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?

257 Roberts.

Get s stronger lady? LOL,

OK, seriously considered this one, lady shoots a Mossberg 100 youth pretty well - it's a 243, (308 is largest chambering from factory),

So if she had to go bigger get a 308 rebarreled to a 338 Fed or 358 Win.

Rifle she's used to, fits her, and has the UMPPPHHH to get there and get the job done.

Other than that, I'm a huge fan of brakes, but not because I'm a recoil wimp - it's because a brake allows me to stay on target and see the animal's reaction to the hit.

Prolly best she uses a camera if she can't use a 30/06

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.

460 Weatherby with a Kick-Eez Pad.

I'm generally in this group.

30/06 with a proper fitting stock and maybe a brake - if she can't do that, it might be a realization that Kodiak bear isn't for her.

1. It's about a good, clean and humane kill of the animal.
2. It's about keeping your skin attached to your own body.
3. It's about not asking a guide to go in after something that's a killer because you had to use something not up to the job.

Hate to be blunt and no malice intended. Just saying - I couldn't live with myself if someone else got hurt because I wasn't up to the task at what's considered a consensus minimum.

I know, I know, natives been killing griz with a 22-250 their whole life but the difference is, they spent their whole life around them, know them and aren't likely to get "bear fever" when a 9 footer stands up to try and get their wind.

You owe it to your lady friend, the guide and the bear to make sure she can use a rifle with enough snort to get the job done in a less than perfect situation.

IMO.

My wife shot the Savage Lady Hunter in .243 for a couple of seasons before moving up to the same rifle in 30-06.

The worst failing of the Savage is it has a flat grip. Be warned it is a very light rifle too, we had to have both of them bedded to get them to shoot as consistently as we like.

30-06 Browning A-Bolt SS with Boss and 200 gr Nosler Partitions . Leupold 1x4 scope

.270,.280, or a 7x57 loaded with Nosler Partitions or Swift A-Frames.

I'd recommend getting deep penetration. For the lowest recoil with the best bang for the buck a 7x57 with a heavy Nosler Partition comes to mind. Get a good recoil pad and get a stock that fits her!! Consider a low power scope with a heavy post.

Have someone back her up.

I think maybe she should start out with a big game animal other than a Kodiak bear. From rabbits to a Kodiak bear? Really!

^^^^^^^^^^or.......

a well tuned Marlin 18" 45-70

ported......

Don't guides require a minimum caliber.

I would go with a 6.5 creedmoor with the 120 grain GMX superformance factory load. I shoot it in my Kimber Hunter and it get just over 3000fps in the 22 inch barrel.

Recoil is very light in my 6 pound rifle. In a 8 pound Ruger M77 with a laminated stock,it would be very mild.

As far as performance,a 6.5 monometal of 120 grains will penetrate as well as most lead core 180 grain bullets.

Lots of bears were shot in the old days with rifles like 30-30s that have less power than the 6.5 Creedmoor.

Brake.




Dave

I don't think that I have ever seen a post quite like this!

Going from bunnies to giant bears in one leap and not being able to handle a heavy-recoil rifle is asinine.

She needs to rethink her abilities with a heavy rifle, or as was stated, just take a camera.

There is no free lunch. If a rifle is good enough to handle a big bear, there will be recoil.

I think that most guides do, indeed, have minimum requirements.

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.

Why the jump from rabbits to Kodiak bears. Are you looking for a rifle that she will eventually use for brown bear? I think that Boogaloo's approach has merit. Work up in recoil slowly. The '06 with a 200 grain Partition would do the job nicely or maybe a 280 with 175s with solid back up. A brake will reduce recoil but at the expense of muzzle blast which can make recoil seem worse. She needs to learn proper shot placement which is of prime importance.

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