Elk Caliber for Small-Framed Female

[44hunter45]

Interesting. She has her eye on the Savage Lady Hunter at the moment. do you think the Camila is better?

Yup

 

[Elkmagnet]

any recommendations. we will probably go with Nosler partitions or expansion tips.

My personal choice in those calibers with shots under 300yds.
A light for caliber copper/monolithic bullets.
Standard weight for caliber Partition
accubond.
The 270 is a great suggestion but does have more felt recoil than the above calibers.
FYI, my wife has killed elk with a 270 shooting barnes 130gr ttsx. She has killed her last 2 bulls with my 300wm but she has a lot of shooting practice and spends the bulk of her practice time with the 270 because I don't want her to develop a flinch from the 300. She is also physically stronger than average. Not something I recommend to newer shooters.

 

[matechakeric]

My personal choice in those calibers with shots under 300yds.
A light for caliber copper/monolithic bullets.
Standard weight for caliber Partition
accubond.
The 270 is a great suggestion but does have more felt recoil than the above calibers.
FYI, my wife has killed elk with a 270 shooting barnes 130gr ttsx. She has killed her last 2 bulls with my 300wm but she has a lot of shooting practice and spends the bulk of her practice time with the 270 because I don't want her to develop a flinch from the 300. She is also physically stronger than average. Not something I recommend to newer shooters.

yea I don't want her developing bad habits in shot anticipation. so you would recommend a .270 with a high quality bullet?

 

[RaiderRich]

My girlfriend shoots a 7mm-08 and loves it. Her daughter on the other hand is recoil sensitive and still to much for her. I have her shooting a 243 at the range and picked up a 6.5CM for her to try. I would recommend renting/borrowing/other methods of having her try a couple different calibers/rifle models to see what she is comfortable with. When/if you do that have her start out with the rounds that would have the least recoil and work up until she has tried a few or decided what has to much kick. Like others here I would lean towards 7mm-08 and maybe 6.5CM. 270 is nice but will kick a little more.

Good luck and happy shopping!

 

[Elkmagnet]

yea I don't want her developing bad habits in shot anticipation. so you would recommend a .270 with a high quality bullet?

I absolutely would but didn't in my original post due to the concern about recoil.
A 145gr bullet in a 7# 270 rifle has about 20puonds of felt recoil.
A 143gr bullet in a 7# 6.5 cm rifle has about 14 pounds. Thats 30% less.
I just think bullet choice is more important they should both kill.

If you decide to go with the 270 it has reduced recoil rounds that would be excellent for practicing and familiarizing with her new gun. First impressions are mentally important.

 

[matechakeric]

I absolutely would but didn't in my original post due to the concern about recoil.
A 145gr bullet in a 7# 270 rifle has about 20puonds of felt recoil.
A 143gr bullet in a 7# 6.5 cm rifle has about 14 pounds. Thats 30% less.
I just think bullet choice is more important they should both kill.

If you decide to go with the 270 it has reduced recoil rounds that would be excellent for practicing and familiarizing with her new gun. First impressions are mentally important.

great info. and 143 gr 270 with quality bullet should be enough for elk? thanks for your help.

which reduced recoil rounds would you suggest to start out with for training?

 

[Durango Mike]

I want to get my wife a rifle for deer and elk. We are planning to hunt out west once a year starting next year. She's 5'5 115. I'm looking for a good caliber that won't have too much recoil but will pack enough punch for elk. I'm leaning towards a .308 Winchester but am open to other calibers

the 7-08 is hard to beat, my young female friend about that size shot her first bull this year with the original 7X57 loaded to 7-08 velocity with a 145 gr grand slam at 2850, 1 shot at 200 yards. The 308 with 165 gr can do anything in North america and plenty of factory ammo (usually) to pick from for what shoots well in the rifle you choose. Proper rifle fit will significantly reduce "felt" recoil.

 

[Elkmagnet]

great info. and 143 gr 270 with quality bullet should be enough for elk? thanks for your help.

which reduced recoil rounds would you suggest to start out with for training?

