Thinking of a caliber for my wife?

[WtxHunter21]

Hi all, new to the whole forum thing.

I have a question pertaining to a good caliber choice for my wife.

What small caliber rifle would you guys suggest for a 5'2" 125lb women?

Two thing's to consider,
1- has to be big enough to kill a deer (200 yds or less).
2- Has to be some what cheap and readily availabe to shoot.

We do lots of weekends at the range too, so something she can have fun with at the range as well as in the field.
any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Erik Cortina]

243 Winchester.

 

[CJ6]

For over the counter fodder 243 win, 6mm rem, 250 sav, 257 roberts, 6.5 Creedmore, 260 rem, 300 sav. All quite capable of doing the tasks you ask with minimal recoil.

 

[SmokinJoe]

You might consider a CZ American or Carbine in 7.62X39. I think that rifle would meet all of your stated objectives.

 

[30378]

My choice would be the 260 Remington. Very accurate. Enough for deer. It can also be loaded down some and still be adequate.

 

[flatlander]

Get her a 223 with a 1:8 tw. bbl. so you can load 65-80gr bullets for deer. Sounds like 99% of her shooting will be short range work, and for that, 40-55gr bullets will shoot great and have much less recoil than any of the 6mm-257s. She could shoot all day with a 223 without suffering any bad side effects - you want her to have fun and enjoy shooting, right?

I'm not a great fan of using 22cal. ctdgs. on deer, but if you're going after smaller whitetail or blacktail deer, careful bullet placement with a suitable bullet will do the job. Until she gets more experience shooting larger cartridges, a 223's fine accuracy & very mild recoil should make it simple for her to put a bullet where it needs to go.

 

[CJ6]

Check you state/local laws for legality of 22cal centerfires on deer. I'm not a fan of them (22 cal) either but they are legal in Minnesota (home state)

 

[nfhjr62]

Most people will say .22 BUT have seen many small stature woman at the range and at rifle matches with 30 cal. rifles one couple i would see a lot BOTH were shooting M1A's (he was in NJ G) she had PINK camo's down to the shoe laces

 

[deadlyswift]

I would have to agree with X3MHunter. 243 seems to me that it would be the best for her. I also agree with others on the .22 cal. It would souly depend on her abilitly to shoot accurately. My daughter witch is 8yr old, and very small coming in at 48 & 3/4"s and weighing only 43lbs she does shoot my Ruger M77 in 220swift. I myself can hold .4 moa at 100yrds with the rifle. My daughter will hold 3/4 to 1 moa with the rifle. It is all factory. No bedding or pillars. Factory trigger has been pulled to 2lbs. Thats it. She got her first deer this past season, a doe at 80yrds with this rifle. Now We where hunting out of a 6x6 box blind that has a shelf built infront of the window, and I had the gun set up on my hoppes rest for her. I told her to shoot the deer right behind the ear where her neck and head join. When the little 50gr. blitz king hit, the doe went straight down. All four legs were folded up under her!

Sorry about the long dragged out post. I think after the shot my daugther was looking at me like calm down dad! I believe I was more excited than when I killed my first deer! So yes I like to bragg on her a little! ;D ;D Anyway getting to my point I would think that your wife could handle the 243 at the range just fine for a days shooting, but if she can shoot accuartely enough the .223 would take a deer down with know problem as others have said it does have less recoil. The 243 would give her a little room for error at 200yrd. A shot in the shoulder or just behind the shoulder would most likely take out both lungs and give her a clean kill. The deer may run off but it want go far without lungs to take in air! With the right bullet and a good exit wound there will be plenty of blood to track the not so far dead deer!

 

[therifler]

all the Cal. mentioned will do the job as for the rifle i would check out stevens 200 . comes in a package deal with the scope or you can buy just the rilfe . The Rifler

 

[250AI]

While they aren't in every gun store a 250/3000 is hard to beat. I use N135 with a Barnes 80 or 100 gr. TTSX at 3300 and 3000 fps respectively (25 in. barrel). Mild recoil, excellent accuracy and great bullet. Can't go wrong with a cartridge that has been around for almost a 100 years. Enjoy Oren

 

[1000yardstare]

A buddy of mine just bought a Savage M14 Classic in .250 Savage (250/3000). It is a new chambering from Savage and he snapped it up before the exhaust from the delivery truck had cleared from the gun store`s parking lot.

I have a Rem 700 Classic in .250 Savage bought in the 1980`s. A number of times I have let the wives/girl friends of gun club members compare my .243 and .250 rifles for comfort and hence accuracy. They have always preferred the .250, less muzzle blast and recoil. Plenty of power to kill deer out to 200 yards.

 

[Hammerhead]

You know all have had lots of good sugestions. 243 is always good, 260 is really good, but SmokinJoe had a really good idea. My vote is for the CZ American or Carbine in 7.62X39. Great round and the guns are accurate out of the box.
Good one SmokinJoe.

Tim

 

[Dgd6mm]

A .243 Savage combo. You can swapout the scope to a better optic if you want. This rifle sells at wallyworld for around $400.00.

 

[flatlander]

Can't argue the point when it comes to the 250-3000 -
I built myself a 250 Ackley Imp. on a SA 700 with a Krieger 26" #5 sporter bbl. Didn't try to keep the weight down; used steel Williams bottom metal & a 30mm Bushnell 6500 2.5-16x42 scope. As a result, the finished rifle weighs 11lbs. It is a very pleasant rifle to shoot, even compared to 14lb. 6XC or 6x47. I'd have to rate it as having slightly less recoil & muzzle blast than a 243 of similar weight, though most of the shooting I've done with it to date has been with fireforming loads using Hornady 87 PSPs.

However, I still think a 223 would be awfully hard to beat as a first rifle for a young lady. I'd have a different opinion if the primary use was going to be deer hunting, but from your description of the intended use, it'd be hard for me to justify purchasing a rifle chambered for a larger cartridge when she's probably only going to use it on deer once or twice a year, vs. - hopefully - much more frequent use plinking/target & maybe varmint shooting.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

7mm-08

 

[WtxHunter21]

Thank's guy's for the recomendation's. I had a chance to shoot a buddy's rugger .243 today, and wow Almost as much recoil as my .223.
I think the .243 is the way to go for her. the ballistic's are there, the recoil is marginal, and the cost to not only reload and or buy a cheap box at a local sporting good's store is all there.

I think she would love this gun for not only plinking around at the range but also love it in the field. Now, the only thing left to do is figure out what brand to go with? I gave her a budget of $1,500 for a full steup minus ammo. What is a great .243 to go with?
Any suggestion's would be appreciated.

 

[clc33]

my wife and 7 year old son uses a 20in 308,plus you can get managed recoil loads for a 308 if she cant shoot regular loads.the best way would let her try different cals if you have some if not borrow some and let her try them.

 

[Erik Cortina]

Thank's guy's for the recomendation's. I had a chance to shoot a buddy's rugger .243 today, and wow Almost as much recoil as my .223.
I think the .243 is the way to go for her. the ballistic's are there, the recoil is marginal, and the cost to not only reload and or buy a cheap box at a local sporting good's store is all there.

I think she would love this gun for not only plinking around at the range but also love it in the field. Now, the only thing left to do is figure out what brand to go with? I gave her a budget of $1,500 for a full steup minus ammo. What is a great .243 to go with?
Any suggestion's would be appreciated.

Remington 700 and Leupold scope.

 

[CJ6]

Rem mdl 7, Rem YOUTH sps, Ruger Hawkeye or have an appropriate LOP stock made.