Rifle for wife

[chef viktor]

Well call it a middle age crisis or what but my wife went hunting with me last week! She has always been a Nordstrom girl so this was a surprise. I bought her the correct stuff and she had fun except the 6 wheeler is a little tough for her. I am looking for suggestions on a rifle for her. She is unexperienced and of course i will spend time with her at the range. We will be moose hunting. I currently own several rifles the smallest being a 30/30 marlin lever action, a remington 280 a 30 0 6 and then several large magnum caliburs. Any suggestions from someone who has been in this situation. She is a fairly small lady and i would like her to not get scared of recoil. I am leaning towrds that small 30/30 as it is light and small but in my mind i think it might be small for moose. Suggestions? Thanks Viktor

[Western]

Look at a 7mm-08 or a 308. Both should handle large game with good bullets and well placed shots. They can be had in light handy rifles too.

[RANGER RICK]

I was in the same delima two years ago .
My hunting partner three years in a row canceled a hunt right right before we were scheduled to go ( no longer my hunting partner ) so my wife volunteered (spelling ) to go with me .
I took her to the range with all my rifles .
The last rifle I let her shoot was my 338 Ruger Ultra Light Win Mag . She loved it !!!!
Go figure and what a great shot she is !!!!
Went to Anchorage and went rifle shoping . She picked out a 338 Savage .
It is set up with a bipod and scope and she carries it with her when out hunting .
My wife is 5'5" and light weight .
I would of never thought she would of picked out the 338 .
I do all my reloading and loaded hers mild .
Shes loves it .
Do not count out the magnums and plus I can snuggle up with this hunting partner on the cold nights , ok the warm ones also , smile, smile ,smile .

RR

[jeff p]

I think the thing to do is go to the range & start with the lightest recoiling gun & shoot from a standing bench & let her try a few out. Just dont load her up real heavy to start with & remember you are going to be there backing her up so whatever she choses really you ca close the deal if you have to 30-30 open sights might be the trick //// good shooting

[mfitzhugh]

I agree with Western. The 7mm-08 is a great round and I have killed many moose,elk and deer with it. Use a premium bullet and good shot placement and there is no moose alive that would not soon be dead. The 308 is a great round too. Accurate and hard hitting. Keep the recoil down for your wife. The 30-30 has killed moose too but it's point blank range is short and the power is just not there. Sell or trade one of your other guns and get something new that will fit her well and do whatever you need it to do. Remember a bullet in the boiler room kills everytime even from small rounds if your close and the bullet placement is perfect. You won't go wrong with the 7mm-08. It's hyper fast and hits as hard as a .270 with a lot less recoil.

Mark

[Brian M]

I got my wife a 7mm-08 last year and she loves it. She's small (5'0"), so we went with the Remington Model 7 Youth. What an awesome gun that is...accurate, light, and almost no recoil. Hope she doesn't miss it when I take it hunting! Take a look at this model.

-Brian

[RayfromAK]

You can always start her with the .280, and this should be plenty for lung shots on moose. Just use heavy-per-caliber bullets with it, and make sure that the rifle has a good recoil pad, perhaps a Decelerator recoil pad. Also, make sure that the scope you use has ample eye relief, and that she holds the stock tightly against her shoulder. Once she gets used to shooting the .280 you can go up in caliber.

[Grizzly1]

Take her to a gun shop and let her pick out what fits her. 308 is a great all around game round with mild recoil and a great selection of bullet weights.

[Snowwolfe]

Grizzly made a valid point. Let her pick it out. Don't try to steer her to something you like. The confidence they have from picking out there own shootin iron really helps.
After visting four gun shops my wife picked the Kimber in 7mm/08. She said it was cute but she is deadly with it.

[Longbow]

Try that out ... lots of room in 30-06 ammo to "grow" with ...

[Alaskantrapper]

When Jim started me out we started at the range, I had shot his 30/06, 243 and 300 RUM, needless to say I now have my own winchester model 70 30/06, thats my baby, with a little trigger work and the stock cut down just a tad I wouldnt trade it for the world........I also liked the Weatherby Vanguard and have added to my collection since. But it was nice that I was able to pick out my own "toys".
Hope this helps!
Debbie

[thunder chicken1]

Remington makes a reduced recoil 30/06 load that supposedly kicks like a 30/30 so you could start with that and work up, A proper fitting rifle also has a lot to do with felt recoil as well.

