# best Rifle for axis and whitetails with not much recoil



## snapper slapper lures (Jul 6, 2004)

What do you guys recomend? I have a 300 black out which works good for whitetail but I shot a big *** axis with it and it knocked him down but he got up and ran up mtn. We never found him. I want something to take axis with and whitetails. With med recoil. Do not want one that kicks like a mule. Thanks in advance, Woody


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## poco jim (Jun 28, 2010)

Not being a smartarse, shot placement, that gun should take an axis down. ! shoot them with a 270 and no problem, unless I make a bad shot!


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## spurgersalty (Jun 29, 2010)

416Rigby no less


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## Law Dog (Jul 27, 2010)

Rem 243, & Shot placement is the Key.


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## Folsetth (Jan 18, 2007)

Are you looking for something for your wife or child?......


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## 6.5 shooter dude (Jan 8, 2008)

7mm-08


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## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

I'm fond of the .257 Weatherby Magnum...little recoil, hell of a punch.

TH


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## housewolf (Nov 24, 2014)

Jay Baker said:


> 7mm-08


My favorite, but unless you can improve that shot placement you might be better suited with one of these :wink:
Blue Lacy-


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## TXplugger (Nov 26, 2007)

.243, 7mm-08, or 25-06


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## Gulfcoastin (Feb 9, 2011)

X2 7mm-08


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## emontez (Aug 13, 2005)

6.5 creedmoor or 260 remington


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## artys_only (Mar 29, 2005)

7-08 great cal gets my vote but shoot straight counts more with all calibers


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## spurgersalty (Jun 29, 2010)

emontez said:


> 6.5 creedmoor or 260 remington


Now there's two real options that fit the OP's request to a t.


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## POCsaltdog (Nov 26, 2014)

25-06. My favorite deer rifle and a very good long range gun. The heavier the rifle the less recoil.


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## knotrite (Sep 6, 2014)

Gulfcoastin said:


> X2 7mm-08


7mm 08
Shot placement is the key
I have shot wt at 300 yds with 
7mm 08 and put down in their tracks


captdean1 said:


> We rented one from Capt Carl in Corpus he was at a marina by the intercoastal That's all I can remember It was awhile back sorry and he had optional guides if you wanted and the cabin was in the meadows
> :texasflag


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## AvianQuest (Feb 7, 2006)

Certainly the .243 and others that have been mentioned.

But don't dismiss the .30-06 which has such a wide range of loads that you can shoot anything from varmints to moose. 

With a Limbsaver recoil pad and reduced recoil rounds, you still have more power than a .30-30 but with far less recoil.

Also, a semi-auto will reduce the recoil.


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## skniper (Oct 31, 2008)

7mm-08. Fits everything you are looking for. Perfect Texas cartridge. 

The .243, 7-08, and .308 are essentially the same brass cartridge. Small, medium, and large projectiles respectively. The 7mm in the middle is juuuust right.


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## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

How dead do you want your deer.....MOST of the above will make them as dead as most want, I shoot a 308 now and it works well


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## RedXCross (Aug 7, 2005)

This X2



Trouthunter said:


> I'm fond of the .257 Weatherby Magnum...little recoil, hell of a punch.
> 
> TH


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## Ancuegar (Jul 5, 2012)

wet dreams said:


> How dead do you want your deer.....MOST of the above will make them as dead as most want, I shoot a 308 now and it works well


i agree with this! 308 win is a great low recoil round. thats what my wife shoots and it will be the rifle she will use in africa on big animals.


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## T_rout (Jul 25, 2013)

Sounds like you need a 300 weatherby with a big muzzle break! No matter where you hit em they'll go down!


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## 98aggie77566 (Jul 7, 2009)

308

My daughter (12) and about 90 lbs shoots it with no problem.

Get one with a heavy barrel to add some weight, a good recoil pad, and a break if you need it (but shouldn't).

Ammo selection is great as its one of the most common calibers.


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## thomas78 (Nov 10, 2008)

Shot placement and bullet selection is everything, My go to gun in a 220 swift and this weekend changed it up and used a 7mag. Unless you are shooting 100 deer a year recoil shouldn't matter I shot a 7mag twice this weekend and couldn't tell you if it kicked like a mule or not, more pumped about what was in the crosshairs! My wife always takes her 284 even though she also has a 6.5 in the safe.


