jcHigginsgrl
Inactive
I am a 21yr old girl. I am 5'8" and weigh approx. 107lbs. I am wanting to find a good deer rifle that won't completely knock me on my butt. lol. Any suggestions?
need help finding the right deer rifle for me.
- Thread starter jcHigginsgrl
- Start date
American Made
New member
I really like the 7mm-08 for a 'one and done' rifle..
My wife is 5' 2" and she shoots her Browning BLR in 7mm-08 very well. We also own a Tikka T3 in 7mm-08. Both are very shootable for any member of my family.
My wife is 5' 2" and she shoots her Browning BLR in 7mm-08 very well. We also own a Tikka T3 in 7mm-08. Both are very shootable for any member of my family.
You may like a .243 Winchester, the recoil is light, but it has good range.and performs well on deer. As for the Rifle I recomend picking up several and see which one is most comfortable to you. I do however recomend buying a Redfield Revolution scope its very clear and has good eye relief. My Daughter has one and really likes it. Good luck
checkmyswag
New member
TX Hunter...good advice.
FrankenMauser
New member
A proper suggestion requires more information.
Where do you live? (Just a general area of a state is fine.)
What type of deer do you plan to hunt?
Whitetail/Blacktail?
Mule Deer?
Do you think the rifle might need to be used for other game, as well?
(Such as ground hogs, hogs, Elk, Moose, Bear, or anything else?)
What type of hunting will you be doing?
Stalking?
Stand/blind/still hunting?
What type of terrain?
Mountains? Desert? Pine forest? Deciduous forest?
What would be the longest shot you might encounter?
What is the average shot you would need to make?
Do you have a preference for the type of rifle action?
Pump action? Lever action? Bolt action? Single shot?
Do you have a preference for certain bullet types?
(Wanting to shoot Remington Bronze Points, for example, means some tubular magazine rifles are not an option.)
Do you have a preference for iron sights, or a scope?
Where do you live? (Just a general area of a state is fine.)
What type of deer do you plan to hunt?
Whitetail/Blacktail?
Mule Deer?
Do you think the rifle might need to be used for other game, as well?
(Such as ground hogs, hogs, Elk, Moose, Bear, or anything else?)
What type of hunting will you be doing?
Stalking?
Stand/blind/still hunting?
What type of terrain?
Mountains? Desert? Pine forest? Deciduous forest?
What would be the longest shot you might encounter?
What is the average shot you would need to make?
Do you have a preference for the type of rifle action?
Pump action? Lever action? Bolt action? Single shot?
Do you have a preference for certain bullet types?
(Wanting to shoot Remington Bronze Points, for example, means some tubular magazine rifles are not an option.)
Do you have a preference for iron sights, or a scope?
FM asked a lot of good questions and I have a few to add.
What is your current experience level with firearms in general? Do you like your metal stainless steel, or blued? Do you prefer synthetic stocks or the feel of wood?
Finally are you limiting yourself to factory ammunition or will you or someone else be reloading? The reason I ask this last question is some rifles are just more expensive to feed than others unless you reload. If all you ever plan to shoot is factory ammunition then there are some cartridges you'll want to stick to just for the plain fact of ammunition availability.
Here would be my choices based on action types if I were buying my first rifle knowing what I do today.
The .243 Win, .270 Win, .308 Win, and .30-06 are the most popular hunting chambering s in bolt action rifles. Ammunition will be available most places and in a wider variety than almost any other. Plus with wide spread popularity there is a lot of competition so they are the usually some of the most affordable you can buy. The .308 and .30-06 will recoil the most with bullets weights over 150 grains, but if the stock fits you will be able to tolerate the recoil so don't be scared to get a rifle chambered for these cartridges.
Not nearly as popular but still great cartridges for low recoil are the .25-06 Rem and 7mm-08 Rem. These are great deer cartridges that offer minimal recoil. Ammunition is usually found but with limited choices at most places. Here though the 7mm-08 offers more flexibility if you are going to go for game larger than deer.
Then there is the good ol' .30-30 the most popular lever action cartridge of all time. Usually runs $12-20 for ammunition, all the deer power most people would ever need with a range out to 150+ yards depending on ammunition used. Even thought the Winchester M94 is my favorite lever action rifle, I'd look to the Marlin 336 since you can scope it much easier if that is what you want to do. Depending on where you live the .35 Rem might be popular and almost as easy to find as the .30-30 and again get it in the Marlin 336.
If you want a pump rifle I'd buy it in any of the above cartridges, but if you want a semi-auto then I'd stick to the shorter cases based off of the .308. This means the .243, 7mm-08 and of course the .308 chambers.
What is your current experience level with firearms in general? Do you like your metal stainless steel, or blued? Do you prefer synthetic stocks or the feel of wood?
Finally are you limiting yourself to factory ammunition or will you or someone else be reloading? The reason I ask this last question is some rifles are just more expensive to feed than others unless you reload. If all you ever plan to shoot is factory ammunition then there are some cartridges you'll want to stick to just for the plain fact of ammunition availability.
