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Gun for the Mrs.

silverstang

silverstang

Private
Minuteman
Jan 3, 2011
69
0
34
Texas
Hey guys I want some opinions on guns for the "boss" of the house. She isn't too happy about me spending all the money on my own, so I told her I would pick one up for her. Specifically caliber is what I want suggestions on, but also brands.

It is going to be used at the range quite a bit beside me. That being said, it is going to double as a hunting rig, so weight is a factor. She has shot all of my rifles (30-06, 308, etc) but she is small, and all day at the range with those types of rounds and a light gun aren't going to go very well. It will be used for deer hunting. I have looked at a 223 as far as "light" recoil. I know people kill deer with it, but I'm afraid it is too light of a load. I want something she can enjoy shooting all day and still take a deer with no issues.

Sorry for my inexperience with the smaller caliber weapons, don't bite my head off.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

I'd throw my 2 cents in with a Remington 700P 6.8spc. That might get you where you want to be between stopping power and lower recoil.

You could always have the barrel chopped if it's a hunting rifle.

There's always the Remington 700 SPS Tactical in 6.8spc that has like a 22" bbl IIRC.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

I'd say get her a 243 Winchester, or better yet, a 6mm Rem or 6BR. Light recoil, plenty accurate, and good if you want to stretch it out, and all are usable hunting cartridges.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

The 243 is about the only other caliber I know of and have thought about. I have zero experience with the 6mm or 6br.

It is going to shoot factory ammo, so that is also another key point. How availible is the ammo for a 6mm compared to the other big sellers? (243, 308, etc)
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

Another key not, I'm not sure how her "flinch" factor is, so I want to keep that down. The less recoil, the better.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

check your local laws, sometimes they have a minimum caliber for hunting big game. In WA state the law states

Rifles:
Big game, except cougar, must be hunted with
a minimum of 24 caliber (6mm) centerfire rifle

in which case the .223 is to small.

but I dont knows if there is such a law in TX.

many people here like the .260 for its ballistics, light weight, and less recoil. as compared to the .308




 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

The state of Texas does not have such regulations. Only thing is no rimfire hunting for big game. Many deer are taken here with a 223. Shot placement is crucial. I want a little heavier hitting round than a 223 however (not saying she is a bad shot lol)


I've seen the "managed recoil" loads from Remington, anyone know about using those with a heavier recoiling gun? Say a 30-06?
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

If you handload you can't go wrong with a 6.5 x 47. Recoil is mild - extremly accurate and 6.5 has a great selection of bullets.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

I'd go with the 260 or 6.5X47L. Plenty of energy for deer and there's no question in the accuracy department. My daughter has been shooting the 6.5X47 since she was nine. It does weight 14 LBS and has a brake. Put it in a #5 barrel cut to 22" and fluted would make a nice package. Plenty of 260 ammo out there. A 120gr ballistic tip will be good for deer to 600. A good recoil pad will go a long way in controlling recoil.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

Mine wife loves her 243's she has a Remington 788 and a Savage bench rifle I built foor her. They are flat shootin and so far she has dropped everything she has shot with it in it's tracks.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

The real question is: What does <span style="text-decoration: underline">she</span> want?

...and will she tell you?
laugh.gif
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

I'm not worried about the gun hurting her. Like I said, she has shot my 7lb 30-06 many times. No matter the recoil pad, its still going jump, and she is still going to flinch. Its just way too much rifle for her. I'm sure with alot of practice it wouldn't be bad, but how many of you started off with a 338? I really don't want to put a break on the rifle. I prefer to keep it as light as possible (sporter type barrel) because there can be a few long hikes involved while hunting, and I'm not carrying mine and hers.


What advantages does the 260 have over the 243? What is the effective kill range of a 243? (she will never shoot over 300-400 yards hunting).

Thanks guys.

I'm leaning towards either a standard SPS with a few upgrades or maybe even a Savage/Stevens rifle.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

With practice, a 243 will kill deer @ 400 dead. I've taken coyotes out to 500 with my 243.

