Light Weight Rifle for Smaller Hunters?

[26Reload]

I believe a lot of you are missing components choices.....
A liteweight rifle may move more when fired..but it doesnt necessarily have to recoild so bad as to hurt the shooter....
Two ways of remedying the situation...
1st.....a muzzlebrake....i don't use them..nkt one on any of my rifles or in the closet.....sure fire way to kick the recoil...but hate the extra noise no matter to savings....my ears are so bad i wouldn't wish it on anyone.....and even with plugs and head phones there's still going to be damage......
2nd...and the easiest.....a Sims vibration recoil pad....EVERY RIFLE AND SHOTGUN I have has one....felt recoil is nothing but a push to the shoulder.....
I bought 28g shotguns to introduce rhe ex and kid to shotgunning...i couldn't reload fast enough..clay pigeons off the electric launcher..clay rabbits along the ground to show them misses and hits...5 boxes a day of shells at a minimum....felt recoil is gone...
Put them at the range with reasonable non-braked rifles...all they want to do is shoot....couple that with 22s and go home broke for another weeks pay......
Felt recoil can be worked out....recoil management is learned...
A brake is not necessary.....
The right size rifle with enough power to get the job done is all that is needed....
Handing a kid 10 years old a 300wm is not cool....

 

[sable tireur]

I have a great photo of the youngest when he weighed about 75 lbs, downing an elk with one shot at about 240 yards across a draw with elbows on his knees sitting in the snow.

Nothing Better! Great job!

 

[sp6x6]

Check out the ''Family goes wolf hunting'' Thread,some depends on how your brought up.The son I believe is 12 now,first wolf with 300 RUM,He started with that rifle at ten and has some real nice trophys so far including a nice bull,right here in NWMT.

 

[Rich Coyle]

I have seen several posts referring to ultra light weight rifles "for my wife", "for my girlfriend", "for my kid", etc. These mentions are often in the rifles for sale. Sako's website advertises their Finnlight as "an excellent choice for women and younger shooters". Some others offering light weight rifles say the same.

This seems counter-intuitive to me, though. Assuming we are referring to smaller people less able to handle heavy or bulky items (not all wives and kids are smaller and weaker, we're talking averages here), wouldn't they do better with a heavier rifle to help reduce recoil? Seems like you could more easily discourage somebody from shooting if you start them off with a higher recoil rifle.

I'm helping my brother-in-law getting his youngsters started in hunting and I advised him away from the ultra light rifles for this reason. I remember in my own young sons' case that the 9-10 lb .270's they began with were almost too much recoil as they were, but the weight of the rifle was fine for them.

What are your experiences or advice?

I did not read any posts after yours. It sounds like you never heard of a brake on a light rifle. I am 5' 7" and I don't want to carry anything over 7lb. If your kids are smaller than me I doubt they want some heavy rifle.

First start them off right with electronic hearing protection. I think you should get them a .243 or .260 class rifle as light as possible. Put the best pad and brake on it and go enjoy shooting.

 

[Jon Bischof]

I want to 2nd the recommendation of the Sims Laboratories LimbSaver Recoil Pad. I have them on all my hard kicking rifles and shotguns and they are so good that there's not really any other recoil pad that can compare with them for actual felt recoil reduction.

 

[LVJ76]

I believe a lot of you are missing components choices.....
A liteweight rifle may move more when fired..but it doesnt necessarily have to recoild so bad as to hurt the shooter....
Two ways of remedying the situation...
1st.....a muzzlebrake....i don't use them..nkt one on any of my rifles or in the closet.....sure fire way to kick the recoil...but hate the extra noise no matter to savings....my ears are so bad i wouldn't wish it on anyone.....and even with plugs and head phones there's still going to be damage......
2nd...and the easiest.....a Sims vibration recoil pad....EVERY RIFLE AND SHOTGUN I have has one....felt recoil is nothing but a push to the shoulder.....
I bought 28g shotguns to introduce rhe ex and kid to shotgunning...i couldn't reload fast enough..clay pigeons off the electric launcher..clay rabbits along the ground to show them misses and hits...5 boxes a day of shells at a minimum....felt recoil is gone...
Put them at the range with reasonable non-braked rifles...all they want to do is shoot....couple that with 22s and go home broke for another weeks pay......
Felt recoil can be worked out....recoil management is learned...
A brake is not necessary.....
The right size rifle with enough power to get the job done is all that is needed....
Handing a kid 10 years old a 300wm is not cool....

I think you hit the nail in the head, well said Sir.

What I will add is that practice is needed to get used to any type of recoil, regardless big or small.

A very light rifle will recoil more whether using a light load or not. I'm not a fan of brakes so we don't use them.

I got started early shooting with a 22LR at age 4, a 223 at age 5 and 20ga and 7mm-08 at age 7, got my first javelina at 7 and coues deer at age 8, these two was carrying my own rifle up and down hillls, an 8lb rifle. My dad had a large mesquite tree branch cut, sanded and added metal weights to it and then added a sling to it. We would hike and I carried it so I would get used to the weight. When I got my first deer he carried it and I got to carry my rifle and his his 9 and some lbs 270 win, it was a long way back for me, those 2 miles seemed like 8 and I would not have it any other way, and I was ready for it.

Just like I was ready for the recoil, practice, practice and more practice. Started me light and worked me up.

