Daughter wants a new (smaller and lighter) rifle....

[Blind Squirrel]

I bought my wife a Browning Hell's Canyon Speed in 6.5 CM, it comes with a brake from the factory, has a short barrel for easy handling, and is fairly light. With the brake and shooting 130gr bullets it kicks noticeably less than her old Model 70 compact .243 shooting 95 gr bullets and, obviously, has more power. I think it's the perfect choice for a woman who is recoil sensitive that wants to hunt deer sized game. It shoots half inch groups with every ammo I've put in it.

 

[WildRose]

Have you considered a 450 Busmaster? Ruger makes a bolt action in this cartridge. All of my friends in the "shotgun zone" of Michigan switched over to these when the state changed the rules and allowed them. It dumps big Midwest whitetails in their tracks. Effective range is probably to 350 yards. It's a great hog round, too. I know some guys are using them very effectively on elk when hunting them at short distances in the hardwoods.

It also comes with a pretty significant recoil and she doesn't like AR's so she'll be absorbing it all.

Add to that the fact it's dropping like a rock beyond 100yds and there are far better choices.

 

[WildRose]

. You never give up do ya?

Simply stating facts so again, why limit yourself?

She's young and likes to hunt so odds are she'll be hunting other places/locations, different terrain, opportunities, and ranges in the future.

 

[xsn10s]

I've looked at the Ruger Ranch, the Howa, the Zastava and the CZ. Only the Ruger and Howa are threaded.

I see that the rifle being threaded or installing a can is a priority. I think between the two I'd go with the Howa. Reasons being that Remage style barrels are available for the Howa. I like it extractor, and I like the bolt angle. It's much like the Winchester M70 which I find very fast to operate.

 

[teesquare]

SO many good choices for the OP......Situation would be much easier (READ: LIMITED... ) if the daughter was LEFT handed.....

 

[Joefrazell]

I'd look at a ruger american predator in 6.5 creedmoor or 7mm-08. These are great rifles for what she's desiring.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I still maintain that the 6.5 Grendel is more than enough cartridge, with virtually zero recoil. Found this on YouTube, thought it was interesting. It's the new Ruger American Predator in 6.5 Grendel shooting to 1,050 yards. He even makes a couple headshots at 750 and 850, and centers a 10" gong at 1,050 twice in a row (looks to be a fairly tight group).

 

[Model12boy]

If your looking for a light weight rifle for 200 yards or less the ruger 77/44 is 5.5 lbs an recoil is very light. I hunt thick cover with mine an killed a super nice 13 pt this year. Mine shoots the federal 240 grain flat nose hollow point into 1 1/2 group at 100 yds

 

[sailorjim]

Background. My grown daughter is an avid hunter (for someone who works, is a full time student, etc.). So I guess you can say, she goes hunting when she can. She has taken a whitetail buck a few years back with her rifle, shot under one a couple of years back with her brother's rifle. Wants to kill a hog, you get the picture.

I bought her a Savage Hog Hunter in .308 about 5 years ago or so. She is shooting full power ammo (my reloads) and recoil is not an issue but the Savage has a pretty thick barrel and some heft to it which mitigates the recoil somewhat. But she commented on this past weekend's hunt that she would like a lighter rifle. I just weighed the Savage and with scope (Bushnell 1-5x32), Ken Farrall 1" rings, Griffin can (the SS baffle and Aluminum can), sling, cheek pad and 5 rounds of .308 weighs in a shade over 10lbs. I'm guessing stripped it's an 8lb rifle.

She doesn't care for the AR platform, she likes bolt guns. Finding a lighter rifle is not a problem but finding one with enough punch without a substantial increase in recoil.

I've shot some kid sized, lightweight .243 rifles that had a pretty good kick. And the single shot rifles are out. Even though I've taken a pretty good sized buck with an AR in 5.56, I think she needs more than that.

So, I'm thinking about one of the rifles chambered in 7.62x39. Most of our shots are limited to 70-80 yards at most. But a 150-200 yard shot could come up occasionally. Her first dear was a 120 yards. We live in the southeast and there's not many opportunities for long range shots.

I've looked at the Ruger Ranch, the Howa, the Zastava and the CZ. Only the Ruger and Howa are threaded.

But then I saw that they all are also chambered in a 6.5 Grendel.

And there's the option to rebarrel the Savage but I'm not leaning in that direction because when I buy her a new rifle, Pops gets the Savage.

So what do you guys think? Thanks.

 

[sailorjim]

Just built a rifle for my daughter. Howa Mini 1500 barreled action in 6.5 Grendel, Boyd's adjustable stock, Leupold 2x7x32, slogan sling. Weight 8.5 pounds. I used the adjustable stock so my Son in law could use it too.

