ladies gun
- Thread starter MiG25
- Start date
- Location
- Vegreville Alberta
The Tikka T3 30-06 we had had much less felt recoil than that misbegotten 30-30. Obviously, gun fit is more important, can you take her to a gun range where she can try out different models etc?
saskhunter
CGN Regular
- Location
- Sask to B.C.
I agree, 7-08 is the perfect gun for smaller frame people and still have devestating power, not sure why but this gun really hits hard. Great on big game small game and even varmints. Can be loaded with a real variety of bullet weights. I think it's a great calibre. my 2 cents
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
im a Ruger fan, IMO out of all of the big gun manufaturers out at the moment they make the most robust and reliable action, and have the best fit and finish. it costs the same as a remington 700 and there is no comparison... i have several remmy 700s and nothing against the company, but a recent production 700 looks like a POS next to a ruger.
their M77 mark 2 compact is an excellent ladies/youth gun - its very handy, light, and dont be afraid of the short barrel. people think that out of a 16" barrel the muzzle flash and noise would be brutal, but its really no different than shooting any other length barrel. in fact because the barrel is so short it is very stiff and accurate: you lose a couple hundred FPS due to the shortened barrel length but mine in .308 is capable of .75 MOA with cheap ammo.
my wife is tiny, and the gun fits her better than anything else i have in the safe with no modification, but its not small enough that i cant use it. its also her 'favorite' gun in terms of aesthetics - every new gun i buy she says 'the ruger is still my favorite', hehe. it has a decent recoil pad from the factory but you could take it one step further and replace it with an aftermarket recoil reducer.
the problem is that it doesnt fit your criteria of 'good iron sights'. i would pick up a compact or - even better - a frontier, and mount a red dot/holo sight on it. with a red dot out front on the frontier model its a very accurate, handy and fast-tracking gun thats attractive, reliable and can take a beating. IMO get a stainless one so its less maintenance for her, in 7mm-08 or .308. .308 certainly fits the cheap ammo criteria.
their M77 mark 2 compact is an excellent ladies/youth gun - its very handy, light, and dont be afraid of the short barrel. people think that out of a 16" barrel the muzzle flash and noise would be brutal, but its really no different than shooting any other length barrel. in fact because the barrel is so short it is very stiff and accurate: you lose a couple hundred FPS due to the shortened barrel length but mine in .308 is capable of .75 MOA with cheap ammo.
my wife is tiny, and the gun fits her better than anything else i have in the safe with no modification, but its not small enough that i cant use it. its also her 'favorite' gun in terms of aesthetics - every new gun i buy she says 'the ruger is still my favorite', hehe. it has a decent recoil pad from the factory but you could take it one step further and replace it with an aftermarket recoil reducer.
the problem is that it doesnt fit your criteria of 'good iron sights'. i would pick up a compact or - even better - a frontier, and mount a red dot/holo sight on it. with a red dot out front on the frontier model its a very accurate, handy and fast-tracking gun thats attractive, reliable and can take a beating. IMO get a stainless one so its less maintenance for her, in 7mm-08 or .308. .308 certainly fits the cheap ammo criteria.
I taught my son to shoot with a 308, using hornady 110 grain R/N bullets and 12 grains of H110.(15 gr works well in 30-06) He shot his first moose when he was 11. It was a 300 yard shot across the arm of a lake and he was using his mom's 308 with federal 180 gr N/P high energy loads, for the first time. He hit it in the chest, it got up and he hit it again. It didn't take a step. I asked him what he thought of the recoil and he said "what recoil".
He's 17 now and uses his 308 stainless stalker for deer and his 338 sako for moose.
My point is, teach her to trust her rifle with light loads. She needs to learn that it doesn't hurt to pull the trigger. I don't know anyone that notices recoil when shooting at a critter.
He's 17 now and uses his 308 stainless stalker for deer and his 338 sako for moose.
