Need a dedicated deer blind rifle - Update

R

ReloadKy

Handloader
May 13, 2020
368
391
I have a home made elevated box blind that my kids and I hunt out of. We bow hunt a lot out of it but when gun season is in we are taking a rifle. Between my brothers kids and mine we took 4 deer out of the blind, 3 of which were by rifle. We learned a lot as it was our first year hunting out of the blind. It overlooks a food plot that is basically a 45 yard circle. The one thing that we noticed on the deer that were shot by rifle out of the blind is that on all three the impact of the shot was low. My belief is that the low impact is due to how my brother and I typically sight in for MPBR or 225 because we have some large cornfields that we also hunt.

So my plan to remedy this is to select one of my rifles and sight it in dead on at 40 yards and this rifle would be the dedicated rifle for this blind. My son is 11 and could hunt with any rifle I own. My daughter is 9 so I need to stay to the low recoil side for her. Help my choose! I have two options and bullet choices that I will list below. Let me know what you all think I should use this upcoming season. I like to develop loads with a specific purpose so I think this will be fun. Impact velocity could be very high (unless I download) due to close distance.

Rem 700 compact 243 with 18 inch barrel
100 gr interlocks
100 gr partitions
100 gr Sierra gameking
95 gr ballistic tips
95 gr deer season XP factory loads
85 gr Barnes TSX

Savage axis 2 in 6.5 creedmoor
143 gr ELDX
140 gr speer hot cor
140 gr ballistic tips
129 gr interlocks
120 gr ballistic tips
 
Of those 2, I would go with the 243. Keep the velocity on the lower side to prevent grenading. You didn't list it, but the 85gr Sierra GKHP would be a fine choice for this.

And the other option, of course, is to use this as an excuse to buy a new rifle. 🙂 A Henry lever action in 44 mag or 45 Colt would be ideal.
 
Either set up will work for what you need in this situation.
At that distance, higher velocity isn't going to be needed, so milder loads would be recommended to help with recoil for your daughter.
I would see which load in each rifles shoots the best, and have the kids shoot both to see which they like and shoot the best.

While the 243 sounds like it has the shorter barrel which would be handy in the ground blind, it will produce muzzle blast closer to the shooter, which can cause a flinch from the noise source being closer to them. This may be pronounced, but can be as little as just blinking when the rifle fires
Do they wear hearing protection while shooting in the blind?
Some noise cancelling ear muffs may be a great option for them to help reduce any flinch from the muzzle blast, protect their hearing, while still allowing them to hear everything else.
 
First, congratulations on having a crop of youngsters who enjoy the outdoors.

As has been pointed out, either will work very well, thought the 6.5 will probably produce just a bit more recoil with the heavier load. In trying to read your post carefully, am I correct in expecting that this will for all intents become your 9-year old's rifle? If so, I would suggest taking a moment to think a few years ahead to the time when your daughter will be hunting perhaps solo as well. If she were 11 or 12 right now, would that influence your decision on a rifle? For now, you likely could mitigate some of the heavier recoil with lighter bullets or lower charges. Just a couple of things to think about, not trying to push you one way or the other.
 
Blkram said:
Either set up will work for what you need in this situation.
At that distance, higher velocity isn't going to be needed, so milder loads would be recommended to help with recoil for your daughter.
I would see which load in each rifles shoots the best, and have the kids shoot both to see which they like and shoot the best.

While the 243 sounds like it has the shorter barrel which would be handy in the ground blind, it will produce muzzle blast closer to the shooter, which can cause a flinch from the noise source being closer to them. This may be pronounced, but can be as little as just blinking when the rifle fires
Do they wear hearing protection while shooting in the blind?
Some noise cancelling ear muffs may be a great option for them to help reduce any flinch from the muzzle blast, protect their hearing, while still allowing them to hear everything else.
Click to expand...
Yes we keep ear muffs in the blind during gun season to muffle the blast. The enclosed blind is terrible for noise when shooting a rifle.
 
KinleyWater said:
First, congratulations on having a crop of youngsters who enjoy the outdoors.

