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Rifle for my wife

Old 11-14-2015, 08:37 AM
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Nontypical Buck
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Default Rifle for my wife

My wife wants a rifle. What I am curious about is are there rifles that are better fits for woman? My wife is 5'7". We have bowhunted together for years and she turkey hunts with a Remington 870 express.

I have a Remington 700 in .30-06 which seems a bit long for her.

With archery I know what to do, with rifles I don't. Are there "woman sized" rifles?

She will be hunting everything from whitetails here in NH, to western game from antelope up to elk with this gun over the next years.
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Old 11-14-2015, 08:43 AM
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Depends on the build of your wife. Perhaps think about a youth model gun, they come in most calibers. if the 06 is too much for her a .243 or .270 would be a good choice.
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Old 11-14-2015, 12:29 PM
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Take her to your favorite gun store and have her shoulder a bunch of rifles. You should be able to figure out what she likes best, what fits best and even if you need to adjust/shorten the stock for length of Pull. I did that with my wife (about the same height) and she really liked the Tikka T3 Stainless rifle in .243W.
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Old 11-14-2015, 07:33 PM
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I've been wanting to buy the wife a Styer Scout, I really want one.
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Old 11-15-2015, 03:30 AM
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My wife is small framed and I purchased her a Rem Model 7 chambered in .260 and it fits her like a glove. She's killed several nice deer with it thus far and really loves the gun.
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Old 11-15-2015, 11:49 AM
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Originally Posted by CalHunter
Take her to your favorite gun store and have her shoulder a bunch of rifles. You should be able to figure out what she likes best, what fits best and even if you need to adjust/shorten the stock for length of Pull.
+ 100%

Only way to do it IMO.
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Old 11-16-2015, 10:45 AM
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Rem semi-auto .270 with 130gr pills.
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Old 11-16-2015, 11:23 AM
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One thing to consider/keep in mind: You don't have to find a rifle on a shelf that has all of the features and functions you want AND a proper fit - you can always change stocks, or modify the existing stock. And remember - that holds true whether it's a woman's rifle or not.

Most of us live with relatively poorly fit stocks or poorly balanced rifles every day, man or woman. But since the "fairer sex" tends to have less passion for recoil than men, it's good for us to go through the actions of fitting and balancing rifles for better fitment to women. A rifle needs to fit for overall weight, balance (center of mass), LOP, trigger reach, wrist angle, drop, cast, cheekpiece height, and a number of other variables. Buying a rifle off of a shelf, you have no control over any of these variables, so folks tend to look for a stock that fits, even if the rifle might not suit their desires for form or function. Win 94 stocks fit me very well, surprisingly, but I hate toggle link actions, and can't do much with a 30-30, so despite the great feel, they're not great choices for me.

As an example, I can't think of the last time I picked up a rifle which didn't need a cheek riser for me to get lined up in the scope, especially in the 50mm objective scopes I prefer, and it's REALLY common that sporter style rifles balance too much in my hands instead of where I like - with the load further forward for support. I also have some ugly damage in my hand and wrist from riding bulls all of those years that makes most sporter pistol grip stocks uncomfortable for me, and makes it difficult for me to address the trigger properly. But I still shoot all of these rifles with relatively poor balance and poor ergonomics, with minor alterations, because that's how they come from the factory.

One option - albeit expensive - is to have a stock made to fit her, perfectly. You can get the same effect for much less expense - albeit less attractive - by throwing some bondo on a factory stock, then painting it (hydrodipping can look great). Works best with wood or laminate stocks, so you can cut down the length of pull, sand here, reduce bulk there, etc. without running into structural issues like you would with synthetic stocks.

Fitting for women - you have to keep their physical structure and musculature in mind: because their body is designed differently, they don't mount a rifle the same way men do. Their pelvis, the foundation of their rifle support structure is built differently than men, so their stance is naturally different. Their musculature and structure are different on top as well, so they further hold their rifles differently than men, from head to toe. Their facial structure is different than ours too, so their cheekweld and eye position over the stock are completely different than men. A man and a woman of equal weight and height wouldn't likely fit the same stock.

If she needs a shorter stock, get a shorter stock. Expect her to need her eye relief to be very different than yours (my wife's rifles are all about 1.5" rearward of where mine are set). If she needs a cheekpiece added, add one. If the rifle is too heavy, get a different one.

Oh... And then follow all of those same rules for your own rifles in the future. Get stocks and rifles that fit you and balance well for you too. ;-)

Last edited by Nomercy448; 11-16-2015 at 11:28 AM.
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Old 11-16-2015, 12:49 PM
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Here I thought you were talking about trading your wife for a new rifle. Sounds like a good plan to me! LOL
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Old 11-16-2015, 02:08 PM
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I'm thinking she deserves a DCR She-Devil in 6.5-06 with a McMillan Hunter made to fit her...
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