New rifle for girlfriend

[Daniel Bybee]

So my other half has really gotten the hunting bug as she's gone with me scouting and now we are looking for a rifle for her. It will most likely be used for Javelina and deer, but if the tag gods smile on her hopefully elk. I'm looking for a lower recoil rifle, possibly the ruger American or tikka. Looking for caliber suggestions, would the 7mm08 be sufficient for it all. I'm also not a hand loader so ease of finding ammo would be another plus. Thanks for any help. Daniel

 

[Justin Crossley]

A .270 would be a good choice for her imo. Everyone sells factory ammo.

 

[Muledeernv]

X2 on the 270 win can find ammo almost anywhere.

 

[SDHNTR]

A word to the wise from someone who's been there... Buy YOURSELF a nice new rifle that she can use. That way, years from now, when the girlfriend is long gone, you will still have the rifle. Win - win. I don't miss that wack job one bit, but I would have dearly missed that rifle!

 

[Justin Crossley]

A word to the wise from someone who's been there... Buy YOURSELF a nice new rifle that she can use. That way, years from now, when the girlfriend is long gone, you will still have the rifle. Win - win. I don't miss that wack job one bit, but I would have dearly missed that rifle!

Good point! HaHa!

 

[_Nick_]

I'll toss a vote in for the 25-06. Ammo isn't quite as prolific, but it's a great caliber for your intended purposes, with a bit more mild recoil.

 

[Shrek]

7-08 is a great choice.

 

[Climber]

X2 on 7mm-08. I was looking for a rifle for my 9yr old last year and did tons of reading and looking at recoil and trajectory charts before making the decision on 7mm-08. He is recoil sensitive due to a bad shotgun kick he got when he was 7 so i wanted something low recoiling but powerful enough to shoot heaver bullets if needed as he gets older. The -08 is an awesome round and I find myself hunting with it quite a bit.

By the way, he hammered the first deer he shot at and the recoil is very minimal; especially with the "low-recoil" ammo by Hornady. I'm going to reload some full power rounds for him this year but the Hornady ammo was very impressive.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Another fan of the 7mm-08 here. I picked up a Tekka T3 lite in 7mm-08 last year for my 10-year-old son, and so far it's worked out great.

 

[Fjelljeger]

Got the 5'3" wife a 7mm08 Browning X-bolt Micro Hunter (Left hand). Trying to find a short length of pull in lefty wasnt easy but Browning came through. 7mm08 will do just fine from anything on up to an elk at not so far ranges.

 

[Daniel Bybee]

I'm really leaning towards the 7mm08 as she won't be shooting far distance and I can shoot a little heavier bullet.

 

[Terrapin]

I guess I am in the minority... I don't like the 7mm-08. I think the 260 Rem is far superior ballistically and has incrementally lower recoil. It might be harder to find at the local hardware store, but it seems there is a good assortment of "match" grade and premium ammo. I guess I am just pretty impressed with the 6.5mm cartridges in general. It is marginally big enough for elk, and superb for deer/ antelope etc. other than my dedicated gopher gun (223) I think I am going to transition most of my hunting guns to 6.5.

 

[Shrek]

I guess I am in the minority... I don't like the 7mm-08. I think the 260 Rem is far superior ballistically and has incrementally lower recoil. It might be harder to find at the local hardware store, but it seems there is a good assortment of "match" grade and premium ammo. I guess I am just pretty impressed with the 6.5mm cartridges in general. It is marginally big enough for elk, and superb for deer/ antelope etc. other than my dedicated gopher gun (223) I think I am going to transition most of my hunting guns to 6.5.

I wouldn't disagree that the 6.5 bullets are great but the 260 rem runs out of room quick with heavy for cal bullets and factory ammo is scarce. I'm building a 6.5 saum right now but I sure wouldn't recommend any of the 6.5 rounds to a non handloader. The 7-08 will handle everything well and is pretty easy to find factory ammo for. I've killed a pile of deer with the various 7-08's I've owned and will always recommend them. Great setof bullets available that cover everything and still fit in the standard magazine.

 

[NVCHUKAR]

Another good caliber is .243, really nice ballistics and low recoil along with good available ammo. I grew up with that gun and dropped five deer, 2 antelope, and 1 desert sheep, out to 400 yards on some. If she draws an elk tag just let her use one of your bigger caliber guns.

 

[6mm Remington]

The Ruger American seems like a decent rifle and the Tikka is known for accuracy. Another one to consider would be the Ruger Hawkeye (essentially just a Ruger MKII with some improvements) as they are a very well made rifle. For what she might be hunting the 25-06, 7mm-08, or 7x57 would all be great cartridges. Nothing wrong with a 243 or 6mm Remington either. I've taken lots of deer, antelope, coyotes, and one elk with my 6mm Remington. Yes it's light for elk but it works especially if she shoots it well which is one of the reasons for the light recoiling rounds like those. People can generally shoot them very well!

 

[Backpack Hunter]

I'm a fan of the .243, my girls like them too!

 

[Touchdown88]

My wife shot her elk with a 270. DRT. I would also look at the 257 Weatherby Vanguard. Descent bullet selection and an overall great round. I think it's a step up from the 243 family.

 

[BARichardson]

7-08 Tikka!!!!!! Is the rifle I got myself oops! I mean my girl!!! lol… Its accurate as hell out to 800 with hand loads and 168gr VLDs!

 

[Shrek]

7-08 Tikka!!!!!! Is the rifle I got myself oops! I mean my girl!!! lol… Its accurate as hell out to 800 with hand loads and 168gr VLDs!

What kind of velocity are you able to generate with that and what's the load ? Before I started my 6.5 saum project I was going to load 168 gr classics in my 7-08 as my backup rifle. Never built the load but I still might.

OP , if I was buying the rifle it would be a Savage 16 or 10 or a Tikka .A Remington 700 maybe. Very hard to beat the performance for dollar and there is aftermarket support. I've seen nothing for Ruger Americans or Savage Edges.

 

[ReddingArcher]

I love my Tikka T3 lite in 7mm08, its a tack driver and just fun to shoot.