First question is about the recoil on 25 cal. rifles such as the 06 or bob. I took my wife hunting last week and I think she now realizes the fun of it. I've thought about buying a new rifle this next spring anyhow and thought maybe the 25 cal bob or 06 might be a good rifle for her to learn to shoot. She's never shot a rifle before so I won't let her near my 7mag for fear of chasing her off for good. I've shot 243's many times and think that the recoil in that round would be fine, but I'd prefer to have a little larger bullet for deer.

Second question. What is the recoil like on 35 Whelan's or 45/70's? This wouldn't be for me, but a friend's 12 year old son.

Sorry for the long post, but thought I should explain my needs. Thanks

MIke-IMO the 25's in particular the 25/06 is one great way round. For newbies as well as the experienced. The other great round for her would be the 7/08. I've got one the old 788 carbine and it shoots like you can't believe and is very very user friedly.

I get to Logan a lot perhaps we can meet and she can give a try some time after the hunt season is over.

I also shoot a 6/06 a lot and she could give that rifle a try as well. It is basically the same as the 25/06 and it is very user friendly as well. My wife shoots the 6/06 extremely well and put a forky whitey in the deep freeze with it the other night.

She shoots the 6/06 very well and with comfort rifles like my 270 and 7 Mashburn she tolerates. For the yearly one or two shots at elk with the 270 she never knows the difference. But, for summer practice etc the smaller round is a lot easier for her.

PM me if you want to meet out there sometime.

Mark D

(on a side note I'd get her a Tikka T3 in 25/06 and she will be very very happy!!)

One caution about some of the hotter rounds, even in the smaller bores ie 25-06, is that even though recoil is mild, there is a tremendous muzzle blast.

Two suggestions, one, if you handload then consider one of the 30 calibers, ie .308 or 30-06, and simply load 110 gr bullets with a mild load of blue dot for practice, 18.5 gr produces ~2000 fps, and very mild recoil while still retaining excellent accuracy.

The other important issue is, if your wife is petite, make sure you cut down the stock to fit her. A properly fit stock is much easier to shoot.

Last thing, get her a 22 rf, everyone loves shooting 22's, and even the modestly priced marlin bolt gun 22 rf is quite accurate.

35 whelen and 45-70 can have quite a bit of recoil, depending on how they are loaded. With cast pistol bullets the 35 whelen can be loaded down to produce almost no recoil, but full patch 250 gr loads are on par with a 12 ga, about the same with the 45-70 though it can really thump you with the heaviest bullets and hottest loads.

Let her shoot the 22rf a lot to get used to guns and take a serious look at the 260 and 7-08 for lower recoil deer calibers.

My choice for the wife would be the .257 Roberts. Recoil is not much more than the .243 with 100 gr. bullets and not much more with 120 gr. bullets.

Redarding the .35 Whelen and 45-70 for a 12 year old, the .35 Whelen with 200 gr. bullet kicks about like a 30-06 with the same weight or maybe 220 gr. bullets.
It's a bit harder to characterize the 45-70 due to the difference in weight between the various rifles available. So, I'd classify the recoil as ranging from interesting to ouch to holy shit, that hurts like hell! It also depends on the load. I can guarantee you one thing, a 500 gr. bullet at 1600 FPS from a Ruger #3 with definitely hurt. One of my favorite loads in 45-70 is the 330 gr. Lyman hollow point bullet. A charge of 17.0 gr. of SR-4759 will give it about 1650 FPS from a 22" barrel. Accuracy is good in a Ruger #1 and Marlin 1895 new model. I won't even shoot that one in that miserable Ruger #3. It's not that I am recoil shy by any means, it's just that advancing age and the arthitis in my right should tells me that really hard kicking rifle just ain't much fun any more.
I think that of the two, I would be inclined to go with the Whelen using loads reduced to .358 Winchester levels, or just get a .358 Winchester if you want a big hole in the barrel. I have both, but I'd go with the Whelen as you have more room to play with loads.
Paul B.

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I do own a 30-06 and didn't even think about downloading it( was thinking too much of another rifle I could use on the side for varmits ). Thanks for the offer Mark, I'd like to come out to Logan and shoot some. i have a friens here that has a personal range, so I haven't been to Logan in a long time. I'd love to come out there next spring sometime and shoot.

