build for my wife

[Mike0341]

I've been thinking about getting a stevens 200 for my wife so i can build it into a nice little shooter for her.

she likes my rifle and wants one that looks pretty much just like it (basically she wants the same stock i have on my Remington). she has shot mine a few times and likes it but she wants something ease of her own and i figured a 223 would be perfect.

i was looking on the Savage site and noticed the have 2 rifles that might be cheaper in the long run to get instead of buying the tools (about 100 bucks give or take) a better barrel (between 170-400 roughly depending on who i went with).

the options i have are:

Model 11 hog hunter. 20 inch barrel. its supposedly a heavy contour barrel even though it states on their site that its medium. found this while looking around the web http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRemeDMQ4bI.

and the Model 10 FP-SR. 22 inch barrel. the extra money on the price tag most likely goes towards the better stock but I'm not sure so thats why I'm here.

from what i can tell in the pics they both have pretty much the same barrel contour. if this is true then the hog hunter is obviously going to be my choice since i see little point in spending an extra 200 for a stock I'm going to replace right away anyway.

so im wondering if anyone has any experience with the Hog Hunter as a starting platform. seems like a good starting point for a budget build.

parts that will go on it are:
B&C stock
Bushnell 10x40 scope
unknown 20 moa base (i have a few laying in my safe and i can't remember the brands.)
i think i have a set of weaver rings in the safe that are on the scope already.
Harris bipods

basically just getting spare parts and throwing them on a 223 for my wife so she can get more involved at the range since she is getting bored with the .22.


thanks in advance for the advice

 

[remau308]

Re: build for my wife

It's just my opinion, but instead of the .223, get her a .260. It has great ballistic with very low recoil. She would be just fine with a .223, but the longer ranges would be more difficult than with a .260.

 

[UNRL Ghandi]

Re: build for my wife

If I was making the choice for my wife, I'd probably go with the FP-SR just so it has a little more barrel length and weight to it. I'd put a muzzlebrake on it too, anything to bring the recoil down as close to the .22 level as possible.

I'll let someone else comment on the merits of the guns in question. Just thought I'd put my thoughts out on the discriminator I'd weigh more heavily. With my wife, if she feels the gun, she doesn't shoot it as much, and if she doesn't shoot it as much, I don't get as much range time with her. So I'd drop the extra $200 to help extend that out, even if the recoil benefit is minimal.

 

[sr15match]

Re: build for my wife

I went the 223 route. If she was wanting something for range I'd go 6.5CM in a heartbeat. But I think you're on track with the 223. It's cheap to load / shoot and she can do a lot with it.

This is what my wife ended up with, for now lol, until she changes her mind.......

 

[jsthntn247]

Re: build for my wife

.223 is fine unless she might do some hunting with it. If so then I would go .243 or 6.5cm.

 

[mhudson1970]

Re: build for my wife

I agree with remau. 260's are a super round. Low recoil, great ballistics.

Have you looked at the Savage Lady Hunter?
http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/11Lady

Looks like it would be a comfortable rifle for the wife, and it comes in allot of caliber choices. Not offered in .260, but it is offered in 6.5CM as well as the .223...

Also, .243's have pretty minimal recoil, and may offer better ballistics down range than a .223 too...Especially if ya reload.

 

[tman300wm]

Re: build for my wife

.223 with a 1:7 twist barrel is pretty friggin' cool to shoot at distance, unless she is going to get into competition, then you want to look at the 7-08, .260 Rem, or 6.5 CM.

I'd do a Remington over a Savage. Resale on the Savages is a joke, and while they do shoot well, they can be difficult and just as expensive to upgrade. The Remington's seem to hold up better in the field too. You don't see too many Savages being run at sniper matches.

 

[Joebill]

Re: build for my wife

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: remau308</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It's just my opinion, but instead of the .223, get her a .260. It has great ballistic with very low recoil. She would be just fine with a .223, but the longer ranges would be more difficult than with a .260.</div></div>
This is what I had built for my wife she likes it. The 6.5's are hard to beat get the creed if you don't want to reload.

 

[tigerfan_9]

Re: build for my wife

Could start off with the 260 with some of Hodgdon's reduced loads if she is new to shooting. Once she gets used to the recoil and wants to back off on the range then go to full power loads for distance. The .260 or 6.5 would offer more versatility if any intentions of hunting or shooting longer ranges.

 

[leadbullet]

Re: build for my wife

after the 223, I would do a .260 also, load some 120 with 41 gr of H4350 are good to 800 yds and hardly kick at all , the load some 142 with 43.5 of H4350 and your good to go 1400 at least.

 

[Mike0341]

Re: build for my wife

thanks for all of the responses. i was mainly looking at 223 because i already have about 3000 rounds of it stocked up so the brass won't be too hard to find. the kick of my 308 isn't bad at allude to the AAC brake i have and she has shot about 20 rounds through it in a day. i plan on getting an AAC brake for her rifle as well if the threads are compatible.

as for the extra 2 inches i agree on the barrel but i don't think that extra 2 inches is worth the extra money. she mainly just wants something to plink around with when ever i go shoot my SOCOM. once she is comfortable with 300 yards ill have an excuse to buy her a 308 while i get my 300 win mag lol.

i looked at getting a remington but savages are modular and if needed i can do a barrel swap on my own. no need for a smith to do it.

thanks for the help guys

 

[gebhardt02]

Re: build for my wife

The rifle I had built for my girlfriend, now my wife, is on a Surgeon action, McMillan A5 stock, chambered for 308. There is a lot of learning that can happen with a 308 and all that barrel life. Sounds like you already have a 308 or two so having one more for her rifle wouldn't be bad at all either. I know this wasn't much in response to your original question, but thought I'd share anyway. Good luck with your next build and I hope she continues to enjoy shooting with you.

Geb

 

[Mike0341]

Re: build for my wife

i originally wanted to build a .308 for her but when she wanted something smaller. if i ever get a chance to shoot out to 1000 I'm sure she will want a bigger caliber which I'm more than ok with buying. why buy 1 when you can have many many more lol.


so far from researching a bit more is that the Hog Hunter comes with a cheap ass stock (same stock as the stevens 200 i think) and thats why its so cheap in comparison to the other savage i mentioned. since ill be dropping the stock anyway i see little benefit in spending the extra 200 bucks for an additional 2 inches of barrel.