My favorite 270 round for everything including elk is a 130gr mono bullet.
Close second is the 140gr nosler acubond.(not long range version).

The Remington 115gr managed recoil rounds are really easy to shoot if available.

 

[Hunting Wife]

great info. and 143 gr 270 with quality bullet should be enough for elk? thanks for your help.

Should be fine. I use 130 gr in mine and have had no problems killing elk.

 

[matechakeric]

1.) Get the one she likes. It's for her, so she should have a say in what it looks like.

2.) I'd second the 6.5 or the 7mm-08. Light recoil, plenty of punch for everything up to moose.

great advice. yea she loves that walnut look so that's what we're getting her

 

[cahunter805]

Has she shot any other rifles yet? If she can handle moderate recoil the 270win or 7-08 are both great choices. If recoil shy I’d go with a 6.5 creed or even a 260rem.

 

[matechakeric]

Has she shot any other rifles yet? If she can handle moderate recoil the 270win or 7-08 are both great choices. If recoil shy I’d go with a 6.5 creed or even a 260rem.

she can handle recoil but for her to actually train on these to prepare for an accurate shot on an animal, that is why my concern exists. i don't want her to dislike the experience of shooting her gun or to develop a flinch. I believe she can handle a 7-08 and 270 win well

 

[Rhino Hunter]

I've heard a number of hunters use the .257 Wby Mag for elk. It's fast, flat and can be stupid accurate without too much kick.

 

[matechakeric]

the Camilla MarkV Deluxe is absolutely gorgeous. sucks it's $2400.

Mark V® Camilla Deluxe - Weatherby, Inc.

Named aptly after Camilla Weatherby, the graceful lines are befitting of the way the stock fits female shooters. It features a shortened 13” length of pull, slender forearm, a slimmer grip with a gentle palm swell, and a higher comb for optimal scope-eye alignment. FINISH Barrel / Receiver /...

weatherby.com

 

[Seamaster]

I believe I have seen more elk taken with a 130 grain bullet fired from a 270 than any other rifle/cartridge combination except for the 30-06 using a 180 grain bullet. Of course this memory has been over many years and for part of that time the newer cartridges had not been developed yet. A well constructed premium bullet lets the air out of them.

Anything she shoots well will do, but make sure it has enough steam to make a quick and humane job out of it.

 

[cahunter805]

she can handle recoil but for her to actually train on these to prepare for an accurate shot on an animal, that is why my concern exists. i don't want her to dislike the experience of shooting her gun or to develop a flinch. I believe she can handle a 7-08 and 270 win well

I’d go with the 7-08. I would also recommend taking her to a few gun shops and let her handle some rifles and see what fits her best. A youth rifle might also work.
A correct fitting rifle is much easier to manage and handle recoil IMO.

 

[Pharmseller]

7mm-08 in the rifle she likes best.

Let her pick it out. Fit is crucial.

Just about any factory 140 grain load will be fine. The Hornady 150 eldx is available in factory form as well. I handload the eldx for all of our 7mm-08s.

They're all Tikkas.


P

 

[Nick87]

Browning micro x bolt or micro A-bolt II if you can find one. As far as caliber .270, 7-08, skip the 6.5 and go .260 rem.

 

[Redman]

I have a Browning Hells Canyon Speed rifle in .308 that I got just for my daughter to use. Though she has only killed a whitetail with it my intention was for her to use it on elk. I had a mule deer tag in CO for 2017 and bought a OTC 2nd season elk tag and I carried the .308 with confidence. Though I didn't kill an elk I did kill a muley buck at over 350 yds. The 150gr TTSX went from chest to rump and was found just under the hide on the rump. Great combo for small frame person...or a large framed guy like me.

 

[tzone]

Interesting. She has her eye on the Savage Lady Hunter at the moment. do you think the Camila is better?

I wouldn't say it's better. The stocks are different so have her fit them to her. Both are fine rifles.