Help with Wife's Match Rifle?

[Toast]

It's an Easter miracle. I finally convinced my wife to shoot with me. I want to start her slow with a local varmint match from 200-600 yards knocking down steel targets.

She's a prissy woman who won't tolerate getting kicked in the mouth every shot. therefore, I'm going to set her up with a .223 cartridge.

Anyone recommend a good heavy rifle? She'll be sitting at a bench shooting. There will be less than 100 rounds per match.

Don't hesitate to PM me any rifles you have up for sale too. I don't want to spend too much though.

Thanks in advance. Happy shootin.

 

[SuperSneakySniper]

Well the most important factor will be budget. What can ya spend on it? Also, is she comfortable carrying around and using a heavy gun? If you have an example to let her shoulder up and try to manipulate it that would be ideal so we get a baseline for weight. There are lots of female shooters who hate recoil, but hate heavy guns even more.
Since its .223 you can probably get away with a slightly lighter rig if she prefers it a little on the lighter side.
Are you sure you want to rule out .243 or 6mm? Not challenging your choice, Just curious. A girl i shot with loves her .243 Tikka with XLR chassis.

 

[Aaros143]

Maybe an MPA rifle in 224 Valkyrie.

 

[B y r o n]

Maybe start her out with a 22LR and shorter ranges at first. Once she learns the basics she might want to graduate to larger calibers and longer ranges.

 

[SuperSneakySniper]

Aha! As Aaros143 stated, .224 Valk. Thats a great idea. And MPA rifles rock, favorite chassis. They even have a quick swap barrel option. Factory ammo should be plentiful too.

 

[spaniel]

A Savage F/TR would not kick at all and would be flexible for several different shooting roles...as long as carrying it a ways is not in the plans.

 

[sgtsmmiii]

Maybe start her out with a 22LR and shorter ranges at first. Once she learns the basics she might want to graduate to larger calibers and longer ranges.

I think Byron's idea has a lot of merit. Make it super fun at first, no recoil, short ranges, build confidence and teach some easy fundamentals. Then, move up to a centerfire cartridge with minimum recoil. He gives good advice.

 

[Krazy_jim]

As much as a .22lr is not a bad idea, I don't think. 223 is a wrong choice.

I recently took my better half out to get her behind my . 308, and she did decent.. Just needs practice keeping her head down and follow through. I will be picking her up a .223 later as the .308 recoils to much for her. The .223 gives her the chance to shoot the same ranges we shoot.

 

[JMcBurn]

Cant go wrong with a t3x varmint. Just shoot standard 223 cartridges and decide if it is worth the investment into a chassis for it. Mine shoots the 75 bthp over 23.6 gr of 8208 in the .3" CTC range.

 

[patriot07]

Tikka Varmint 223 is exactly what you want. Accurate, low recoil, reasonable price, 1:8 twist for heavy bullets.

Mine loved 75 grain Hornady BTHP match. It was a joy to shoot out to 600.

 

[pineoak]

Get a T1x in 22LR let her learn and practice with it
Get fundamentals right

Then get a T3x Varmint in .223 (damn good gun for the $$$)

Or skip the .22 if she has a fair amount of firearms experience already/is comfortable shooting AR15s

Get a TBAC Ultra 7 silencer either way you go

 

[Shanerbanner10]

6BR or .223 for those ranges.

 

[BLKWLFK9]

Why not a 6BR? That way if she sticks with it, she's already comfortable with her match caliber, and if she doesn't stick with it, YOU now have a 6BR to shoot. There is next to 0 recoil with a heavy 6br. Get her on the waiting list for a PVA John Hancock Rifle in 6BR. Like I said, you get a bad ass rifle if she bails on shooting. She wont fault you for taking her rifle if she realizes she isn't that in to it.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

As much as a .22lr is not a bad idea, I don't think. 223 is a wrong choice.

I recently took my better half out to get her behind my . 308, and she did decent.. Just needs practice keeping her head down and follow through. I will be picking her up a .223 later as the .308 recoils to much for her. The .223 gives her the chance to shoot the same ranges we shoot.

x2 - Thats common for a lot of new shooters if not most IMO - popping their head up instinctively as if they want to watch the bullet downrange, and improper follow-thru. Any chambering that allows the shooter to focus on ironing out these bad habits is a good choice IMO.