Need advice - woman's rifle

[Craw3773]

Hey everyone,

My wife has started showing some interest in hunting with me, and I'd like to encourage this.

The first order of business is to get her a rifle of her own. Are there any features that I should pay attention to that she may prefer, and what rifles have fit you best? She's roughly 5'8".

This is going to take some trial and error, but I'd like to narrow this down to a few choices for her instead of just throwing her in the deep end of the pool.

What LOP is too long? Plenty of rifles with a 13 1/2" pullout there, but I'm not sure if that's too much

 

[PNWGATOR]

Tikka Compact .223 with SWFA 6x Milquad Reticle mil/mil in Sportsmatch rings. This has a 12.5” lop and a 20” barrel that makes for a compact, easily handled package with little recoil. The scope is simple and reliable and will work. The rings are as strong and as simple as it gets. She will enjoy shooting it, a lot.

 

[willfrye027]

My wife was between the tikka compact and weatherby vanguard Camilla. In the end she went with the Camilla in 6.5creedmoor, wishes she would have got .243 instead (she’s a bit recoil sensitive). She liked the fit of the Camilla and the look of the wood stock...what can you do lol

 

[Craw3773]

I think she would like the Camilla, but she also is drawn towards the christensen mesa. Is anyone shooting a mesa at 5'8"?

Tikka is always in the mix, but I don't understand why you put a magazine in a hunting rifle. Would prefer a flush bottom.

 

[Little Joe]

Some ranges allow you to rent guns. Renting or borrowing will allow her to shoot different guns to get a feel for what she likes and shoots best. See what she gravitates to. She will enjoy it more if she is shooting a gun she likes.

As far as fitting, if you are worried about it, take her to someone who has knowledge in fitting guns and then you can follow the recommendations. I find this is unnecessary. After she has some range time with different guns, she will instinctively pick the gun she likes best and fits her best. The gun she chooses is the gun to buy for her.

Avoid muzzle breaks initially as the blast and increased noise can be unsettling for some new shooters. If she is recoil sensitive, Monte Carlo stocks tend to have less felt recoil than straight stocks.

 

[MeatMissile]

5’8” is in the realm of some men, so she may not need to look exclusively at compact type rifles. LOP can mean less if the action and scope allows for a lot of leeway in scope mounting. This can be the positioning of mounts, bolt throw, scope tube length, etc.

Craig Boddington wrote a great article about gun fit when his daughter first became interested in hunting. They tried several rifles and found that cartridge had less to do with perceived recoil than gun fit. His daughter is the same height as your wife and ended up with a Kimber in 7mm-08.

 

[OpenCountry]

Browning x bolt micro Midas composite is a great option

 

[blacktail sniper]

my kid has been shooting her 7/08ai since 12 no recoil pat no brake and weight 8.5 lbs and loves it. Since she will be off to play ball it will be Mamas rifle now.

 

[wytx]

I would second a 7mm-08.
Just avoid a real lightweight mountain rifle.
I also agree that fit can help tremendously with felt recoil.

 

[MtnW]

I picked up a slightly used Winchester XTR Featherweight CRF 7MM/08 for the kids. To go along with it to get them started and to get used to the recoil Hornady makes a Light Recoil load with 120 grain bullets. The L.O.P. with the factory pad is perfect for the 5’5” to 5’8” shooters. I have 140 grain Nosler Partitions when they are ready to hunt larger game than white tails. They have killed over a dozen whitetail with that gun.

 

[sndmn11]

I'm a 6' burly dude and my wife's Camilla is a blast to shoot, she figured out I would sneak it to the range so now I have my own 7-08. If I could talk Bell and Carlson out of one of their newer Camilla synthetic stocks, I'd have a few.

 

[Slugz]

I just finished up a 3 month search for the girlfriends 1st rifle. We settled on 6.5 CM and had two categories to start narrowing down for her. Wood stock or synthetic.

Lot had to do with what was available right now and could be purchased in a relatively short amount of time so we could shoot all summer.