Do a search for blue dot loads in the reloading forum, lots of excellent data there. I've used blue dot with 110 gr in my .308, and I get very good accuracy, and very mild recoil.

Depending on what you plan to hunt with her, you might want to consider the .308. That's what I plan to start all my kids with, I can load it down for very mild recoil when practicing, and there are great hunting bullets from 125 gr on up.

I would let the wife and son share a 260 for a while. If their interest dictate another rifle, after acquisition of the 260, cartridge choice would depend on reactions to the 260.

A 7-08 wouldn't be a bad 2'nd choice.

I've never been a big fan of the .243 as a deer round, just no room for error. I think the .260 is a good step up w/o much more recoil using 120gr bullets. You can start her w/ 85gr bullets & work up to 100gr or 120gr for hunting. If she' carefull, she could even harvest her cow elk w/ a good 140gr.
Downloading your 06 is ok, but the rifle is probably heavier for a new shooter. Nothing wrong there, just another thought.

Sounds like the perfect situation for you to pick up another gun. I'd get a hold of Dwayne at DGR rifles. He has his own wildcat 25 based on the 308 case. And he'll build you a fine rifle that you can take over if the wife goes south on the idea. JM2

The 260 or 7mm08 would be my choices. My favorite is the 7mm08 that I have shot for many years. My wife is a 97 pounder and loves shooting it and shoots it very accurately. My stock is too long for her so I need to get one just for her. Make sure the rifle fits her and even add a decelarator pad if you like but make sure the stock is cut short enough so that everything balances.
Have fun.

All good ideas, but I wouldn't overlook a vintage 257 Roberts, or 7X57 if one can be found. If their interest fades the oldies will still be worth what you paid and then some, not so for a new gun in. The only penalty I can think of is weight

quote:

Originally posted by MontMike:
First question is about the recoil on 25 cal. rifles such as the 06 or bob.

I've shot 243's many times and think that the recoil in that round would be fine, but I'd prefer to have a little larger bullet for deer.

Second question. What is the recoil like on 35 Whelan's or 45/70's? This wouldn't be for me, but a friend's 12 year old son.

Sorry for the long post, but thought I should explain my needs. Thanks

IMO the .243 is still a very good deer rifle and game of that size. It just might be among the best pronghorn rifle a going.

The .257 Rob or .25-06 or .260 remington or 6.5 X 55 are also excellent low recoil guns and that goes for the 12 year old.

IMO the .35 whelen is far far too much for a kid.

I was able to round up a 25-06 and a 300 Savage for my wife to shoot on Monday, so we will see how well she likes to shoot. If she likes it well enough, I'll run down and grab her a tag and take her to a spot that is almost a sure bet for a whitetail.

The reason I asked about the Whelan, is that the kid's father owns some property they hunt on that has a few houses around. The father uses a 50 cal ML or 12 ga. slug out there. Apparently he doesn't take the recoil of either of those very well. My thought was that maybe a 200 gr. Whelan may be a little lighter. And with about 50+ inches of drop at around 400 yards, should be safe to shoot out there.

quote:

Originally posted by MontMike:
I was able to round up a 25-06 and a 300 Savage for my wife to shoot on Monday, so we will see how well she likes to shoot. If she likes it well enough, I'll run down and grab her a tag and take her to a spot that is almost a sure bet for a whitetail.

I think you have it pretty well covered with those two and I'll even place a bet on the .300 Savage as being the winner .
If you care to download you .30'06, I can reccomend 42 grains of IMR-3031 pushing a 170 grain .30-30 bullet at 2349 fps, with hardly any recoil and less than MOA accuracy. A 165 grain Nosler BT would probably work as well but, I didn't have any of those to try.

What Fjold said. I'd start with a .22. I take a .22 or .17 HMR to the range every time I go and 'warm up' with it before shooting something heavier. Then move her up to one of the lighter recoil rounds (7mm08 .257, 6.5x55. etc.) in a lighter gun that fits (M.70 featherwt. Model 7, Medallion etc.). If she decides to hunt, with the right load in one of those she could hunt most anything in N. America that wouldn't eat her.