suggestions for guns for small woman

Ladyshooter; Welcome, and good luck on your quest!!

I am the proud father of 3 beautiful girls [all adults with their own families now] and 2 sons.

My girls are all petite, 2 of the 3 are leftys, and I started them out hunting with the venerable 7x57 [Ballistic twin to the 7-08]

Started with reduced loads and lighter bullets, and worked them up to full power loads over time.

All handled that level of recoil very well. So I have no problem endorsing the 7-08 for your hunting.

As Boomer said, though, anything from the 6.5x55 up to the 308 Winchester would probably work well.

Regards, Dave.
 
I think there are some great suggestions here. One thing I would recommend is a muzzle brake, it is much harsher on the ears but felt recoil is reduced so much and makes most calibers fun to shoot.
 
tylert said:
I think there are some great suggestions here. One thing I would recommend is a muzzle brake, it is much harsher on the ears but felt recoil is reduced so much and makes most calibers fun to shoot.
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For God's sake don't brake the rifle. Any man woman or child can be taught to fire a centerfire rifle sans brake through hand loading, careful ammunition selection, decreased projectile weight and practice from field positions. Practice most of all will be essential to a new hunter so this serves double duty.
 
Ladyshooter, welcome! Lots of good advice here, but one thing that almost nobody mentions is that women's chests are shaped differently than mens ( duh!) . To fit properly a small woman's rifle or shotgun stock should not only be shorter, but have considerably more pitch - when the barrel is level, the toe of the stock needs to be a bit forward of the heel. Not a right angle to the bore axis. Look at the picture Boomer's wife's rifle and you get the idea. A little "toe out" is also an aid to comfort, or shave a bit from the inside of the recoil pad. When your chest is not getting pinched you will shoot better. And please do not put a muzzle brake on your rifle. You owe your hearing that much consideration. As for cartridge, both my sons started out with 7mm08's as 12 year olds, and haven't found a need for anything bigger many years later.
 
Check out prophet river for lefty guns. They have two tikka hunters in .308 left hand for just over a grand. Blued with wood stock.

See if you can find any 6.5x55 ammo locally... If you can that would be even better
 
I would recommend the Browning micro hunter 7-08 as well in LEFT hand. It is designed for smaller hands and bodies. If you can find one, the micro midas is even smaller, I know there is one in my safe and it fits the boss quite well. It is the only rifle of hers that I haven't had to build a stock for! She prefers the 120 grain ammo for a lighter recoil, but the 140 grain round are not a problem either. For plinking at the range a skeet shooting vest with the built in recoil pad will take alot of the snap away and keep you from developing the flinch. It also helps with keeping the bra strap from digging in I am told.

As for talking with Rick from ATRS, it is a waste of time as he has no intention of building lefthanded rifles.
 
My wifes tiny but tough as nails , if I was pickin a gun to use I would make sure it was powerful and repeating, if she got up and got ahold of me it would get ugly....
 
I'm surprised that a few obvious questions haven't been asked... How far would her normal shots be?? If under 80 yards in tight bush, a 44 mag lever action would be a good gun. Low recoil, and with proper shot placement, leaves an animal Not just bang-flop, but going down like it got hit in the center of the back by the hammer of thor. I use one for work, and have killed many large animals with one.

If she's going out to 250 yards, a 30-30 lever action is a good rifle. Low recoil, very capable killing, and light rifle. That one is so obvious that I"m surprised that no one else has mentioned it. It was commonly used to kill every animal you listed for many years...

If ladyshooter is a good shot with iron sights, both options are available in top eject lever actions, meaning that it's an ambidextrous rifle unless it has a receiver loading gate, then it's only loading that's right handed. The ammo is also pretty common. Every girl except one was comfortable with using either a 44 mag, or 30-30 with full power loads. The one that didn't like those guns was in chronic pain anyways, and nothing bigger than a 22 worked for her...
 
Ideally, I would say a good used LH bolt action, with a wood stock, in 7mm-08. The same in .308 will likely be much easier to find.

Shorten the length of pull and have a good quality grind-to-fit recoil pad installed. All the best:)
 
Bigfoot 870 said:
Ideally, I would say a good used LH bolt action, with a wood stock, in 7mm-08. The same in .308 will likely be much easier to find.

Shorten the length of pull and have a good quality grind-to-fit recoil pad installed. All the best:)
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The problem with modifying a good used gun is the size of the shooter. Most guns are made for a 6 foot person with 6 foot person size hands. If you have ever watched a smaller sized person try and comfortable hold a large rifle then you would know it works but it is not anywhere ideal. I believe in proper fit, as does every serious shooter, whether it is competition or hunting. A small shooter will have their hand around the grip and pull the trigger with the tip of their trigger finger or they will take their hand away from the grip to get their trigger finger forward where reaching the trigger is possible, all leading to a comprimise on shot quality. Yes it will work, I have watched my 5 year old little girls shoot win 94 30-30's and hit the pink milk jug at 50 yards, but it was ackward. Youth/lady stocked rifles are gaining populaity for a good reason.
 
My wife is 4'11" and about 95-100lbs, just ordered up a ruger American in 308, i'll have L.O.P adjusted and will add a good recoil pad. I went with regular American as opposed to compact with 18" barrel. I will start with reduced loads and work her way up. Then she is good from sheep to moose
 
softer recoil big game gun

...I'd suggest the Browning BAR Long-Trac. The semi-auto action soaks up a lot of the recoil. It's a great rifle.

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=002B&cid=031&tid=537

Browning-BAR-LongTrac-Left-Hand-Oil-Finish-031537-495l.jpg
 
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Good thread, you definitely have a list of needs...most of us have a list of wants (which is easy to compromise on)
So far:
-Left hand.
-Bolt action.
-Small person.
-Capable of dropping large game.

Not much I could find out there unless you are willing to compromise.
But compromise is only applicable IF you have a limited budget...

If you have a bit of time and can afford a few bucks find a left handed gun that you like with the options you want (finish/ type of magazine/ etc...) and get a custom stock made for it.
Cutting down the LOP will not place your body (hand/cheek/etc...) in the right place as it would have been designed for a larger person (the micro's would illustrate this when compared against a normal stock).
You would wind up with your gun as specific as any item tailored to you.
As for cartridge your choices are many; 260 or 7/08 would be my leanings, if your an avid reloader perhaps 7x57 or 6.5x55.
Good luck
 
Just picked up a super grade in 7mm-08 shooting hornady american whitetail with it the other day the recoil was extremely light. I think my 22-250 was about the same. Made the last 308 I shot feel like a light 30-06 with 180gr bullets. I am also a lefty but shoot right handed rifles from the left side. Fast reloads that way lol
 
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