Best rifle for women

[NurseFet]

While the 30-06 is a perfect caliber for just about anything, you might pick a different caliber. Many African countries have a silly rule about not importing two rifles of the small caliber. So if you and your husband booked a hunt to South Africa, you'd likely put two rifles in one gun case and the rifle permits would be in one persons name. The rifles would need to be different calibers. You could put them in two different gun case and have one rifle in each persons name. If you went this route, there is the benefit of common ammo. I think caliber options to consider are 270, 7x57, 7mm-08, 308 and 30-06.

My daughter is in here early 20's and has shot 7mm mag and 300 WM, but they had a suppressor on them. She also fired a 375 H&H, without a suppressor. All of these were Sako 85 rifles.

As far as model and make, as others have said, that depends a lot on your size. Also, what is the make and model of your husband's 30-06? If you like it, tell your husband to buy a new rifle for himself (this is a sign of true love).

If you are petite, something like a Remington Model Seven, which is a smaller version of the Model 700, is worth considering and not too expensive. https://www.remington.com/rifles/bolt-action/model-seven/model-seven-cdl

Weatherby makes the Vanguard Camilla as a purpose built ladies rifle. http://www.weatherby.com/vanguardr-camilla.html.

This is so helpful from the traveling perspective. It would never have crossed my mind until time to travel that we wouldn't be able to take 2 30-.06 rifles in the same case. Definitely will save me money on purchasing airplane travel cases!

 

[johnnyblues]

Anything she cant hit me with!

 

[NurseFet]

My first question is do you have a single sister???


Now after that is out of the way, I would go down to a local gun store and have them start pulling out rifles for you to check out. For now it doesn't have to be in the caliber that you are looking at but you want to just check the fit of them. A big problem with some is the length of pull or the distance from the trigger to the butt of the rifle. I wouldn't worry too much about this since it can be adjusted by adding or removing spacers.

Then once you have one that fits nicely you can start looking at the calibers. If you are comfortable in shooting a 30-06 I would stick with that but it also opens up a lot of different calibers. A 7mm Rem mags recoil is comparable to the 06's but if you step up to the .300 Win mag it will increase quite a bit just do to the use of heaver bullets.

Sadly, my step sister got married in October. You just missed your chance JimP!! And my husband and I intend to go to the local gun stores in the coming weeks and months so I can shoulder different rifles to see how they feel. Fingers crossed I find a gun that fits me and is on the cheaper end of the spectrum. I tend to have good taste toward expensive accessories...

 

[Jfet]

This is coming from the man that's already purchased 2 rifles this year, and really this last one should count as 2 guns since it is double-barreled.

Just trying to be the father -in-law you deserve and lead by example.

Post some pictures of you and Wfet’s gun store dates.

 

[jeanes]

My wife uses my Ruger M77 7x57 and does very well with it. The first high power rifle she shot was a friend's Sako Finbear .30/06. She put 4 shots into a group we could cover with a quarter at 200 meters. My wife isn't small, at 5' 7", so both rifles fit her fairly well. Good luck. Let us know what you decide on.

 

[raimanparoni]

308 or 6.5x55 are my advices, and of course Tikka or Sako rifle with Leupold scope

 

[Von S.]

I see that many of you guys see women as these petite frail little fluff balls who can't handle bigger more powerful rounds.

The "bride", better known as " She who must be obeyed" has shot the 458 more than once and is 5'2" and about 120 pounds. Her personal protection weapon at the house is a 870 riotgun with OO buckshot.

........though it is nice to make suggestions.

My suggestion is that the op needs to shoot many different calibers and models before she makes her decision.

When " She who walks on quicksand" needed her one and only hunting rifle I built her a ultra lightweight bolt 264 Win Mag with a structural foam and Kevlar thumbhole stock with an embedded action block. She'll still shoot under an inch after all these years and only has about 60 rounds through it and about 30 kills.

Best of luck toots!

