Question about recoil for a "small" woman

[Kristina May]

I have the opportunity to go hunting for the first time this year with my husband. Some of you may know him as Longdayjake. Jake has given me several options and I have shot several of his guns, but I kind of want one for myself that can be mine. According to him the rifles that I have shot are an M1, M1a, .25-06, .223, and his 2 AR 15 rifles. I can't remember which ones are which but I remember that all of them were HEAVY. Do any of you have any suggestions as to what would be good for me? Jake took this picture of me a year ago when I was about 6 months pregnant. What would be good for someone my size?

[RustyW]

What kind of hunting? I'd say 25-06 for deer and which ever .223 you shoot best for varmints. My girlfriend is 5'2" and about 130#'s. She shoots a leveraction .357 and 30/30 pretty good. She can hit a 2 liter pop bottle at 100yds. If you're needing/wanting a new gun, maybe a NEF singleshot?

[Kristina May]

What is a NEF single shot? Jake has a .25-06 but its kind of heavy for me. Is the .357 or 30/30 lighter?

[RustyW]

http://www.hr1871.com/Firearms/Rifles/hunter.asp
Here's a link to NEF. It's not really the caliber that determines the weight of the gun but the platform. Most bolt action hunting rifles are usually around 6 to 8 pounds. When you get to the bigger calibers, weight is your friend, it will help tame some of the felt recoil. Say a .308 in a 6# rifle is gonna kick but in a 8# rifle is rather tame. The .357 leveraction is a Marlin and weighs about 6#'s. The 30/30 is a 94 winchester and weighs about 7#'s. If you're going to stalk and hunt I'd want a light rifle. If I was going to hunt from a stand/blind a heavy rifle wouldn't bother me. But I have a Ruger #1 in 45/70 and I handload so I get the best of both worlds. A light rifle, big caliber, and I can adjust the recoil as needed with bullet weights and powder charges. When the range gets a little farther out there I use my Savage 11 bolt action with 150gr Hornady interbonds. The balance of a rifle is another equation also. How it fits you is the main thing. You may have to try a few out before you find that one sweetheart.

[OldManMontgomery]

Miss Kristina - Congratulations on your child, by the way. I trust all is well?

Hunting for medium sized game? Deer and that sort of thing?

Probably one of the handiest rifles for deer shooting is a level action carbine in caliber .30-30. They are handy to handle, light to carry and yet will dispatch a deer with suitable ability. They can be somewhat stiff in recoil, but that can be mitigated with recoil pads and proper shooting stance - keep the rifle butt tight in your shoulder.

Once upon a time I had a young lady friend who had such a rifle. She shot it under my supervision and while it did 'push' her around some, she thought it fun and it didn't hurt her.

For something more 'modern', perhaps a moderate sized bolt gun in .257 Roberts? They weigh a bit more than the .30-30 carbine, but not oppressively so. In the surplus realm, a Swede 6.5x55 carbine is very useful. Finally, one might investigate the CZ bolt rifle chambered in 7.62x39 (the AK47 round).

For that matter, I know a small lady (wife of a friend) who is rather petite, nearly 'fragile' looking. She killed a lion in Botswana several years ago. Shooting a 'big' rifle is a matter of technique, not strength.

[Kristina May]

I just asked jake about the 30-30. He says that I have shot one before that belonged to a friend of his. I remember liking it quite a bit. I think that was the time we shot a muzzle loader. I liked that because it didn't kick and it made a lot of smoke.
Jake says that anything in 30-30 has been sold out at sportsmans warehouse. He has a bunch of gift certificates there and wanted to buy me my rifle there. I think I may just get a 30-30 when they get more in. Also, to answer your questions- I will need it for the deer hunt. I doubt that I will even be going much as I have 2 kids to take care of, but Jake keeps insisting that I go with him before he will take me dancing. I won't need it for varmint hunting because Jake is really good at it and I would rather not see little animals exploding in the air. Jake and I have been married almost 4 years and every year he has come home without a deer in deer season. I think he goes to help his friends get theirs because he always has a bunch of video tape and pictures of their deer but none of his own.

Lastly, the pregnancy went well as did the birth. However, people warn you about how much harder 2 kids are but nothing can prepare you for 2 kids. If you want to see our babies check out our blog. http://jkwilcoxfam.blogspot.com/

[Longdayjake]

Looks like I may have to go dancing after all. I figured you would eventually post your blog on here. For those of you wondering, Kristina is very proud of her blog. (She should be as she spends half her day posting back and forth on various blogs). I can't complain though as I have a hobby that takes up all my spare time too. She is much better at her hobby than I am at mine. I guess that means I need to practice more.

And the reason I don't get a deer is because the only time I see them is when I am on the very top of a huge mountain and the thought of dragging one down after I am already worn out is just too much for me to bear. If I ever see one a few hundred yards from the truck then you can bet I will be bringing one home for you to clean.

[bhakhanda]

Ma'am, regarding finding a good rifle (for deer, etc.) that might help with reducing the effects of recoil on a "small" woman...... May I suggest the old and proven 7MM Mauser? The recoil is manageable, the weight of a well made rifle is not too much, the accuracy is plenty good enough, and you may be able to find a good milsurp rifle which could require not too much tweaking to get it shooting exactly how you like it. I have trained a fair number of women to shoot; and across the board they don't worry about recoil as much as balance, heft, comfort (to have and to hold!) and accuracy. I would NOT recommend a muzzle brake, a device which while it might mitigate some recoil, the LOUD "Eargesplittenloudenboomen" you experience may not be worth it, and there are soooooo many choices for a smaller gal to shoot well with. The .30-30 Winchester would be a good choice, hope you got to try it out to your heart's content, and legend has it that a few deer have been felled my it over the years. Mind set would help the most with recoil, followed by a good choice of stock/buttpad for the rifle, a good clean crisp trigger, useful sights, and a fair amount of useful practice to acclimate yourself to the smokepole. Think about this for a minute...... there were MANY MANY Viet Cong who you probably tower over; they shot flavors of 7.62x39MM Russian (AK and SKS rifles) semi automatic weapons and various bolt action milsurp rifles very well.... Recoil is a physics principle; the fella who weighs a lot doesn't feel the recoil of Rifle X as much as the fella who weighs a hundred pounds less. But...... both fellas (or gals!) can LEARN to operate EASILY any commonly found rifle they come across. Recoil (usually!) doesn't dish out lasting effects to your body, and if you are being taught correctly how to hold the rifle, position yourself, and mentally shrug off the very temporary jolt you receive, I think you will do well. If you can stand a Winchester lever action rifle, you can stand a 7MM, a .243 Winchester, or a host of other guns which may suit you better. In any case though, whatever you end up with, if you spend a lot of time training with it, the recoil will seem natural and the effects of that recoil won't bother you much any more. Good Luck and Good Shooting!

[dougw47]

Not knowing what and where you will be hunting, may I suggest considering the 243 winchester. Several folks report women using one on game up to Elk size with premium bullets. Not much recoil, flat shooting and gets the job done out to 300 yards in my experience.

You can get a single-shot Handi Rifle and scope at Wally world for $300, and bolt actions for not much more than that...

If you want a little more cartridge, perhaps consider the 7mm-08. Just my opinion