I was wondering if anyone can help me I am looking to buy my wife her first deer rifle we live in West "by god " Virginia and I was wondering if any one can tell me what I should get her I thought about a 243 seeing as how she is afraid of guns and I don't want to get her something that will knock her on her butt so can anyone help me

A .243 isn't a bad choice, but there is very little room for error in shot placement. Something that would have very similar recoil, but offers a little bit heavier bullet would be a .260 or a 7mm-08. I shoot the 7mm-08 myself, and its a really baby when it comes to recoil and report. Any of these cartridges are available in Remingtons Model 7, which is a slightly more compact rifle, great for shorter shooters, kids and ladies. Ruger also makes a M77 compact, and Browning makes a Micro as well. Savage also offers the American Compact. All great rifles. One really big concern with ladies is overall rifle weight... I suspect either the Browning or Remington would be the lightest... and the Remington will also come with an R3 recoil pad, which is really the best in the industry.... definately worth a look.


Another option, if you have a hunting rifle yourself, is that a lot of ammo makers are now making reduced recoil loads. If you have a 30/06, 270 or 308.... Remington and Federal are both loading rounds with 50% less recoil. These shells are still plenty capable out to 200 yards. Might be an economical choice just incase she doesn't take to it. Good luck!

Swamp collie speaks truth. His entire post is filled with what I would say. I have a Rem. Model 7 in 7mm-08 and it is deadly on deer. I also have the Ruger M77 Compact in .243. I also have a Browning Micro Hunter in .243 and it is a sweet rifle also. All 3 of my children can shoot any of them comfortably, and my kids are 13, 11, and 9. If you need the recoil protectiion the R3 pad is good advice, or a Sims recoil pad. You can get the sims in a slip on model, and it will make any gun a lot nicer to shoot. I have 3 of them.

And as he also stated, the Remington Managed Recoil rounds are super for lever, bolt, or pump action rifles, however, they do not carry enough energy to fully operate the action of a semi-auto rifle, and often times leaves a spent case hung up. They are lethal to a bit over 200 yards in all calibers, and according to the Remington web site , they have the recoil equal to or less than a standard .243 round.

The best advice I can give you , outside of Swampcollies good words, is to take her with you and see what fits her. Let her handle each rifle, and let her pick. If money is a factor, the three rifles named above are in three different ranges, with the Rem. model 7 probably the highest, and the Ruger Compact the lowest, but there will not be a great difference between the three..... but there will be some difference.

One other item to mention is the safety... The Remington and Browning have 2 position safeties, and the Ruger has a 3 position safety. This means that you can work the bolt on a Ruger with the trigger still on safe. On the Rem. and Browning If you take the gun off safe to cycle the bolt, the gun can fire.
That is one thing I really do like about my Ruger Rifles.

Good luck, and Good Hunting.

God Bless

Michael

Surely

My wife doesn't really like most of my guns but she shoots/handles my 2506 rem andour friends(wife) 7mm08 micro hunter really well. The Micro fits her better, herdrivers lic says 5.0' tall.....that's stretching it

From one West by God guy to another. If you hunt the typical WV woods like I do then long range is not an issue. My girl friend's favorite rifle is a 30 carbine, I handload for it. It is a great little 30 caliber rifle. Good size bullet for killing ability. It is an excellent round for a recoil sensitive person out to 100 yards. Very little recoil. Tom.

The first deer I ever shot with a rifle was out of an M1 carbine... I think I was 9. I was scared to death of it, just because the big deer rifles always had a loud boom, and my Dad said it kicked a lot harder than my little 20 gauge. My Dad was a superhero, and if it kicked him, it would kill me! A co-worker of his had one, and he assured me that it was just like a .22 only a bit louder. He put ear muffs on me and I tried it (with my eyes closed) and loved it! I shot a big doe at about 70 yards with it (a heck of a shot for an iron sighted rifle in the hands of a kid!). Its certainly got the capability, though finding a rifle other than an M1 carbine might be kinda challenging.

my wife uses a Marlin 30-30. she does occasionally shoot my 30-06 but likes shooting the 30-30....it is a great gun iside of 150-175 yrds.....she wouldn't shoot any further than that distance anyway

Count another hillbilly vote for the 7-08...

243 or 7mm08 in either the Ruger Compact or Model 7.

Thats a good idea I had not thought about, 243 is another good choice. IMO the 280,7mm-08, can thump a little in a lightweight rifle. I might get something regular weight(7-8lbs) to tame recoil if she wants one of the bigger calibers.