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## el dorado (Jul 26, 2010)

22-250 kills them all day long and twice on Sundays. I don't know your situation and I've dang sure lost a deer before, but usually shot placement is the biggest factor.


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## pg542 (Oct 9, 2006)

To the OP....now that cleared things right up did'nt it? A well placed shot from your .300blk should have been plenty if under 200yds. They'll lose some punch pretty quick after that. Sometimes you just come across an extremely tough specimen, but more than likely, the shot was off a little. It's happened to all of us. Ilike .270 win and 7mm-08 but any of the previously mentioned rounds will do the job....


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## cva34 (Dec 22, 2008)

Law Dog said:


> Rem 243, & Shot placement is the Key.


That's a X-2 ... Shot placement is the key no matter what caliber..Bigger guns do not make up for Bad Shot placement..


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## Otolith (Nov 29, 2014)

308 150grain Remington Core Lock, Ya want a bloody mess,180grain


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## Boomhauer75 (Jan 3, 2010)

el dorado said:


> 22-250 kills them all day long and twice on Sundays. I don't know your situation and I've dang sure lost a deer before, but usually shot placement is the biggest factor.


X2

This is my favorite gun right now. Wife just shot an axis spike and a big WT right before christmas with my 22-250. I have also dropped 2 axis bucks with mine and a WT buck. I have a 7mag, 25-06, 30-06 and just last week bought a 22 hornet and just love my 22-250. At the end of the day it is all about shot placement. So far all of the animals it has shot have dropped right there in their tracks.


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## whiskey1 (May 8, 2014)

7mm BRM


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## 98aggie77566 (Jul 7, 2009)

Come on guys...let's try and provide the guy at least a few more calibers to choose from.


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## Jay Shady (Feb 6, 2011)

Shot placement. I use a 22/250 for all my hunting needs and she's dropped many of Axis.


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## puma409 (Dec 8, 2011)

7 mm-08


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## michaelbaranowski (May 24, 2004)

Those are all great rounds. I have been showing my 6.5x55 since I was 13. For those that have not shoot it might want to check it out. Pretty much the recoil of a .243 but shoots as flat as a .270. I load mine with 140 gr bullet does wonderful.

There are many caliber and cartridges to choose from. But then there are many rifles and configuations out there also. I have shot Remingtons, Browning, Sako, etc and they can all shoot different. I am not sure if the weight, stock or what but the Sako seems to have a harder recoil. So it might be a matter of finding a cartridge and then trying several rifles. And if all else fails might want to have a muzzle break.


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## FISH TAILS (Jan 17, 2005)

I think a 7mm-08 would be the smallest I would choose. Shot placement is key and suggesting a small caliber for a large animal I don't agree with. If a you make a bad shot with a small fast bullet then you have a wounded animal that will suffer. Large caliber error will result in better damage and chance at a kill. If you are an excellent shooter and are hunting inside 100yards shoot anything.
I have several guns you can shoot Woody if you would like just PM me.
If you are only deer hunting and staying inside 200 a semi-auto rifle solves the recoil issue and they maintain 1.5" MOA or better usually.

Look at the Hornady Ballistics Chart to compare the calipers mentioned and make choice from there.
Some states require 1000 ft/lbs min for deer at shooting yards and 1500 ft/lbs for elk size game.

Just my 2cents.


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## goatchze (Aug 1, 2006)

skniper said:


> 7mm-08. Fits everything you are looking for. Perfect Texas cartridge.
> 
> The .243, 7-08, and .308 are essentially the same brass cartridge. Small, medium, and large projectiles respectively. The 7mm in the middle is juuuust right.


You left one out of the middle, the 6.5-08 (aka 260 Remington). Bullets available from 85 to 160 gr.


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## Africanut (Jan 15, 2008)

.260 Remington again..


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## spurgersalty (Jun 29, 2010)

T_rout said:


> Sounds like you need a 300 weatherby with a big muzzle break! No matter where you hit em they'll go down!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That sounds like something the "gun guys" behind the counter at Academy would say.


