Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Deer rifle for my wife.

I would look into a ruger compact M77 MKII in 243,260 and 7-08.

Much of the 'fit' issue is likely the rifle, not the cartridge. Best to shop around with her, so she can try rifles to see which ones 'fit'. Once you've selected a model, it's a matter of choose a cartridge it's available in. In terms of the cartridge, .250 Savage would be 'perfect', except that it's a bit 'limited' these days in terms of availability. The .260 Rem would probably be a good choice as well. But again, in this case it's perhaps rifle model first then choosing cartridge from what it comes in.

My wife is 5'4" and about 115 or 120ish. She has shot them all from 223 up to 460 weatherby without issues. Killed alot with a couple of 300wtbys. And a few with her 308 and more than a few with my old 243s...

Recoil is generally in the head.

What I'd first do is take my wife to the store and let her look, handle, and "pick" her top choices. Then I'd look those over well, making sure that her choices fit her well enough, weight was what it should be etc....

Then find someone/some range with that combo of caliber/gun and let her test fire first.

Caliber wise, you don't really say what she is gonna be after all...that being said I'd start 308/30-06 and work which ever way from there... smaller calibers call for good quality bullets for sure.... But th old 06 , comes in so many bullets, surplus ammo for cheap practice, can be found anywhere etc.... its a super place to start.

On recoil, make sure the stock fits HER, the scope is set for good eye relief, and has a well fit soft recoil pad like a Decelarator, all that will usually not require a brake....

Jeff

260 0r 7-08........

I'll second the Ruger Compact, in 260 or 7-08. Great little rifles that will fit small shooters. Actually, at 5'10" and 175, this little rifle is my FAVORITE deer rifle! packs and points GREAT!
Virgil B.

Agree. Can't think of a more versatile, light recoiling cartridge capable of anchoring an antelope or a moose. Most folks never recognize that the 308 Win can push a 200 gr. bullet at a respectable 2,500 fps. Plenty of punch at 250 yards for very large game. With 150, 165 and 180 grain loads it can be fine tuned for any situation.

If I were in the market for a new gun (that my wife could lick occasionally and call it her own) for deer and smaller it would be the Ruger M77 RSI .257 Roberts. If I expected larger game the .270 or .308 in the same gun might get the nod. I would look long and hard for a tang safety version before I settled on the Mark II version.

Sounds to me like a LOT of great suggestions. I'll throw my vote in with the .260, 6.5X55 or 7mm-08 crowd...all in a nice, trim package, of course. I'm a 6.5X55 nut, but the .308 family cartriges (like the .260 and 7mm-08) come with the handiness of a short action. Personally, while I find the mini-Rugers cute as can be, I don't like the muzzle blast of a short barrel. (I hate it worse than stout recoil!)

You can always buy a .338 Federal for her, which you can keep if she does not like it

Decelerator recoil pads are worth their weight in gold.

My wife has a .308, but loves her 6.5x55, which is loaded to 2840 with 130 grain TSX's. She was doing great this afternoon at 300, shooting sitting with a Stoney Point Pole Cat tripod, and asking when she could try shooting at 400.

Remington model 7 CDL in 7-08 with Leupold VXII 2-7X32.
Light, versatile and low recoil.
Done!
WFR

The Steyr SBS Mountain has the adjustable LOP with butt pad spacers. A .308 or 7mm-08 with light loads would do it.

A T3 in wood, you could whack off some LOP. 6.5x55 would be sweet.

Kimber 84 is a nice small rifle, too.

If I were buying a deer rifle for my wife it would be a lightweight .260 Rem. Low recoil, and good bullet selection for the handloader. Load up some 100-120 grain bullets and you are good to go for any deer. If she decided to go after black bear or elk, you have some premium heavier bullet choices and enough snort to get the job done.

Excellent suggestions. And you guys hit the nail on the head with the, "It needs to be pretty". I'm not sure if lemon pledge draws bucks as good as tinks buck lure, but i'm sure I'll be able to report on that after the season is over.

I think a youth model would be to small for her, but i'm liking the compact models ideas.

We plan to do a South Dakota hunt once a year, so thats something we need to concider also. A good sling shot will take out deer we have here in Cent. Florida, but we've never hunted out west.

I know between the .277 and the .284 calibers you can jump from 150 gr to 165 gr. and that maybe a factor also.

Right now she into shopping for camo..Have you ever known anyone that tried to accessorise with Realtree AP in HD?

The guy in the camo department at the Bass Pro looked at me like..IS SHE SERIOUS. Yes she is....but atleast she's willing to hunt with me.

Thanks for all the suggestions...I'll let you know what she gets.

Smart man.I agree

I like JB's comment on this subject: how come the women get smaller guns than the guys do? Said another way, how come we always recommend smaller rifles for them than we use ourselves.............

6.5 Swede or 7x57.
My wife shoots either one with ease.

.260 and a stock that is cut to length with a Decelerator pad. She has the option of deer and larger game with the 6.5 range of bullets. I don't have a 7-08, but the ballistics are very close.

A .270 with recoil managed loads would work well for practice and the full loads for hunting. POI is damn close in my guns at 100 yards.
Either way, get the gun cut to fit and put a scope with long eye relief. Especially if she is going to be bundled up in heavy clothes.

stumpy

Mine likes the synthetic stuff. Go figure. I woulda thought what you do if she hadn't made her preference clear.

Also according to mine, weight and length are the most important criteria. Seven pounds all up is her max. (She's 5'9" ~150#) For rifles you can walk in and buy, the .270 or .280 is about the most you are looking at and might be too much. I'd think in terms of 140 grain max bullet and /06 size case max case capacity.

They still sell the Remington Model Seven in .260. There are a few Winchester Featherweights in 25 WSSM still out there. The Tikka T3 can be had in 6.5x55, but you're limited to the Norma 120 gr BT for modern power factory loads.

Best bet is to go to a big gun shop or two and make sure she hefts anything suitable until she finds one she happens to like. Gun shops seems to be more amenable to letting the girls try things out.