Best hunting rifle for women?

[Alantoo]

This thread seems to have strayed a little beyond the original brief.

Agreed. All the talk of felt recoil and small calibres and nobody seems to have picked up the fact that @Mrs Dama dama is a game shot and will likely have already been coping with worse felt recoil than any UK stalking rifle.

I haven’t noticed if anyone has suggested anything other than bolt action rifles, she may be happy to maintain her shotgun familiarity with a break action rifle.

Still think it best for her to go to heft a few at Ivythorn or similar.

Alan

 

[Koenig]

I’ve taught a lot of women to shoot and always found that fit is the most important factor. When teaching pistol the grip on a high capacity 9mm was often just too big for many and they couldn’t reach the safety/mag release etc etc. Because on average their hands were smaller than the average man which just made drills awkward for them. It was nice to see Glock and others introduce modular backstops etc. The same is true with sporting rifles. Give the individual something that fits and they have half a chance of becoming proficient with it.

 

[Dunwaters]

Hey! I am looking for some advice for the best rifle for women? Looking to purchase my first rifle in the next few months and would appreciate some help! Thanks

Regardless of gender you can’t go wrong with a Sako bolt action, in any caliber you like from 6.5 to .308.
Put a sensible scope on it, say a 3-9x40 and a light moderator.
Its the only deer rifle you’ll ever need.

 

[Stalker62]

I’ve taught a lot of women to shoot and always found that fit is the most important factor.

Back in nineteen hundred and frozen to death, I was (as was everyone on my firm) issued a Glock.

We spent one weekend on a job with another firm, and they had been issued with the Sig Sauer.

Obviously it quickly developed into a "show and tell".

What was interesting, was the effort their firm's management had gone to, to find a pistol which was comparable for men and women.

 

[NullMac]

Well, man or woman carry a lighter rifle easier. Light rifles mostly shoot less accurate than heavy rifles because they are often set up wrong. We recently bought a new T3 Lite in 308 just to do accuracy tests with different setups and compared them with the slightly heavier CTR. I think after a days shooting the average between the two T3 rifles was 0.7MOA both set up "wrong" and 0.23 MOA both set up balanced. The difference between the CTR and T3 Lite was very small.
edi

Lighter rifles shoot less accurately than heavier rifles over a string because a) (most) thin barrels heat up faster than a thick barrel and start to distort so opening the group and b) the increased recoil impulse imparts a greater lateral velocity to the bullet as it leaves the barrel opening groups in a non-linear pattern down range; this is obviously more pronounced on larger calibre rifles with no recoil reducers. This is why you never see a gun review with 300WM.

I must buy one of these cheap **** Tikka rifles as every one I have ever heard of miraculously shoots 0.25 moa (but not the one I had on loan !). Don't know why anyone wastes their money on an Accuracy International or a Blaser when a Tikka Lite is just as good.

On you go dude...

 

[NullMac]

I’ve taught a lot of women to shoot and always found that fit is the most important factor.

If you really have taught a lot of people to shoot you should know that applies to everybody.

 

[NullMac]

Hey! I am looking for some advice for the best rifle for women? Looking to purchase my first rifle in the next few months and would appreciate some help! Thanks

I think we learned a lot more about the attitudes of the members on here than about which rifle is best for a woman.

My suggestion would be to find a woman to ask and ignore all these daft old gits.

 

[25 Sharps]

Agreed. All the talk of felt recoil and small calibres and nobody seems to have picked up the fact that @Mrs Dama dama is a game shot and will likely have already been coping with worse felt recoil than any UK stalking rifle.

I haven’t noticed if anyone has suggested anything other than bolt action rifles, she may be happy to maintain her shotgun familiarity with a break action rifle.

Still think it best for her to go to heft a few at Ivythorn or similar.

Alan

Where have you picked that up Alan??

It’s not mentiined in her intro and only that’s she’s been involved, could be picking up or beating. She’s only just done her PDS1 (?) as an introduction to rifle shooting

 

[Alantoo]

Where have you picked that up Alan??

It’s not mentiined in her intro and only that’s she’s been involved, could be picking up or beating. She’s only just done her PDS1 (?) as an introduction to rifle shooting

Yes 'tis in her intro..."I shoot around Surrey..." is fairly clear, not just the "involved" bit...

Hi all,

I have been involved with pheasant shooting and am now just getting started in deer stalking and hoping to learn more from this site. I shoot around Surrey and Dorset and have a dog called Mushy.