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## Farpiece (Apr 27, 2013)

*Which Caliber*

Figure out what your longest shot would likely be, then look for something that will deliver 1000 lbs of energy at that distance. You'll see alot of calibers will fit the bill. Don't go for overkill (pun intended) because that adds recoil. a recoil pad will help. I've got a 260 rem that weighs 11.5 lbs and fitted with a brake. The brake is to minimize muzzle jump.
Muzzle 100 200 300
v e v e v e v e
.260 Rem. (140 PSP)	2750/2351	2544/2011	2347/1712	2158/1448

With the above, I'm good to about 350 and stay above the 1000 lbs. Also this load will stay supersonic out to 600 yards (bullet is stable) which is deadly on coyotes.

Chuck Hawks has a really cool website, and you can get alot of good free info. There is a member section that is great, however its got a $30 annusl subscription.

I'm developing loads for my rifle, and on occasion I'll fire 100 rounds in a day and absolutely no soreness the next day.

Kind of meandering


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## Medic2011 (Dec 13, 2012)

.204 ruger drops em well for me and has almost no recoil.. Then again I'm hitting em in the back of the head..


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## ChocLabDog (Jun 4, 2009)

.308

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## Farpiece (Apr 27, 2013)

Just wondering, was the bullet you shot at the axis FMJ?


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## Law Dawg (Mar 18, 2013)

Axis, Whitetail, Black Buck, Hogs, etc, etc, etc. They all fall into the same category, some will drop in there tracks, some will run off; some will bleed a ton, some will bleed a little, knowing you had good shot placement is the key as mentioned to anything you shoot.


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## A.felis (Sep 25, 2014)

7mm-08 gets my vote. I just bought a Browning X bolt in 7mm-08. I got tired of the recoil from my 300 Win. Mag. It's a great little gun. Shoots accurate and is actually fun to shoot at the range. My wife has even got in the act of going to the range with me to shoot. It will kill any big game in Texas.


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## txdukklr (Jun 30, 2013)

POCsaltdog said:


> 25-06. My favorite deer rifle and a very good long range gun. The heavier the rifle the less recoil.


I've dropped big deer and axis alike with 25-06 and .243.

I personally carry my 7 mag the most but like said. Shot placement is far more important then caliber. I shoot a deer two weeks ago with a 220 and dropped it. My brother in law shot a similar sized deer with my 7 mag and we had to call the dogs in. Story ended happy for him but it's all about where you put it.


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## bigfishtx (Jul 17, 2007)

22-250

Anything more is overkill.


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## snapper slapper lures (Jul 6, 2004)

I have talked to a few people and I think it was the cheap 220 grain rem.
Have been told to use hornaty 135 grain and they will be right on. Thanks for all advice, Woody


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## Stevotary (Dec 23, 2014)

Do you get full pass through with 300 black out? That's like 223 case capacity pushing a 30 cal bullet. Slow as molasses. I would step up to a 30-06 or 270 for big bodied axis. Those things are tough! Get you a 7mm rem mag Remington sendero with a muzzle brake, doesn't kick and will take anything down in North America.


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## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

wet dreams said:


> How dead do you want your deer.....MOST of the above will make them as dead as most want, I shoot a 308 now and it works well





Ancuegar said:


> i agree with this! 308 win is a great low recoil round. thats what my wife shoots and it will be the rifle she will use in africa on big animals.


YEP both wife n I shoot a 308 mines a cheap TC Venture hers is a M&P 10 we both use cheap Remington Core Lokts in 150gr 18$ a box....it kills them dead enough for me....


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## rockyraider (Feb 1, 2006)

Soft shooters.... 7mm08, 6.5x55, .260, .243. I like the .270 as well. 

I have to say, I'd never owned a .243 until I bought one for my son, older Rem. 700 with walnut stock, cut down to fit him. He shot a hog and a nice buck with it this year, both were down for the count right there. I shot an axis doe with it the same weekend, down right there. Very soft shooting caliber and I've been very impressed with 100gr Remington Core Lokt. Can't tell you how much I like that little rifle.