 

[Waterbuck2008]

My wife shoots a Ruger 77 all-weather in .30-06. For whatever reason, probably natural fit, recoil never seemed to be an issue with that rifle, and she likes the ability to potentially hunt everything on the planet, with the exception of big dangerous game. She's plenty adept with a .375 for everything else. There are a lot of rifles chambered in .30-06 and up where recoil could create an accuracy issue, even for burly 200-lb. guys, and agree with raiman and jeanes with 7x57, .308 and 6.5×55 recommedations.

 

[NurseFet]

Just trying to be the father -in-law you deserve and lead by example.

Post some pictures of you and Wfet’s gun store dates.

You know Wfet wouldn’t pass up that opportunity. The plan is go look at 7mm and .308 either tomorrow or this weekend sometime. Pictures will follow accordingly.

 

[Rob404]

Howdy.... consider 7mm-08

another great choice, Ammunition may be difficult in Africa.
I own all 3 and all are light recoilers and all have their plus and minus

 

[Arctic97]

When my daughter wanted to go to Africa she wanted to take the gun she grew up with - a .243 Win in a Ruger 77 Mk II. I talked her into upgrading a bit and found her a Ruger 77 Mk II in 7 x 57 so the action was totally familiar to her. I then took that Savage Lady Hunter stock idea and cut the M77 stock as per the attached drawing. Hard to see the stock change in this picture, but she was 6 months pregnant on this trip and shot everything one shot dead from that mono stick she is holding. I also used it a few times and actually really liked the stock angle. It gave me a good appreciation of what the 7 x 57 can do. We were using hand loaded Barnes 150gr TTSX bullets. The 7mm-08 is about identical as mentioned in many of the previous posts. Good luck to you!

 

[BeeMaa]

And my husband and I intend to go to the local gun stores in the coming weeks and months so I can shoulder different rifles to see how they feel. Fingers crossed I find a gun that fits me and is on the cheaper end of the spectrum. I tend to have good taste toward expensive accessories...

Welcome to AH NurseFet.

When it came to my wife's rifle I was less concerned with the caliber and more concerned with the proper fit and feel.
You sounds like you are headed down the right path, try some out and see what fits you and feels good.
Then you can think about what caliber it comes in and have it ordered if necessary.
Also consider what you are hunting (or will want to hunt in the future) when it comes to caliber.
Any of the .30 caliber (308WIN, 30-06, 300WM...etc) will be extremely versatile for PG and North American game.
Also, reduced power loads are available for 30-06 and 300WM to allow you to work up to full power if you wish to.

My wife chose a Savage Lady Hunter in 270WIN, and now wishes she had gone for the same rifle in 30-06.
Although now she's been eyeing a 300WM and thinks she can handle it.
Bottom line...one rifle is just not enough.
Let's call this your FIRST rifle...the first of many.

Good luck with it.

 

[Savage Hunter]

Just to add, most of these companies that offers rifles designed for females also come in the larger calibers.

the Ladyhunter for example comes in the models 11 and 111.
The model 11 is for shorter calibers like 243, 7-08, etc. I only mentioned 7-08 because it is what my wife shoots. Presently, she is about 5'3 and 118 pounds, though.
The model 111 is made for the 30-06 and 270 cartridges.

 

[Jfet]

the Ladyhunter for example comes in the models 11 and 111.

Ok I'll show my ignorance. What gun maker produces the Ladyhunter, Model 11, and 111.

I am asking because I don't know and hopefully this thread will be a valuable resource for future ladies.

 

[Savage Hunter]

Ok I'll show my ignorance. What gun maker produces the Ladyhunter, Model 11, and 111.

I am asking because I don't know and hopefully this thread will be a valuable resource for future ladies.

It's made by Savage. Officially called the Savage 11/111 Ladyhunter.
11 and 111 refer to caliber length only, short or long action.

