Recoil in ft lbs
Caliber - rifle Wt - recoil in ft lbs
30-30 - 7.5 - 10.6
.308 - 7.5 - 15.8
.270 - 8.0 - 17.0
30-06 - 8.0 - 20.3
300Wby Mag - 9.25 - 24.6
This will give you some idea - NO it's not going to be exact for every bullet weight/velocity/etc
Ways to reduce felt recoil - A good b*** pad, increase the weight of the rifle and Mag-Na-Port it. %26gt;I have a 300Wby, the felt recoil is actually less than a .308
If most of your hunting will be under 150yds I would give strong consideration to a Marlin 336 in 30-30
If you are going to be hunting on a lot of flat open ground, see how a .308 Remington 700 or Ruger 77 fits her.
You can always use a .22 LR for practice.What caliber rifle would you buy your wife for deer hunting?
Your Two(2)* best choices for your purpose is 30-30 or 30-06.* They are well known for harvesting more Deer than any other caliber.* Recoil is manageable.* I prefer the 30-06 because it is more versatile %26amp; has a greater variety of bullet weights to choose from. When you have a 30-06 you really don't need to buy another caliber.*
.243 or .270 would be ideal if you are buying a new rifle.
Nothing wrong with a .30-30 either, if your shots are typically in the 100 yard and under range.
.308 reduced recoil loads.....you should consider that as well. I shot some recently and was impressed at my groups at 100. I'd like to do some more distance with them next, but consider me a believer in them on first impressions.
I would consider the following: .243 Win, .260 Remington or the 6.5 X55 Swede, or the .257 Roberts or 7mm x 57 Mauser round. The 7mm-08 is a great round and the .308 may be something she can handle. If hunting distances are not over 150 yards, also consider the venerable .30-30 Winchester. It has definitely taken more deer over the last 100 years than any other round.
These all are great calibers for a man too!!
With calibers like the 243 and 2506, she will have to make a perfect shot everytime or else they're going to go a long way --- especially with shouldershots because you don't know if the bullet is going to hold up.
I'd much rather use a 308 (150) or 30-30 (170-180) if she can handle it. I wouldn't go with a 3006 because that is too much for a lot of guys. Recoil is more of a mental thing than a psyical thing for reasonable calibers. If she's going to flinch with a 308, she's going to do so with a 243 as well.
Might as well go for the best of the bunch - 308
Tyler, the .25-06 is probably the ideal deer rifle. I've killed Whitetail deer with both and believe me, they just drop. I'll bet the deer couldn't tell which caliber hit them.
I bought my wife a .270 Weatherby Vanguard (.270 Win. caliber) in the early Seventies. She still has it and she has no trouble with the recoil so long as she uses the 130 grain bullets. I actually prefer the .25-06 Remingto for deer hunting and I'm not recoil shy (I regularly shoot a .458 Winchester magnum). Go figure!
Best.
H
The only thing availabe in centerfire with little to no recoil is the .223 Remington, but this is too light for deer. I would not go with anything less than a .270. She will just have to get accustomed to the recoil.
308
I'm a .270 fanatic. I've taken everything from coyote, to antelope, to mule deer, to elk, to blackbear with them. My favorite rifle is a model 70 winchester featherweight, with a muzzlebrake on it, I glass bedded the barrel, had a trigger job done and would not trade it for any rifle in any calibur. I've hunted with a lot of different rifles and caliburs but that is my choice for hunting in america. If your worried about recoil, just do like I did and have a muzzle brake installed. It's loud, but recoils like a .22 magnum That's what I have my wife and 16 year old daughter hunting with too. But, I started them both out on the .257 roberts. They both just fell in love with the accuracy, and lack of recoil on my rifel, so I had to get them each one just like it. Other good choices are the 7mm08 and the 25-06 as you mentioned, but I found the 25-06 to have a pretty good recoil as well.
Good luck
.243 is a good choice but it all depends, some of those women can handle the big stuff better then men. I know one girl who prefers the 7mm mag.
Go with the 270 the 270 was my second deer rifle I was 14 when I got it and I was really small back then and the recoil wasnt too bad.
My wife loves her .243. She likes that caliber enough the I am about to build a target rifle in that caliber. She will go with me four or five times a year and burn up two boxes of shells before she gets bored of hitting the center at 100 %26amp; 200 yards.
.270 all the way. i had a muzzle break put on mine so i could watch the bullet go right in the target becuse there would be no kick to it. before i put the brake on it it had just a little kick to it but nothing my little 12 year old brother couldnt handle. so i think that your wife should be ok.
Why not a .30-30 WCF Marlin M-336.
Report and recoil are mild, and more deer have been killed with the .30-30 than any other cartridge, except maybe the .22 LR.
But TR is right. Unless your wife is confident in her rifle, she won't be comfortable, nor will she be accurate.
Whatever rifle you buy her, be sure she practices enough to be not only proficient, but consistent, and comfortable. If she won't practice, don't let her bring a rifle into the woods. Poor marksmanship is not acceptable for an ethical hunter.
Doc
if your wife is afraid of shooting she wont be able to hit the broad side of a barn, regardless of the caliber, and you can forget about the ';clean'; kill, but she may get a gut shot, if she hits it at all, and then you will just have to wash the bile out of the meat when you finaly find it after the 5 mile chase. if I was you I would make sure she can hit the target and then let her go out with what ever she is comfortable with, in this state (maine), the only rifle that is not legal to use is .22 but 2-.22 is perfectly legal, (I have taken deer with a 2-22 before when my 300 sav was not working) I beleave it is because it has the least amount of power neded to break through the brest bone and kill the animal,
There is no point in putting a .50 cal in her hands if she is just going to hit a dear in the hoof, let her use what she likes as long as it is legal and she will get the ';clean'; kill.