Here would be my choices based on action types if I were buying my first rifle knowing what I do today.
The .243 Win, .270 Win, .308 Win, and .30-06 are the most popular hunting chambering s in bolt action rifles. Ammunition will be available most places and in a wider variety than almost any other. Plus with wide spread popularity there is a lot of competition so they are the usually some of the most affordable you can buy. The .308 and .30-06 will recoil the most with bullets weights over 150 grains, but if the stock fits you will be able to tolerate the recoil so don't be scared to get a rifle chambered for these cartridges.
Not nearly as popular but still great cartridges for low recoil are the .25-06 Rem and 7mm-08 Rem. These are great deer cartridges that offer minimal recoil. Ammunition is usually found but with limited choices at most places. Here though the 7mm-08 offers more flexibility if you are going to go for game larger than deer.
Then there is the good ol' .30-30 the most popular lever action cartridge of all time. Usually runs $12-20 for ammunition, all the deer power most people would ever need with a range out to 150+ yards depending on ammunition used. Even thought the Winchester M94 is my favorite lever action rifle, I'd look to the Marlin 336 since you can scope it much easier if that is what you want to do. Depending on where you live the .35 Rem might be popular and almost as easy to find as the .30-30 and again get it in the Marlin 336.
If you want a pump rifle I'd buy it in any of the above cartridges, but if you want a semi-auto then I'd stick to the shorter cases based off of the .308. This means the .243, 7mm-08 and of course the .308 chambers.
TheNatureBoy
New member
Another vote for the .243 : )
You need to fire a couple rifles and calibers first and see what you like. IMHO a 243 is a great deer rifle unless you hunt in heavy brush. Since you will only fire it 1 or 2 times while hunting recoil is not an issue ,and .308 is not bad . I would go with a .308 and not worry about recoil . .308 is great all around and easy to find at a good price . a 3-9x40 rifle scope from Bushnell,Weaver,Nikon in the $200.00 to $250.00 range is all the scope you will need . take a look at Howa or Savage,.308 rifles ,they are a good bang for the buck . Nikon Prostaf 3-9x40 for $149.00 and a $359.00 Howa 1500 in .308 would be a great all around set up for hunting .
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The question I would ask is what range will you be shooting?
If it’s less than 100 yards I would look at the Ruger 44/77 in 44 magnum. Or the 77/357 which shoots 357 magnums. The gun has good power and good accuracy for 100 yards. Match a nice 2 X 7 or a straight 4 power scope like a Redfield and you will have a nice package. If you’re looking at longer range then the suggestions that everyone has added are good. For me the 243 would be an excellent choice. Then get the gun that fits you the best.
http://www.ruger.com/products/rotaryMagazine7744/models.html
http://www.redfield.com/riflescopes/
If it’s less than 100 yards I would look at the Ruger 44/77 in 44 magnum. Or the 77/357 which shoots 357 magnums. The gun has good power and good accuracy for 100 yards. Match a nice 2 X 7 or a straight 4 power scope like a Redfield and you will have a nice package. If you’re looking at longer range then the suggestions that everyone has added are good. For me the 243 would be an excellent choice. Then get the gun that fits you the best.
http://www.ruger.com/products/rotaryMagazine7744/models.html
http://www.redfield.com/riflescopes/
Man I forget about all those pistol caliber rifles! They aren't legal here to hunt with in CO for rifle season. I don't know any pistol cailber that will meet the ft-lb requirements at 100 yards here. I'm sure some of the larger pistold cartridges like .454 Casull or .500 S&W will get close if not there to the mystical 1000 ft-lbs of energy @ 100 yards for rifle hunting big game in Colorado. The problem is finding a rifle that shoots those thumpers outside of single shots.
black mamba
New member
.260 Remington or 6.5 Creedmoore are excellent and light recoiling deer rifles. If you think you may want to hunt larger game later on with the same rifle, then the 7mm-08 or .308 would be better choices, but would have a little more kick.
dontcatchmany
New member
I second the 25-06.
Light recoil and a flat trajectory out to about 300 yds.
Light recoil and a flat trajectory out to about 300 yds.
Since you're obviously fairly small, I'd stick with a moderate weight rifle in one of the following:
243 Win
257 Roberts
260/6.5x55
7mm08/7x57
308 Win
All are adequate for deer although the 243 may be marginal for large bodied northern whitetails/mountain muleys. I have used all of these minus the 260/6.5 for deer hunting and all are available in one or more bolt actions from several makers(257&6.5 is very limited). My daughter started with a 223, moved up to a 243, and currently has a custom 7mm08 waiting in the wings.
243 Win
257 Roberts
260/6.5x55
7mm08/7x57
308 Win
All are adequate for deer although the 243 may be marginal for large bodied northern whitetails/mountain muleys. I have used all of these minus the 260/6.5 for deer hunting and all are available in one or more bolt actions from several makers(257&6.5 is very limited). My daughter started with a 223, moved up to a 243, and currently has a custom 7mm08 waiting in the wings.