Ladyhunter is the style of the rifle. mostly the stock.
Women, on average, have a shorter length of pull than men, so it's a shorter length.
Women, on average, have a longer neck than men. This rifle is designed to accommodate their longer necks.
Rifle has a 20 inch barrel, which is great, because I loathe a 16 in barrel that is on a lot of youth rifles.
Rifle weighs in at 5 pounds for the 11 and a couple ounces more, I think, for the 111.

To me, it's a pretty rifle that is also very accurate.

 

[Jfet]

It's made by Savage. Officially called the Savage 11/111 Ladyhunter.
11 and 111 refer to caliber length only, short or long action.

Ladyhunter is the style of the rifle. mostly the stock.
Women, on average, have a shorter length of pull than men, so it's a shorter length.
Women, on average, have a longer neck than men. This rifle is designed to accommodate their longer necks.
Rifle has a 20 inch barrel, which is great, because I loathe a 16 in barrel that is on a lot of youth rifles.
Rifle weighs in at 5 pounds for the 11 and a couple ounces more, I think, for the 111.

To me, it's a pretty rifle that is also very accurate.

Thank you for that info.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Another suggestion from my experience is you can get a lower cost rifle and make it shoot well, but get a good quality scope because you cannot improve a cheap scope. JMO

 

[V.Veritas]

These are a few paragraphs from Craig Boddington’s article posted on his own website on this subject. I would really love to have more hunting related experience than him and be able to provide a better advice, but unfortunately this is not the case.

“I think the 7mm-08 Remington stands today as the very best choice for new hunters…and not a bad choice for anyone who wants performance in a light rifle with little recoil!

My daughter, Brittany, was 17 when she took her first game animal, a California wild hog, with a .260 Remington. It’s a wonderfully effective little cartridge, but we soon graduated her to a 7mm-08 because of greater availability.

My daughter, Brittany, was 17 when she made a late decision to try hunting. I started her with a .260 Remington that we had, but when it was time for her own rifle I got her a Kimber in 7mm-08. She has never looked back, and neither have I. Based on her consistently spectacular performance with that rifle, the 7mm-08 has become the cartridge I recommend most when asked about the right choice for a beginning hunter.

The most common load propels a 140-grain bullet at about 2800 fps, depending on the load. Realistically, this is about the same as the .260 Remington with the same bullet weight, so recoil is very similar. The 7mm-08 offers a possibly theoretical advantage of a bit more frontal area (.284-inch versus .264), but the real advantages are the ability to use heavier bullets if desired, and, because of its popularity, a wonderful selection of loads to choose from.

Brittany, now about 21, on shooting sticks with her beloved Kimber 7mm-08. Recoil is very mild, but performance is awesome. She has great faith in the rifle and shoots it well, and it’s amazing how well she has done with it.

We got Brittany’s 7mm-08 back in 2003, and ever since then I have been amazed at her accomplishments with this little rifle. It is, of course, an excellent deer rifle with full capability to handle elk-sized game. Following this train of thought, she has used it on a wide range of African plains game, from small antelopes on up to larger, tougher game like zebra, wildebeest, and kudu. Once she used it to take a huge eland bull, pushing a ton in weight. This was against my better judgment, but I had to agree with her professional hunter that she was better off with a rifle she trusted than a rifle she was afraid to shoot. One well-placed 140-grain Nosler Partition did the job quite well!

That’s the real secret to any beginner’s rifle: It has to be easy to shoot. Both the .260 and the 7mm-08 produce more recoil than the .243…but they also offer much more capability, and the recoil is still minimal and should be acceptable. Any of these three are very good choices to start a new hunter, but my vote for the “best of the best” goes to the 7mm-08 Remington.”

 

[Savage Hunter]

Yeah, Craig has thanked me a dozen times for introducing him to the 7-08.

 

[dchamp]

You might consider looking a Blaser R8. They make a stock specifically for women called Intuition. The R8 has a large number of calibers to choose from. They're down in San Antonio, TX