Melissa I agree completely with jmfa1957. Every shooter has different tolerances for recoil....take me for example...I am 6'5 around 220 pounds and I absolutely dont shoot anything over a 30-06...I just dont like recoil. Can I stand it?? Yes..bu whats the point? Everyone has a different threshold they are comfy with...mines lower than most. Being a female I'd say you are doing pretty well shooting that 06...but I think truth be known it would make most shoulders black and blue after a day at the range. That being said if ya really like the gun...just get a good recoil pad such as a sims for it and maybe try the shoulder pad they have talked about.


Eventually if you keep takign the beating that gun is giving you the way it is now...you will start to flinch...and trust me as I know from experience..its a hard thing to get rid of after you start. If the recoil pad doesnt do it I would look into a 7mm-08 or some of the other calibers mentioned here. The thing to make sure of is that its a caliber and gun that you look forward to shooting rather than dreading it thinking "oh boy here goes my shoulder again"


As for anyone thats called ya a wimp...go ahead and smack the taste out of their mouth. I wish there were more female shooters and hunters.