Rifle for Girlfriend

IF you dont' want to get into it for too much money you can grab a stevens 200 and modify the stock if you have to to get the lop down and upgrade the recoil pad. I picked up a used one in .308 for my wife and im working on some 125 and 130 gr. reduced recoil Deer loads .

Very accurate for the money.
 
I would consider the tikka T3 in a 6.5x55 if you handload and if not check out a 25-06! Good luck in your search
 
My .02:

The first couple pages I saw choices like 243 and such.....un huh. He said black bear to so in my opinion 243 is to light to be shooting black bear with if you want any penetration. Ya I know they take polar bears with the damn things up in inuvik, why, I'm not really sure when there are other choices.

The 308? Un huh, everyone is saying 308, 308 and making choices of light or fetherweight rifles, alright for a guy but he said she's small, 308 and light guns don't go together for women, hell my old 99 featherweight in 308 kicks the crap outta my shoulder (ya I'm a wuss).

7mm-08, sounds good, never shot one or held one but should do the trick.

My choice for a chick, find something in 375 Win, sounds big but it has very light recoil, throws a honkin chunk of lead and makes a big hole (bear). Just as long as your not in the prairies shooting over 200 yds this would be a good gun for eastern forests and fields.

O.K., have at me.
 
 
MadDog said:
The 308? Un huh, everyone is saying 308, 308 and making choices of light or fetherweight rifles, alright for a guy but he said she's small, 308 and light guns don't go together for women, hell my old 99 featherweight in 308 kicks the crap outta my shoulder (ya I'm a wuss).
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reduced recoil loads are widely and inexpensively available for .308 and at <150 yards you lose very little performance.
the Ruger Compact in .308 with even regular loads is not punishing at all.
 
I actually like the idea of a 375 Win and I messed around with one for the first time this last Feb in a T/C Contender carbine that is until I had the barrel rechambered to 375JDJ...

Only issue I would have is at best it is a 150 yard rifle/cartridge combo but that maybe all she will ever shoot out too, it is far better/accurate than a slug especially loaded with a 220gr JFN or with a heavier hard cast gas checked wide meplat bullet.
 
My wife's rifle is a 21" Husky 1600 carbine in .30/06. Recoil has never been an issue for her (except for the day that the trigger guard bumped her knuckle) even with a 6 pound rifle. Her practice loads are 180 gr Remington bulk bullets at 2600 and her bear load is a 180 gr TSX. I had the stock cut down to fit her and glass bedded, had a Decelerator put on it, changed the front sight to a Ruger barrel band with an XS post and an XS ghost ring, then had the barrel and receiver finished in GunKote. It wears a Safari Ching Sling. The entire rifle with the gunsmithing ran about the same price as a new inferior rifle.

If I had it to do again, I'd change nothing of importance other than using one of the actions I have on my bench, mated to a 20" Kreiger sporter weight barrel, bedded in a McMillan stock. But that would easily triple the overall cost of the project, only to end up with a very similar rifle.

If you prefer a new rifle, I'd take a hard look at a Ruger or a CZ.
 
Boomer said:
My wife's rifle is a 21" Husky 1600 carbine in .30/06. Recoil has never been an issue for her (except for the day that the trigger guard bumped her knuckle) even with a 6 pound rifle. Her practice loads are 180 gr Remington bulk bullets at 2600 and her bear load is a 180 gr TSX. I had the stock cut down to fit her and glass bedded, had a Decelerator put on it, changed the front sight to a Ruger barrel band with an XS post and an XS ghost ring, then had the barrel and receiver finished in GunKote. It wears a Safari Ching Sling. The entire rifle with the gunsmithing ran about the same price as a new inferior rifle.

If I had it to do again, I'd change nothing of importance other than using one of the actions I have on my bench, mated to a 20" Kreiger sporter weight barrel, bedded in a McMillan stock. But that would easily triple the overall cost of the project, only to end up with a very similar rifle.

If you prefer a new rifle, I'd take a hard look at a Ruger or a CZ.
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That sounds like a nice rifle boomer, do you have any pictures of it?
 
I just shortened a Rem 700 LSS in 30-06 to 20" thinking that this would be a rifle that my wife who is 5' 11" tall could also use.

I got her to try holding/aiming it she just looked at me and said it's way to heavy and I don't have time for this...

My son was just given a 50 + year old Husquavarna featherweight in 30-06 by his grandfather that bought it new and he hadn't shot it in over 40 years and it was probably shot less than 40 times.

It has never had a scope on it this is definately a light weight rifle if the butt stock was shortened and a nice Kick-Eez recoil pad were installed would be a perfect weight rifle for a woman but for my wife it an ugly rifle...

I'm thinking she just doesn't want to shoot... :mad:
 
MadDog said:
My .02:

The first couple pages I saw choices like 243 and such.....un huh. He said black bear to so in my opinion 243 is to light to be shooting black bear with if you want any penetration. Ya I know they take polar bears with the damn things up in inuvik, why, I'm not really sure when there are other choices.

The 308? Un huh, everyone is saying 308, 308 and making choices of light or fetherweight rifles, alright for a guy but he said she's small, 308 and light guns don't go together for women, hell my old 99 featherweight in 308 kicks the crap outta my shoulder (ya I'm a wuss).

7mm-08, sounds good, never shot one or held one but should do the trick.

My choice for a chick, find something in 375 Win, sounds big but it has very light recoil, throws a honkin chunk of lead and makes a big hole (bear). Just as long as your not in the prairies shooting over 200 yds this would be a good gun for eastern forests and fields.

O.K., have at me.
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:D

I have settled on certain calibers that I use for certain purposes.

I stick with the most ubiquitous, easy-to-find-ammo-for, calibers..........30-30 Win., .303 BR., .308 Win., .30-06 Sprng., 7mm Rem. Mag., .300 Win. Mag.

My medium magnum caliber for moose & elk (if I ever get to go on an elk hunt) is .300 Win. Mag...........I own 3 of them.

I own 6 guns in .308 Win.

My 5'4", 110 pound daughter can fire any of the 08's without flinching or discomfort at the range all day long. The 5.5 pound Remington Model 7 which kicks the hardest of the .308 lot is a "pussy cat" that has a bark worse than its bite according to her.:)

The ammo is easy to get & the big discount stores as well as Shakey Sams Hardware store in Bugtustle, Northern Ontario always have a box of 08's kicking around or there's always another hunter willing to sell you a box to tide you through.:)

If your ammo box is locked in the trunk of the SUV parked in the yard in TO that the wife is using to commute to work & not in the pick-up that you are driving on the hunt in Shining Tree, Ontario 200 miles north of civilization good luck trying to find a box of 7mm-08 ammo.:)

Another advantage is one set of reloading dies & a wider variety of bullets, primers, cases around because you're reloading for fewer calibers.:)
 
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my wife uses a model 700 sps youth in 7mm-08mm she really likes it she bought it herself decent recoil, lightwieght, accurite. she got a decent 3x9 scope on it.
 
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