jjhack created a monster. Not only will I be back but now my wife, Sarena, wants to hunt and take around 5 animals next time. She shot an impala with Jim's 30-06. Now she wants a rifle of her own. She has shot my Browning a-Bolt 7mm/08 and killed a deer with it but I want her to have something larger. I think that a 30-06 would be her maximum. I also have thought about a 308. Any suggestions? I like the Tikka T3 rifles. I never have shot one but the reviews have been impressive.

.30-06 sounds like a fine choice to me.

You can always load it down if you need to.

My wife like a 9 pound Springfield 03A3 sporter in 30-06 because it balances well and has little recoil. Some ladies prefer a shorter, lighter rifle, but my wife dislikes heavy recoil and muzzle blast, so both short barrels and light rifles are out of the picture.

My wife killed her first two animals on our recent trip to South Africa, a Impala and a Blue Wildebeest with a .300 winchester magnum with a limbsaver recoil pad. That limbsaver will tone down a .300 to less than my 30-06.

I bought my wife a Win. 70 Featherweight in 7/08. I know you want larger so maybe you might consider the 308. She likes the way the rifle feels and handles. I put a 2.5 to 8 Leupold on top and she is a happy camper.
She took her Gemsbok in Namibia with 7/08 and will use it again in Namibia and RSA this Sept.

My wife and daughter hunt with a 300 H&H. More of a push than a bang.

If she is happy to shoot a .30-06, then that is a perfect choice. If she thinks that gets a bit pushy, consider a 7x57 with heavy, premium bullets. That will cleanly kill just about any plains game, producing surprising little recoil in the process...
- mike

If .30-06 is the maximum push she'll handle well, go with that, and consider a few things that you can do to an '06 to make it a bit more comfortable. If she can tote an 8 1/2 to 9 pound rifle, avoid the ulra-lights. Get a 24" barrel with a slightly heavier than normal contour. That'll put a bit of weight forward and make the recoil come straight back. Put on a good recoil pad (kick-eze or limbsaver are good'uns). Use 165 grain bullets. They are about optimum for killing power and have a fantastic trajectory. Have her practice regularly from shooting sticks (standing position is a lot more recoil tolerant than from the bench) so she can place her bullet where it belongs. It'll take anything from eland on down with no sweat and no pain to the shooter.

A .308 or even better a 7x57 Mauser would seem to be your best choices..

RAC,

Congratulations to your Mrs and even more to you for encouraging her!

Good hunting with whatever you buy for her.

You didn't say what was on her wish list. There's nothing wrong with the 308 or 7mm/08. You can go the 7x57 route, it can be a little more then the 7mm/08 if loaded to maximum. Or even the 280 Rem w/160 partitions would good. And of course the 30/06 is good also. Buy her 5 or 6 rifles and let her pick, thats what us guys do, right?

No seriously, let her shoot a variety of suitable calibers and let her make the choice. Getting her buy in on a rifle that she finds comfortable to shoot is the way to go.

BigBullet

I would get her a 30-06 or .308 just like your rifle. Let her shoot the 7-08 till she gets used to the larger caliber.

Felt recoil can be affected so much by other factors. You need to consider not only calibre but also stock design & fit and you can also reduce the felt recoil further by fitting either a mercury or tungsten bead recoil arrestor or a muzzle brake.

A couple of examples are my other half who shoots my .500 Jeffrey without any great problems and my friend & PH Kay Hiscocks (sadly killed by an Elephant last year) who weighed about as much as a wet rag and regularly shot her own .458.

My advice would be to look very carefully at these other factors when deciding what to buy.

My wife currently has a custom Oberndorf Mauser in 308. She wants something a bit heavier, so we are putting together an 03-A3 in 35 Whelen. The recoil of the Whelen is no more than a 30-06 (maybe a bit more comfortable, actually) and is a great stopper. With bullet choices ranging from 180gr to 300gr, it is plenty versatile as well, with the added bonus of being quite capable enough for dangerous game in a pinch if hunting in an area where the nasties are present. She tops out at 115lbs, and has no problem with the recoil using 250 and 280gr Swift A Frames.

Your wife was just fine with my light weight 7.3 pound 30/06 using 2900fps 165 grain bullets. Perfect shot, no complaints and as she said "I never felt the gun go off, or even heard it!"

There is not enough recoil difference between the 308 and 30/06 to consider so stick with the 30/06. It's just a better/ more flexable hunting round. Also you don't really want anything less the 30 caliber for big game. I know that comment will stress a lot of folks, that's OK with me, we all have an opinion. I have seen far too many issues with sub30 calibers over my career to consider them for big game. It is my opinion that .308 is where a big game rifle begins.

Flame away if you like but you won't change my opinion after all the hunters, guns, bullets, and animals I have seen shot.

