good gun for a woman

What is the best gun for a woman to shoot. I want to go on hunting trips but on some deer leases there are restrictions. I need something that will do the trick but not scare me to shoot it.

Best for you would be hard to say. Some good cartridges to check would be 260 and 7mm-08 Remingtons. As to which gun to get them in that would be a gun that fits you well. If you are smaller framed a youth model might fit you better and therefore be more comfortable to shoot. There are quite a few good choices. One of the guys here recently got his wife a Tikka T3 in 7mm-08, so far she is really liking that rifle (they live at Wills Point). Other good choices could be Howa, Remington 7 or 700 plus a lot more.

A good source of information for Women in the outdoors is http://divawow.org/

forgot to say to the forum

.243 or 25-06. Are both light recoiling easy to find calibers. They are good for any man woman or child. The lighter the gun is the more recoil you will feel. If you dont have to carry your gun all day get something with a heavy barrel and cut down the stock if you are short.

.243, thats all you will ever need in Texas.

Yepp, I would go for the 243 but I have heard of "minimum of 25 caliber" before so the 25-06 would be next step up which I love mine and I'm not a small guy! It is just nice too shoot! Maybe even a 270 because a 270 is basically the same amount of powder behind a slightly bigger round(25-06=117g & 270=130g), so if you get a heavier(gun weight) 270 it would kick relatively the same and your throwing a larger diameter and slightly heavier bullet! They are ALL good calibers! It would be best if you could shoot all of them and see.

I hate it when people jump from the 243 to the 25/06 they skip over the 250 Savage and 257 Roberts both wonderful cartridges. The 25/06 is a standard length action which means an extra 6 to 8 oz. of rifle weight. It also means a minimum of a 22 in barrel to get expected performance. I would go to your favorite sporting goods store/ gunshop and look in the ammunition section, see if they carry 250 Savage, 257 Roberts, 25/06, 260 Remington or 6.5 x 55. Any one they don't have a good selection of I would mark off the list. I have seen some good prices on Remington model 700C's in 250 Savage being closed out at good prices.

Remington offers "Reduced Recoil" ammo in both .270 and 30-06 calibers. Buy her a gun that you like in one of these calibers and you can use it too!

Browning also offers youth-sized or "micro" versions of their A-Bolt that she might like as well.

.243

Agree. .243, 6mm remington( i prefer to .243, little hotter ), .257 roberts or 25.06.

Any would be perfect

It all depends on how recoil shy the woman is.. There are women who aren't comfy with a 243 and there are some who aren't bothered by a 300wm. Same thing when it comes to the fellas. My advice is to borrow & shoot to figure that out.

Don't forget the 7mm-08 not much kick with good results.

I agree. I have killed more deer with one than anyother caliber. Although I do love my 7 mag now though. I have no experience with the 7mm-08

.243 hands down if I was buying one for my wife or daughters. They love the one they are hunting with now, its an old Rem. semi-auto. just get what you are comfortable with

25.06

7mm/08, .260, .243 in that order

7-08 is perfect imo

Oh yeah welcome to the forum

My aunt has a 243 and loves it. She is 65 and hunts every year. I have 2 243's and a 22-250. I love all 3 . The 22-250 is so accurate I can put a shot right in their earhole. The 243 I use it too although I bought them for my sons. And actully I prefer it over my 270 and 30-06. One is a browning and one is a weatherby. Both are very accurate. And you can get either 100 grain or 80 grain. I cant tell the difference with either one. They both are great rounds. The kick is very little. And yes, the 22-250 is plenty big enough to kill deer. I use it for hogs also.

260, 7-08, or 308 in a heavier rather than lighter rifle with a muzzle brake.

My wife uses heavy 308's with muzzle brakes, and is very accurate with them.

Most deer hunting in Texas is from a blind or set-up with a rest for the rifle, so you will not need to worry about holding it up to shoot. The extra weight reduces the recoil. Wear some foam ear plugs with muffs over them though as muzzle brakes direct sound to the side which will make it louder towards you.



The "youth/women" type rifles tend to be light, which makes them have more perceived recoil.

My suggestion would be a Rem 700 in 308 with a heavy barrel and a muzzle brake, with the stock shortened to fit you. The SPS and LTR are two models that are good and reasonably priced.

Remington 700 SPS link

Remington 700 LTR link

Also, buy a high quality scope. A high quality scope on a mediocre rifle is a better set-up than a mediocre scope on a great rifle.

Also, seek out some professional instruction and practice a bit, and you probably will outshoot most the men you hunt with.