True it could refer to where she had done her 8 or 9 stalks...but she clarified that she had been actually bird shooting in PDS1 thread...

"If you read my intro I have been bird shooting for a long time but I am new to deer stalking."

I mentioned it in post#15 and apparently nobody picked it up from there either.

Alan

 

[25 Sharps]

Yes 'tis in her intro..."I shoot around Surrey..." is fairly clear, not just the "involved" bit...


True it could refer to where she had done her 8 or 9 stalks...but she clarified that she had been actually bird shooting in PDS1 thread...

"If you read my intro I have been bird shooting for a long time but I am new to deer stalking."

I mentioned it in post#15 and apparently nobody picked it up from there either.

Alan

Even then she could have been shooting a 20 or a 28….. but I take your point.

That said my .280 and .308 recoil more than my 12 bored with a 30 gr game load

 

[Alantoo]

Even then she could have been shooting a 20 or a 28….. but I take your point.

That said my .280 and .308 recoil more than my 12 bored with a 30 gr game load

Possible, but I did say "will likely have already been coping with worse felt recoil than any UK stalking rifle."

Maybe just me, but I have never had the same jaw bashing and sore shoulder from my .308 than I have had on a couple of occasions from a 12 bore.

I seem to remember the figures showed it likely to be something like 70lbs push for the average 12bore shotgun versus 60lbs for the average 308...but I am sure you could find a light rifle or a heavy shotgun and ammunition examples to confound those.

Alan

 

[VSS]

@Mrs Dama dama, just buy the one you like best. That's the one you'll enjoy carrying and using. I know it probably sounds like bad advice to let your head be ruled by your heart, but it worked OK for me.

Incidentally, my diminutive daughter is a stalker (also a member of this site) and she seems to be able to shoot any kind of rifle accurately, regardless of weight, calibre or recoil, so I don't think you really need to worry too much about those things being an issue.

 

[AndrewS]

Rifles are pretty gender neutral compared to shotguns as you dont need the 'fit' in order 'hit' - your optic does that. That being said, someone will always shoot better with a rifle that fits them well, but were talking longer range precision shooting here not >200 yard stalking- In my humble opinion.

My thoughts on this matter, thoughts only mind you, is that it's recoil. Men are larger, stouter, heavier, broader (we are not braver, lets nip that in the bud!) so we can 'soak up' alot more recoil. That's why I can shoot a .308 multiple times and feel fine and see shots hit the target but my ex girlfriend could barely keep hold of the rifle and we stopped after the second shot.

A .243 on the other hand, she loved - and she liked it even more so when we got off prone and into kneeling. that way the full extent of her body could be used to mitigate recoil.

So rather than look at what rifle (brand) look at what calibre. try out the .22-250 / .25 / .243 etc - Plus if you handload you can then further reduce recoil by creating a bullet/powder combination that does what you need it to do at the ranges you shoot at with the lowest recoil.

Not sure about your comments on build and recoil. I think more heavily built people (male or female) feel recoil more than a slighly built person. My wife, for example, falls into the latter category and will have a shot with anything (she did find a .505 Gibbs a bit much, but then so did I!).

 

[308tikka]

Unless you can be 100% certain, that the rules in the UK can't change, you are gambling with your advice !

Are prepared to "underwrite" your advice, & the OP, for the cost of making her rifle deer legal, should things change ? Something you can't possibly know ! I am !

As for me scaremongering, what utter tosh. Who the heck knows what the people who decide the rules will do next, I don't ?

We have no control over what the decision makers will do

Oh do bore off. You admit you dont know what rules will be next but feel you are so important you will spout BAD advice anyway, despite the ACTUAL laws and location of the OP in ENGLAND.

In the trade? Please let us know which company. I would rather avoid dealing with someone offering such absolute nonsense as advice. Looking to sell some new guns perchance?

Thick people, with a sense of their own importance will impart bad advice and double down when called out. Another to add to the ‘ignore’ list as life is simply too short to engage with sub-100 IQs.

@mrs-dama-dama please go to a friendly club or shop (choose wisely ^^^ ) with a range for centrefire and try out what you think you might like. You might be surprised, but pick what feels right and shoots decently well in your hands.

 

[ejg]

Lighter rifles shoot less accurately than heavier rifles over a string because a) (most) thin barrels heat up faster than a thick barrel and start to distort so opening the group and b) the increased recoil impulse imparts a greater lateral velocity to the bullet as it leaves the barrel opening groups in a non-linear pattern down range; this is obviously more pronounced on larger calibre rifles with no recoil reducers. This is why you never see a gun review with 300WM.

