Hunters who have dreamed of a lightweight deer rifle that they can shoot with accuracy beyond 400 yards are living in a dream world. There simply shouldn't be much need to shoot a deer from such a distance - the maximum range that a hunter should allow himself to shoot at a deer is whatever range that hunter can keep all of his shots in a 6-inch circle. For the purpose of skill, it's valuable to practice shooting at a 6-inch bullseye at varying ranges - 100, 200 and 300 yards - from both sitting and standing positions, just to know what your abilities are.
What most deer hunters discover first is a new appreciation for the sitting position, and second that they are not reliable beyond 100 yards (if that) from standing. 200 yards is long range for most good shots from sitting. Remember that the standard is 100%. Four out of five in that 6" bull is not good enough, because you cannot allow yourself to wound one deer out of five--that is 20% and totally unacceptable.
I use a 6" bull instead of an 8" bull (which more closely represents the heart/lung area of a small deer) because there are so many uncertainties in the field. 6" groups achieved at the range will certainly open up to 8" or larger groups in the field. Remember, you will be shooting at animals of uncertain size and angle, that blend into (rather than stand out from) the background, across uneven terrain, which may move at any moment, and when you are possibly winded and certainly excited. (If you are not excited with a trophy in sight, something is wrong.) Give it a try and then see if you really need a deer rifle with a trajectory allowing shots in excess of 300 yards.
My suggestions for the best deer calibers for shooting out to 200 yards are explored in my article Ideal Deer Cartridges. For longer ranges, the following cartridges have a trajectory flat enough with appropriate loads to keep their bullets in a 6" circle at any range from the muzzle to 275 yards (or farther), and are or have been available in a lightweight hunting rifle with a barrel no longer than 24": .243 Winchester, 6mm Remington, 6x62 Freres, .240 Weatherby Magnum, .257 Roberts +P, .25-06, 6.5x55, 6.5x57, .260 Remington, 6.5mm Remington Magnum, .264 Winchester Magnum, .270 Winchester, .270 WSM, 7mm-08, .284 Winchester, .280 Remington, 7mm Rem. SAUM, 7mm WSM, .308 Winchester, .30-06, .300 Rem. SAUM, .300 WSM, .300 Winchester Magnum, and 8x57JS.
I particularly like the standard calibers from .24 (6mm) to .28 (7mm), and especially those that will work through a short action. While the .24 caliber to .32 caliber Magnums easily qualify ballistically, I don't recommend any of them for use in lightweight rifles. Their performance suffers while their muzzle blast and recoil become disconcerting in a 22" barrel, and a 24" or longer barrel tends to negate part of the advantage of a lightweight rifle. The full length standard calibers, like the .270 Winchester, .280 Remington, and .30-06 are also no picnic to shoot in a lightweight rifle.
Lightweight and highly portable bolt action rifles with 22" or shorter barrels and a catalog weight of 7 pounds or less, which are chambered for at least some of the above cartridges and are commonly available in North America include the following.
- The Remington Model 7 and Model 700 Titanium and Mountain rifles.
- The Ruger Model 77RSI and Ultra Light.
- The short action (III size) Sako 75 Synthetic and Finnlight models.
- Most of the non-magnum Savage models intended for medium game hunting.
- The Weatherby SBGM and Ultra Lightweight as well as most Fibermark and Synthetic Mk. V rifles for non-magnum calibers.
- The short action Winchester Model 70 Featherweight and Classic Compact.
- The short action Winchester Model 70 Featherweight and Classic Compact.
- The short action Winchester Model 70 Featherweight and Classic Compact.
Most non-magnum Browning A-Bolt models.
lesser known brands as well as single shot, lever action, and autoloading rifles from well-known manufacturers that qualify. In short, there is a wide selection of handy, lightweight deer rifles.
For the longest range shooting (beyond 300 yards) the 6x62 Freres, .240 Weatherby Magnum, .257 Weatherby Magnum, 6.5x68, .264 Winchester Magnum, .270 Weatherby Magnum, 7mm Weatherby Magnum, 7mm STW, 7mm Ultra Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .300 Ultra Magnum, .30-378 Weatherby, and 8x68S will do everything that can be done. These cartridges are not common in lightweight rifles, however, nor (possibly excepting the 6mm cartridges) are they pleasant to shoot from such rifles. These ultra-high velocity cartridges require long barrels to achieve their impressive performance, and fairly heavy barrels to consistently achieve the accuracy required for extreme long range shooting. A medium to heavy weight hunting rifle is the inevitable result, and that is a subject for another article.