Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Looking for a lady's rifle for kodiac bear. What rifle to use?

Lady has shot 22 rifles at lots of rabbit and squirrel. 30-06 kicks too much she said after shooting one. So maybe a little recoil shy too. Or possibly a rifle which does kick too much and with a muzzle brake. Any suggestions on what rifle to use?

I'm with Flave on this one. Get a brake put on the -06 and she'll be good to go. Will reduce felt recoil to something like a .243. Use a 180gr. TSX or similar and she should have good penetration. I would think Phil Shoemaker would probably have some good words of wisdom on this since he's dealt with a huge variety of hunters over the years and his wife and daughter could probably give some advice as well.

What do you think about a 7x57 or 7/08 with premium 160s or 175s Phil?

Lady has shot 22 rifles at lots of rabbit and squirrel. 30-06 kicks too much she said after shooting one. So maybe a little recoil shy too. Or possibly a rifle which does kick too much and with a muzzle brake. Any suggestions on what rifle to use?

She ain't ready to be pointing rifles at Brown Bear.

Maybe you should just let her use a Smith & Wesson Compact 9mm with Buffalo Bullets

But there is no reason that anyone, of any sex, interested and tough enough to actualy hunt bear on Kodiak should not be interested and tough enough to learn to competently handle at least a .270, 308 or 30-06.

...30-06 kicks too much she said after shooting one...

This maybe brings up another issue. Does SHE was to hunt brown bear or do YOU want her to hunt brown bear?

I'm having a hard time conjuring up the mental image of a woman who wants to go after brown bear as her first big game animal.

If you're of a gentler persuasion and all you've ever shot is a 22, it might be somewhat of a stretch to jump into a full bore 30-06 without some intermediate rounds and sufficient time to adapt to the recoil and blast.

It's much the same as adapting a youngster to a centerfire. Spend some range time with reduced recoil 30-06 loads and don't shoot full power loads off the bench without some padding between the rifle butt and the shoulder...like a shooting vest with a leather recoil pad.

I'd say the recoil of a 20 guage is near 30-06 level, and I've taken a few ladies out to the skeet range behind a 20 Guage Over/Under, and they are having so much fun trying to connect with those moving birds they'll shoot a few boxes of shells without nary a complaint, or even a thought about recoil.

But try shooting 100 rounds with a 20 guage off the bench sometime and I'll bet that more than a few guys here will have a sore shoulder the next day.

Now those girls also have been shown correct shooting form, and the importance of that cannot be over-stressed.

Once the gal has a rifle with a stock that fits her correctly, and she knows how to hold it properly, you can start her off by loading the 30-06 down to under the 30-30 level, and then work up to 308 level with a 150 Barnes TTSX and have a mild recoiling load with good performance.

Other than that option, a rifle chambered in 308 can kick 20% less than a full power 30-06. A 6.5 Creedmore will drop it down another 10% and both will still provide a lot of power when loaded with lighter Barnes Bullets...say a 150 TTSX or 120 TTSX. Those bullets will out penetrate heavier standard bullets and will get the job done if well-placed.

Whatever this gal is at right now in terms of her skill level, she needs to mature into a competent rifle(man) and be a decent shot with a rifle she is comfortable with before she goes afield to take on North America's apex predator.

Both are a life changing experience, but not before she's ready. It takes some time to develop these skills.

It doesn't sound to me that she is ready to take this on at this point, but give the lady the time she needs to grow and she'll have a good outcome.

Riflemen are made not born.

It is very poor idea to arm bears at all, let alone with a woman's rifle. Marksmanship would suffer greatly due to the smaller size of the rifle, and his big paws.