Rifle for the wife

When I married my wife and she stated hunting I bought her a howa 1500 synthetic stock 270 Win., have the stock cut to fit her with a pachmayr decelerator recoil pad installed. She likes it very well. Later on I got a hold of a ruger 77 mk2 243 Win., she has shot it, likes it, and it fits her well. But she still takes the 270 hunting. The recoil of her 270 with a good recoil pad is much less then in my 270's. Stock and butt pad/ recoil pad makes a big difference in the recoil of a rifle. Have her hold and shoulder some rifles, find the one or one's she likes and that fits her. If possible have her shot some so she can pick the one she likes best. Good luck and happy hunting to you both.

35 Whelen said:

When I married my wife and she stated hunting I bought her a howa 1500 synthetic stock 270 Win., have the stock cut to fit her with a pachmayr decelerator recoil pad installed. She likes it very well. Later on I got a hold of a ruger 77 mk2 243 Win., she has shot it, likes it, and it fits her well. But she still takes the 270 hunting. The recoil of her 270 with a good recoil pad is much less then in my 270's. Stock and butt pad/ recoil pad makes a big difference in the recoil of a rifle. Have her hold and shoulder some rifles, find the one or one's she likes and that fits her. If possible have her shot some so she can pick the one she likes best. Good luck and happy hunting to you both.

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Youth models help a lot for short armed women and those with an abundance of chest muscle.

A Ruger American Predator in 6.5 creedmore is cheap and accurate. The stock is crap but if you rasp out the barrel channel so it does not touch the barrel it will shoot <1moa or better with Hornady ELD-X ammo.

Since I'm older and favor flat tops to man buns I'd go a 308 win. Just kidding, just kidding. A 243 win would be a fine choice. A 6.5 CM should work well also lol. Any of the mid sized cartridges should work well so whatever she feels comfortable with will work. Good luck and I hope she's healing well.

If pigs were on the list also you could go for a 308 win. The 125gr BT has been used for deer, and I don't recall the whitetails in the South as being large. Then if she wanted to go for pigs you could use a heavier bullet if her injuries won't preclude that. https://forum.nosler.com/viewtopic.php?t=891&view=next

I was in your situation about a year ago.
I ended up going with the 6.5 creedmoor. Awesome round. My wife is pretty small and handles the round well. The only thing I think I may add still is a better trigger.
Remington 700 accurized
Brux #0 21"
Bell and Carlson stock 12.5" lop
Leupold vx2 ultralight 3x9
BDL bottom metal

Put a brake on any of the above mentions and recoil reduces even further.

I raised two daughters hunting the woods in south Arkansas. So I have experience with this three times. The cover where you are hunting can get very thick quickly. It is nothing like open woods further north. Wife started with a .243. Blood trails are pittifull and that's being kind. Most of them took a posse and a couple of dogs to find. Built a 700 varmint in .308 with the barrel shortened to 22" and a break. Thing kicks much less than a .243 and the girls never lost a deer with it, and we never needed a dog or posse. Built a 7-08, 22" sporter barrel with a break, custom stock. Same thing, little easier to handle. Shot 165 ballistic tips in the .308 and 139 SST's in the 7MM. Deer seldom go far, and are easy to follow in the heaviest cover. YMMV, but not by much in this type of cover. Girls can get turned off very quickly if they lose one. They get more excited than we do when they get one. Use a bigger gun than a .243 and don't chance it. They get pretty excited, especially until they have knocked off a few. I've seen them get excited and go for "The big middle" more than once. Big bullets just make a mess for you to clean and dress. Little bullets they get away and the girl crys. Real World.

Lot's of great options in .243 and .257. but you initial instinct is a good one!

my daughter thats only about 110 LBS took a nice Mule buck last weekend with a 25/06 using the 115 vld's hunting bullet. She said dad you're right that thing doesn't kick much at all.

This picture is from '04. Notice the cover in the background. Notice where the bullet hole is. Right in the middle, a little low. It angled somewhat forward. Also take note of a very excited and happy 12 year old girl that just pulled off her longest shot since her first deer on her 6th BD. 171yds. Deer was shot with the .308 and went in a cutover that was super thick. Success! This is what you want. Accept nothing less, and don't expect perfect marksmanship. At twelve years old this child could hit a beer can every time at 200yds and most of the time at 300. Problem is beer cans and paper targets aren't breathing and will not run off and get away. Dogs are seldom needed with a .270 to find a deer. Each step down increases the hunting time after the shot. This is just a fact. In our camp in South Arkansas ALL the wives hunted, and so did all the kids. Been on enough posse hunts after the shot.

dfanonymous said:

Keep the cartridge less than a .30 cal. The dilemma that "I would have" is deciding if a .243 is enough *** for the hunting you are doing. Whitetail deer from a ground blind, sure. For the top notch marksman that can really display a shinny example of shot placement at anytime....sure. If at least one of those two things aren't checked off and you are hunting some high country Colorado muleys or something, I'd maybe consider something a little bigger than a .243 but less than a .30 cal.

Next, as far as non cartridge related recoil is concerned, a heavier rifle, combined with a muzzle break will certainly help eat at some of the felt recoil, so those are some other ideas to consider as well. Downside is hiking in with a 14 lb rifle sucks. Two of my remingtons I use are 16 and 17 lb. and it's a strain to hump around on multi day hunts.

You can think out side the box as well. Spending money would be a risk, but a good tripod and a hog saddle could help lower some recoil as well if you know how to leverage the tripod...key being consistently.

Just some ideas.

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DF....I was afraid to post my sentiments that mirror yours, with so much support for the .243 here. I have successfully shot a .243 on deer for most of my life. I am a real good shot, and even with the .243, every deer I have ever shot never traveled more than ten feet...BUT THEY ARE STILL KICKING AND IN PAIN! I always go for a second shot to end any suffering, but that has certain problems. So for the last five years, I decided to hunt with a Savage Light Weight Hunter (5.5 lb.) 6.5 Creedmoor. It has solved the problem of a "one shot kill" for me very well. So I am here to cast a vote for just a little more "umph" than the .243 provides if the wife can handle just a tiny bit more recoil.

The 243 works but the 270 does it much better. They both provide one shot kills no problem but the 243 doesn't give as big a hole. That being said I wouldn't be afraid to use a 243 but I prefer the 270. I have both.

Somebody mentioned 6.5 Grendel and that's a great option inside of 300 yrds.