts for the above and you'll have a proper rig for sub £500.

 

[tusker]

Parker Hale 243 in know of a couple probably not shot 100 rounds between them.
Tusker

 

[Pine Marten]

Jesus Christ. The calibre doesn't matter. It's WAY down the list of priorities compared to the ability to get close to deer, identify them, and gun fit (Yanik: the is a secret: if your gun fits, recoil doesn't matter).

 

[sako85708]

The best thing about a 243 is it's hated by the felt hat 6.5 x 55 brigade !!

 

[Mungo]

I know of several people stalking perfectly happily and successfully with beaten up 50+ year old Parker Hales in .243 with Nikko Sterling scopes, where the entire set up cost under £150. They seem entirely unconcerned by our convictions that doing such a thing is manifestly impossible...

Every gun shop in the country has a rack of dusty rifles that will perfectly effectively kill anything in the UK, and which the dealer knows he will never sell. Look like you're going to be buying ammo and other gear reasonably often, and you could probably find yourself walking out with everything you need for well under £200.

 

[Fair Hill]

I know of several people stalking perfectly happily and successfully with beaten up 50+ year old Parker Hales in .243 with Nikko Sterling scopes, where the entire set up cost under £150. They seem entirely unconcerned by our convictions that doing such a thing is manifestly impossible...

Every gun shop in the country has a rack of dusty rifles that will perfectly effectively kill anything in the UK, and which the dealer knows he will never sell. Look like you're going to be buying ammo and other gear reasonably often, and you could probably find yourself walking out with everything you need for well under £200.

I know a few fella's that like myself laugh at the notion some people have that a hunter should "spend most of your money on a good scope and buy a rifle from the change".

What a crock of **** that is for anyone to be spouting to someone that wants to get started in hunting.

 

[pendle]

You'll still find the odd Parker Hale knocking about in firearm dealerships and you could do a lot worse for under £250. Here's one on a well known advertising platform

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