Savage 110 Apex Hunter, Savage Ultralight, Win M70 Featherweight, TikkaT3x Lite, CA Mesa, CA Ridgeline, Kimber MA, REM Model 7, Savage Lady Hunter and the Camilla.

She ended up wanting to go the synthetic stock route. CA Ridgeline is what she's shooting.

In the search I came across several wood stock older rifles with no or a few rounds down the barrels in great shape. I had a real hard time not buying them

 

[sndmn11]

The savage accustock rifles would be a good choice with their adjustability. I'd buy this if
20" barrel flies

Vanguard® Camilla Wilderness - Weatherby, Inc.

The Vanguard Camilla Rifle—“designed by women, built by Weatherby”—incorporates a high comb, along with a number of other features that make this rifle superbly comfortable to shoot. Aptly named after the first lady of Weatherby. FINISH Barrel/Receiver/Trigger Guard – Matte, bead blasted, blued...

weatherby.com

 

[Kquinn511]

Haha I'm 5'8 and I have shot a Christensen mesa a fair amount and felt that it fit me well. However, I notice the psychological aspect of "How big" the gun comes into play a lot for my significant other. Primarily with shotguns and barrel length. She much prefers a 26" barrel and it to be "light".

Limbsaver pads are also a great investment.

 

[AkRyan]

I think she would like the Camilla, but she also is drawn towards the christensen mesa. Is anyone shooting a mesa at 5'8"?

Tikka is always in the mix, but I don't understand why you put a magazine in a hunting rifle. Would prefer a flush bottom.

If she hasn't don't this yet don't spend Christensen money on her first rifle. Magazine is faster to reload that top feed.

 

[AkRyan]

The savage accustock rifles would be a good choice with their adjustability. I'd buy this if
20" barrel flies

Vanguard® Camilla Wilderness - Weatherby, Inc.

The Vanguard Camilla Rifle—“designed by women, built by Weatherby”—incorporates a high comb, along with a number of other features that make this rifle superbly comfortable to shoot. Aptly named after the first lady of Weatherby. FINISH Barrel/Receiver/Trigger Guard – Matte, bead blasted, blued...

weatherby.com

Savage......sticky action, poor fit and finish, fancy stocks and carbon barrels.

 

[AkRyan]

I agree with all the 7-08 recommendations. My 11yr old daughter loves her Tikka compact 7-08 and if she can handle that recoil in a light rifle than any adult should be able to. We only shoot the gun for a very small amount of time, most of its life will be on her back so make it a light compact gun so she is comfortable. My wife told me to get rid of her remington 700 30-06 and she wants a light gun like my daughter after using it on one hunt.

 

[ryjack70ss]

5’8” is in the realm of some men, so she may not need to look exclusively at compact type rifles. LOP can mean less if the action and scope allows for a lot of leeway in scope mounting. This can be the positioning of mounts, bolt throw, scope tube length, etc.

Craig Boddington wrote a great article about gun fit when his daughter first became interested in hunting. They tried several rifles and found that cartridge had less to do with perceived recoil than gun fit. His daughter is the same height as your wife and ended up with a Kimber in 7mm-08.

Agree. I am 5’6”. Maybe shorter now as the shrinkage starts. Length of pull has not been an issue with my rifles. At 5’8” you should be able to look at any rifle, not just the compacts, and see what fits best.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[nettereo16]

What's the consensus on the shorter barrels of the compact rifles? Does this cause a significant increase in muzzle blast?? To a new shooter this might increase "felt" recoil.

I found a Ruger American compact in 7mm-08 at the shop this weekend

 

[Slugz]

The effect of barrel length on recoil. – Kahntrol Solutions

Read that then see this

ShootersCalculator.com | Recoil Calculator

An online calculator that calculates the recoil energy, impulse, and velocity of a firearm according to the firearm's weight, powder charge, bullet weight, and bullet muzzle velocity.

www.shooterscalculator.com

Hope that helps