Hunting Rifle Question

[Sotiris]

Now that she's had a few chances to fire my trusty Mossberg, my fiancee decided that she wants to have her own firearm. After going to Gander Mountain and a few local pawn shops where she held a few shotguns and rifles, she's got her heart set on a bolt action Savage 111 rifle( http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/p ... &from=grid ). She's been doing all the research for what she wants herself and she came to the conclusion that good old fashioned 30-06 ammo should be good enough for her to go hunting with pretty much anywhere we go. I don't feel that it will be too much recoil for her as she doesn't have much of a problem shooting my shotgun. I went to their website and downloaded the owner's manual for her to study before we go shopping on Friday.
I don't have a lot of experience with Savage Arms, or bolt action rifles for that matter, does anyone out there have any advice or recommendations? Is this a good model or at least good enough to learn on?
Thanks!

[acguy45]

Savage makes a very good rifle for the $ IMHO and you wouldn't go wrong with selecting it. You said she is not paticularly recoil sensitive and thats a good thing, maybe if you knew someone with a 30-06 you could see if they would let her try it to be certain they're are also manged recoil loads or if you handload you can tweak them.
Shooting a 30-06 a few times for hunting is a lot different then target shooting or plinking. and 30-06 sporter weight rifle stops being fun to shoot after awhile.

a .308 is still plenty of gun and surplus ammo is easier/cheaper to find these days and if she/you decide to get a 30-06 later, its a good reason to buy another gun

[gunderwood]

How do you know she isn't recoil sensitive? What has she shot and in what caliber? Muzzle break?

IMHO, the difference between .308 and 30-06 unless you are pushing a 190+ gr bullets is no difference. The .308 does come on a shorter action though, which I like. Practice ammo is much cheaper; not really an issue if this is a hunting only gun.

Savage guns are very good for what they cost. It is personal preference, but Savages don't feel as good as the nicer Remington 700 models. Then again, I'm spoiled. However, the right savage model is just as accurate as a good 700. Get the Savage accu-trigger though. That is one area Savage is much better than Remington on stock models. I know the tactical Savages can be used to shoot 1k yards reasonably out of the box.

[Sotiris]

The main thing she has shot has been my Mossberg 500 12 ga. Tactical Turkey. The first time she shot it I bought some Winchester extra-light target loads for her and kept the extended/ported turkey choke that came with it in. The second time I swapped chokes to a Trulock IC choke that I have and gave her Federal Premium low recoil H132 00 loads. She did buy a Past recoil shield. So far she has had fun shooting pretty much everything she has had the opportunity to shoot

[Paliden]

The main thing she has shot has been my Mossberg 500 12 ga. Tactical Turkey. The first time she shot it I bought some Winchester extra-light target loads for her and kept the extended/ported turkey choke that came with it in. The second time I swapped chokes to a Trulock IC choke that I have and gave her Federal Premium low recoil H132 00 loads. She did buy a Past recoil shield. So far she has had fun shooting pretty much everything she has had the opportunity to shoot

The army went away from the 30'06, .308 down to the .223 to make it easier to shoot, among other reasons. Here in Virginia a 30-30 will be all you need, unless you hunt some farms with wide open pastures. A lot of people use larger cartridges because "it's the thing to use" A 30-30 has killed more deer in Va than any other gun over the years. You need to look at where you hunt, your ranges and where you want to hunt in the future.
Don't rush her, take your time and start off small and work your way up. If you start off big you might shock her backwards and out of rifle shooting. It's like starting a relationship with a woman, go slow and make it last. You'll be glad down the road!

[Taggure]

I got to agree with Paliden about the 30.30 as more deer have been taken with that type of rifle then any other.
But,
I have the Savage 111 30.06 with a 3-9x40mm scope mounted (The one that came with it) and it is a very good hunting rifle, very accurate and dependable. I would recommend it and if you are here in the NOVA area and want to try it out let me know and we can set something up. I use the Remington Core-Lokt 180 grain bullets and put 5 deer in the freezer last year with it.

Vern

[SgtBill]

How do you know she isn't recoil sensitive? What has she shot and in what caliber? Muzzle break?

IMHO, the difference between .308 and 30-06 unless you are pushing a 190+ gr bullets is no difference. The .308 does come on a shorter action though, which I like. Practice ammo is much cheaper; not really an issue if this is a hunting only gun.

