Rifle for the missus

[elk_hunter]

What recommendations do you all have for a friendly rifle for a wife to use to hunt antelope/muleys/elk? This would be her first rifle, hence an inauguration to hunting animals. What bullet weight would be a good pairing?

I was thinking about a 270 or 270WSM paired with 130gr or 150gr noslers but I'm curious what your thoughts are.

 

[mdhunter]

It seems to me wanting a rifle for elk is sort of a minimum size limiting factor. My kids shoot a Remington .260 and it flat out kills deer. The kick is pretty much non existent and the bullet is wicked fast. I would recomend the caliber to any hunting deer sized animals and under.

 

[Ultrahunter]

My wife shoots a .30-06 and likes it.

 

[Grady]

My wife shoots my 280 with no problems.

If it were just her gun, I would try a 7mm/08 due to the wider and better range of bullet selection.

A Model 7 or T3 might make a good Christmas present.

 

[174in]

270 wsm will have about the same felt recoil as a 7mm mag 270 might even be a bit much for a smaller frame shooter I would go with a 7mm-08

 

[elk_hunter]

Hmm. Thanks for the feedback, guys. I guess after re-reading my post, it's not totally necessary to get an all-around gun (to include elk). If she doesn't get shook from the recoil and can kill antelope/muleys, that would suffice. Now that I think about it, this should be a gun that we can "share"...she can shoot it but if I feel like taking it out, that would be cool if I could pull that off.

 

[Bambistew]

I'd get her to the range and have her shoot some rifles in various calibers before purchasing a rifle. It might surpise you what she can handle.

 

[----]

Make sure she gets the rifle she'll want to hunt with too.

My fiancee loves her little Savage .243, and as long as she's comfortable with it and want to shoot it, I have no reason to try to convince her otherwise.

 

[Gerald Martin]

My wife shoots my .270 and my .325WSM both. She took her her elk this year with the.325 WSM. She said she didn't feel the kick when she shot this bull. All in all though I'd reccomend the .270 or
7mm/08.

 

[the nikster]

My mother harvested many elk with her personal .308 Savage. She never hunted deer or antelope but the rifle would have been easily sufficient. I have harvested several mulies and a couple of elk with a .308.
My wife also has harvested 2 elk with a .308.
My daughter has harvested 4 deer and a moose with her 30-30 marlin-great starter for kids.
My son has harvested 2 deer and 1 elk with his 30-30 marlin.
They all shot factory ammo in the 145/150 gr. range.
(the moose shot in the spine at the top of the shoulder-dead in 15 seconds)

 

[1_pointer]

If you handload I'd look at either the 260 or 7-08. If you shoot factory, 308. Remember, the amount of powder effects the recoil more so than the bullet weight.

 

[Gunner46]

Grab a 7/08, take off running, and don't look back ! Anyone here knows I'm a HUGE fan of this cartridge, for good reason. It has never failed to give me a one shot kill.

Deer & pronghorn as far as it's too stupid to shoot and elk just a bit closer. Pick a good 140 gr, to suit the game, and your in the money.

 

[lilbiggun]

There are alot of good choices out there. My wife shoots a 30-06. she loves it. She (which means me) can load it down for the smaller critters or load it up for the ones that can bite back.

Just maked sure it fits her. I had to cut the stock down (she's 5ft nothing) and thats when she really started shooting well with it.

(yeah another one of those wonderful wife pics )

 

[Blacktailbc]

+ 1 on the 7mm-08

 

[kiwi hunta]

6.5x47, 140 grn a/bond at 3000fps will put anything on its arse, its going to be my next rifle, just looking for a nice short action to get it built on, small primer, lapua brass, and on a short action.

Jeff.

 

[BLeeber]

Another +1 for the 7mm-08. My favorite rifle in my safe is a Browning BLR lever in 7mm-08. It's also my lightest recoiling deer rifle.

That being said, I have a Remington 7400 auto in .30-06 that doesn't recoil much more due to the action. If recoil may be an issue or you are wanting more gun, look to a semiauto if you can stand the negative talk about it. I love mine and have an AR in .308 that is really sweet and doesn't recoil much either.

 

[Goldtip]

My wife regurlary hunts with a 94mauser in 6.5x55, shoots it real well, better than I can! When we're on elk, she just uses my 300 win and never notices the recoil.

 

[cschwartzman]

The thing to remember when purchasing a rifle for the missus is it has to fit her. Also, she has to be comfortable shooting it on a bench when the kick is most noticeable becuase if she flinches on the bench she will flinch when shooting an animal resulting in bad bullet placement. Remember that bullet placement is the most criticle no matter what the caliber you are shooting. You can do a couple of things to the rifle that you choose and that is installing a decelerator pad and a muzzle brake. I recommend a slim line muzzle brake as it does not give the barrel that big awfull mass looking thing on the end. I have two Sako's one in a 270 which has a blued MB. and one in a 338 which has a MB. My wife can shoot both with no problem on or off the bench. Good luck to you in your purchase.

 

[noharleyyet]

I was thinking about a 270 or 270WSM paired with 130gr or 150gr noslers but I'm curious what your thoughts are.

Either w/ 140/150 grain...w/LOP that fits her..and 3 1/2 inch eye relief scope....(cough, Leupold)

 

[noharleyyet]

Remington is fine...Sako is better.