Help me select Rifles for me and wife.

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Koontzy

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We will be joining a club next year here in SC for deer season. Since we have a long season, and a club to hunt, she wants to get a rifle..

I would like to keep it under $1000, but up to $1200 max. that is just for rifle (not scopes)

I know that my Caliber choice is more than likely going to be .270, 25-06 or 7mm-08

I dont know about me wife. I was thinking 25-06 or maybe .243 for here.

Anyways what rifles would you recommend? and what caliber would be a good choice for my wife? she wants something with minimal kick.
Also any pink stocks? or pink in the stock?

Thanks
 
I would go with a Winchester Sporter for you in 30-06 or 270. They are beautiful guns and are made well. For your wife a 243 or 223 would be awesome. Pink stock for your wife? Awesome! Try this site www.huntingwoman.com. Good luck with your purchase!
 
Better find out first what the good old boys in the club think about pink rifles and 25-06's.

Some of those clubs are very set in what is acceptable, and what is not.

rc
 
I'm in SC, amd pretty much hunt with a 257 Roberts. It's light, minimal recoil, and accurate. I just finished having a 260 Remington built, which will also be included in the line up. It has all the same attributes, plus.

Those 2 calibers, however, are best served by reloading for them. If you don't, you may have try several different ammos and find what they like.

308 or 7mm 08 would also be good options, 6.5x55 is also light on recoil, and accurate.

Unless your club has long shots over fields, where you need the energy on the far side, any of the above would be good choices.
 
I'll second that .257 Roberts. It's a flat shooter and should be great for any game in SC. I was stationed there a while back, but never had a chance to get a hunt in. What part of the state are you hunting?
 
Dryhumor and I agree on the calibers. Deer are not that big here and the .24/.25/.26/.27 caliber rifles work just fine.

As to which platform, Sportsmans Warehouse here in Columbia is selling the Weatherby Vanguards for below 400 or 429 for an "enhanced" version. Between that and one of the Savages would be my pick.

Good point about the terrain of the hunt club. I was in one that was pretty thick and two others that did indeed have 300 (+) yard shots possible.

Key, IMHO, is getting the rifle zero'ed and then practicing with it. Too many duffers fail to practice and fail to understand that zero is not a static event. Changing ammo will result in a change of point of impact, rendering your rifle unzeroed.

As for your wife, stock fit is key. Most of the stocks will probably be too long for her, so expect to have to cut the stock to fit. My last wife was 5 foot even and liked a 11 inch length of pull. :)
 
The place i hunt has open fields, road shots, etc..... great place for shots from 50 yards our to around 250. there is one field that you can push a 400 yard shot (but dont plan on it.)

I think I may try a .25-06 for the wife and a .270 for me..

although I will look at the .257 but how hard is it to find ammo? and whats the range of the gun? how flat etc????
 
because I told her I would ask for opinions on here...... she wants something with little recoil, but for deer....ad I want to find a gun that offers the caliber range, for our price range..

Looking at:

T/C Venture
Browning A-Bolt Composite Stalker
Weatherby Vanguard Series 2
Savage
Marlin X7
Winchester M70

Would like to have a idea of what we want when we go shoot some.or look at some.
 
I would get the TC for my self as it has the best barrel of any of them but being it has a plastic stock you could not cut it down so get her a win. feather weight in 243 or a Tikka in wood. Tc has a $50.00 rebate untill the end of the year.
Dave
 
also who makes a .257 roberts? that would fit in my priceing?

257s are not too hard to find...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/SearchResults.aspx

I have 3; a M700 limited, a M700 custom, and a M70 Featherweight

As to ammo, Sportsman's has it, I believe Shooter's Choice may have it. I have ordered it from Midway USA. I see it from time to time in some of the smaller gunshops around the state.

I reload for 2 of my three, 1 shoots factory (now discontinued, Hornady Light Magnum) ammo so well, I won't reload for that one until I shoot the rest.

If you do happen to go the 257 route, I have several different ammo types I could let you try to see if it works well in the rifle. It would save you the hassle of buying and trying to find what shoots best. I'm in the midlands.

http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledge+Base/.257+Roberts.html
 
The Browning A bolt is a very nice rifle with some good features. It has a two position safety (at least they did last time I looked at one) that locks the bolt closed. This is a good feature because it keeps the bolt from working open while hunting. If you're worried about unloading the mag, they have button that lets you open the bolt while the safety is still engaged.