I also have a .270 and a couple 7mm08's. I sighted both in this year, standard 130gr soft tips in the .270 and 120gr Hornady Custom Lites in the 7mm08. The 7mm08 shoots like a .243, very soft shooting rifles. The .270 has a much sharper kick to it. I prefer how the 7mm08's shoot with the Custom Lite rounds. The 120gr Custom Lites will drop deer with ease.

I have to echo what others have said, its really all about shot placement. I've shot probably 5 deer with my old Savage 110 .223 with Hornady Custom 60gr soft tips. All but one have dropped where they stood, one ran about 15 yards and was done. 

I'm thoroughly convinced that the sweet spot for Texas game and soft shooters is between .243 to .270. The .26 calibers are awesome, great ballistics, .260, 6.5x55, etc.... If I could buy any rifle for myself, I'd be a Tikka T3 Hunter in 6.5x55. Tough to find in that setup but an awesome Texas rig.


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## Csafisher (Nov 16, 2010)

Nobody mentioned a 7mm STW


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## Jack's Pocket (Jul 16, 2014)

house wolf said:


> My favorite, but unless you can improve that shot placement you might be better suited with one of these :wink:
> Blue Lacy-


Unless they become legal statewide look for them to be outlawed statewide.
Legislation is coming that the current tracking dog rules are violating the state constitution.
People in part are part of the state are charging to use tracking dogs while in other counties being fined for doing so.
They can't fine me in my county when it is legal in yours.
Going to be interesting to see how this plays out.

Texas Bill of Rights. 
It violates these articles.
Sec. 3. EQUAL RIGHTS. All free men, when they form a social compact, have equal rights, and no man, or set of men, is entitled to exclusive separate public emoluments, or privileges, but in consideration of public services.

Sec. 3a. EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW. Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed, or national origin. This amendment is self-operative.


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## Gearman (Nov 13, 2012)

I have been shooting my daughters 7mm Mauser since she lost a deer in south Texas with it and everything I have killed with it went down pretty good. Problem is getting ammo can be tuff sometimes. Figured I would throw that out for a different caliber


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## LA Wader (Oct 22, 2013)

If your worried about recoil , but don't want to get a muzzle break, just put a Limb Saver pad on your gun. They make a slip on and they work. I've got one on my 300 RUM and it doesn't bother me at all. I have another one on my "primitive" 35 Whelen and it tamed that guns recoil down too.

As everyone has mentioned, shot placement is key. I have shot a 90# doe with the 300 RUM and had it run 60 yds. I've also shot 165# buck with 270 win and drop it stone dead.

Good luck.


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## texasislandboy (Apr 28, 2012)

Big fan of the .308


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## kweber (Sep 20, 2005)

any centerfire 6mm(.243/6mm rem) or larger will work fine w/proper shot placement as so many have said...
gut-shot an axis/deer w/375/416/458 and you have as much a problem as w/a smaller cal.
for nostagalias sake.. 6.5x 55 Swede(lotsa room to load up way better than factory/historic loadings.. modern equvilent is the .260 rem.
7x57/7mm Mauser/.275 Rigby.. another fine old cartridge that's taken some big critters (WDM Bell shot many elephants w/this... not sure how many he crippled/lost) modern equivalent is 7-80...
.243/.260/7-08 and .308 are all the same case w/ diff diam. bullets and weights.
.25-06/.270/.280 and .30-06(all the same case) w/ managed recoil loads will work well, too. similar recoil to above mentioned cartidges.. standard loads are easily manged w/a little practice.
anything w/ magnum in the name isn't necessary, but add longer range w added recoil.
under 125-150 yds the old .30-30 has killed probably as many deer as all above.
the .22's (.22 hornet(very marginal) /.222/.223 .22-250/.220 swift kill 'em dead, but ya gotta be right on, w/no error.. 
clear as mud


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## Conan (Nov 29, 2014)

22 250 in the head or high shoulder never had one take a step unless I missed


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## patwilson (Jan 13, 2006)

What ever you choose, this ammo is hard to beat for recoil reduction. My 8yr old girl shoots a .243 with it and is extremely accurate.

http://www.hornady.com/store/CustomLite


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## chicken fried (Sep 8, 2010)

Soft shooting and a good caliber-7-08. Leaves a good blood trail if it doesn't fall in its tracks. I love the 25-06 just little more kick.


