"Lady hunter" rifles

[coloradoan]

I've always read that a straight comb is helpful in mitigating felt recoil. In my practical experience, I do not like the shooting Weatherby-style stocks as much as more typical straight comb stocks. It seems that keeping the butt of the stock in line with the direction of the recoil impulse of the rifle is key.

It makes it hard to understand these rifle stock designs from the Savage Lady Hunter:


and the Weatherby Vanguard Camilla:


I know that women's anatomy is different, and I know that Weatherby in particular has their distinct style of rifle stock. But are female shooters actually better served by the exaggerated monte-carlo style stocks on these rifles? It seems like a tradeoff between ergonomics and recoil mitigation, and I guess the question is whether or not it's worth it.

I suppose a lot of it will depend on the individual shooter. It might also depend on caliber - in a lighter recoiling caliber like 243 Win, maybe the advantage would go to the woman-specific design, even if it accentuated felt recoil a little more.

Woman shooters or guys who know them, what has been your experience with gender-specific rifles?

 

[WCB]

My wife has the Savage Lady Hunter in 7mm-08..recoil part is hard to tell as she shoots 3.5" shotgun shells out of a pump some times and shoots my 7lb 7mm rem mag lights out. So she is not recoil sensitive. However she loves the fit of the gun better than any other rifle she has shot. Ergonomically with it being a little slimmer seems to handle better for her. She is athletic build 5'6".

IMO, watching a lot of women shoot they tend to lay their head over more so a comb like the ones above seem to help. My friend's wife has the Savage Lightweight Storm in 7-08 and shot my wife's Lady Hunter and said she like the feel of it better and they are very similar rifles. She is more recoil sensitive and small (maybe 100lbs and 5' 1") and hasn't put more than 100 rounds down range in her life and commented on the difference in 4-5 rounds.

With that said I think it is more of the gun being designed for smaller frames. Take a women that is 5' 10" maybe it wouldn't benefit them as much. If you took something and shortened the pull and put a raised comb on it like the Savage Accufit stock (which I have) I think it would function the same. I know when my guns have a raised comb they are just more comfortable to shoot plain and simple and I have shot the the Lady Hunter quite a bit and it shoots and feels great.