My wife is 5' 2" and I also started her with a 22LR, then the 223 but she didn't like it, too light recoil but loves her 8.5lb 7mm-08 with full loads. She'll even shoot my 10lb 7mm Rem Mag and no complaints on the recoil, but she is used to it.

Now we don't use bipods, can't with all the cactus, we mostly shoot offhand and this also helps with recoil.

Hope this helps

 

[zog]

Nothing Better! Great job!

Since you noted it I just had to post. This photo doesn't mean much unless you know he's 12 and being coached taking an elk across the draw with his .270. One shot and the elk was meat.

 

[Dukguy]

I built my wife (5'4") a 6.5 grendel howa mini action. It's reasonably light, has mild recoil, and shoots tiny groups. The lop is correct for her, bolt stroke is short and sweet, and at 18" it balances well with a suppressor. Overall it's about 8lbs with glass and a can.

She loves it and shoots well with it, that was my goal so I consider it a success.

This is what I did for my 9 years olds first rifle. I put it in a chassis that uses AR buttstocks so it could grow with him.

 

[Memberberries]

This is what I did for my 9 years olds first rifle. I put it in a chassis that uses AR buttstocks so it could grow with him.

To be honest I find myself shooting her rifle more often than I think she knows about. I'm gonna have to get one for myself eventually...

 

[el Pollero]

Started mine with a tikka t3x lite in 308 with reduced recoil factory ammo from hornady. It shot quite well in the tikka . Now that he is as big as me he shoots 165g SST which again shoot very well .
Best of both worlds .
Built a 6.5 Grendel for my daughter in an AR15 platform . It came out shooting lights out with factory ammo but a good bit heavier than the tikka.
She has asked for a tikka and she will hunt with one next year. I feel in love with this Grendel and will keep it for my own hunting

 

[JASmith]

Started mine with a tikka t3x lite in 308 with reduced recoil factory ammo from hornady. It shot quite well in the tikka . Now that he is as big as me he shoots 165g SST which again shoot very well .
Best of both worlds .
Built a 6.5 Grendel for my daughter in an AR15 platform . It came out shooting lights out with factory ammo but a good bit heavier than the tikka.
She has asked for a tikka and she will hunt with one next year. I feel in love with this Grendel and will keep it for my own hunting

You and she will likely enjoy using the Grendels for medium game hunting even in your "platinum" years. The key is an adjustable stock that can grow with the shooter and account for both summer and heavy winter clothing.

 

[Mike Matteson]

As I've done this a few times with younger shooters, I've began to think of them in 2 groups "kids" and "youth". Adding gender (just 2) into the mix, and generally females have about a third less upper body strength than males. Then factor in the variables of the type of hunting, shooting is going to be done. One size doesn't fit all.

With cartridges like the 6.5 Grendel one can have a lightweight rifle that can be carried by less physically developed. Learning to handle firearms safely from point A-B, being an important part of the experience in my mind.

I started my sons on 22 rifle. It was a shorten or cut down rifle. Single shot bolt action. Being they were 4 years apart. It work out fine. From there they when to a 26/06 Rem 700 BDL for deer hunting. I gotten a youth 20 gauge for bird hunting. They both moved on to 12 gauges, and 308 Norma Mags. Hunted in several different states, and Africa too. I am a hand loader and they have followed.

Now I have grand children the oldest are 7 years old. I got them a 22 rifle kids rifle, and my son is teaching them to shot now.

Giving a 300 mag is to much to start with for a young child in the 10 to 14 age range. It also depend on the size of the child too.

The rifle need to fix them too. They need to mount the rifle correctly otherwise that can make them handle incorrectly and kick the hell out of them.

Nothing is better than hunting with your kids.

SSS
Mike

 

[blackbrush1]

Unless I overlooked it in the thread, in addition to concerns about reasonable levels of recoil, a rifle that is extremely light is harder to shoot accurately. Like everything, finding a balance is key.

 

[Speyrod]

I have seen several posts referring to ultra light weight rifles "for my wife", "for my girlfriend", "for my kid", etc. These mentions are often in the rifles for sale. Sako's website advertises their Finnlight as "an excellent choice for women and younger shooters". Some others offering light weight rifles say the same.

This seems counter-intuitive to me, though. Assuming we are referring to smaller people less able to handle heavy or bulky items (not all wives and kids are smaller and weaker, we're talking averages here), wouldn't they do better with a heavier rifle to help reduce recoil? Seems like you could more easily discourage somebody from shooting if you start them off with a higher recoil rifle.

I'm helping my brother-in-law getting his youngsters started in hunting and I advised him away from the ultra light rifles for this reason. I remember in my own young sons' case that the 9-10 lb .270's they began with were almost too much recoil as they were, but the weight of the rifle was fine for them.

What are your experiences or advice?

I had the same issue with my wife. She is 5'2" and has little upper body strength. Both rifle weight, recoil and length were issues for her. I start her out with a Sako 260 Remington at 6#. Shooting 140grn Federal bullets its a sub moa gun out of the box. She killed several deer and a 6 point bull with it. Still she struggled with the weight and recoil. Next rifle was the Kimber 84 Mountain Accent at 4.5# mounted with a Leupold VX5 comes in under 6# in a 6.5 and muzzle break. Within 10 rounds she was shooting sub .75 groups with the Hornady 143grn ELDX. Light recoil easy for her to carry shoots great. Hope this helps.