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## TXDRAKE (Jun 24, 2004)

25-06 or 7mm-08 in that order for me!


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## Kyle 1974 (May 10, 2006)

here's a list, you can see the differences on felt recoil. 300 blackout isn't on here though, but you can see a lot of others.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm


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## Ready.Fire.Aim (Sep 22, 2009)

spurgersalty said:


> That sounds like something the "gun guys" behind the counter at Academy would say.


300 Weatherby, LOL.

I remember a little guy in High School buying a 460 Weatherby Magnum for " deer hunting" from a local gun shop. He paid a fortune for that gun.

He wanted to knock them down so they don't run off, he had been hunting with a .22 magnum and they often ran off.

The deer he was shooting probably weighed about 85 pounds!

He didn't shoot it much, we gave him heck about it. All of us teenage experts used lever action 30-30 because they could shoot through brush.


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## Ready.Fire.Aim (Sep 22, 2009)

The guys mentioning shot placement understand the topic.

A hit to the central nervous system, brain or spinal column, results in a downed animal. But that is a very small target, especially over 75 yards. 
When I hunt with subsonic rifle calibers, the energy is equivalent to a 9mm so I only go for brain shots.

Blood loss creates shock, that puts the animal down. That is why *you need to understand exactly where the heart-lung cavity* is to maximize blood loss. 
There are a lot of online diagrams showing where the heart-lungs are. Hogs are different than deer, etc. 
Shoot a large enough caliber to create a sufficient wound cavity.

A broken hip puts any animal down but ruins meat.

I have personally killed many butcher calves, butcher hogs, and downed cows with a .22LR. My dad used a ball peen hammer for the same result. Slaughter houses use a pneumatic bolt gun. 
Imagine an X drawn between eyes and ears and hit in dead-center of the X. Works every time. It is all about placement of the impact.

I recommend a moderate caliber with inexpensive practice ammo like a .308 and practice hitting a tennis ball size target at all different ranges

You can buy 200 rounds of .308 with 168g Sierra Match Kings for $150 at http://www.sgammo.com/product/308-7...mo-168-grain-sierra-match-king-ammo-aob308smk

Get 200 rounds and go practice, practice, practice. Then sight in and practice shooting your hunting ammo to learn the dope. 
Take a notebook and keep notes on bullet drop at various ranges.

Make the kill shot with confidence built on practice.


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## djduke47823 (Jun 7, 2005)

*any??*

Any of the above with this on the end!!!.... This is on a .270 win that my 9yo. shoots....


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## lilsamo (Aug 8, 2005)

*Great deer/hog gun*

I bought a Howa Axiom in .243. It has a Blackhawk recoil reducing stock. I'm using Hornady's Custom Lite reduced recoil ammo. Awesome setup! It feels like shooting my AR15. I bought without a scope on Gunbroker.com. I added a Meopta 4-12 x 50. I needed the pistol grip because I only have one hand that works right now

http://www.hornady.com/store/CustomLite

http://www.legacysports.com/axiom-va...-scope-package

Good luck!


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## kweber (Sep 20, 2005)

muzzle brakes are bad news...
one shot w/o adequate ear protection is worse than recoil...
even w/o the brake, ear protection is a must.. this I have first-hand experience(tinitus)
magnumitus is not necessary for deer blind shooting at a 100yd feeder.


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## Monte45 (Jul 22, 2014)

243 win, ammo readily available anywhere very low recoil


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## 2012FORD (Jan 3, 2015)

My oldest son (13) shoots a Wetherby 30-06 with 150gr, my youngest son (11) shoots a Wetherby .243 with 100gr, my daughter shoots a Rossi .223 with 55gr and I shoot a Remington .270 with 130gr. We have all killed deer and with the right shot placement the deer do not run far or not at all. Neck shots by all rifles have stopped deer in there tracks. We have only had to track 1 deer shot with the .223. It was a perfect heart shot and he still ran about 75 yards. Hope this helps. 


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## BBCAT (Feb 2, 2010)

Any good whitetail rifle will take down an Axis. Unless your itching to buy a new rifle, I would concentrate on my accuracy.


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