Rifle for Girlfriend

Crazytrout

Crazytrout

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My girlfriend has been enjoying her shotgun through last season and would now like to have a centrefire rifle for range shooting, deer, moose, bear hunting.

Had a lot of good opinions on CGN with options for a shotgun last year so thought I would ask again, this time for a rifle.

She is petite, so please keep this in mind....and the reason I am asking.

We have only seen the Remington Model 7 which seems to be a smaller rifle, however want to make sure all options are looked at.

So, looking for a smaller rifle, light weight in a bolt action.

She is not recoil sensitive (BONUS), so we need not discuss caliber.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Regards

CT
 
Get her to try a BLR in .308. If she prefers the bolt action a Tikka T3 in .308 is fairly nice weight wise.
 
I have a Remington 700 Mountain Rifle in .243.
Factory Remington with drop clip and walnut stalk and blue action & barrel. Remington did not produce many of these in .243 but would make a good Deer rifle for a lady or small person. 6.75 lbs and has a 22" barrel.

Tikka
 
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There are several "youth" sized rifles made by Savage and others that you should get her to try out that have shortened stocks on them and usually come in calibers like 243 and 7mm08. Made with petite women and teens in mind I think it would be a good fit.
Otherwise, I would look at a Tikka T3 Lite Battue model as my Dad shoots one and just loves it. At 60 yrs old, with diabetes (very shaky) and only 5'7 he says it's the perfect size for him as it's very light and the barrel is only 20 inches so it's easy to hold steady. Very accurate rifle and pleasant to shoot, although he put a recoil pad on it (308 was bothering him when he shot it alot) and that way he can shoot it all day if he wants.
 
I was looking at a model seven yself as I like doing a lot of walking when hunting and like a more compact rifle. The Marlin XS7 is also light at 6 1/2 pounds and is easy on the wallet. Had been getting a lot of good reviews even considering its a budget priced rifle.
 
Ruger M77 Frontier or Compact (compact is the same thing just without the scout mount rib on the barrel. the rib is removable btw so if you see them at the same price grab the frontier). chicks almost unanimously pick this as their 'favorite' from amongst my guns (although they pick my blued one):
rugerfrontier.jpg


Remington Model Seven SS
Remington-model-7-stainless.jpg


but have you asked her what she wants?
maybe she doesnt like a bolt action and wants a semi or pump?
maybe she wants a classic single shot like a Ruger #1?

women are funny in that they tend to form opinions on little things men might see as insignificant: like the color of something or how 'cute' it is - and that forms part of their enthusiasm towards a sport. for example, my g/f thought that snowshoeing was lame back when i was using modern style snowshoes -- i bought her a pair of nice classic wooden/rawhide-laced ones as a gift, and she went nuts over them and was all of a sudden enthusiastic about going out snowshoeing.
same with guns - a woman might hate one with a black synthetic stock but show her the exact same gun with a forest laminate stock on it and shell immediately fall in love with it and 'claim' it as hers :D
so even if what she wants isnt your idea of the right gun, or costs a bit more than you were planning to spend, you may be better off not forcing her into getting what you think she should have and getting her what she really wants so that she stays enthusiastic about the whole thing. i wish women werent so complicated though :p
 
Tikka T3 Lite vs. T3 Battue Lite:

Weight difference is negligible but the Battue's barrel is about 2.5" shorter and so is the overall length. That might feel enough different for her to like it better.
 
If she is petite, a youth rifle might fit her. Since she is not recoil sensitive you have more options available to you.
FWIW, I brought my (16 at the time)daughter to several gun stores and had her handle the various offerings, also helped in her research(magazines, internet, range time, etc) when we purchased her first deer rifle. She ended up with a Rem 700 Mtn LSS in .260 and is very happy with it, just mad with me occasionally when I borrow it ;)
 
X

Look at the Browning X-Bolt series, I was quite impressed with the quality and trigger. You have many calibers available. I noticed a couple female hunters using this model this year.
 
I guess the only smaller or youth model not yet mentioned is the remington sps youth possibility. My cousin is really happy with hers in 7mm-08. But I'd say the compact Ruger 77/hawkeyes are so much prettier.

RG

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