Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Modify for wife: 600 rem or 700 rem mtn or Sav 99?

Ok you remington & Savage 99 & Ruger rifle cranks,

If I ever got my wife interested in deer hunting and had to set aside a rifle for her knowing it needs stock modification (or a second stock), which would you pick:

My choices are:
1. Savage 99 in 308
2. Rem 600 carbine in 35 rem
3. Rem 700 Laminate Mountain SS in 7-08.
4. Ruger 77 Mrk 2 in 6.5 x 55 swede

Use: Northern MN whitetail in the woods wth potential long shots on fence lines or the oil pipeline that runs through the place. A "long shot" is 200 yards, but the piepline may be more depending if the person takes it.


Another option is to sell a couple and get a browning x-bolt micro or a savage lady hunter.


Thoughts on the best and least expensive way to do it knowing I'm not enthused with cutting down a stock for a potential one time deal...



Edit: Forgot about the swede I just bought... thats bad.

My Daughter Sandi has a bunch of rifles but the one she loves the most is a Tikka compact in 7mm-08. Extremely accurate and with a great trigger. She also has a Tikka hunter in 308 with a stock altered to fit her with a Edwards recoil reduce rand Limbsaver pad. Again, extremely accurate but she sill prefers the 7mm-08. With the compact if she decides not to hunt its easy to sell.

Remington 7mm-08 or 30-06 or tikka.

I would only consider these two rifles; the Remington 700 LSS-MR in 7mm-08 and the Ruger 77 Mk2 in 6.5x55. Great rifles and lot of after-market accessories. The 700 LSS-MR ranks in my top 5 all-time factory specs CF rifles.

I wouldn't consider the Savage 99 in 308, crappy stock ergs, or the Remingon 600 in 35 Rem, iffy (IMO) at 200 yards.

If weigh or upper body strenght are issues for your wife, a ligther after-market synthetic might be worth considering. If you don't already have these rifles, Whittaker's is going to have Howa 1500s in 6.5 Creedmoor for $330. Great Hornady factory ammo for the Creed may be worth considering.

If you're on a budget, CDNN has Marlin XS7s in 243, 7mm-08, and 308 on sale for $250.

Good advice. As usual.

Whatever fits best, and that she picks out. Her buy-in/involvement is a big deal. A kid that just dying to go hunting will tote a 10lb 30-06 that kicks like hell but will love every minute of it. If you're trying to convince your wife to hunt, you're in a high risk/high reward situation. The more she feels involved, the better.

Double check her eye dominance, and an extra short stock may be necessary to accommodate clothing for November in northern MN (I'm 6'1" and chose a compact model.) Be careful of the too-short barrel (less than 20" can be too loud) - the noise seems to be almost as big of an issue for some new shooters, even more than recoil. Women seem to prefer a higher comb and sometimes a more vertical grip (the Lady Hunter looks a little goofy but was designed to fit.) Scope with a forgiving eyebox and plenty of relief.

From what you have to choose from, I'd go with the 700 but find an SPS compact stock that you can put a comb pad on. It might look a little goofy but it lets you tweak the fit for not much $$, and the 7-08 has a couple of reduced recoil options. If she loves it, spend the $$ on a dedicated rifle just for her.

As Red Green says - "Remember, I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together."

[quote=260Remguy]I would only consider these two rifles; the Remington 700 LSS-MR in 7mm-08 and the Ruger 77 Mk2 in 6.5x55. Great rifles and lot of after-market accessories.


Definitely go with 260Rem's ideas here. I'd go with the 7-08 as it generally has more available ammo if you need factory rounds and you have a more bullet selection if you hand load. I love my Ruger Swede but my wife, daughter, grand-daughter all shoot the 7-08 and I have one too. Hard to beat.

I would vote for a Tikka compact...... caliber suited for the job ,with the least amount of recoil.
That 600 in 35 rem I would be inclined to keep as is or pass on to someone that would.

As others have said options 3 & 4 are where I'd look; buy a cheap take-off Tupperware or Boyds instead of cutting factory stock

Good stuff guys.

The 35 rem is collectable and could be sold for big dollars, but it really likes the hornady LE rounds making it hard to sell an accurate gun. Plus its my only carbine.

The 700 may get a compact stock.... I like the looks of that laminate stock soo much that I cant cut it.

Honestly the 99 kicks pretty hard making it a marginal choice.

Keep the 7/08, sell off that other schidt you listed and get her a light stock for the 700 that fits her, and load 120gr BT's for it. I'd load a bunch at starting min for her to practice with.

Gee.. I didn't think all the other guns were "Schidt".... Words hurt man. Sniff sniff.

For Daughter #1's first rifle (she has hunted with mine before) we went with a Ruger Hawkeye in .308 Win. We load 130g TTSX for her and that is what she used for elk last year. (Unfortunately it was a weekend hunt and we didn't see any.)

Recently I picked up a Savage 11 FXP3 in .243 Win with the idea it would be a donor and probably end up as a .260 or 7mm-08 (although many other options were considered, they were less likely). The idea was to get another elk/deer/antelope rifle for my daughters as #3 hopes to hunt for the first time this year.

Of the options listed, the Savage 99 in .308, the Remington 7mm-08 and Ruger 6.5 Swede would all be good. It would depend on what my wife liked.

The Savage Lady hunter would be an interesting choice. Stock designed to fit a woman and available in a number of choices. 243 or 7mm-08 would be a good place to start for someone who is new to centerfires...of course I would get her started(if at all possible) on small game with a .22lr to develop some good habits in the field first.

1. Rem 700 Mtn in 7-08. Stock or steel makes no difference. I like the McMillan Edge Compact.
2. Ruger 77 Mk 2 in 6.5 x 55 Swede.

I like the 600. I know a shop with a good one in 308 if interested

1. M700 Mtn rifle in 7-08. Lose the laminated beam and find a SPS stock that will fit. Fairly light and nice to carry, enough weight so recoil will be very tolerable.

2. M77 6.5x55. Fairly heavy, low recoil. Cool cartridge.

3. M600 35 Rem. Fairly lightweight, the lightish weight in 35 Rem might not be pleasant.

4. M99 308. Cool rifle, slick handling, HEAVY.........


Casey

Sell a couple and get a Savage Lady Hunter in 6.5 Creedmoor.

Go with the Swede. I had a M99 Savage in 308, light weight and the stock design made it a kicker to me. It wasn't bad, just a little awkward off the bench.

Trade me that Remington 600 in .35 for a brand new Mossberg Patriot youth in what ever caliber you desire. .243, 7mm 08.
Out of the bunch I would pick the Remington 700 in 7m08 for a youth. I gave my daughter a Ruger 77 Youth Carbine in .260 Rem. Super light, no recoil and hammers the deer with 120 gr projectiles.