Why is a two position safety better than a three position? Because it's only got two positions- Safe and Fire with nothing in between. With a three position, you have Safe, Safe and Fire. If you don't move teh safety far enough, the rifle won't shoot. Personally, I think the three position safety is a solution in search of a problem.

A Bolts are accurate rifles and the bolt lift is about 60 degrees, instead of the usual 90

For caliber, I'd suggest the 260 Remington. Light recoil, good killing power for medium game and with their low BC bullets, are good for long range
 
+++1 on the .260 for either of you. I have a Kimber 84m in .260 I bought 10 years ago and it is a stone cold deer killing machine with 100 gr BT's. Fast, flat, accurate, and very light recoil. A Ruger, Remington model 7, or other would be perfect.
 
I'd find out what sort of action she prefers? Lever, Bolt, Semi-auto?

For her I'm leaning toward 243 Browning BLR. But, if she's not a lever person (?), a nice piece of wood on a bolt ought to make her smile at least. Why not look at used guns?
 
How about a Savage Lightweight Hunter in .260 Rem, 6.5mm Creedmore, or 7mm-08?

If it doesn't fit her, also try a Ruger Compact.
 
Something in a 30-30 for her, perhaps a Mossberg 464, and a 7mm-08 in a TC Venture bolt with a Nikon 3x-9x for him.
That was easy.



NCsmitty
 
Agreed on the 30-30, I hunt here in SC as well and started with a 270. I quickly realized that its simply more than you need for here. I cant speak for where you hunt but I find myslef in the brush much more than over any fields, and have yet to find a situation where there has even been a shot over 100 yards. I use a Marlin 336 in 30-30 with open sights and could not be happier, light, little recoil, and easy to shoulder quickly for a quick shot when you jump one.
 
IMO, I wouldn't purchase a pink rifle. I think that a gun is a gun, and does not need to be catered to a specific gender (from an aesthetic standpoint).

Personally, it seems the pink rifles are for younger girls who want to maintain their female image, while participating in a "guy" activity.

While your woman may enjoy the novelty of a pink rifle, I would think that eventually she would want a "real" rifle of wood and steel (figuratively speaking of course, not trying to down on synthetic)

Good advice already on calibers, good luck with your purchases!

- TNG
 
Range Time is the Answer

About 7 years ago, at her request, I bought my wife a "deer rifle" (that's how she worded her request for the birthday present). Because of her other commitments - school, residency at a funeral home, etc. - she didn't use the rifle until we joined a club with a range 2 years ago.

The rifle we picked out for her is a Ruger M77 lightweight in .243, and the first time she fired it on the range she finished the afternoon with a 1 3/8" five shot group at 100 yds. The same day, I was sighting in my Ruger M77 in .270, with some hot handloads (150gr. Partitions @ about 2980 fps). She heard the first "bang," and said, "What's that rifle? I want to shoot that gun!"

I warned her about the recoil, but a week later she still wanted to try it. Her first 3 shots at 100yds. were a cloverleaf. She looked at me and said, "Can I have this gun?"

My point is, it would make a lot of sense to get out on a range with friends who shoot and let your wife try out a .243, maybe a .257 or a 25-06, a 30-30 if there's one around, etc. Let her decide on the caliber, and the action type. That raises the odds that she'll like her first rifle a lot, and gives her some fast-track exposure to her choices.

BTW, I was forced by the loss of my .270 to her, to go out and buy a Savage in 7mm WSM to replace it.:D
 
Why not go with a 7mm-08 for both of you? You'd only have to buy one kind of ammo, and the recoil should be light enough for her. I've never shot a 25-06, but according to this table, the recoil between a 7mm-08 and a 25-06 should be comparable: http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

I believe it. The recoil of a 7mm-08 is pleasant, and I can't imagine a 25-06 having much less than that.

Also, take a look at tikka while you're there. I'm a bit biased (just look at my user ID), but they are fine rifles and plenty accurate. Finding one in 7mm-08 might be a bit of a challenge though, but you should be able to order one.
 
I've had 2 separate customers come in a rave about the ruger m77 just the other day. I don't have experience with it but here good things often. For your wife maybe a .243 or 30-30. If you choose 30-30 a marlin kicks lighter than a winchester imho.
 
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