My point is, teach her to trust her rifle with light loads. She needs to learn that it doesn't hurt to pull the trigger. I don't know anyone that notices recoil when shooting at a critter.
my suggestion if you are a member of a range or know some people who have guns chambered in different calibers get her to try a few once she finds a caliber she can stand chosse a rigle in that caliber. the main reason for this is to see how she handles recoil
a guy at a CGN range day at a local range had a stavage pf in 308 it wasn't bad i have shoot one of there amraican classics in 30-06 and it wasn't to bad
the biggest consideration is finding a rifle she can shoot often and get plenty of practise with and still use for hunting the more she shoots the more comfortable she will be with the rifle and the more success she will have
a guy at a CGN range day at a local range had a stavage pf in 308 it wasn't bad i have shoot one of there amraican classics in 30-06 and it wasn't to bad
the biggest consideration is finding a rifle she can shoot often and get plenty of practise with and still use for hunting the more she shoots the more comfortable she will be with the rifle and the more success she will have
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
remington offers reduced recoil loads you can train her with... youd have to be really slight to even notice the recoil of a reduced-recoil .308 load in a rifle with a quality recoil pad.
and like MHUNT said if she learns with reduced recoil loads and you swap in the full power ones she wont even notice when she fires 1-2 in a hunting situation.
and like MHUNT said if she learns with reduced recoil loads and you swap in the full power ones she wont even notice when she fires 1-2 in a hunting situation.
I always must ask a question in this regard, ...........
"If it is an adequate big game cartridge for a lady's rifle, how comes it's not enough for a man's rifle?"
Ted
well, i don't "plan" on getting her something i don't already shoot and reload, (so this rules out the 260 and 7-08) unless a nice savage 1920 turns up of course. the problem with the rifles i have already is they are for the most part milsurp with all their wood and metal intact and therefore "too heavy, i don't like it".
i am hoping by spring to find and decide on a rifle, either a nice one (not a bubba'ed milsurp) in 6.5x55, 7x57, or 8x57. i am sure i can reload it to a tolerable yet still effective level. still considering a marlin in 357 though. the rifle is going to see a lot more shooting than hunting i am sure.
- Location
- Ft. Mac. Alberta
- Location
- Ft. Mac. Alberta
This one also!
There are many good choices out there, hopefull you can get her out and browse a bit, and try some rifles at the range....
Cat
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
jed said:
i guess this is subjective, but to me 'inexpensive to shoot' generally = .308, .30-06, 7.62x54R, 7.62x39, .223, .22LR etc. i guess it depends on how much emphasis is on the 'and/or reload' part, and if he just meant something like a .338 RUM when referring to expensive ammo
one thing to consider though: if youre up north and need ammo good luck finding mauser loads at CTC or wally world. also, a lot of the premium (not green box) hunting ammo is not widely available in these calibers.
you can get a box of managed recoil remington .308 or .30-06 for $23, and also shoot cheap-o™/surplus ammo thats available anywhere, or more premium bullets also available anywhere. your selection with nonstandard calibers is much more limited unless you are always reloading.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned 6.5 swede, man enough for all non dangerous game and the rifle I start newcomers to stalking on. If they are small framed and under 16 I use the CZ in 7.62 x 39 as its also light enough to carry all day. The 6.5 can be had in many weights and styles and with CZ you cant really go wrong!
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BC Bigbore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- BC's Peace Country
When my daughter passed her CORE hunter training, I found a used M70 XTR Featherweight .270 Win. here in the EE. We took the rifle to the gunsmith and had the stock shortened to fit her properly and installed a Pachmyer decelerater pad. A bit of trigger work, a Leupold M8 6x36 and it was ready to go. I handload 100gr Speer Plinkers with IMR SR4759 to about 1500fps for practice ammo. There is basically NO recoil and the muzzle blast is akin to a .22 Rimfire Magnum. And with full house loads and controlled expansion bullets, it's perfectly capable of cleanly killing moose. This rifle is light & handy and even more importantly to our women folks, it's pretty! Here's the kicker. Our local deer season is during November and it can get damn cold. With bulky winter clothes on, that shortened .270 fits me like a glove and has turned into my favorite deer rifle This turned out to be a win-win for both of us Here's a couple of older pics...
Her .270 is in the case with my .338 on the front rack while looking for moose...(never mind TB)
And it works for Dad too...
This turned out to be a win-win for both of us Here's a couple of older pics...Her .270 is in the case with my .338 on the front rack while looking for moose...(never mind TB
)
And it works for Dad too
...