I must buy one of these cheap **** Tikka rifles as every one I have ever heard of miraculously shoots 0.25 moa (but not the one I had on loan !). Don't know why anyone wastes their money on an Accuracy International or a Blaser when a Tikka Lite is just as good.

On you go dude...

dude?
Are just rephrasing something you read somewhere? How much research have you done in the barrel distorting ? Recoil reducers influence launch angle changes? How so? Why does a rifle experience a launch angle change in the first place? How much research have you done on this? What needs to be done to avoid this?

Accuracy International just buy in barrels like many others, nothing really special however good well made rifles. Blaser I would not even want to test. Tikka barrels have been very good since several years, seem to be very consistent. Two CTR's I bought had had only around 4fps difference in speed with factory match ammo, both shot well under .25MOA . As long as they produce good barrels I think they are a good buy compared to other similar or even higher priced hunting rifles.
edi

 

[Koenig]

If you really have taught a lot of people to shoot you should know that applies to everybody.

I really have taught a lot of people including women to shoot - just like I said. The OP was specifically asking about women not generic people which is why I framed my answer the way I did.

 

[Lateral]

Oh do bore off. You admit you dont know what rules will be next but feel you are so important you will spout BAD advice anyway, despite the ACTUAL laws and location of the OP in ENGLAND.

In the trade? Please let us know which company. I would rather avoid dealing with someone offering such absolute nonsense as advice. Looking to sell some new guns perchance?

Thick people, with a sense of their own importance will impart bad advice and double down when called out. Another to add to the ‘ignore’ list as life is simply too short to engage with sub-100 IQs.

@mrs-dama-dama please go to a friendly club or shop (choose wisely ^^^ ) with a range for centrefire and try out what you think you might like. You might be surprised, but pick what feels right and shoots decently well in your hands.

Wow, I wish I was half as important as you feel requires all of your replies !

Yes, I admit I don't know what rules may be next. You think this makes me self important You don't know either, but feel your opinion is more important than mine, which would seem a little odd, since neither of us can tell the future

Anyone, or everyone is entitled to agree, or disagree with me, or anyone else's opinion. I'm quite sure people are capable of making their own minds up

The used prices on .243's is dropping, several RFD's have said they will no longer buy, or take them in part-ex, you'd have to ask them why !


As for your other comments, I'll ignore them, because they're just very childish,

 

[The Optimist]

Try as many as possible and in as many appropriate calibres as you can. Fit is so important and try to make sure you actually like it, to look at, to shoot and to own. As has already been said on this thread, lots of capable rifles out there, but find the one you look forward to picking up and spending time with.

 

[alberta boy]

Any rifle and scope and calibre IMHO. Cant imagine the female snipers are using light, low recoiling calibres and pink stocks…

I know many female hunters shooting from 6.5 through 30 cals without issues, none have had a ‘women’s’ setup

This ^ . A friend of mine has carried a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 rebarreled in 338WM for about 10 years or so . She's a Fish & Wildlife Officer and spends a lot of time in Grizzly country and wanted something with some punch without to much weight ( about 9 pounds with scope and sling ) I doubt she weighs more than 130 pounds , but she is fairly tall . She can shoot that rifle better than most guys I know can shoot rifles chambered in cartridges with far less recoil . As you point out , not a "womens " set up . Gender has far less bearing on rifle choice than time spent actually shooting . If the OP is of smaller stature , then some modifications might be necessary , the same advice I'd give to a man of similiar build . My oldest daughter is fairly small , but she regularly shoots my 45/70 with fairly heavy loads . She blew the center out of a Loonie ( Canadian equivalent of a one pound coin ) with stalker308s Marlin 1895 at 100 yards . He has the rifle in Wales now . If anyone thinks that's a "girlie " rifle , I'd hate to see what they think a butch one is , just sayin .

AB

AB

 

[25 Sharps]

Wow, I wish I was half as important as you feel requires all of your replies !

Yes, I admit I don't know what rules may be next. You think this makes me self important You don't know either, but feel your opinion is more important than mine, which would seem a little odd, since neither of us can tell the future

Anyone, or everyone is entitled to agree, or disagree with me, or anyone else's opinion. I'm quite sure people are capable of making their own minds up

The used prices on .243's is dropping, several RFD's have said they will no longer buy, or take them in part-ex, you'd have to ask them why !


As for your other comments, I'll ignore them, because they're just very childish,

Should be some nice cheap donor actions around then