A 260 or 7mm-08 would also be very good choices. All easy to shoot and deadly.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tunanut</div><div class="ubbcode-body">With practice, a 243 will kill deer @ 400 dead. I've taken coyotes out to 500 with my 243.

A 260 or 7mm-08 would also be very good choices. All easy to shoot and deadly. </div></div>

I'm leaning more towards a 243 at this point. It is hard to find a 260 factory rifle without paying an arm and a let for it. I'm not looking for a $1k rifle.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: royboy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">look at the 243 t/c icon for sale on this board
NIB 650 </div></div>


Not a very big fan of the T/C guns. I've messed with a few of them, they are nice, but just not what I want in my safe. I fondled a model 70 at the store the other day and liked it. Didn't like the price tag (Gander Mountain ripoff of $1k).

I haven't messed with the Marlin bolt guns. Everyone that has them loves them. They look cheap to me but that is just pictures.

I think I'm going to purchase a standard SPS rifle for her. I want to find a place with the youth model to see what size she needs.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

I had a 7mm-08 built with a muzzle brake for my daughter who weighs about 100 pounds. She shot 139 TSX bullets out of it and took 7 animals in Africa with one shot apiece.

Before Africa she shot a few hundred rounds through it in training and never had any flinch develop at all. There are lots of good hunting and match bullets in the 7mm category.

Good luck with your choice.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

How is the recoil on a 7mm-08? I see factory ammo is plentiful, so that's a plus.

Compared to a 30-06 and 308 on a simular build.

It is narrowed down to a few factory loads. 243, 7mm-08. Those are about the easiest low recoiling weapons to find ammo for. I'm not ruling anything else out at this time, but from the other options given, those two are my choices.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

the 7/08 in the model 7 rem kicks more than the 700 model.
the 6br/8twist is an excellent choice but you have to reload.
243 probably gets the most votes, you can't go wrong with it.
plenty ammo everywhere or reload em.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

My lil bit of a wife bruises if you look hard at her. The LTR used to bruise her badly and that wasnt good. Some training to control the recoil better fixed that. Proper training goes a long way. Well and a better placed shoulder pad
wink.gif


That said, the 260 is a great deer rifle and the 6.5x47mm one sweet rifle. I'd say you cant go wrong with those in a light hunter style rifle.

(Course you could use the Savage 250 case with a 6.5mm bullet and be just as happy as with the lapua offering, but you didnt hear that from me)

Good Luck
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

One of the new savage offerings in 6.5 creedmmor would fit the bill nicely.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

Tikka T3 in .243 Got one for my boy when he was 10 (older 595)and he was able to shoot groups with no problem. Accurate, smooth and off the shelf ammo anywhere. .243 will do it all, varmint, deer, targets, a real do it all choice. If I had to be limited to only one rifle, it would be a .243
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

Well the 243 appears to get much more votes than any other round. Now I just need to figure out the rig to shoot it with. I might get a savage this time around to mix things up. I've got enough Remingtons already. Kind of hard to break a habbit though, you know?

It's a good thing I'm a lefty or I would make this sound like I'm buying it for myself. I'm sure I'll shoot it once or twice though haha.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

If I remember right, her whole rig weighs about 8 pounds max.

I had a brake installed on the rifle with the thought of practicing with the brake and removing it and installing a thread protector when we hunted. It turned out that we just kept the brake on during hunting too.

Recoil is great, much less than a .308, after all the round is just a .308 necked down to 7mm.

I had ammo loaded for us by Chad of Custom Reloads of Dallas. He loaded up 139 grain Hornady SP Interlocks to practice with and Barnes 140 grain TSX to hunt with.

A pic of her in her prom dress with her rifle.

462622df.jpg
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

I suggest 260 Rem, 7mm-08, or 243. All in that order. 260 is enough gun if you want to hunt Elk in Colorado or New Mexico, you can. 243 is pretty much limited to targets, deer, and varmints. 260 and 7mm-08 will be effective on big hogs as well, which I'm sure you have plenty of down there.

