Guns for small people

That’s a good question mwhit.
I’m an eye patient, although my prognosis is good (have had several surgeries years ago to get to that point). However, I have some restrictions I should observe in order to keep my retinas as strong as I can.
Shooting guns is one of the no no’s according to my surgeon.
So as much as I would honestly love to be able to shoot guns and learn how to use them properly, I stay away from it.
That’s one reason my husband got me the double barrel shotgun. From what I understand, one doesn’t need to be a wonderful shot to get the point across with the shotgun.

I do though, shoot the pellet gun. (doesn’t have much of a kick at all) I’m a good shot with that. I line up the sights, wait until I have a good shot and then take it. (I shoot the squirrels who tear up my bird feeders)

I just try to always remember what my husband has taught me. I practice loading the shotgun occasionally, re-familiarize myself with the way it feels and hope I never have to use it! Lol

But hopefully, since I can shoot the pellet gun fairly well and believe I would use common sense and keep my wits about me (I’m one of those people who falls apart after a crises, not during, lol) I would do ok if I had to use it.

As long as it doesn’t break my shoulder or knock me into the next county! Lol

Of course, I will possibly have a problem with my retinas (if I ever had to shoot it), but hey, better that than the possible alternatives.

dude, I got no idea what you said, but your conclusion makes a ton of sense.

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"Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built."

have to agree with bamabubba, Proper fit is the key, as a 4H shooting instructor I am constantly fitting and refitting kids who are out to shoot, alot of times they get dad's or grandpa's hand me down that simply doesnt fit.
My DW is also an instructor and is about 5'4" and 105 soaking wet and she regularly shoots a Remington 30.06 semi-auto set up with a youth stock, Also Browning has some models in youth and ladies size both being sized for shooters of smaller stature

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Paul in Central Alabama :1pig:

LOL

I didn't know who the lady in the photo was... but I do now. I did look at the URL and research the lady in question. What a woman!

I use a Marlin lever action 30-30 and an SKS. I also used to shoot a .357 magnum when I worked armed bank security. I am 5' 3".

Kitty <----- whose friends and family really do call her "Kitty Oakley"

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Kitty

I would agree that the fit is important. You may also try some of the pistol caliber guns out their. 357,44long,or 30 cal carbine. You can shoot thm at close ranges less than a 100 yards and they will get a deer. The 223 is a good caliber but you have to be on the target more sothey can kill quickley. It deoends on where you hunt. If the only range is over 1oo yards sue one that is designed to cary that far. If you hunt at close ranges (less than 100 yards) you can use anything. Get a rifle that is heavy and use that so that the kick is less than one that will come from a liter gun with the same load. I taught many people to shoot and hit what they are targeting. I did this in the military and the same thing is true in the civilian world. Fit and style are the most important factors in how well you shoot.To get a gun that will fit you try to put it up to your shoulder bend your head over and see wheir your cheek fits. hen saw off the stock enough to make it fit in the crook of the stock just behind the reciever. On most of the rifles it will have a dip in the stock . That is the proper lenh for the gun. To cut a stock off remove the but plate saw off what you think is right and replace the but plate. You can use a gun that is too short for you better than one that is too long.

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God must have loved stupid people because he made so many of them.

Physics doesn't kill deer, bullets do.

Stuff that looks wonderful on paper, is often much less so, in actual use. Big, slow-moving bullets look particularly bad, but they can be wonderful killers.

So....let us define what we want:

1. A rifle in calibers capable of taking deer.

2. A 250 yard rifle...I can hear the screams of the offended, but if you aren't gonna have but one rifle, make sure it covers as many bases as possible.

3. Minimal recoil.

Ok....22 calibers are out, as I feel they aren't reliable deer killers, except in the hands of very good shots. Sure, you can put them down like lightning with a 22-250, or a 220 Swift....or they can run half a mile before they die. I like to find my deer either dropping in its tracks, or within 50 yards.

24 calibers. A 243 in the hands of a good shot is a good deer rifle, but only with premium bullets. if you were a seasoned hunter, wanting to move down in recoil, I would suggest the caliber, but not in this particular case.

25 calibers. My all time favorite mildcat is a 257 Roberts Improved. Ballistics are equaled with the 257 Roberts +P load. A Ruger 77 in 257 Roberts would be a very good choice, as would a used Remington pump. Since the 257 Roberts is a 7mm Mauser case necked down to 25 caliber, you have enough case capacity to get a handloader to throttle down the round a bit, in order to achieve recoil of very mild proportions. As the shooter becomes more proficient, you can twist its tail all the way up to +P loads, and then it becomes a 300 yard rifle. A 25-06, or 257 Weatherby are both a bit much in this particular case. A .250 Savage is not enough. To sum it up, the 257 Roberts would be my primary pick for cartridge.

