New rifle for my daughter - need recommendations

[COOTER]

Hi All,
I am planning a Wyoming antelope/mule deer hunt for 2019 with my daughter (HS graduation present).
She is about 5' nothin.... I am looking at the Savage 110 Hunter rifle with Accufit. Seems like a good choice to be able to have it properly fit her. I can't decide between the caliber. I have narrowed it down to either a 270 or 25-06. Chances are very slim of hunting anything bigger than mule deer. It would be used here in Michigan for whitetails. I do reload for my long guns, but time is hard to come by for load development. So, chances are we would be using factory ammo.
If any you could provide recommendations for caliber and why you feel that caliber would be the best choice.
Thanks in Advance.

 

[Jbehredt]

If she can handle the rifles without ruining a surprise I’d go that route. I’d narrowed it down 4 rifles for my wife. We drove around town so she handle them all and SHE picked what would have been MY last choice based on cool factor and my likes. The Savage Lady Hunter in .308. She loves it. It doesn’t like to eject Nosler brass which would drive me nuts. She just shoots hornady instead, with a big grin I might add.

 

[COOTER]

If she can handle the rifles without ruining a surprise I’d go that route. I’d narrowed it down 4 rifles for my wife. We drove around town so she handle them all and SHE picked what would have been MY last choice based on cool factor and my likes. The Savage Lady Hunter in .308. She loves it. It doesn’t like to eject Nosler brass which would drive me nuts. She just shoots hornady instead, with a big grin I might add.

No surprise, she is in on it. Problem is, so far I have not been able to find anything somewhat local in those calibers in a "compact" stock. I just know that my 30-06, 300wsm are to big for her, she even shoots a youth 22. She has shot my 50 cal muzzy from the bench but that was a little big in the pull for her. I'll look into the lady hunter also.
Thanks again.

 

[fishforsmallies]

If she isn’t going to hunt anything bigger than deer I would say the 25-06 is a great caliber. Little recoil and with a 120gr pill it’s plenty big for mulies.

 

[wannakillabigbull]

25-06 for sure out of those two, they kill like lightening. 7mm-08 would be a fantastic choice too.

 

[Trial153]

Of the two...the quarter bore.

 

[mfllood3800]

I have been shooting a 6.5 CM with a brake and it has very little kick, yet can handle all of your needs and even have room for the "possible future hunts"

I also have a Rem 700 243. If that thing was braked it would have nothing kicking back and can do all your needs. Or a 6.0 cm.
As mentioned the 25-06, a 270 .

So many choices

 

[elkguide]

25:06 out of the two calibers that you mentioned but I would look at the 7mm08 too.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Of the calibers mentioned I would go the 25-06 route.
Having said that all of my daughters have a 243....so do I. Low recoil makes it a pleasure to shoot, and it kills deer with ease.....big deer, little deer, mule deer, whitetail deer, oh prairie goats too.

Esse quam videri

 

[elkduds]

I own and favor the 270, though for muley @ the largest, 25-06. Or 257 Roberts including +P and AI.

 

[Jon C]

Lots more compact options if you go short action calibers. 260,6.5 creed,7mm-08,270 wsm. Then could check out more rifle manufactures like tikka, rem, win and browning. But if the savage fits her good and she likes it I vote 270 out of your options.

 

[pacoalcracker]

I agree, a 243. Shorter/smaller/lighter overall and much less recoil and blast than any of the others mentioned. Plenty of factory loads to choose from as well and I always found them to be accurate. Between the 25-06 and 270, go with the 270. Way more factory loads to choose from, ensuring you match the bullet to the game and get the accuracy you are wanting. I believe you can also get "reduced" factory loads for the 270.

 

[frankrb3]

.243 Winchester is a pleasure to shoot and the ammo is very common. Of the two you mentioned I'd say .25-06.

 

[Summit1]

You can get a Winchester XPR compact in .243 for a really good deal if you look around. My daughter is 5'3" and the XPR compact fits her really well. PM me if you want info on where to get one. Brad

 

[goodgrouper]

Tikka youth/women's model in 7mm08

 

[N2TRKYS]

I have both cartridges and don't notice much difference in recoil between the two. I like them both, so I don't think you could go wrong with either. I recently bought a new Remington Model Seven SS in 7-08 and love the little setup.

 

[COOTER]

Thanks for all the replies.
Please keep them coming. This is exactly the input I am looking for.

 

[V65Magna]

I am a huge fan of the .243 and have hammered many a whitetail with my old Browning A-bolt, which I load with 95 grain Nosler partitions. I think your daughter might like the short action as well, which will make for a more compact package and easier for her to carry. That said, love the .25-06 if you decide to go long action. A look at the recoil charts indicates that there's not much difference in recoil between the .243 and the 25-06, but jump up to a .270 and you've got a 25% increase in recoil over the 25-06. If she's recoil sensative this is something to consider. She gets a big jump in power/effective range going from the .243 to the quarterbore without the cost of alot of added recoil. Jump up to the .270 and she might not like shooting it as much.

 

[LightFoot]

Out of 25-06 and 270... I agree with the fellas on the 25-06.

I think a short action is a better choice dor a compact gun/shooter. The 6.5 CM is nearly perfect for any deer with factory loads from 120 to 143gr.

Good luck.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[wannakillabigbull]

If I was 18 years old and 5 foot nothing I definitely wouldn’t want to be shooting a lightweight 270