I did forget to mention that she is only about 5'2" and the main reason she likes the Henry is its compact size and lack of recoil.
Hey, us 6'/200lb. guys like little short compact rifles and carbines too.
I don't know why I didn't think of the 357 lever gun. I've seen several deer killed with a 357 mag with a 6 in barrel. Don't know why an 18 inch barrel won't do the job.
The .357 cartridge is going to pick up, on average, something like 300fps from the 18" and 20" barrels on the leverguns. Add to that that you can get Hornady 180gr HP/XTP running fairly hot, with little or no extra recoil, and be running on a par in ways with the .30-30.
I will definately be buying her a rifle of her own because I'm not willing to cut the stock on my old 30-30.
I noticed somebody else mentioned cutting the stock on your .30-30... you notice when it's your gun, they say cut the stock? Sometimes I wonder if they'd cut it themselves. My suggestion was getting another stock with the Limbsaver installed and swapping it onto your rifle, but
not cutting your rifle's orginal stock. That way, you could easily put it back truely original in just a minute or so with a screwdriver or two.
And I didn't mean to make her out as a weakling. The issue with the 243 isn't so much the amount of recoil, but rather the placement. The LOP is way too long for her and she catches all the recoil in her bicep.
I don't know about everybody else, but I never thought she was a wuss or anything. Just that felt recoil is different to everybody. I'm 6' tall and 200lbs and I'm no recoil junkie either. I shoot .243 too in a Savage Model 11GL and don't notice the recoil, but then I'm not catching it like she is either.
I was going to buy her a Remington Model 7, but she has fallen in love with lever guns. I'm gonna buy her what she wants...
I'm agreeing. I know a lady locally to me... her husband is my gun/ammo/stuff dealer. Anyhow, they both hunt and he's a .243 fan and she told me she shoots a Model 7 in .260 and likes it quite well. Some of us like a lot of different rifles, but a rifle can also be just as personal as a Stetson or a pair of boots.