Savage guns are very good for what they cost. It is personal preference, but Savages don't feel as good as the nicer Remington 700 models. Then again, I'm spoiled. However, the right savage model is just as accurate as a good 700. Get the Savage accu-trigger though. That is one area Savage is much better than Remington on stock models. I know the tactical Savages can be used to shoot 1k yards reasonably out of the box.

I have to agree with Garret 100% on his view's. For myself in your position I would start her out with a .243 it will have lighter recoil ammo is always out their and it has killed damn near as many deer as the good old 30-30 has. If she want's to step up to something bigger later then you can have a nice little varmit rifle in the .243 and a larger deer rifle in a .308 or a 30-06. Do take into concideration that the .308 is a short case 30-06 with the same power and velocity or it is so miner in diffrence that a deer would never know. It is the shot placement that puts them down not the size of the projectile.
Bill

[Sotiris]

That's where I'm stuck. I'd prefer her to do her research and pick her own gun so she'll be more likely to like it, but I don't want her to pick one that she won't enjoy shooting, or that'll beat her up(Though if my 12ga didn't... ). And I don't want to pick one for her and have her not like it And with any new gun comes lots of practice. Regardless she does have a shoulder strap on recoil pad, and she'll be getting a limbsaver pad on the stock of whatever she gets.

It has been awhile since I've gone rifle hunting(About 9 to 10 years ago with friends up in PA), but I think I remember that rifles had to be at least .25 caliber to hunt with. Is .243 acceptable in most of VA now?

[Sotiris]

Also, thanks all for the opinions! Please, keep them coming

[Paliden]

Here's something to look into. there is a new round out you may want to look into. I have not used it, but when I get back to work one day I may look into. It's the 30 Remmington AR round built on an AR platform. I've read some on it and saw a reveiw of it on TV, it lookes very interesting and maybe has some promise. I have always been a bolt guy, but today I'm sold on hunting with an AR. Matter of fact I carry my AR10 more than my .270.
Just something else to look at

[gunderwood]

That's where I'm stuck. I'd prefer her to do her research and pick her own gun so she'll be more likely to like it, but I don't want her to pick one that she won't enjoy shooting, or that'll beat her up(Though if my 12ga didn't... ). And I don't want to pick one for her and have her not like it And with any new gun comes lots of practice. Regardless she does have a shoulder strap on recoil pad, and she'll be getting a limbsaver pad on the stock of whatever she gets.

It has been awhile since I've gone rifle hunting(About 9 to 10 years ago with friends up in PA), but I think I remember that rifles had to be at least .25 caliber to hunt with. Is .243 acceptable in most of VA now?

The recoil momentum and velocity are easily calculated, but perceived recoil varies wildly. I think a lot of that has to do with shooting stance/style, but even then there is a wild variance. There are a lot of variables that affect how it is perceived by the shooter. I would recommend you provide a general location and see if you can hook up with someone on the board to try some guns out. Best way to avoid buyers remorse.

[Sotiris]

Just updating this thread. She purchased a Savage 111 FCXP3 chambered for .300 Win Mag. We went out to The Cove to shoot it this last weekend and she fired off about 80 shots. She loved every shot. She kept her first clay target that she hit as well as the casing of the first cartridge she fired. She said compared to the 12 gauge, this rifle hasn't got any recoil.

Her next goal now is to get her own CHP.

[gunderwood]

Just updating this thread. She purchased a Savage 111 FCXP3 chambered for .300 Win Mag. We went out to The Cove to shoot it this last weekend and she fired off about 80 shots. She loved every shot. She kept her first clay target that she hit as well as the casing of the first cartridge she fired. She said compared to the 12 gauge, this rifle hasn't got any recoil.

Her next goal now is to get her own CHP.

A girl who likes shooting .300WM? I need pictures to prove that! JK.

[chfaunce]

Just updating this thread. She purchased a Savage 111 FCXP3 chambered for .300 Win Mag. We went out to The Cove to shoot it this last weekend and she fired off about 80 shots. She loved every shot. She kept her first clay target that she hit as well as the casing of the first cartridge she fired. She said compared to the 12 gauge, this rifle hasn't got any recoil.

Her next goal now is to get her own CHP.

First, congrats! My wife mainly shoots with a Cannon DSLR, not so much the bang sticks. Though, she's pretty decent with the sporting clays and an over/under.

