I am in the process of buying a rifle for my wife who is very recoil shy. She is also of very small stature. I had in mind a .223

My question is - if I cut the rifle down to fit her, what length of barrel is suggested.What would be the shortest effective length? I am not interested in the Ruger mini or anything similar. Bolt action only!!

Thanks
Steve H

Why are you considering gunsmithing work to a new rifle to make it suitable for your wife? Would it not be more convenient and cost effective to consider a Remington Model 7, or one of the 'youth model' Remingtons or Winchesters. Personally, I'm a big fan of Tikkas and they produce the Trapper model which might fit the bill.

Forgive me if I'm missing something but in my opinion to opt for one of the above rifles or similar would seem to be the best and easiest option.

Best wishes

Tim

I looked into the rifles you suggested and they are still too long for my wife, even the youth model is about 1 1/2 inches too long for her. She had a neck injury from shooting a .458 mag a few years ago( hence the recoil phobia) and as she cannot move her head to the scope we have to bring the scope to her - so to speak.

Thanks for the input

Steve H

Steve H

No doubt the 22" barrel would be nice(not available on a M7), but as you shorten the stock, it "might" make the rifle a bit more muzzle heavy than she would like. I have a 20" S&S 223Rem M7 that does just fine for me. With 50gr bullets, it will kill easily beyond where I'll consider shooting. And it balances just right. So, if the stock was cut on it, you are back to muzzle heavy.

Your best bet might be to find one of the older M7s with the 18.5" barrel and the solid Walnut stock. They have always handled like a "Banjo" in my hands, or a bit too much weight to the rear. In this situation, you could cut the stock down to fit her and have a bit better chance of getting a properly "balanced" rifle as a result.

And yes indeed, there will be some performance loss with the 18.5" barrel compared to either the 20" or the 22", but the trade off may just make the rifle fit her well which is even more important.

So, that is what I'd look for if you are committed to the 223Rem caliber.

If you "Reload", then I'd look for that same rifle but in a 243Win. You can get 55gr bullets to load for it, load them down using fast Powders and have almost no recoil.

Oh yes, I've seen "Muzzle Brakes" mounted on even the good old 22LR. So, that is another option you might want to consider for her. Regardless of the rifle you end up getting, I'd encourage her to wear both ear plugs and ear muffs while shooting. Lots of "Flinch Problems" are simply due to the noise and as you shorten the barrel, the noise goes up.

Last suggestion is not a bolt action, but an old wood stocked Contender Carbine. Once you get the stock cut to fit her, then it is a simple matter to install a new barrel for her in some excellent calibers. And if they don't currently offer what you want, there are a couple of Custom Barrel shops that specialize in them with any caliber you want like Bullberry and SSK.

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Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core

I would endorse everything that Hot Core says, it sounds like good advice.

After your last post I think I have a better understanding of your wifes problem. My wife suffers a similar problem on the infrequent occasions she shoots a shotgun for clays. I improved the situation by getting one of the wrap round comb raisers which are secured with Velcro. While probably far from ideal on very high power firearms or those which receive alot of use, on those with light to moderate recoil it's not a bad compromise you may like to consider.

Going back to my favoured Tikkas, they now produce a 'Master Pro' model which has a height adjustable comb and 22" barrel (560mm). If you speak to your local dealer it may be possible to have one fitted to the Trapper model which (I think) has a 20" barrel. I don't think I'd want to reduce a barrel to less than 20". Hopefully, any further work required to the stock would be at a minimum.

I hope this gives you something more to think about.

Tim

CZ-USA

PS. You probably want the 527 American, as the Euro stocks are sort of weird. A custom-fitted stock is probably the best answer on any action, though.

Don

[This message has been edited by Don G (edited 06-20-2001).]

Thanks for all the help, I am now leaning toward the Rem7 with 20" barrel or the Tikka(my preffered choice) but ultimately I guess the choice is up to the wife.

Any other suggestions for caliber etc. will be greatly appreciated. If I can find one here in NZ I will definitly look into the mini mauser

Thanks again

Steve H

In respect of calibre suggestions, I was at the range yesterday and got speaking to a shooter whose wife was recoil shy with a .243. As a solution, they got a 6.5 Swede which improved matters but to cut a long story she now shoots a .30-06 fitted with BOSS and won't put it down! I think the bottom line is to get your wife to try as many calibres as possible before making the final choice.

Tim

quote:

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Originally posted by Steve H:
Any other suggestions for caliber etc. will be greatly appreciated.

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Steve-

I guess the first question is... what will she use it for? If paper only, stick with the 223. Same with small varmints. If she is gonna shoot anything much bigger, step up to the 243 or 260 Rem. If she builds a tolerance for recoil, a Model 7 in 7mm-08 is wonderful.

My wife is recoil shy too. A 243 is about her limit. She loves shooting a 223. She doesn't hunt, so "power" isn't a factor. I'd *much* rather keep her shooting a 223 & enjoying it, than ruin it by moving her up to something that will give her excuses to not want to go to the range with me any more.

She's also a demon with a 22LR, and I gotta admit, as long as she goes to the range with me, that's what matters. She'll spend all afternoon shooting a 22, and smiling the whole time...