Best hunting caliber for a very petite female?

[The Heretic]

Note, I don't recommend the .243 Win unless you have the shooting skills to put the bullet exactly where it needs to go, if not, your making the animal suffer while you take follow up shots, or some one else has to finish it off!

I've seen people make bad shots with magnums (myself included). Bullet placement is always an issue, with any cartridge. My maternal grandfather took more elk when he was young than most hunters on this board have seen, and he did it with a .30-30.

There are limits with any cartridge, and the suggestions I have seen so far are good, as long as the pros and cons are understood.

 

[wp4]

2 words. Muzzle Brake.

 

[The Heretic]

2 words. Muzzle Brake.

They do work. But most of them make the blast louder.

 

[Kruel J]

Go ahead and tell her to get a Tikka in 6.5 creedmoor so certain members can get their splooging out of the way. Must include pics. Not of the splooge.

I just vomited. And not from the splooge.

 

[No_Regerts]

If she is petite, stock fit will be important. It affects felt recoil, scope placement, and handling characteristics. Another thing to think about is bolt throw. A short action, or an action with appropriate bolt stop (like Tikka), will allow her to run the bolt properly. Many rifles that are made to be light with existing actions do so by screwing a skinny barrel on a regular action. Try to avoid this by choosing a gun that is built from the ground-up to handle well at a lighter weight. Examples would be Tikka or Kimber.

Why light And not something heavier to mitigate recoil? I've found that lighter weight guns are easier to deal with in a greater variety of shooting positions. If the gun is properly balanced, the weight will balanced farther forward with a more normal contour barrel. Works great off-hand, on sticks, against a tree, prone, whatever.

Chambering? If she is not a reloader, stick with what is readily available in a caliber that fits in a short action and wont kick her into next week. My first choice is 7mm-08 with 6.5 Creedmoor as a close second. I KNOW how 7mm hunting bullets are constructed and have seen how they perform. I have a 7mm-08, 7x57, 280, and 7mm Rem Mag. In the 7mm-08, the 120gr Ballistic Tip is a wicked bullet and kills way beyond its size. At over 3000 fps, it shoots quite flat. Not as familiar with the 6.5 bullets, but many enjoy the bore size. I'll always be a 7mm guy. 308 is a viable option as well.

Tikka T3x Superlite, 7mm-08, McMillan Hunters Edge, Leupold Vx3 3.5-10x40. Right at 7lbs loaded:

 

[CountryGent]

Stock design and fit....plays a huge role in how perceived recoil is felt....
If the stock don't fit well...recoil is felt more regardless of caliber.

^. This. My spouse is in the same height and weight zone as OP's friend. Finding, or fitting/modifying, the right firearm has been more important than caliber in this respect.

That said, with a bolt-action, perhaps a .270 or .308 Winchester, or in a lever-action, the venerable .30/30 WCF or the aforementioned .308 if it is a box magazine fed affair. Used within their proper application, of course.

 

[Kruel J]

Has anyone yet asked what her shooting experience is? Meaning has she even shot a centerfire rifle? Anything close to a hunting setup? And if yes, how did she do.

Being "small" and "petite" really doesn't mean much and assuming she can't handle large calibers is dismissive at best.

 

[No_Regerts]

Has anyone yet asked what her shooting experience is? Meaning has she even shot a centerfire rifle? Anything close to a hunting setup? And if yes, how did she do.

Being "small" and "petite" really doesn't mean much and assuming she can't handle large calibers is dismissive at best.

Its not dismissive as much as its practical. If she has to lower the gun to run the bolt without hitting herself in the face, she'll have a hard time getting off shot #2 or #3 if needed. If she has to crawl the stock to get behind the scope, she'll create an off-angle causing the gun to recoil to the side. It will also make proper eye relief difficult to achieve. If you have to be overly creative with scope mounts to bring the scope back further, you run a much higher chance of losing zero from any kind of bump to the scope.

