Posted on 03/13/2010 6:31:17 PM PST by RepRivFarm
My last daughter is getting ready to go deer hunting this fall. Unlike her two older sister, my youngest is a wee little thing. At 5'2", I believe she will always need a youth model rifle.
My two older daughters both got their first deer using my Winchester model 94 in .44 Magnum. I was able to handload the .44 ammo so that it was very polite during practice. When hunting day came, I game them full strength loads....and in the excitement of the hunt they never felt the recoil.
While my model 94 worked great for my two young amazons, with its long barrel and stock, she just can't handle it properly. So if I purchase a rifle for her....its gotta be .44 magnum.....should I get something like the model 94 trapper and have the stock cut down? Howzabout the old Ruger deerfield? The Henry big boy? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks!
Even without reading I can answer.
The big one.
South African Denel-Mechem NTW-20mm Anti-Material Rifle, arguably "the most powerful one" - firing 20 mm rounds
The question was the right rifle for a little girl, 5' 2" and with a small build. That's a much harder one, and I don't think we've got the right answer for her.
Don’t buy any toy guns. ATF might arrest you.
What kind of terrain are you hunting in?
Personally I don’t think you could go wrong with a .243 bolt action. You can get a Savage or Remington with a scope in a youth model for 300-400 bucks.
L
Eight years old, first time, wanted the .223 after finishing the mags of .22
She hit ten of ten first time out at 50y after she learned the scope.
And she loves it when I post her picture here :-)
The big one.
I was gonna say the Henry Big Boy with the custom engraving...something girlie, like a big old Rose or something...very cute, stylish and not a little deadly...Sarah Palin just got one;
http://44magjournal.blogspot.com/2010/02/now-sarah-palin-has-henry-big-boy-44.html
IBYSYEOP (In Before You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out Posts!)
This is a bolt action with a top loading magazine (using a loading clip to load the magazine). It could be comfortably used by a 5 foot tall Gurkha or a six foot tall Guardsman.
It is also rugged, designed to dragged around the world by young men on the move and to be reliable in dust or mud.
Speaking of rifles, and not to hijack the thread but maybe give it some more bumps, if you were to win a $14,000 rifle in a raffle, would you fire it? I would, but I’m looking for opinions.
I’d want to but if I had any doubts I’d take it to a good gunsmith and have him check it out first.
Consider a 357 Magnum with a 16” barrel, a Rossi for example. For ranges less than 100 yards it’ll be fine for deer, a lot less caliber, and a lot less weight and length to handle.
I have a little sister who’s short and she likes my PS-90, partially because the recoil isn’t as bad as some of my other guns. The flat trajectory of the round would be a plus too, but the small size of the round, the possible legality [some states have minimum-caliber restrictions on hunting], and the price of the gun are all minuses.
On a side-note, if things get ‘interesting’ [as in Civ War II] the PS-90 will be a good gun as far as simplicity-of-maintenance, 50-round magazines, light ammo, and the short design [for CQB, if needed]; the down side is the ammunition is not common.
20 gauge semi-auto shotgun w/slug barrel
or a 10-44 if you can find one.
I like my marlin 1894 in 44mag.
Just remember, though, that the smaller and lighter the rifle you give her, the more felt recoil.
Anything over a fifty calibre will work on the deer, add a grenade launcher and the shooters size won’t matter.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.