wahunterinrok

I have to go along with the idea about the BLR. They are a solid reliable rifle. I had one for my first deer rifle and lovedthe handling of it.

Ruger-Redhawk

Thanks Stubblejumper for your comments.I was curious if that could have been the cause.Since you live in that climate, I knew you would know what to do and what was necessary for reliable operation.I'm with you, I have a BAR or two but I like my Bolt Actions the best.I feel they are more reliable,with a slight edge on accuracy.
Ruger Redhawk

Goodguy

Thanks all for the input. I was hoping to hear that the BAR worked flawlessly and never jammed . However, I guess that's not being realistic. As mentioned in my first post the reason for considering the auto-loader is recoil reduction. If I were to go with something other than an auto-loader then it would be a bolt. I know a .308 would be a nice soft shooter but for the area we hunt .308 would be marginal at best with fairly long and possible quartering shots and the need to put the animal down immediately. A wounded moose running off a couple hundred yards into the thickest bush/brush you can imagine would not be a desirable situation. This girl is not unaccustomed to shooting and handles a 12 gauge quite nicely as well as light caliber center fire rifle and high caliber handgun so maybe I'll see how she does with the 30.06 bolt. Thanks again. gg.

noway

I think in the excitement of the action hunting a relatively inexperienced hunter has a greater chance of jamming the action on a bolt than they would of getting a jam with a well maintained BAR shooting ammo that it has been tested with suffieciently and proven not to jam the rifles action.
I have hunted elk in the nastiest of condition including cold down to 10 degrees with two guys who use BAR's and they have never had a jam.
But they do lots of off season shooting and have found loads that just do not jam the action.

I would go with the BAR, you were on the right track.

Robertesq1

I have the lightweight stalker BAR in .308. It is a shooter, comforatable to shoot, extremely accurate and it never jammed in any weather including extremely cold conditions. I would highly reccommend it.

Deleted User

[Deleted by Admins]

Big Al C

Goodguy, I own a BAR in .270 and I have never had it jam. It is also very accurate with a Nikon Monarch scope and a BOSS on it. I love the fact that it is light on recoil and I get a quick follow-up shot if needed. On moose this might be something to consider as I understand they can take a shot or two or three before giving up the ghost. Good luck whichever you decide.

P.S. I am a lefty also, and I got turned on to the BAR because of the relative scarcity of southpaw bolt actions. My cousin who has been a hunter for 40 years uses one for the same reason.

James B

My Brother has the lightweight BAR 30-06. It has worked without a hitch for him. For me I prefer the Remington Pump in 30-06. You should naver have a malfunction with one of those. I am a lefty also. Thus the Pump. I have used many LH Bolt guns as well. Remington makes the BDL 700 in 308 Left Hand. I would think she could handle that. My wife doesn't like recoil but the 308 from field position shooting does not bother her.

bigbulls

If she is handeling the recoil of a 12 gague nicely then the recoil from a centerfire rifle up to and including the 338 win. mag. would be the least of my worries. If she does feel that the recoil from a 300 or a 338 is too much after shooting it you could always install a decelerator pad, and / or a mercury recoil reducer and would bring down the felt recoil considerably.

IMO the 300 mag (short or long) would be excelent choices considering you said that a 12 gague is no problem for her. I don't think that she would have any problem shooting either one of these. Sighted in aproximately 2 - 2.5 inches high at 100 yards she could hold dead on clear out to 300 yards.

One option you might want to look at would be to buy her a used 700, 70, m77 in a left handed action and have it rebarreled for a 35 whelen or 350 Rem. mag. Or a new Savage and rebarrel it for the 35 whelen. You can buy a rebarrel kit for the Savage from Midway in 35 whelen for $175.00. You would still come in under what a new BAR would cost and you / she would have a good shooting, no frills gun that you wouldn't be worried about her banging up.



Here is a short list of recoil for different cartridges. These are aproximate and will vary depending on gun weight, bullet weight, etc.

7mm mag........160 grain....22 foot pounds
30-06..............180 grain....20.3 foot pounds
300 Mag..........180 grain....25 foot pounds
338 Mag..........250 grain....33 foot pounds
35 whelen........200 grain....22 foot pounds

12 gague.... 2.75" with 1.25 oz. shot at 1330 fps...........32 foot pounds.............Magnum turkey and buckshot loads are getting into 45 to 60 foot pounds of recoil.

Goodguy

I have read each reply carefully and have considered all of your input & suggestions. I guess there is no one clear cut perfect choice regardless of the situation or the shooter. All of my own rifles are bolt and personally my preference for moose is either 300 win mag or 300 wsm. (I have a m. 70 in 300 wsm and a m. 77 Express in 300 win mag and like them both). I was encouraged by the favourable comments on the BAR which was my original thought and I have now acquired a Browning BAR 11 30.06 Belgium made in gorgeous (new) condition and it breaks my heart to think the stock will have to be shortened to fit her. Oh well! such is life! She can shoot it and use it for a season or two and if at some point down the road when she is better informed and has a better understanding of "rifles" she can make her own decision and may wish to replace it with something more to her favour and keep the BAR as a back up (or sell it to a another lefty with a short length of pull.) gg.