For all of you hunters luckily enough...

[clu__82]

Well for all of you hunters luckily enough to have your wife interested in hunting and actually enjoy hunting...I am one of them ..last weekend the wife, pups and I went camping/hunting for the last weekend of the season.....I introduced my wife to the .22 and she loved it ...and I need to mention she is a great shot....anyways ...she doesnt like the huge loud bang ...and kick of big guns ....but I was wondering ....what do most of your wives use for deer hunting?? I guess what is the smallest caliber out there used for deer hunting....I want something that she can feel confident with and enjoy shooting and not be intimidated by the recoil and bang....so if any of you guys or ladies out there have some info for me ...it would be most appreciated...

Thanks Clu

PS We ended up getting 3 grouse....and saw 4 does....could have shot one but she was standing broadside on a FSR ...and I wasnt too keen on shooting down a road ...so I waited until she moved off into the road ...but she dissapeared into the thick bush ....awell...I already got a Mulie buck this year ...so she can live for another year ...

[WTHunter]

My wife shoots 30.06 for deer/moose, and it doesn't kick her too bad.

I believe that most would recommend .243 or 25.06 if simply deer/sheep/antelope hunting.

Good luck in your search.

[Vindalbakken]

My wife started with the 243 and now has a 270 in which she shoots my handloaded version of "managed recoil" ammunition. I would not recommend the 243 for the reasons that have been commented on quite thoroughly in the thread on beginners gun, but if you don't want to handload I would recommend the 7x57 shooting 140 grain bullets such as Rem CorLokt, Sierra Spitzer, Winchester Silvertip etc. It has mild recoil, heavier bullet for carrying power in the animal and is flat shooting enough for under 200 yards on medium game. If she gains experience and confidence later and wants to extend her range to 300 yards you may want a different cartridge, which is why I went to the 270 for my wife and handloaded the rounds to have similar recoil/ballistics to the 7x57. I can simply increase the loading and re-sight the rifle if she needs me to.

[bull9898]

my wife shoots a 30-06 springfeild with my handloads.

[tth_12032]

The 25-06 is popular with women.

[Ice Fishing Maniac]

My wife shoots a Tikka T3 LS 270WSM with Leupold VX3 3.5-10x40 scope with the BC reticle. Shoots 140gr Accubonds at elk, moose and deer. Great caliber. She took over this rifle in 2004 right after I bought it (before we were married) so I got another for me

Another to look at would be the 7mm-08 for big game, and as mentioned the 25-06 if just deer hunting IMO.

[Sowbelly]

My wife shoots a Browning BLR 7mm-08 with a 3.5x50 Leupold. She shoots 140g and is a pretty good shot. We found the rifle to be a good fit. She is only 5'4" and 120 lbs. The low recoil is great. A bit harder to find shells, so when you see'm buy 2 boxes

[Gordoats26]

I got my GF shooting a 6mm Rem its a nice little gun Doesnt kick at all is pretty Quiet she loves it. its a great gun to start on but this was her first year of hunting and im thinking of letting her use it another year then i think she needs to switch to somting bigger .270 or 30 06 probably. its fine for deer (if you dont mind tracking them more often then not) but once you get into Moose and elk its a little to small.

[TBark]

Mrs Bark uses a Rem 7-08.
She's happy with it.

TBark

25-06 For the win for sure... rocks out I couldnt have been led a better way THANX JESSE!!!!!

[DoubleCam]

Well, my brother(kinda like a female) hunts with a 7mm Mag... it kicks her hard but he manages! LOL

[Rockymtnx]

I purchased my wife a new 7mm-08 this year.
Since she is smaller I bought a Remington 700 SPS Youth. Its a slightly smaller than the regular 700.
Plenty affordable if you don't want to tie up to much money in a rifle. $580.00

Here is a picture of her first deer shot a couple weeks ago. You can see the new rifle in the bottom of the picture.

[220swifty]

My wife hunts with a Remington mod. 7 in 260 Rem. She started out using my 280 but found it a touch long to easily shoot off hand. The slim 20" barrel on the model seven fixed that for her and she loves her new toy.

[Dick284]

What ever the caliber you choose ensure the rifle fits her!

Women as a rule have small hands, and simply shortening a stock may not be all that is required. Often the curve of the pistol grip places smaller hands too far from the trigger.

A proper fitting rifle with a recoil pad like a Limbsaver or Pachmeyer Decellerator will also allow a larger selection of available calibers.

The other intangable often over looked is how close the shooter is to the muzzle. It seems all the craze of late to provide youth and ladies models with 20" barrels, in many calibers this adds to the perceived muzzle blast because the muzzle is closer to the shooter.

I really think the 260 Rem, or the 6.5x55 are actually one of the better calibers for beginners and small framed shooters, sadly neither caliber seems to crop up in youth/ladies models very often.

That pretty much leaves you to the all time favorites, 243Win, 7mm-08, and 270Win(Fed. lite or Rem. manged recoil), as well as 30'06(Fed. lite or Rem. manged recoil).

The thread on the best beginner caliber has beat this to death, just go have a read.

FWIW: My wife has been shooting a 270Win for almost 18yrs now. Her first was a Parker Hale I re-stocked for her, now she is using a Remington 700 Youth SPS in the same caliber.

And both my children run a NEF single shot in 7mm-08, if I were to do it all over again, it would almost be a slam dunk go for the NEF in 7mm-08. (cheap, simple, and insanely safe)

Good luck

[bigben]

I would suggest a 7mm 08 in model 7 remington and the 7x57 is a great calibre .....the 243 has been a all time favorite and of course the 270 could all be used in this situation with your wife ........my buddies girlfriend uses a 30 06 and she does fine with it ........the best thing to do is if you have buddies with these calibres ask to try them out usually that does the trick.........there is the remington mountain rifle with a drop mag that does really well.............browning abolt nice gun to shoot for a first timer in 243 ............also the stevens 200 in 243 won t break your pocket book and a affordable scope would be the ticket too ............try wholesale sports in lethbridge savage package going for 399 and taxes in 243 .............good luck and hope this gives ya some insight

[clu__82]

Thanks everyone...I appreciate the info ..I will start my search