Now obviously this is a bolt action section, but I should note that my wife has a 7 lb 30-06 that she hunts with but when we go to Texas for hogs/deer, she always borrows my 11-year-old's 6.8 SPC AR15. Low recoil, adjustable for her, adjustable for clothing, and 15 rounds on tap. Plenty lethal on big hogs with Accubonds or Barnes TSX bullets. She likes 6.8 SPC so much she asked for one for her birthday in May. Ordering from www.ar15performance.com

-David
Edgewood, NM
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

My 5'3", 110 pound wife will tell you a 243 with a brake and a stock cut to fit HER. She packs around her 10 pound "243" for all hunting and match needs and shoots nothing but 105's out of it.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

My little lady, 5" tall, has a Remington M600 chambered in .260 Remington with a Lilja 'Sendero' taper barrel & muzzlebrake. She has no problem shooting 80+ rounds a day including positional shooting. Depending on how small a shooter is, stock fit can be a difficult obstacle to overcome as there are not many good options out there.

If I were to do it again, I would have had it chambered in .223 with a fast twist barrel and no brake. It is plenty rifle for small to medium frame whitetails for someone who can hunt and shoot well.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JelloStorm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
There's always the Remington 700 SPS Tactical in 6.8spc that has like a 22" bbl IIRC. </div></div>

Couldn't find any info about it on the internet. Do you have a source?
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

I just finished up mine with the new scope (finished for now).

I'm still on the edge about what gun to get. I'm on call for work this coming weekend/next week, so we can't go gun shopping. There is a gun store/range here that has the youth model 700s in stock, so I want to see if one of those fits her. If I go full size, it is between the standard SPS or the SPS Tac

I can't get away from the 700s, and I already have parts for one that I could use on her build.

I'll keep this updated for you guys.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

My wife was picky also. She wanted a youth model (she is not small, she just prefers that size), bolt action with "the shiny barrel" and black stock. One that does not kick much (she does not flinch, just likes less recoil).

Savage .243 youth model shoots an inch at 200 with factory Remington Core-Lokts.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

Silver,

This may not be the exact thing you want for your situation but I have had a lot of success with this type setup for female shooters.

2-14-2011upload017.jpg


These type color schemes were originally intended for match shooters and recreational shooters that didn't want the typical "camo/ tactical" look. The mechanics of this rifle are the same as any other "working" rifle that I build but the cosmetics and caliber are tweaked. The popularity of this setup has surprised me with even the big, burly linebacker types inquiring.

The one shown is chambered in 6XC and they are stupid accurate. The combination of rifle mass and low recoil caliber make for a very fun gun to shoot. The 6XC can pull duty as a varmint round, long range target round or deer cartridge by matching the right bullet for each job.

Maybe something in these color schemes and caliber but built more to a sporter pattern. I don't build sporter pattern rifles but plenty of others do.

Good luck with your project.

Just a thought.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

Terry you build excellent rifles. I'm sure she would MUCH prefer something along those lines (colorful, cool, etc), but its not a practical hunting rig.

I still haven't won her over with the idea of how fun the gun range can be. She doesn't think it will be much fun. She really wants one for hunting only, but I know that will change once we get to put a few hundred rounds down the range.

Income tax will be here soon. I have more than enough to get a new rifle and fairly nice glass so we will see. I keep changing my mind on the gun/caliber.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

I think the 6.5 Creedmoor would be good too.It would probably be borderline on recoil but you can always add a muzzle break.And shoot factory 140gr ammo or 120gr and be able to reach on out there.
 
Re: Gun for the Mrs.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jeepwilson</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think the 6.5 Creedmoor would be good too.It would probably be borderline on recoil but you can always add a muzzle break.And shoot factory 140gr ammo or 120gr and be able to reach on out there. </div></div>

I'm trying to stick with a more available ammo selection. I'm leaning towards the SPS Tac in a 223. It is already set up decent, not much recoil, and plenty capable of taking a deer. It is in between that and a 243. I will know this weekend.
 
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