As I said in another post I use a Rem. 243. Not too much kick, but it will still get er' done. The first time I shot at a deer I accidentally shot through a tree limb about as big as my thumb that was just a few inches from the end of my barrel, I couldn't see it in my scope. Still turned out to hit him in the lungs. The deer went down about 60 yards away and is on the wall behind me now.