Compact Rifle for Lady

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Sparky123 said:
Will be hunting black bear in uppermost northwest Wisconsin, 400 pound range, I'd say 30 - 50 yards, then whitetail in November. Thick brush mostly, although for deer I may sit on the field, which could be a 200 yard shot.
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Then any caliber listed here is going to work great.
I think the Savage Lady Hunter may be ideal.
 
Have you considered an AR type configuration in 7mm-08 or 308Win, you could find one with a collapsible stock then just mount a scope. If thats legal in Wisconsin, I don't know their gun laws. DPMS may have what you need, but I don't know for sure.
 
Has anyone trimmed down a synthetic stock? How did it work out? They don't make any aftermarket stock for Tika that I'm aware of, and a lot of gunsmiths won't cut down a laminate, although I did find one guy a few towns over. Just wondering how much it messes with balance of gun and if it looks like doggie-doo cutting down that plastic stock.
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Bell & Carlson makes aftermarket Tikka stocks. A synthetic can be cut shorter to fit your needs. It requires a little different set of skills to reattach the pad since it is not woodworking, but can be done.
 
Negotiating on a used 7mm-08 M77 Compact I found. If that falls through, I'm also still considering a .308 M77 Mark II Compact found on Gun Broker for a good price, as well as a Ruger Gunsite Scout or a Savage Lightweight Hunter. Went back and once again shouldered the Lady Hunter and the Savage Trophy Hunter Youth, but they just didn't give me that "This is it" feel. Choices, choices - at least I've got some now that I'm pretty happy with. Who can compare Gunsite to Compact? Is that extra pound going to be that big of a deal if I sling it? I know a pound is a pound, but then again it should absorb the recoil better in .308. Anyone have experience with the Lightweight Hunter? I liked the feel of it better than the Lady Hunter.
 
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Look at the Browning Micro xbolt youth, Savage youth and Remington 700 youth, they are all available in 243, 7 mm-08 and 308 and all of them are lightweight and have a shorter stock.
One of my grandsons has a savage and another a remingtonboth in 243 and both are outstanding.
 
Thanks, CMC, but I have checked out those rifles and have narrowed it down as described. The Savage and Rem 700 youths, even with shorter LOP just doesn't feel/fit well, and I like the shorter overall length of the models I listed. The Browning youth models are the highest priced of all but Kimber (I wasn't planning to spend that much), and I wasn't thrilled with the bolt action on our A-bolt, although I've heard the X-bolt is an improvement. Still, again, I like the compact models with the shorter barrels better overall.
 
Sparky123 said:
Negotiating on a used 7mm-08 M77 Compact I found. If that falls through, I'm also still considering a .308 M77 Mark II Compact found on Gun Broker for a good price, as well as a Ruger Gunsite Scout or a Savage Lightweight Hunter. Went back and once again shouldered the Lady Hunter and the Savage Trophy Hunter Youth, but they just didn't give me that "This is it" feel. Choices, choices - at least I've got some now that I'm pretty happy with. Who can compare Gunsite to Compact? Is that extra pound going to be that big of a deal if I sling it? I know a pound is a pound, but then again it should absorb the recoil better in .308. Anyone have experience with the Lightweight Hunter? I liked the feel of it better than the Lady Hunter.
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I did get to shoot the Savage 11 lightweight hunter in 6.5 Creedmore and I was very impressed with the rifle. It's light weight and very well balanced and we did get some sub moa groups with factory ammo. Recoil was light ,however I can not be sure how recoil levels would be stepping up to a 7mm08 or .308. The rifle is around 5 lbs. and I know that the Stevens model 200 I have in .308 is 6 lbs. and it has a stout recoil.
 
I picked up a Marlin XS7Y for my wife in a 7mm-08. It's a nice rifle along side my 280 Ruger Hawkeye and two Marlin XL7's I have a soft spot for Marlin since I grew up shooting a Marlin 22 and the X guns are virtual twins to the 22, except for the bolt length and recoil, as far as feel. They do all shoot quite well and I'm really liking the 7mm caliber throughout. One option you might have would be to get a regular length XS7 - 7mm-08 in stainless and watch the boards and auction sites for someone selling a youth stock since you have some time before the season hits. I suspect you could have the the standard Marlin stock cut down otherwise. I cannot say for certain since I have not taken the pad off of any of my Marlins to see if that was possible. Another option would be to look at Boyd's gun stocks. From some of the photos I've seen of their wood stocks, they really make the Marlin look classy.
 
Hi, again. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for their advice and opinions. I did end up getting that Ruger 77 Mark II in 7mm-08. In hindsight, the .308 was the better deal for price/condition, as the stock on this one is in rougher shape than anticipated, but I'm thinking I may either try to refinish it or order a new Boyd's stock for it after this hunting season (I really love that cinnamon/brown color one they have). Such is the chance you take buying sight unseen other than photos. Thankfully, the bolt and barrel are in beautiful condition and the gun shoots true.

I have found I'm really happy with this rifle. The size and weight are great. I have no issues with cheek weld and seeing through my scope without having to add an aftermarket cheek riser. The shorter LOP and stock dimensions for this rifle seems to have solved that To any other members looking for a rifle for their child/wife/shorter stature individual, I can happily recommend this rifle to them, whenever Ruger gets them back out into the market again (newer model being Ruger Hawkeye Compact). The 7mm-08 is a great all around cartridge with minimal recoil even in such a short-barreled and light rifle.

While it is an extremely loud little gun, there is much less recoil than I expected. I think the Browning A-Bolt had a harder kick to it. Anyway, thanks again, everyone. I'm now sighted in and looking forward to bear season coming up in about 5 weeks.
 
Hi, everyone. Rather than starting a new thread, I'm just adding to this one with pics of the 300 pound sow I took after sitting 2 hours in the rain. I think the hubby was more excited than I was. He was supposed to be videotaping, but had to get up and take a leak. He no sooner got up and crept down the trail and I had two bears come in. I was patient and waited for this big gal to come out, scaring away the smaller bear that were at the bait pile. Angle of shot, went in behind one shoulder, apparently ricocheted on the opposite shoulder and came out her spine. She just dropped over on her side and that was it, no tracking needed .

How do I add pics? I don't have a static URL to link.
 
click "post reply" at the bottom left of the thread. click the paperclip (attachments) and go from there. the attachment option may not work if the file is too big, in which case you'll have to shrink the image.

easiest thing to do is go ahead and get a photobucket account and use static links to the pics there.
 
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