Milsurp recommendation for my daughter

With jacketed loads I would go with SKS or Swede too but if you load casts Israeli Mauser in 308 or K31 would be hard to beat and much cheaper to run.
 
Is no one else going to go there. Ok I will

M91/30.

1. Put a nice thick recoil pad on the butt.
2. Adjust the front sight to shoot without the bayonet.
3. Work up a good load for it.
4. Watch everyone's jaw drop, as a 12 year old girl with a rifle that is tall than she is, win the match.

My 91/30 with a home made adjustable front sight and factory Prvi ammo will give me a 2" group at 100y. I am in the process of working up a handload and fingers crossed I can find something similar or better than the Prvi.
 
I'm not much of an SKS guy either ( and I do have a couple). If you are a reloader you will have a lot more choices as to recoil and muzzle blast issues. I think back to my son at 12. His favourite was a 19" barrelled M1 carbine. Next was a FR-7 loaded with cast bullets as was the M1.
From a pure accuracy point of view ( as well as being a thing of beauty!) could you do better than a M38 Swede? I have a 91/24 Carcano which size wise looks like it was built for 12 year olds. Smallest military carbine that I've had my hands on. Not a bad shooter with cast either but I don't think they are all that common. Once again a reloaders rifle.

Jungle carbine ( which are a lot more common) loaded down with an accurate cast load might be a good choice. If you have access to friends rifles let her give them a try.
 
My wife has nerve damage in her left arm so she is VERY recoil sensitive.

She shoots an m96 swede with full power 140 grain loads with no trouble at all. I've even loaded 120 grain loads and the recoil is even less.

We also shoot carcanos and I must say that a carcano has recoil more like a .223 then anything else. It VERY gentle.

Another option is loading cast bullets with red dot. We shoot .303 (lee enfields and a Ross) and 7.62x54r (mosin nagant) and 8x57 (Mauser) loaded with the "Harris load" which is 13 grains of red dot and a 180 grain cast bullet with a gas check. Recoil is zero and I've experienced sub MOA accuracy out to 250 yards.

The best part is it takes the umph out of even a big nasty 8mm Mauser which makes it fun for even the smallest of shooter.

As for the Sks,I have one its ok but it's accuracy leaves something to be desired.
 
SKS has mild recoil, cheap to shoot and about 1" shorter than most rifles.

But I think your better bet is a AR-15. The adjustable butt would allow her to have the perfect LOP. It is much more accurate than a SKS and has no recoil. My 8 yr old grandson shoots mine with a 22 bolt. Fits just fine.
 
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If trainers are good to go then how about a .310 Cadet Martini.Very nice on recoil,no one else will have one which adds to the cool factor. Rifle ,dies and mold should set you back about $780.00.Add primers and powder and you have a cool little piece of history that your daughter will love to shoot. I know my daughters love to shoot them.They have their own little version of Rourke's Drift and they try to hit every target!
 
There are a lot of Spanish Destroyer carbines out there. Many of them were converted to 9x19 from 9mm Bergmann.

Mine seems to digest both cartridges without a hiccup, as well as 9x21 and 9x23.

Lots of noise and zero recoil.

For very small people, commonly known as children, what they call recoil and what we call recoil can be a myriad of things, including noise and muzzle blast.
 
An AR-15 rifle may well be the easiest to shoot, most accurate military style rifle available. The only downside is the restricted classification.
 
bearhunter said:
There are a lot of Spanish Destroyer carbines out there. Many of them were converted to 9x19 from 9mm Bergmann.

Mine seems to digest both cartridges without a hiccup, as well as 9x21 and 9x23.

Lots of noise and zero recoil.

For very small people, commonly known as children, what they call recoil and what we call recoil can be a myriad of things, including noise and muzzle blast.
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didn't think of this one but it is also a great choice.
 
Well if you're still thinking of a .22 trainer, I have one of those Norinco KKW trainers I was thinking of selling. Its a slightly smaller K98k, shoots nice, quite hefty in weight.
 
Kirk1701 said:
What sort of experience does she have with "real" rifle cartridges? Has she been around when you've touched some off? One of the biggest issues with rifle cartridges isn't necessarily felt recoil. For me, it was always the report. If she doesn't flinch from the report, then she may be fine with a Swede M96. There's lots of bolt handle for smaller hands to manipulate. The bolt action allows the child to really learn about how firearms operate. I'm sure you've done a good job on that front, though. The stock on a Swede is nicely contoured for smaller bodies too. I wouldn't rule it out.

I guess I'm just not an SKS fan. The bolt is heavy, the stock is weird. Mausers, Lees, and Rosses are elegant in form and function, but that's my own opinion. It all comes down to her preferences in the end. Has she given you any indication of what she might prefer?
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She has attended the shoot for the last couple of years, and seems okay with the noise. She’s never shot a center fire rifle, she has shot a couple of 20 gauge shells, I wasn’t with her at the time. She has shot .22 and .38 caliber handguns, and wasn’t a fan of the .38.
 
bearhunter said:
There are a lot of Spanish Destroyer carbines out there. Many of them were converted to 9x19 from 9mm Bergmann.

Mine seems to digest both cartridges without a hiccup, as well as 9x21 and 9x23.

Lots of noise and zero recoil.

For very small people, commonly known as children, what they call recoil and what we call recoil can be a myriad of things, including noise and muzzle blast.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'm not familiar with this one so I will have to look it up.
 
You can handload for the Destroyer with Winchester 9x23 brass: there is only .004" difference and the little rifle will not even notice that. Talk about re-inventing the wheel!

Luger dies can do the job: just longer.

I will be looking for a Destroyer myself some time in the new year. I think it would be fun to have a tiny rifle to go with my huge pistol...... and both taking the same ammo!
 
Yuup! I too forgot about the little Spanish carbine. They are cool! Once again reloading is probably a requirement. I use shortened 9mm Win Mag brass in mine loaded in 38 Super dies. Great short range plinker with lead 9mm bullets. Never tried mine any further than 50yds. Haven't had mine out in a few years. Kind of curious now what it might do at a 100.
 
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