Caribou Gear Tarp

Good elk rifle for my wife?

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corndog1

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Bozeman Mt
I am not much of a rifle guy and have only owned a 7mm rem mag my entire life. I love this gun and have brought home lots of meat with it but my wife has shot it and it is a bit too much. She is only going to hunt elk and was hopping for suggestions?
Thanks
 
JohnCushman said:
My wife is 5'6" and 120 pounds and shoots her .308 with no issues from recoil.
Click to expand...

A useful way to reply to this question......

Mine enjoys shooting her Win 70 Featherweight 7mm08 - light carry weight, slim stock/forearm, low recoil. She's 5'5", 130 (I guess...)
 
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I would say with a good bullet a .25 cal and up. .257 Bob, 7mm-08, .308. It is hard to judge an individuals recoil tolerance. Also rifle design has a lot to do with felt recoil. Friend of mine has a 30-06 that pounds you. He keeps for spite I think. I have a Rem 700 in 30-06 that is a pleasure to shoot. Kind of funny how that works.
 
If she wears her hair in a bun and skinny jeans than 6.5 Creedmoor. If she wears her hair in a ponytail and skips skinny jeans then a 7mmHT or .308.
 
do you know of anyone who has a 308, 270 or 7mm-08 she can shoot to she how she manages the recoil before you go and buy for her?
 
homers said:
do you know of anyone who has a 308, 270 or 7mm-08 she can shoot to she how she manages the recoil before you go and buy for her?
Click to expand...

My wife also has a .270 in a M70 featherweight, actually had stock work done to tailor it to her fit. After shooting it a couple years, she complained of the bite being too sharp. That's why she now shoots her 7mm08. Her .270 is now just taking up space in the safe. I shoot a .270 and a 7mag. Regarding recoil, I can detect no difference between the two. Something to think about if your wife is sensitive to the 7. Just more blah blah, FWIW.........
 
A few months back my wife bought a Browning Xbolt Micro Midas in 7mm-08. She loves it and picked it over the new Savage and Weatherby women's specific rifles. It's a nice little rifle, I'm sort of jealous. The short length of the rifle fits her well. She shoots the Hornady reduced recoil ammo with no problem at all(we mostly hunt white tails). She has fired some 140gr full power loads(like we would use for elk) and they're not a problem in small doses, but she prefers the low recoil stuff and can shoot them all day in practice.

The best thing to do is to allow her to handle different rifles and pick the one that feels/fits her best.
 
Browning XBolt Micro Midas in 7mm-08. She has taken elk and deer with it.
 
If she only going to hunt elk with it, then I would interject something a bit different. The 338 Fed. I know that there is a serious shortage of rifle models available, probably zero in a shortened stock model, but the fix is simple. Just do what I did. Buy the 308 she likes & fits her then have JES re-bore it. I was actually quite amazed with the milder than expected recoil. And it can toss an 'Elk' weight bullet (180-210) matching the speeds of a factory 30/06 and if handloaded, the Barnes 160 TTSX will zip along right along with your 7RM.

AND....she'll forever have Braggin' Rights in front of all the Macho guys when she tells them she's packin' a 338 !
 
If you don't wanna buy another rifle (blasphemy I realize). brake the 7 mag. If you do.....308
 
Gunner46 said:
If she only going to hunt elk with it, then I would interject something a bit different. The 338 Fed. I know that there is a serious shortage of rifle models available, probably zero in a shortened stock model, but the fix is simple. Just do what I did. Buy the 308 she likes & fits her then have JES re-bore it. I was actually quite amazed with the milder than expected recoil. And it can toss an 'Elk' weight bullet (180-210) matching the speeds of a factory 30/06 and if handloaded, the Barnes 160 TTSX will zip along right along with your 7RM.

AND....she'll forever have Braggin' Rights in front of all the Macho guys when she tells them she's packin' a 338 !
Click to expand...

That’s an awful lot of work for something that won’t put an elks nose in the dirt any faster than 7/08 or 308.

As far as matching the performance of an 06 or 7mm Rem, there’s no free lunch and that only exists at the muzzle. The low SD/BC 338 bullets can’t keep up with the sleeker 30 and 28 cal bullets of the same weight.
 
I started my wife with a 243 when she was introduced to hunting. Killed deer and antelope with it and gained confidence. Then we went with her grandpa to hunt an afternoon and she had a chance at a nice buck about 300 yards and we had her shoot his 338 win mag. She pinned the buck and said the recoil didn't bother her. So then we decided to get her a new rifle. We went with tikka 300 wsm and put a brake on it and shortened the stock to fit her better. She shoots that rifle great and has killed many elk, bear, deer, and antelope with it. Shooting 165 Barnes ttsx out of it. This Xmas we got her a 7mm-08 tikka and are excited to get it up and running. Two years ago I bought a kimber mtn ascent 270 win, it is a great smooth shooting gun with next to no recoil, she killed a mtn lion with it last year, and I've taken two bulls with it. It's a dream to carry cause its so light. A well placed shot will bring elk down. Good luck in your search for a new gun. For reference she's small frame gal bout 5'2"
 
belly-deep said:
That’s an awful lot of work for something that won’t put an elks nose in the dirt any faster than 7/08 or 308.

As far as matching the performance of an 06 or 7mm Rem, there’s no free lunch and that only exists at the muzzle. The low SD/BC 338 bullets can’t keep up with the sleeker 30 and 28 cal bullets of the same weight.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I wouldn't go any larger than a 7mm Rem Mag and recommend the .308 unless you plan on shooting past 400 yards frequently. Whatever you decide on though, MAKE SURE IT HAS A GOOD RECOIL PAD! A good recoil pad makes all the difference in the world to me. Just my two cents.
 
When shopping for the wife, throw reasoning and logic out the window.

Take her to the store and let her find the one she wants. Then buy it.
 
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