dont overlook the 260 remington, great round, mild recoil, a 223 with the right tip will do just fine with appropriate placement, the 22-250 is a little better.

dont think they allow 223 in Ohio?

I have a rem 700 in 243 w/ a 24" barrel.I think the gun wieghs 7 1/4 lbs.With the scope it must be around 8lbs.I have 3 herniated disc in my upper spine....I can shoot 40 round @ the range without any pain.IMO the recoil is miminual.

A 243 with a properly constructed 70-87gr bullet, weighing at least 8lbs, will have virtually no recoil and do fine on deer.

You might try a better stock on the old 600, stock weight, shape and construction have a lot to do with felt recoil. The .308 is not a high recoil round in my opinion so it may help and save you a little money.

I went through the same thing with my dad. A lot of guys will discuss different cartridges. But different cartridges are not really the answer. The answer is in rifle design and rifle weight. Now the problem with weight is that it is difficult for an older shooter to handle a rifle if it is too heavy. So normally the weight needs to be controlled also. So this leaves rifle design as your first priority.

We went to a thumbhole stock Encore for my dad. The thumbhole design spreads the recoil out. It allows for your hand and arm to absorb part of the recoil.

Personally I do not like quarter bore rifles. But for my dad we went with the 257 Roberts. The 250 Savage would also be a good choice. We went with the medium weight barrel with a 20 inch length. This makes for a rifle that handles very well. Weight without scope is just under 8#. Then we put a 2X7 Leupold RF scope on the rifle with the shorter parallax, and sighted it dead on at 75 yards. My dad was deadly with that rifle. And 100 yards was farther than he could see effectively.

Find a rifle with a thumbhole stock somewhere and see if your dad likes the design. I know my dad really loved his. Tom.

Get a weatherby vanguard in .243, the gun is slightly heavier than most, there will be no recoil in the .243 . Use 100 gr hornady btsp. Same gun in 7-08 will be slightly more recoil but not bad at all.
I shoot a vanguard 7-08 with a custom stock on it, its a knox axiom and has a recoil reducing spring internally. it does not kick at all but just slightly jumps off the rest.
But it looks tactical and some people arent in to that.
You can get a .243 in the howa axiom with the same recoil reducing stock.
Heres a pic of mine and a pic of the howa.



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heres the howa in .243

Browning BAR or Remington 7400 in .243 would be my choice. The semi auto's tend to kick less as well as a .243 being a pretty light kicking caliber. I used to not be a fan of .243's but after shooting one I really liked how accurate it was, light kick, and just a fun gun to shoot. I don't think I'd hesitate to purchase one. The only bad thing I've heard about them is that the barrels have a fairly short life for a rifle barrel.

Thats what I was thinking as well.. 243 in a 7400, 742 or BAR. Recoil should be nearly zero.

.25-06, 257 Roberts, or 243