 

[DLJ6]

View attachment 111873

Wow that was a good sale! Sorry I missed out on that, I have been watching the Hunter in 280AI on GB for a while.

 

[Hunterguy36]

Background. My grown daughter is an avid hunter (for someone who works, is a full time student, etc.). So I guess you can say, she goes hunting when she can. She has taken a whitetail buck a few years back with her rifle, shot under one a couple of years back with her brother's rifle. Wants to kill a hog, you get the picture.

I bought her a Savage Hog Hunter in .308 about 5 years ago or so. She is shooting full power ammo (my reloads) and recoil is not an issue but the Savage has a pretty thick barrel and some heft to it which mitigates the recoil somewhat. But she commented on this past weekend's hunt that she would like a lighter rifle. I just weighed the Savage and with scope (Bushnell 1-5x32), Ken Farrall 1" rings, Griffin can (the SS baffle and Aluminum can), sling, cheek pad and 5 rounds of .308 weighs in a shade over 10lbs. I'm guessing stripped it's an 8lb rifle.

She doesn't care for the AR platform, she likes bolt guns. Finding a lighter rifle is not a problem but finding one with enough punch without a substantial increase in recoil.

I've shot some kid sized, lightweight .243 rifles that had a pretty good kick. And the single shot rifles are out. Even though I've taken a pretty good sized buck with an AR in 5.56, I think she needs more than that.

So, I'm thinking about one of the rifles chambered in 7.62x39. Most of our shots are limited to 70-80 yards at most. But a 150-200 yard shot could come up occasionally. Her first dear was a 120 yards. We live in the southeast and there's not many opportunities for long range shots.

I've looked at the Ruger Ranch, the Howa, the Zastava and the CZ. Only the Ruger and Howa are threaded.

But then I saw that they all are also chambered in a 6.5 Grendel.

And there's the option to rebarrel the Savage but I'm not leaning in that direction because when I buy her a new rifle, Pops gets the Savage.

So what do you guys think? Thanks.

They are a little higher in price but a 7-08 in a browning x bolt is a really nice rifle that has little kick, plenty of put down power and comes in I believe at about 6 or 7 lbs. My dad carries one with a Burris predator quest scope and absolutely loves it as far as weight goes in comparison to a 12 pound 264 win mag that he usually hunts with.

 

[HOT TUNA]

Remington Model 7 or Savage 111 Lightweight Hunter chambered in .260 Remington would get my vote. 20" barrels on both. The Savage comes in at 5.5 pounds and the Remington at 6.5 pounds. The .260 Remington is very mild on recoil and will dump any deer that walks this earth in it's tracks if the shot placement is good. I like to use 130 grain and 140 grain Bergers as they are very lethal on game. 6.5mm cartridges are very commonly used in Europe to hunt moose. To me that says a lot about their capabilities.

 

[John Klingenberg]

Background. My grown daughter is an avid hunter (for someone who works, is a full time student, etc.). So I guess you can say, she goes hunting when she can. She has taken a whitetail buck a few years back with her rifle, shot under one a couple of years back with her brother's rifle. Wants to kill a hog, you get the picture.

I bought her a Savage Hog Hunter in .308 about 5 years ago or so. She is shooting full power ammo (my reloads) and recoil is not an issue but the Savage has a pretty thick barrel and some heft to it which mitigates the recoil somewhat. But she commented on this past weekend's hunt that she would like a lighter rifle. I just weighed the Savage and with scope (Bushnell 1-5x32), Ken Farrall 1" rings, Griffin can (the SS baffle and Aluminum can), sling, cheek pad and 5 rounds of .308 weighs in a shade over 10lbs. I'm guessing stripped it's an 8lb rifle.

She doesn't care for the AR platform, she likes bolt guns. Finding a lighter rifle is not a problem but finding one with enough punch without a substantial increase in recoil.

I've shot some kid sized, lightweight .243 rifles that had a pretty good kick. And the single shot rifles are out. Even though I've taken a pretty good sized buck with an AR in 5.56, I think she needs more than that.

So, I'm thinking about one of the rifles chambered in 7.62x39. Most of our shots are limited to 70-80 yards at most. But a 150-200 yard shot could come up occasionally. Her first dear was a 120 yards. We live in the southeast and there's not many opportunities for long range shots.

I've looked at the Ruger Ranch, the Howa, the Zastava and the CZ. Only the Ruger and Howa are threaded.

But then I saw that they all are also chambered in a 6.5 Grendel.

And there's the option to rebarrel the Savage but I'm not leaning in that direction because when I buy her a new rifle, Pops gets the Savage.

So what do you guys think? Thanks.

Try on the Ruger American series. Threaded, light, accurate and several great calibers suited for your game.