As has been pointed out, either will work very well, thought the 6.5 will probably produce just a bit more recoil with the heavier load. In trying to read your post carefully, am I correct in expecting that this will for all intents become your 9-year old's rifle? If so, I would suggest taking a moment to think a few years ahead to the time when your daughter will be hunting perhaps solo as well. If she were 11 or 12 right now, would that influence your decision on a rifle? For now, you likely could mitigate some of the heavier recoil with lighter bullets or lower charges. Just a couple of things to think about, not trying to push you one way or the other.
Click to expand...
The 6.5 is actually my daughters rifle. The 243 was my son's first rifle that he started shooting when he was 5. Both of my kids have shot both rifles. I just want to take one of the rifles and set it up to only hunt in that blind.
 
bdbrown66 said:
Of those 2, I would go with the 243. Keep the velocity on the lower side to prevent grenading. You didn't list it, but the 85gr Sierra GKHP would be a fine choice for this.

And the other option, of course, is to use this as an excuse to buy a new rifle. 🙂 A Henry lever action in 44 mag or 45 Colt would be ideal.
Click to expand...
Brian, you are trying to get me in hot water with the wifey!!!
 
As others have said, I’d also go with the 243 Win with whatever bullet you prefer at 95 grains or above. At that range aim for the base of the neck and never track again.
 
6.5 Creedmoor. It’s little bigger caliber and probably has a better blood trail than a 243. I have several 243’s and all the animals I shot and kids and wife have horrible blood trails. I’m against any 243 for deer. There won’t be any noticeable difference in recoil between the two. Just my 2 cents.
 
Personally, I've never shot a deer with my .243 but, I have witnessed neighbor kids using it while on their first deer hunts and they did just fine with the 100 gr. Hornady Interlock. Also, one of my coworkers at the time used a .243 on his deer hunt and the deer dropped on the spot. I don't know what bullet he was using. Those hunts took placeback in 1977 and 1978. The deer were good sized Nevada Mule Deer.
As for a 6.5 anything? My only experience was with a 6.5 x54 Mannlicher carbine. About the only ammo avaolable was Norma 140 and 160 gr. loads. The rifle wasn't worth much with the 140 gr. load but not all that bad with the 160 gr. I took a few deer with it and back in 1975 some low life stole the rifle from my truck in Elko Nevada. I looked for a decent replacement for years and finally bought a Ruger M77 RSI in .308 Win. I like it a lot better than I liked that old Mannlicher 1903 carbine.
P
 
ReloadKy said:
The 6.5 is actually my daughters rifle. The 243 was my son's first rifle that he started shooting when he was 5. Both of my kids have shot both rifles. I just want to take one of the rifles and set it up to only hunt in that blind.
Click to expand...
In that case, the 243 seems like the simpler choice,since she'll already have the 6.5 to grow into and your son can use other tools. Wife uses 100gr Interlock in hers, though no stories yet on effectiveness. I also did up a bunch of 90gr Sierras for her. If recoil is a big concern, you could also explore something like Barnes or Lehigh, as all-copper tend to be lighter and will produce a little less recoil (though I don't know if the difference will be enough to make a difference).
 
I’d go with the 6.5 Creedmoor.

Not because I am a fan of the cartridge but because of the two options you listed I think the 6.5 will perform better if she makes a marginal shot or needs better penetration.

You could just give her a 45-70 and let her learn to shoot it. Barring that you might look into a .44 Magnum given that it’s a short range proposition. If you go the 45-70 route prepare for BANG-FLOP.

I’m just sort of kidding about the 45-70 as I think it would be perfect in that scenario but I understand not wanting to scare her with recoil.

Vince
 
I will always go 243 but I’m biased, my two boys grew up shooting antelope and pronghorn with one. Someone mentioned that 85 grain Sierra BTHP GK above. That with some IMR 4064 is amazing. It is still the rifle I use exclusively for antelope.

Something to consider too. My middle son started with a Marlin 30/30. I loaded 125 grain HP behind a modest charge of IMR 3031 and he got a nice fork horn mule deer at about 100 yards. Very light recoil and very effective.
 
ReloadKy said:
Thanks to all for the suggestions!
Click to expand...
I think the .243 Winchester is your huckleberry. Nosler had a ballistics engineer by the name of Gale Root.
His favorite caliber was .243. Nosler had him develop the 90 grain and 95 grain BT.
He took everything from WT Deer to Black Bear and even an elk or 2. I wouldn't use it on Elk myself, but
for hunting from a tree stand or blind, as I do, it's a nice, low recoil, accurate round.
Just remember shot placement.
Semper Fidelis
S
 
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