Good luck to you this season. and

My wife uses a Remington 700 .243 in a youth size. Works great for her.

Youth 243, 7mm-08, 25-06. I'm not going to add anything else.

i use my SO's remington 700 .308 with a 180 grain hornady SST' load.

it used to be his old scout rifle but he modified it with an aftermarket lightweight synthetic stock, with a slightly shortened length of pull and it has a 20" sporter weight shilen match grade barrel on it. (i'm just repeating what he says)

all i know is that it shoots great and that i love it!

i've taken down 2 deer, 4 antelope, and 2 hogs.

My wife has fallen in love with a remmy 700 XCR 270wsm. Prior to that she had hunted with a 257wby or 7-08 mtn rifle. Started off with 25-06 when she was 7 (I think every kid in her extended family killed their first deer with that 25-06, 5 barrels later)

My wife loves her 270 win mag. It's a 700 CDL with an aftermarket "purdy" laminate stock and a nice recoil pad. She can shoot it all day with no problem.

baby momma digs her 308

youth 243 or 308 depending on what size your ol lady is

Kacee loves her Remington 7/08 w/Zeiss 3x9x40 no muzzle break necessary.

I would make some friends on this board and go out and shoot a few different calibers suggested here and see what you like. You could also get some instruction.

I would also say buy/borrow a 22 first and practice a bunch with same, since it has basically zero recoil and you will get a basic skill level down before jumping into a centerfire.

If you are ready there, I would be happy to go to the ranch with you and let you shoot my daughter's .270, or my 25-06 or .308. Could probably russle up a 7mm-08 to try also.

Shooting a few rounds side by side is the best comparison.

That being said, there's an old addage that say "You don't feel recoil when pulling the trigger on an animal". I found that to be true - never remember any after a kill. It's the constant firing of a box or two at the range where recoil becomes an issue.

Also, if you jump into a centerfire and are worried about recoil, you are likely to flinch and develop all sorts of bad habits when shooting that will make it hard to find a gun you like and that you can become proficient with - the apprehension about the recoil will affect your shot every time.

On the other hand, get use to the range and trigger pull after shooting hundreds to thousands of 22LR, and when you pick up a fire a centerfire you won't be apprehensive, so you won't tense up, so the recoil won't "feel" as bad, and you'll shoot better, which will make you like a wider variety of guns, which will help you make a decision.

Jack O'connor swore by the old 270, I tend to agree.

Easy answer..257Roberts. Low recoil, plenty of power.

And his wife hunted with the 7X57

I've killed an awful lot of deer with a .244 Remington. They don't make them any more, but .243 Winchester is close enough. In my opinion it will kill darn near anything. Since there's little recoil, you don't learn to flinch, hence you tend to be far more accurate. And as we all know, bullet placement is far more important that what caliber your shooting.

244 Remington got renamed to the 6mm Remington

Is that a trade offer? send pics of the gun you're trading! :-)

Seriously... .243 gets my vote, and it won't be outgrown, unless the shooter needs a louder report and more recoil. I have an old (1980) BLR in .243 that is sweet, light, recoil is nearly "unfelt" to me. the table at the link below gives some specifics if you want to do a recoil comparison for various calibers, bullet weights, and rifle weight. Good Luck!

www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

My sister in law shoots elk and Oryx with à 7mm ultra mag. I wouldn't suggest that for the faint of heart tho. .243 will be fine , especially for Texas whitetails. I don't think women have the same macho issues that men have with shooting smaller calibers. Started hunting with à .243 and now as long as I'm not chasing new Mexico muleys that's all I'm going to carry.

I'll agree with the folks suggesting 243, 250 Savage, 257 Roberts, 260, or 6.5x55. All are great for deer and all have low recoil. Any of those in a youth-sized rifle would be fine.

Stormy weather and Kmon1 took mine. My kids shoot my 6mm Remington. It's ballistically identical to .243. Seems like 25-06 would work well for woman as well. Heavier guns would be ok with larger calibers.

Whatever she is comfortable shooting..Connie Brooks of Barnes has
several pictures in their reloading manuals where she has shot animals w/a 338 Win Mag..and she is very small and petite..I watch ladies who compete in Skeet who regularly shoot shotguns that wgt. 12 to 13lbs and they shoot about 250 or more targets a
day..Most ladies do not have to unlearn our bad habits..Don

Ran into this salty ol hide a couple years back while in Alaska. Her choice was a pink 375 H&H mag.

Thats exactly what my wife did. Started with a .243 then went to .260 for a couple of years and now shoots a 7-08.