[Rufus]

My wifes first Caribou was shot with a 30-06, 180 gr, at over 300 yards. It was a one shot kill. You can't beat an 06 for the Ladies. Moose offer a larger vital zone for shot placement, therefore leaving a little room for error. The .06 has been there and can't be overlooked. With the range of well constructed Ammunition you can even get by with that 280 you have. The 270 also offers alot of choices for Ammuntion too!

[Toddler]

While I agree with most everyone on the list here I would suggest looking at a 6.5X55 Swede. It is a 264 Cal and has a higher Sectional Density (read penetrating power) than most other bullets of the same weight. This rifle is more than enough to kill moose cleanly and efficiently. It has very mild recoil, low report and is a short action for weight. You can find them from all the big manufactures. My daughter loves hers.

Drew

[Milo]

I bought my son a Ruger Compact in 7mm-08 when he was 10yo and only about 80lbs. It has a short length of pull and and an overall length of only 35.5" so its easy for him to hold steady. I paid around $550 for stainless/laminate. Also added a Simm recoil pad for about $30 which that was well worth the money.

When my wife started hunting, I just let her use a 300win mag but she didn't know any better

[northriver21]

I got my wife a 7mm-08 last year and she loves it. She's small (5'0"), so we went with the Remington Model 7 Youth. What an awesome gun that is...accurate, light, and almost no recoil. Hope she doesn't miss it when I take it hunting! Take a look at this model.

-Brian

I agree with BM on the Rem model 7. My wife is small but tough I wasnt worried about the recoil as much as finding a rifle that fit her. I didnt want to buy a rifle and spend a lot of money modifying it to fit her. I chose the model 7, 7mm-08. She has shot 2 caribou with it and it works fine. I always thought it was a little light for moose, but hearing some of the other guys here maybe I'll try it.

It is a great little gun and I have carried it on PWS deer hunts. My seven year old will be inheriting it in the next few years.

Good luck.

[AlleninAlaska]

My wife doesn't hunt nothing but waterfowl. So being an equal oppotunity father I started my daughter out on a 7mm-08 when she was 10. Great little cartridge.

[AkHunter45]

My wife is 5'5" and I am in the process of getting her a rifle for Christmas. I am getting her a Remington model 7 in 260, perfect for sheep and caribou!! Chef, there's a lot of choices out there, find out what she likes in a rifle, like a wood stock, moderate to no recoil, stuff like that. She is currently using a borrowed Remington model 700 in 243 and loves that thing, so I figured I'd go up a bit in caliber to give her a few more options.

[BrownBear]

I'll come from a different direction. I'd let her pick out her own 22 rimfire, preferably in the same action as her eventual CF- i.e., probably a bolt rather than a semi-auto. Spend lots of time casual shooting with her, then small game hunting. Let her get it all in her blood before moving up the line.

With her feet under her, let her try any of your rifles she wants, as well as those you can borrow from friends- all without any pressure from you. Finally let her pick her own. I'm willing to bet that with support rather than pushing, she's going to love it. If she doesn't make it through all that by next moose season, NBD. She'll be ready for the one after.

I used the same approach with my wife and two daughters. All still love shooting and are deadly shots, but after popping a few head of big game two decided they'd rather fish than hunt, while one is a rabid hunter. Since I love to fish too, I've got great company whether I'm fishing, shooting or hunting.

What did they pick? The two who decided they didn't want to hunt after all (big brown eyes syndrome) never went higher than 243/250/257 category and deer. The wild eyed one settled on a 7x57 Ruger for general use up to moose, trading off with an 06 as her "heavy." Lately she's been eying my bigger stuff and shooting them with reduced loads. I'm betting pretty quick I'm either going to be losing another of my rifles or paying for a new one for her. Her choice what and when.

[ak257]

I had this same situation with my 10 y.o. (80 lbs.) son this year. Somethig new wasn't in the cards so I gave him the choice of anything we already had. He ended up choosing a Savage 99 in 300 Savage. He's able to handle the 180's out of that ok although the stock is a hair bit too long for him yet. Once he found out that all it did was give him a big shove recoil-wise, and didn't hammer him, it was a piece of cake. I would agree that the 7mm-08 is a good choice and have used a 7x57 myself with good results.