A tale of two rifles
 

I hunted for several years with a lightweight,short barrel carbine type rifle. It was a joy to carry, and plenty accurate off the bench. It was a tad stout in the recoil department though but what the heck I carried it way more than I actually shot it. My one problem was that I missed a lot of deer. I killed some but couldn't figure out the misses. Finally I decided it was me and not the rifle because it was accurate at the bench. I found a new rifle I just fell in love with and sold the lightweight to get the new one. This new one was a full size rifle, 24 inch barrel, normal weight for this type, and the same caliber as my old one(3006). Well now after 2 seasons, it's heavier to carry, shoots great from the bench, and I've not missed a deer(4 bullets shot = 4 deer dead, 1 ran 30 yards and 3 dropped in their tracks). These deer were shot at 30 yards(1), 275(1) and about 200 yards(2). I'm convinced that the extra weight and barrel length results in less recoil and less flinch and a smoother swing and therefore better shooting. I personally don't think I'll buy another lightweight carbine again. Maybe someone can benefit from my experiences.

RE: A tale of two rifles
 

Sounds like a scope problem on the carbine to me.

RE: A tale of two rifles
 

Nope, I actually used two different scopes(Burris and Leupold) on this rifle and it shot fine at the bench. I really think I benefit from the added weight and longer barrel. I don't have the muzzle blast and the flinch from the added recoil now.

RE: A tale of two rifles
 

Although I have personally never hunted with a short-barrelled carbine type gun since my 94 30-30 many years ago, I have had more than one person tell me exactly the same thing you have said...shoot good off the bench, can't hit a deer with them. And once again, when they switched to a loger-barrelled rifle, the deer started to drop once again....... I don't know.

RE: A tale of two rifles
 

Thank goodness not everyone is alike. I have 3 carbine rifles, that I use a LOT , and I hardly ever miss a deer with them. And, if I do miss, it is usually something stupid I did that caused the miss. But I also have full size rifles, and the added weight and length can sometimes be a benefit, as well as it sometimes being a hindrance in the hunting woods, when a smaller, lighter rifle is more applicable to the situation.

RE: A tale of two rifles
 

I have a matching pair of remington 788s,1 is my babygirl's rifle and both are inthe deadly 7mm08 cartridge. Neither 1 of us has missed a deer but the 7mm08 with 120 gr bullets lacks a lot of the recoil you speak of-very easy on shoulder. I think that makes the difference.

RE: A tale of two rifles
 

Maybe you are just getting to be a better shot :)

Doesn't really matter, you have more confidence in the new, longer, heavier rifle and that helps a lot.

RE: A tale of two rifles
 

I'll give you a strange input on this but I believe half of shooting is mental. Put simply, we shoot as good as we believe we can. Years ago as a young reloader with his first high powered rifle, I had this bizarre idea driven home and I've seen it operate in my life too many times not to believe in.
Several times I've gone out hunting the big western jackrabbits in the wilds of New Mexico and the first shot or two were difficult ones...either at long range or on tricky running shots. When I made these shots, I would turn to my hunting companions and tell them, "This gun is hot today!":)

Over the course of the hunt I would make difficult shots and go home convinced I really had a great load. The next day I would take some of the ammo out to the range expecting to shoot a world record group. Instead what I discovered was my rifle was shooting four inches to the left and six inches low. [:o]l I shouldn't have been hitting anything.[:@]

How do you explain such crazy things? Voodoo?:D Maybe. But over and over again in my life, if I believed in the gun, whatever gun, I could shoot it good. If not.........well.

My point is you may have been missing because somewhere along the line you convinced yourself that you and this rifle weren't much of a match for deer. Sure you could shoot it good off the bench, but in the back of your head you told yourself you were going to miss the deer.

Sounds silly, but I'm convinced there is something to it.

RE: A tale of two rifles
 

I agree.. It is not the rifle..

RE: A tale of two rifles
 

I shoot a model 70 carbine in .308, and it is an absolute puppy when it comes to recoil and blast. I shoot well with it.