...agree

My wife is only 5' tall with short arms and she shoots a Model 70 Youth in .308 and it doesn't phase her at all. But then again she also is durned good with my Colt Commander (.45 ACP). Most recoil doesn't seem to bother her but she did get a little antsy with my 300WSM.

Oh yeah.....

And there's the 270wsm killer. Not an issue to swap out between the 2 we have and her run through 100 rounds getting comfy stretching out shots. Spent enough time behind it to be good out to 600...unfortunately.

Nothing fancy but go with a lever action 30-30. Easy to hold easy on recoil. If you can hit the target, all the power you will ever need

My wife shoots a savage .243 and loves it.

I like the trusty .243. Loaded with 80-100 grain bullets, it is plenty of punch for even the biggest TX bucks. That, along with it being an accurate caliber and 'easy to find' ammo is a win - win situation. I have other, bigger rifles in my safe but the .243 goes with me more times than all the other guns combined.

I am not a fan of .243 for anyone, just my opinion. I suppose it all depends on range as well. I would never shoot a .243 past 125yards, even though I have heard reports out to 200 yards. I pretty much see the .243 as a predator gun. a .25-06 has very manageable recoil and devastating down range, the same as the 7mm-08. I'd say it also depends on the woman as well. If you don't have a problem with recoil, I'd stay with a .30 calibur like .308 or .30-06; either one of those is all you'll ever need. If recoil is a problem the .25-06 or any of the .25 calibur bullets mentioned above would defiantly do the trick.

Let us know what you wind up with and how you like it. Welcome aboard too!

seems most people prefer 243, 25-06, 6mm or 7mm08

You did not mention a budget or whether you reload. I would get a Remington model 7 in 308 (or any 308 bolt face)and re barrel in 6mm BR and save the factory barrel for use later. You will probably like the BR so much you will never switch back. Almost no recoil and you can push a 100 gr.(or so) bullet around 2800 FPS. I have had this basic setup (in 6X47) since the early 70's and brought up my son and several other youngsters on it, I even let my step dad use it 1 week after open heart surgery (his breastbone was wired together). It is on loan to another 9 year old right now. It is one of those “want to shoot” calibers and is very popular with the 1000 yard bench rest crowd.

http://www.6mmbr.com/factoryammo.html

My son and I have very cleanly and humanely (one shot kills) taken well over 100 deer and hogs with my .243 savage with heavy barrel and accu-trigger and I cannot remember a single animal getting away when hit with it. There were a couple of clean misses along the way, but no wounded animals! The largest whitetail buck was in excess of 220 lbs on the hoof and the largest hog was very close to 300. The energy difference between the .243 and the 25-06 is less than 20%. IMO, it is far more about accuracy and shot placement than caliber size until you step up to larger sized animals. Mine will drive tacks at 200 yards with the handloads I've built for it.

My varmint rifle is a 220 swift, also in savage w/ hvy fluted stainless barrel that I load 35 gr ballistic tips for. They move out of the muzzle at over 4200 fps and it is absolutely devastating on coyotes out to 500 yards.

300 win mag

I agree 223, 243, 25-06, 7mm-08 I own all of these if you are hunting 200 or less yards 7mm-08 all the way. over 200 yards 25-06

Bunch of old timers in here.
It's 2012!

An AR15 in 6.8mm is the ticket out to 300 yards.
Adjustable stock, easy recoil. Even the lightweight builds are easy on you.

My girlfriend can empty the mag and never lose the smile on her pretty face.

youth model 243 fits my wife perfect, tried regular size 270 didnt fit her, go with the youth model fo sho

I've never used a gun on a woman so wouldn't know.

last three deer with 243 445, 315, 385, yards 85grn game king
I hunt in the panhandle very few shots under 200 where we hunt, thats my imput
Keith

7mm-08 or .243!

I own .243, .257 Roberts and 7mm-08. I would suggest the .257 Roberts or the 7mm-08. put a good recoil pad on either and you have an awesome deer caliber that you should be comfortable shooting. The .243 doesn't give you any margin for error (my opinion). My 16 year old son has been shooting the .257 Roberts for a few years now, very accurate and little recoil with hornady 117 gr BTSP. My 7mm-08 is a tack driver with the Hornady 139 gr SST. There have been many other great calibers mentioned, these are the ones i have experience with. Good luck.

243 or 260, the 260 is a 6.5 on a 308. The 260 has low recoil and there is some good hunting ammo out there for it.

Would have to vote 7-08 or .243