 

[Kruel J]

Its not dismissive as much as its practical. If she has to lower the gun to run the bolt without hitting herself in the face, she'll have a hard time getting off shot #2 or #3 if needed. If she has to crawl the stock to get behind the scope, she'll create an off-angle causing the gun to recoil to the side. It will also make proper eye relief difficult to achieve. If you have to be overly creative with scope mounts to bring the scope back further, you run a much higher chance of losing zero from any kind of bump to the scope.

Agreed. So are we talking about calibers she can handle or rifles? Seems to me two different topics.......

 

[Martini_Up]

270

 

[The Heretic]

243 Winchester Versus 7mm-08 Remington — Ron Spomer Outdoors

Can the 243 Winchester versus 7mm-08 Remington contest have a clear winner? And is either an adequate deer cartridge? Spomer fleshes out the ballistic data, recoil levels and game getting history of each of these mild recoiling rounds so you can choose.

ronspomeroutdoors.com

 

[MannyGlocks]

A good bud has banished .243 as a white tail deer caliber at his deer hunting lease.

Why?

Way, way too many wounded deer that hobbled off to die and not be harvested.

 

[No_Regerts]

Agreed. So are we talking about calibers she can handle or rifles? Seems to me two different topics.......

Body size leads to gun size. If she were 6'0, it might be different.

I guess she could get any of the guns I mentioned in a WSM if she likes recoil. Most "caliber" problems come from gun fit vs the cartridge.

 

[Kruel J]

Body size leads to gun size. If she were 6'0, it might be different.

I guess she could get any of the guns I mentioned in a WSM if she likes recoil. Most "caliber" problems come from gun fit vs the cartridge.

Agreed. Again. So again, is this about caliber or about a properly fitted firearm?

Rhetorical. Kind of.

 

[No_Regerts]

A good bud has banished .243 as a white tail deer caliber at his deer hunting lease.

Why?

Way, way too many wounded deer that hobbled off to die and not be harvested.

Thats a bullet construction problem, most likely. Many 6mm bullets don't have the jacket that other calibers have. Nosler developed the 95gr Ballistic Tip with a heavier jacket and it will kill any deer, no problem.

 

[No_Regerts]

Agreed. Again. So again, is this about caliber or about a properly fitted firearm?

Rhetorical. Kind of.

Both. Find a rifle that fits a petite person first, and choose whats best from what that gun mfg offers. Do it the other way, and you'll have a funky combo that doesn't make sense. The 25-06 and 270 make great cartridges for hunting. Say she picks one of those because it doesn't kick hard. Then she has to have the stock and maybe the barrel cut down to fit, and the learn to negotiate her head around the bolt throw. Should have just started with gun fit and worried about the cartridge later.

 

[SpudBob]

25-06 wouldn't be a bad choose either! Hell .257 Roberts! .243, though, IMHO would make a lot of sense for a novice shooter!

 

[teflon6string]

Hunting petite females? Kinda old-school here, I always did well with flowers.

 

[Kruel J]

Both. Find a rifle that fits a petite person first, and choose whats best from what that gun mfg offers. Do it the other way, and you'll have a funky combo that doesn't make sense. The 25-06 and 270 make great cartridges for hunting. Say she picks one of those because it doesn't kick hard. Then she has to have the stock and maybe the barrel cut down to fit, and the learn to negotiate her head around the bolt throw. Should have just started with gun fit and worried about the cartridge later.

I think too many times the cartridge is contemplated without all of the other things that make a successful hunting kit.

 

[The Heretic]

I agree about fit - if the shooter can't shoot the rifle well, shooting a .338 Magnum won't make it any deadlier. Same goes for recoil - although I do somewhat agree that maybe it isn't a valid assumption to make that recoil will be an issue due to slight build.

If the OP is able, I suggest finding some owners of rifles in a couple of the suggested calibers and of a likely fit for the shooter, and then have the shooter try them out and let her decide which of the calibers she can handle. Then go from there to find a proper fitting rifle in that caliber?