I loaded 125 grain bullets to 2500fps for my Daughter when she was 10 years old. She shot that gun so much I had to rebarrel it. over 3500 rounds went through that first barrel. When she hunted big game I just switched the loads to real big game loads and she was never the wiser. Much like your wife never felt or heard the gun my daughter never did either.

Remember that your wife will carry that gun far more then she will shoot it. Keep the weight handy and the practice loads realistic. Then load up some 165 grain interbonds at 2900fps and she will be able to take anything she desires with it(within reason)

Remember the lack of blood from so many animals you shot using a 375HH. Fortunately all were easy to follow up. Imagine if you had used a sub 30 caliber bullet. Would there have been any blood? Not much and certainly not for long. Do yourselves a big favor and stick with the 30/06 for her. She handled my light weight 30/06 like a champ Maybe use a little heavier wood stock instead of the synthetic, and the same decelerator recoil pad. She will be all set!

I agree with Ray a 7x57,.308 or .280 rem would do the job nicley and with less recoil than the 06 in a lighter gun. Remember recoil is the monster that will start anyone to develop a flinch, and as we all know thats the wrong thing to start a new hunter out on. Charlie

Hard to argue with that JJ...

-Steve

Read and consider again the advice by RupertBear. Shakari and a few others also added some wise words.

To it I'll only add that you should consider it your duty to ensure that she must from the word "GO" be taught to properly shoulder the rifle. A relatively mild caliber in a relatively heavy long barreled rifle with good fitting stock will hurt her more if she does not shoulder it properly than a short-barreled magnum that is put squarely into the shoulder and held there tightly. Make sure she gets into the habit of, while shooting from sticks as also advised by a previous poster, really put the stock squarely into her shoulder and hold it there during the aiming and squeeze-off process. This way she will never have "jump-back" bruises from any rifle, and learn good shooting technique. IMHO the proper shooting technique is more important than caliber/bullet and rifle weight in controlling the effect of felt recoil, and that is something best learned right from the start. Your duty to teach her well!

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren.

Simple, 270 Win.

I know nothing about guns but my husband bought me a Kimber 270 WSM to take for plains game this September. We go to the range and practice setting and shooting off of sticks. Practice, practice, practice.Getting familiar with the gun has made all the difference in the world. Good luck to your wife. Linda

I am 6'2" and 190 pounds, which tends to raise eyebrows when I explain that I don't care for recoil. Most of my shooting is with an 8 pound 30/06, but I really prefer the 7X57 and the various non-magnum 6.5s.

It seems to me the 7mm 175/2400 and 6.5 160/2400 have a tremendous record on game. I would be absolutely comfortable with either, provided 300+ yard shots are avoided. I can hardly imagine a more satisfactory rifle than a seven pound 7X57 with a 2.5 Leupold compact and 175 grain Woodleighs.

FWIW

Ditto Noel and the rest of the 7x57 recommendations. As long as you keep to the little stuff, it's enough gun.

I've got a .308 that I bought for a paper puncher (To get into my shooting buddies wallets) that has a 26" slightly heavy contour barrel. A bit over 9 lbs scoped and loaded. The thing is incredibly easy to shoot, with minimal recoil and muzzle blast.

I bought it to shoot long range from a bench, But I found the extra weight and barrel length seems to make my offhand and "sticks" shooting quite a bit more accurate than my shorter lighter rifles.

The extra length also enables this .308 to get a 180 grn Partition going 2680 fps avg. with 44.5 grns of Varget. That's really starting to nip at the heels of an '06, with much less "Whack" at the buttpad. Add a 1" "Kick-eez" pad and She's good to go.

Elmo

I'm f0r the .308.

180 gr Partitions and it is a real killer - everywhere!

Really easy to sell if she gets sick of it too.

Recommend the Remington LTR if you can get your hands on one. I have zeroed several of these in for buddies and thay are tack drivers with BH out of the box ammo. No controlled feed, but we ain't talking DG here. My past experiences have shown that 700s are great for small folks, adolecesnts - really easy to use and maintain.

Jeff

If it ain't broke? 30-06

RAC,

Have you taken your wife to a gun store with a large supply of rifles from different companies? I thought this would be good advice if you haven’t done so.

I would think your wife would like to handle several rifles and see which ones she thinks she will feel confident in. I notice that you like the Tikka T3 rifles from reviews, but perhaps your wife may not? Once she finds a rifle she really likes, just hope it is chambered for the caliber that you think is best from the replies in this thread. If the rifle is a surprise gift for her, then my advice probably won’t help.

Congratulations and good luck!!

Rac,

I would recommend the .270 Winchester. My wife uses one. The .270 kicks less than a 30-06 and with the proper bullet is effective on plains game. It is a flat shooting rifle. The previous suggestions regarding stock fit and hold to shoulder should also be considered.

Keith

Take a look at the Knoxx recoil system it can reduce felt recoilo by 50% in most rifles they also have drop in stocks with the system already installed. It will make a 375 H&H easier to shoot than a 30-06.
http://www.knoxx.com/index.html


Baylor