I hunt with a 270 and a 30-06...pretty much the same...but I have no problems with either! Good luck!
There are some questions that you should answer before so I can give a quality answer on which caliber you wife should be looking at for a hunting rifle. First, what state do you live in (some states require shotguns for deer hunting)? Second, what is the typical weight of your bucks and does?
Let's assume you can use a center fire rifle cartridge for deer hunting in your state. And let's assume your typical buck weighs around 160-180 lbs (6-8 point in Texas), does would obviously weigh less.
A .223 offers plenty of down range killing power for deer this size. Of course it depends alot on shot placement. A shot in the lung using any caliber will result in a long chase to recover your wounded deer; whereas, a shot in the head/neck will ultimately force the deer to submit to gravity rather quickly. Other newer calibers are proving out with even better results, such as the new .223 WSSM, I know Browning makes a nice light weight A-Bolt in this caliber that has proved to be a remarkable deer rifle.
I have downed midsize texas bucks with head shots at 140 + yards with my .223 and they take only 2-3 steps maximum before going down for good. Oh, and I was using a varmint load too (ammo left over from a prairie dog hunt earlier that year).
Before you scouf at my choice of ammo, read on...
I also downed a nice wild texas hog that weighed out to 250 lbs. with a head shot at 130 + yards with my .220 Swift and he fell flat on his side and kicked for 5 minutes. I was using a varmint load on him too (ammo left over from a prairie dog hunt earlier that year). Hogs have more bone mass in their skulls which would dictate a more powerful cartridge such as a .220 Swift or more. I purposely choose the Swift over the .223 for this animal because of it's inherent bone mass.
Whatever cartridge you choose, practice on a range is vital to a sucessful hunt. Always know some basic anatomy of your prey, it can help you make a proper shot placement and that will save you from having to make a lengthy chase or worse...lose filling a tag altogether.
I hope this helped. Tell her happy huntress for me!
I would let her try shooting anything in the .308 Win family. That would be the .243 win, 7mm-08 Rem or the .308. There are one or two more, but the ammo is harder to find. I think the 7-08 is the ideal whitetail cartridge. It has good weight of bullets, 140 grain is the norm, and has good energy with tolerable recoil.
Let her shoot some guns of varying recoil to see how she reacts to them. Let her decide what would be best for her.
You may be surprised to learn there are cartridge cases shorter than 63 mm on the market. A quarter-bore would do, though the 257 Roberts would be a better choice among them. I feel like you, though, and want a bit more these days. I've had good luck supplying a lot of my family with 7mm08's, and I myself often use my 7mm Mauser. One of the 6.5's would be a good consideration as well: either the Swede or the 260 Rem. Recoil isn't really a problem if you have a well-fitted stock, so I'd worry more about the wood than the caliber. All of these are pussycats, and WDM Bell killed over a thousand elephants with his 7mm Mauser and 6.5 mm Mannlicher, so you certainly don't need to worry about being undergunned with those and the great sectional density of some of the loads available.
My second wife, and old ranch gal, swore by her .243 Remington. She stood about 5'1'; and weighed in at 110 on her heaviest day. She had no problems using the rifle and picked off some fine Mule Deer with it. She never had any concerns about the recoil. Start off with the lightest load you can find. That will keep recoil to a minimum. Wear ear protection. Nothing produces flinch faster than that loud noise.
all depends alot has been said here already, i believe the 243 is up there with the 25.06 in shot placement, the 260 remington and 7mm-08 are good choices also the 30.06,308 and 270 have reduced recoil loads available from federal and remington ammunition, using reduced recoil ammo to start is great and allows use of a caliber suited to hunt more than just deer, 243/25.06 on blackbears or elk i wouldn't but a 308 270 30.06 with full power loads after practice fits the bill, because we never know what the future holds for a husband and wife hunting team
i like 257 roberts,,,25,06 ,,,6 mm.. 270 may b to much...try to borrow one to try...im amazed by people who think a 223 is a deer gun... great for shooting ground hog and people and targets..
if she can handel it a .308 if not go with the .270those are the best two cal. guns out there
as far as recoil is concerned, try a .223. it's good to the shoulder, and will drop a deer easily...
My wife isn't much of a hunter, but she does enjoy shooting at the range when I can drag her along with us. She's 5'4'; about 110lbs and enjoys shooting my Rem 700 .270. My oldest son shoots the 30-06 and that is way too much gun for her. I've had no problem at all with the .270 on mulies, so unless you are planning on using it for elk or bigger, the .270 should be fine for your wife.
I agree that 243 or 270 caliber would be the way to go. You didn't mention what type of area you'll be hunting with your wife so either one of theses calibers will do the job just fine. Good choice of commercially loaded ammunition or custom hand loads, modest recoil that she should be able to handle pretty easily.Plenty of muzzle velocity to put a Deer down with a well placed shot. I would definitely choose one of these calibers to my customers or for my own use under the circumstances. Good Luck to you and your wife this season..No matter which you choose!
7.62x39. We hunt in the woods and this caliber is fine in the 200 yards or less range that we take deer at.
25-06 is a good choice. Oter good choices are 243 and 7mm-08. The 7mm-08 would be my choice.
30-06
My wife has a 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser that I made for her. I cut the stock to fit her smaller frame and cut some of the barrel off to lighten it up. And then put a compensator on the barrel because she is recoil shy. And then just so she would know it was exclusively for her and not the boys I inlaid a Susan B Anthony Silver Dollar in the stock. She loves it.
i'd buy her none, because when i did something stupid she might shoot me.
No comments:
Post a Comment