What's a good deer rifle for a small statue woman?

[azmntman]

Tennessee is a great recommendation as well. I Like the full stock on these. I have a cap lock .50 but it's a 1-28 twist (or whatever, super fast for unmentionable or conicals). I need to get me a .50 RB barrel for this one. I really like it alot, full stock is cool

 

[Flanders]

Well, if it dosnt have to be a rifle, and it’s her first gun, try a smooth rifle, then she could load with ball or shot and use it for everything. Just a thought.

 

[deermanok]

The Traditions "Deerhunter".
They are made light weight, 7/8" octagonal x 24" long fifty caliber barrel .
And easy to saw off the butt and refit the butt plate (or leave it off) to the desired length of pull.
I have two of them (2nd hand, one stained wood stock and one my scary black rifle painted at the factory) and like them just fine.

I agree, I've owned several of them over the years. Currently have one and I just ordered a deerhunter rifle in 45 caliber.
Light weight and shoot decent.

 

[DaveC]

Lyman Deerstalker .50

 

[ohio ramrod]

I like the T.C. cherokee, senaca, white mountain group for smaller people youth or women. One trick I have found for smaller people is to "balance" the rifle by removing the butt plate, drilling a hole in the stock and adding lead, then replacing the butt plate. This tends to balance the barrel heavy rifle for smaller shooters.

 

[Bad Karma]

My wife loves her .45 t/c Seneca. I even sneak out with it when she not looking...

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Looking for a good rifle for my rather petite GF/soon-to-be-wife. ...I'm thinking .45 caliber.

Are you worried about weight of the rifle, or recoil, or strength to hold it when shouldered? Some of all three or all of all three?

While the Cherokee and the Seneca are great rifles in .45..., the problem you have is that they cost pretty much what some of the new rifles cost, and since they are out of production..., replacement parts may be troublesome.

Recoil, first will be helped a lot by using round ball and not conical. Next..., it will be based on the powder charge. Next, how well the stock fits her and how is the butt plate constructed. (The Seneca and Cherokee both have brass butt plates.) Finally the mass of the rifle will help a small amount to absorb recoil.

The length of the rifle may or may not be a factor for her. Shorter rifles are often easier to manage in thick brush, BUT a very short barrel means a short sight plane, and perhaps a heavier charge to get optimal performance on game. On the other hand the longer that barrel, usually means the more leverage gravity exerts on the shooter to hold the rifle up when sighting.

Number one choice seems like the Lyman Deer Stalker in .50. They come with a rubber recoil pad and fiber optic sights.
Number two choice seems like a Pedersoli Frontier, perhaps in .45 (if it can be found). A .50 will work. Has a metal butt plate, but..., it has a 14" longer barrel, which will give a much longer sight plane and make it easier for the shooter to be accurate.

LD

 

[rodwha]

I actually dislike the fiber optic sights. I’ll be replacing them I think.

 

[Bassdog1]

Between a TC Seneca and Cherokee I would try to find a Seneca. A little longer barrel and a little more weight. Keep powder Charges within reason I had one that shot very well with 70 grains of Goex and a .440 ball. There are a couple of really nice ones on Gunbroker but premium prices.

 

[Flinty Scot]

I had an older Traditions "Hawkin" style, short barreled (28" as I recall) "Deerhunter" or "Woodsman" (I forget which) that might suit. It was light and short enough to be handled easily. .50 and very accurate w/ lighter loads.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

An Ohio-style rifle in .40-.50 would work well. Here is mine:

Weighs but 6 lbs and the 30” bbl is more than manageable. I’d choose a .45 for in the woods deering work. Won’t knock a woman over but will knock Bambi over just fine!

 

[ZUG]

Here are two Ohio style rifles that I built for two women target shooters. They are both .45 calibers with 32" Green Mountain barrels. They weight just about 6.5 pounds each.

 

[Bledfor Days]

I would go with TC Seneca or Cherokee in .45 cal. The Seneca and Cherokee are 6 lb 2-3 oz. vs 8 lbs + for a TC Hawken.

 

[Bledfor Days]

You know, I would actually trade one for a TC Silver Elite. Oh, the sacrifice. She would be impressed!

 

[Bad Karma]

Some have mentioned parts availability wrt the t/c Seneca and Cherokee rifles. I wouldn’t worry just yet. eBay seems to have a group of folks selling the major part and if y’all were really worried it would make sense to just buy a spare lock and put it away for a rainy day.

 

[FishDFly]

The Gun Works bought T/C's inventory when they stopped making traditional rifles.

 

[Greg Blackburn]

Gosh guys, this is really exciting! I hope she takes to shooting as much as I have and to muzzleloader shooting also. See, she lives pretty far away and you can't get there from here, not by car, unless that car is on a big plane or ship.

 

[deermanok]

My new traditions deerhunter rifle in 45 caliber. Good entry level rifle. Not expensive. Shot it yesterday for the first time. 60 grains of 3f powder under a patched round ball. Very light weight, easy to handle. Very little felt recoil with the load I used.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Rowda, you have broken a golden rule about the fiber optic sights remember it is not going to be your rifle, maybe she will like the fiber optics. If not they can always be changed out later.

 

[hanshi]

I recommend a .45 and shoot only round ball; stay away from any conicals. The Traditions DeerHunter is about as good as it gets for weight/power/recoil & cost. Anything above .45 tends to have noticeable recoil, especially in a lightweight rifles like the DeerHunters. These are fine rifles for accuracy, utility, deer size game and fun shooting, and recoil is modest.