I have a Ruger .300 Win Mag - haven't had it out at a range yet, but I was wondering about recoil. I'd assumed it'd be something like the M-1 Garande I shot years ago. I have shot my 12 ga a bunch, though. Might I ask, what load was she shooting? I picked up what I think was a Remington 180 gr match type load, and a 150 gr reduced recoil load for comparison.

[Sotiris]

Her rifle does have a medium size slip on Limbsaver pad we got from Gander Mountain. She has it on over the recoil pad that was already on the rifle. She fired off about 50 shots of 150 gr. managed recoil Remington Core-Lokts and about another 30 shots of the full power 150 gr. Remington Core-Lokts.

Any recoil comparisons I could give you for it would be biased as I was also wearing my Past recoil shield from shooting my shotgun. It was comfortable to shoot, I'm almost considering getting a Savage for me. So many firearms, so little safe space!

[chfaunce]

Yeah, I think a recoil pad of some sort is going to be my next purchase - the stock on my Ruger doesn't look very forgiving.

[gunderwood]

Her rifle does have a medium size slip on Limbsaver pad we got from Gander Mountain. She has it on over the recoil pad that was already on the rifle. She fired off about 50 shots of 150 gr. managed recoil Remington Core-Lokts and about another 30 shots of the full power 150 gr. Remington Core-Lokts.

Any recoil comparisons I could give you for it would be biased as I was also wearing my Past recoil shield from shooting my shotgun. It was comfortable to shoot, I'm almost considering getting a Savage for me. So many firearms, so little safe space!

So it was a glorified .308, eh?

A quick search yields a 150gr@2650fps...my .308Win pushes a 175gr SMK to 2700fps in a 22" barrel.

Just my opinion, but if you're going to shoot a magnum, why bother with "low recoil" loads that reduce it to less than a standard rifle cartridge? Got to push those 200gr+ rounds for the long range applications.

[Sotiris]

Her rifle does have a medium size slip on Limbsaver pad we got from Gander Mountain. She has it on over the recoil pad that was already on the rifle. She fired off about 50 shots of 150 gr. managed recoil Remington Core-Lokts and about another 30 shots of the full power 150 gr. Remington Core-Lokts.

Any recoil comparisons I could give you for it would be biased as I was also wearing my Past recoil shield from shooting my shotgun. It was comfortable to shoot, I'm almost considering getting a Savage for me. So many firearms, so little safe space!

So it was a glorified .308, eh?

A quick search yields a 150gr@2650fps...my .308Win pushes a 175gr SMK to 2700fps in a 22" barrel.

Just my opinion, but if you're going to shoot a magnum, why bother with "low recoil" loads that reduce it to less than a standard rifle cartridge? Got to push those 200gr+ rounds for the long range applications.

She liked it and wants to shoot more. That's good enough for me!

[gunderwood]

Her rifle does have a medium size slip on Limbsaver pad we got from Gander Mountain. She has it on over the recoil pad that was already on the rifle. She fired off about 50 shots of 150 gr. managed recoil Remington Core-Lokts and about another 30 shots of the full power 150 gr. Remington Core-Lokts.

Any recoil comparisons I could give you for it would be biased as I was also wearing my Past recoil shield from shooting my shotgun. It was comfortable to shoot, I'm almost considering getting a Savage for me. So many firearms, so little safe space!

So it was a glorified .308, eh?

A quick search yields a 150gr@2650fps...my .308Win pushes a 175gr SMK to 2700fps in a 22" barrel.

Just my opinion, but if you're going to shoot a magnum, why bother with "low recoil" loads that reduce it to less than a standard rifle cartridge? Got to push those 200gr+ rounds for the long range applications.

She liked it and wants to shoot more. That's good enough for me!

Yes, run with that!

I was just harassing you about shooting light loads. Magnums cost more to buy, more to shoot, don't last as long...so why download them? Ego I think. Guys go out and buy the latest 300/338 ultra magnum and then shoot light loads through it that a non-magnum easily matches. Doesn't make sense to me.

It is a decent strategy to work her up to better loads or if you share a gun (you shoot full power, she shoots low recoil).

[chfaunce]

Bought my .300 Win Mag on consignment for about $600, w/ scope, which was about $150 less than the .30-30 I'd gone in to purchase. From what I hear it's pretty flat shooting and carries more energy downrange than the .30-30, but I know it's a little overkill for white tail. Eventually I'll probably get the .30-30.... hopefully I don't absolutely destroy the deer with the 150gr lighter load.