Wife rifle,What caliber?
- Thread starter horse_men
- Start date
I've always been meaning on getting a 260. 243 is fine for targets/plinking and varmints, but I'm not a big fan of it as a big game cartridge. The 260 I'd view as primarily a small deer cartridge, also sufficient for big deer in a pinch, and marginal for anything bigger. The 7-08 is a poor choice for varmints (again, IMHO) but ideal for deer and adequate for bigger stuff (but probably not my first choice).
The 7x57 and 6.5x55 are great, but are very nearly obsolete. You'll have to look long and hard for a new rifle in these old timers, and when you do find one, your options will be limited. No big loss, these are essentially equalled by the 7-08 and 260. Although all four are pretty much limited to handloaders as factory loads are pretty limited
The 7x57 and 6.5x55 are great, but are very nearly obsolete. You'll have to look long and hard for a new rifle in these old timers, and when you do find one, your options will be limited. No big loss, these are essentially equalled by the 7-08 and 260. Although all four are pretty much limited to handloaders as factory loads are pretty limited
Took a few Mulies and Moose with the 7mm08...excellent Performer. A great all around Chambering when slightly larger then Deer critters are on the menu.
I now have a 260 and find this to be an Excellent Cartridge as well.....easy to load, great ballistic performance with minimal Recoil. A definate step up from the 243 for Larger Game.
If my Wife was Gonna Hunt Yotes and Deer I'd get her a 260 in a Short action 700 like the Mountain rifle and not look back
It'll even do for the odd Moose too
I now have a 260 and find this to be an Excellent Cartridge as well.....easy to load, great ballistic performance with minimal Recoil. A definate step up from the 243 for Larger Game.
If my Wife was Gonna Hunt Yotes and Deer I'd get her a 260 in a Short action 700 like the Mountain rifle and not look back
It'll even do for the odd Moose too
The 7mm-08 would be a good choice IMHO, however the Ruger Compact is pretty light and as a result recoils a bit more than say the Stevens 200. I've shot both as I own the Compact and my daughter shoots the Stevens.
- Location
- Saskatoon, SK
All these fancy calibres.
What's wrong with a good old .270 Win, preferrably with wood stock as the synthetics kick harder due to reduced weight.
Minimal recoil on a .270 and it will take anything from a coyote to a Moose or Elk. Virtually an all round calibre for a lady or a man - you'd be surprised how many people are recoil sensitive. My Browning A-Bolt .270 has taken more deer than I can count over the years and I still keep it around as my back-up, plus I still have 200 rounds of reloads that I have yet to use. Also easy to find reloading components. (And you can always find ammunition somewhere if you run out)
Of course, now I have become a slave to recoil and really get a kick out of my Tikka T3 Lite .300 win mag with a synthetic stock. It makes me laugh when someone under 150 lbs fires it for the first time.
What's wrong with a good old .270 Win, preferrably with wood stock as the synthetics kick harder due to reduced weight.
Minimal recoil on a .270 and it will take anything from a coyote to a Moose or Elk. Virtually an all round calibre for a lady or a man - you'd be surprised how many people are recoil sensitive. My Browning A-Bolt .270 has taken more deer than I can count over the years and I still keep it around as my back-up, plus I still have 200 rounds of reloads that I have yet to use. Also easy to find reloading components. (And you can always find ammunition somewhere if you run out)
Of course, now I have become a slave to recoil and really get a kick
out of my Tikka T3 Lite .300 win mag with a synthetic stock. It makes me laugh when someone under 150 lbs fires it for the first time.Thanks for the suggestions guys. I was am now leaning toward a .260 after reviewing some of the ballistic tables. She would use it mostly for targets and the odd coyote while I might "borrow" it for the odd deer or wolf. Keep the suggestions coming though, I like to read all of your opinions. I have a M700 mountain LSS in .30-06 and she does not like the recoil on that at all. She loves to shoot my model 94 .30-30 though. I jsut want to get her something that will reach out more than the .30-30 will.
This year I bought something completely different! Take a look at the Browning in 25 WSSM. It looks and handles almost like a .22 but has most of the juice of a 25-06. I've tried mine out with smaller shooters, and nobody has complained about the recoil. This has the potential to be one of those all time sweetheart combinations. I have a Leupold Compact on it and it is good for as far as I dare to shoot.
john-brennan
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Vancouver Island B.C.
A 25-06, 260, 7-08, I would go with a 25-06 my self cause if she moves up you have a long action to rebarrel if you no longer want a 25-06. I use mine for everything up to mule deer, very accurate easy to shoot.
My son started with a rem. mod. 7 in 308 win when he was 8. I loaded it down with 110 grain bullets and if I can recall 12 grains of H110. It went bang, hit the gong and put holes in the paper but had no noticable recoil. The first time he used anything hotter was when he was 10 when we shot a record book black bear. He was using the same rifle with Federals high energy factory loads with 180 grain N/P's. I asked later what he thought of the recoil and he said he didn't notice any recoil but remembered how loud my 35 whelen was. When he was11, he shot a moose at 300 yards using the Federals high energy loads. The moose went down, got up and he smacked it again and it stayed down. He is now 16 and thinks nothing of using my 338 to shoot off hand at the range. He likes ringing the gong at 200 yards till that gets boring. I made up a batch of those 308 loads for a friend's son. He went from too afraid to pull the trigger to a moose killing machine. The 308 lends itself to reloading more than those that you mentioned. My son remembers my 243 as a kicker since he fired a couple of factory loads with it when he was 10. Anyway that's what I have to say about it. Happy hunting.
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
Have you considered more than one?
My wife loves my Winchester '94 in 30-30, so I got her one.
She wanted more reach, so she got a BLR in 308.
Then, she wanted another brush gun, so we got a 96 Ruger in 44mag.
Of course you could always get her a 338 win mag. She'd hate it, and, that would mean you'd just have to shoot it yourself
My wife loves my Winchester '94 in 30-30, so I got her one.
She wanted more reach, so she got a BLR in 308.
Then, she wanted another brush gun, so we got a 96 Ruger in 44mag.
Of course you could always get her a 338 win mag. She'd hate it, and, that would mean you'd just have to shoot it yourself
