Best low recoil full-powered cartridge for Wife's first hunting rifle?

Northern Shooter said:
There is something to be said about cross compatibility with sharing the same ammo. 6.5X55 is the only cartridge of the 4 that I personally own so that would be ideal, however the selection of affordable rifles (<$1000) in 6.5x55 Swede is limited.
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If you have a Swede then I would either go with another Swede or have her shoot the one that you have. But my inclination is to go with the 7mm-08.
 
7mm-08, I bought one for my daughter (browning micro xbolt) and now I want that caliber for myself. Shooting Barnes 120 grain, no problem from big Alberta WT, MD and Moose so far.
 
rascal1 said:
What's that got to do with reduced 308 loads?
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30-30 and 303brit are also 30cals, but lower power. If a 30-30 will kill a moose then a 308 with reduced loads would too, because they're ballistically identical (assuming you're reducing it that far.)

For example, HSM makes a low recoil 308, it's a 150gr @2350.
 
I would go with a 7-08 which is what I use now as I don't appreciate the '06 recoil any more. A good 140gr bullet will due the job on a moose if you put it where it is supposed to go. Many years ago while butchering a moose we found what by measuring appeared to be a .243. It was embedded in scar tissue in the flank but not very deep. What range it was shot at is unknown but had that bad shot been from a 30-06 or such the animal might have died without being recovered due to the increase in tissue damage. I am not trying to make an issue here but only my observation.

Bill
 
Suther said:
30-30 and 303brit are also 30cals, but lower power. If a 30-30 will kill a moose then a 308 with reduced loads would too, because they're ballistically identical (assuming you're reducing it that far.)

For example, HSM makes a low recoil 308, it's a 150gr @2350.
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Ok I see. Guess I had a different vision of a reduced load. I have never shot any so have no real idea.
 
There are cheaper alternatives, however, if I was looking for a rifle for the wife who was a little on the slight side and somewhat sensitive to recoil and or weight, my choice would be: Ruger M77 Hawkeye Compact in 7-08. Check it out... https://ruger.com/products/HawkeyeCompact/models.html

As you will see, the only other choice in this platform currently is .308. If you choose the "Laminated compact" line, it adds .243 to the mix.

I like the 6.5 x55 myself, but hey, to each his own...
 
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When I was a skinny 14 year old my father bought me a Mod 70 30.06 with light loads. I still hunt with that rifle decades later, just with heavier loads.

30-30 is also a good choice, loads avail in 130gr, 150gr, and 170gr.


Having that said, shooting with recoil is a learned thing. If you go from zero recoil to heavy recoil in one step you can expect a lot of stray and flinch shots. A transition from light/medium rifle to big game guns is beneficial to most shooters. I have a skinny teenage nephew who shoots 300 mag . Its too much for the bush hunting that I enjoy, but he has learned his skills from small to medium, to large/mag calibers over the few previous years.
 
I've already voted 7/08 which is what my daughters use. Having said that, a less conventional choice is the 257 Weatherby. My boy started using his when he was 10. Recoil is light, trajectory is banjo string flat and results emphatic.
 
I have a youth Vanguard in 308. My son shoots 125 grain reduced loads. buddies wife also shot her elk with it using 150 grain reloads that aren't full power. My wife has her own 7mm-08 and loves it. Find something that fits.
 
If you're not opposed to a used rifle, lots of used 6.5x55 are available from places like Intersurplus for not much money. Usually the stocks can be refinished pretty easily and made to look pretty good. If you plan to reload for it, I'd definitely go with the 6.5x55 though, but I may be biased a bit. I've got 5 rifles chambered in 6.5x55 now, all bought used.
Kristian
 
With hand loading you can make anything work.
Bump it up for the hunting side of things.

Muzzle breaks also keep the recoil down if she wants to run a little more punch power.
Light bullets for practice also reduce recoil a fair bit.

A properly placed shot with a 243 and 100g partition will down a moose at 300yrds.
A direct shoulder shot might have some issues.

I guess you got to decide if you want a smaller cartridge running wide open.
Or a bigger cartridge that you tone down a bit.

A 308win with 130g is going to recoil about the same as a full house 7-08

Run a 165g for hunting and you aren’t worried about down range energy.
 
Do you reload?
If so, there is a good case for any of those, and many others.


If not, then 6.5CM would be hard to beat.
 
I raised a family of 3 daughters and 2 sons. All learned to shoot at an early age.
Started them out with a 22 rimfire, then a 6mm Remington.

Graduated to the 7x57, and that is what they hunted with. I started with
lighter loads, and worked up to full-power gradually. None were intimidated by
the 7x57, and it is an effective round on all up to and including Moose. S0, the
7-08 is a good choice.

That said, the 6.5mm choices will also work fine. Dave.
 
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