6.5, or 26 calibers. Two cartridges, both of which would do a very nice job - the 6.5x55 Swede or the 6.5 Remington (based on the old 6.5-308 wildcat). In the 6.5, you can use a good 120, or you can get that wonderful 140g bullet, with a decent meplat and a sectional density out the whazoo. Again, Ruger and Winchester chambered for the Swede, in their Model 77 and their Model 70, respectively. For some reason, Remington synthetic stocks generate about the least felt recoil of any manufacturer's OEM stock...a 300 WM feels about like a 30.06 in most other riflles. A BDL with synthetic stock, chambered in 6.5 Remington would make a nice rifle. if you are very small, a Remington Model 7 is simply a small jewel.

And here's where we stop. Other, bigger cartridges might deserve merit, but IMNSHO, I've given you the absolute best rounds in combination terms of mild recoil, loading potential (both mild and hot), and killing ability.

how small is "on the small side"? ive seen several people of slight stature discharge large calibers and bores successfully. and with pratice extremly accurratly. i have trained many small people to shoot, 12 and 13 years old pratice is the key, find a stance, and style that works for you and pratice, pratice, pratice.


dean

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Hope is something you give yourself in your darkest moments, this is the true meaning of selfreliance.

greetings from the far east of the western world

just to add to my last i do suggest an Enfield .303 you can get them at surplus cheaply enough, i use one for moose,cariboo and black bear (well i will get that bear next year.) and its good for close brush shooting like you often get with moose, sometimes long shots are called for across a bog or open valley. and for those long open barrens that cariboo seem to favor. im only 5'6" and not a muscle bound hulk by any means and the recoil is quite acceptable, if you do find a long gun has a high recoil, try adding a recoil pad to the shoulder stock.

dean

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Hope is something you give yourself in your darkest moments, this is the true meaning of selfreliance.

greetings from the far east of the western world

Several companies mske "youth model" guns for smaller people.
And I agree the biggest part of the problem seems to be no one has ever shown you the proper form, because there are VERY FEW guns with enough recoil to "knock" anyone down.

It's all in how you hold it, and being able to roll with the "punch"

If you want a good rifle check out the Browning Micro Medallion, or a Remington Model 7 Youth model. Domnt waste your time on older military type rifles. They are not all that accurate, are hard to mount scopes on , and will NOT fit you.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

My personal faverite due to its LACK of kick Is a winchester .300 magnum .....Now i hear al the experts screaming but its a very effective weapon big enough to use on anything that doesnt hunt you but they are well known for KICKING the daylights outa you. So why am I so fond of it? It was in a car wreck in 1976 and the stock was broken ,not knowing any better and not wanting to miss the sheep hunt I took it onward and whittled a homemade stock out for it . Now its a heavey gun but it doesnt kick you it shoves you.
Other highly effective and heavy thus small on recoil guns I would reccomend are the war surplus Russians 7.62X54 the bolt actions are very cheep, on the order of $80 bucks or so and the semi autos have even less kick.The longer guns are not only heaver their length seems to promote accuracy too..

bearfootfarm wrote:
Domnt waste your time on older military type rifles. They are not all that accurate, are hard to mount scopes on , and will NOT fit you.


well, with all due respect, my Enfield is still good out to 400 yards according to my uncle who took a cariboo a few years ago in Labrador. and it will drive tacks out to 250 yards, i did this. the rating on the flip up tangent sight is up to 1300 yards. and 2 years ago i took a moose with this one at about 100yards through the heart.

pretty accurate for a rifle made in 1942 in England and got hard use in WWII and for the past 60 years. in back woods and coasts of this land.

plenty of these have scopes, and i may get one put on later if my eyes stop healing or relapse. not a hard job or much of a hassle.

as to fit, the stock on the Enfield, can be cut ie: shortened and the metal but plate can be reshaped to fit the new but profile.

all in all proven action, dependable, reliable, accurate, and modifiable.

not to shaby

dean

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Hope is something you give yourself in your darkest moments, this is the true meaning of selfreliance.

greetings from the far east of the western world

bearfootfarm, i like your site. those are some really beautiful animals.


dean

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Hope is something you give yourself in your darkest moments, this is the true meaning of selfreliance.

greetings from the far east of the western world

I have one of those - Mosin Nagant/M44. *Beautiful* gun and not much recoil. HUGE noise though, LOL. If you have a Big 5 store in your area they often go on sale there, I got mine for $89. I'm short too and can handle this one fine.

I have also shot a .243 and it really has *very* minimal kick. Here in Colorado it's the smallest caliber you can use for deer and my 12 year old daughter can shoot it very accurately, and she's 5' and 95 lbs. They're pretty hard to come by though, I know I've been looking! I'd test shoot a .270 first and see how that feels... and like others have said.. form and practice!

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“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”

It's all in the training. There have been many small people that end up shooting very stout rifles.

If you haven't yet, start with a 22 lr rifle and plink away until you have a very comfortable familiarity with it. Shoot it at short distance and shoot it at longer distances. It would also be best if it was the same type of action as you end up with in a hunting rifle. I'd suggest a bolt action.
then you can graduate up in size. When shooting the larger rifle, like a 22-250 or 243, do it standing for the first times. Your body will rock with the minimal recoil and it won't hurt. You probably won't hit much, but that doesn't matter. It's the shooting, and learning that it won't hurt, that matters. Then you can move to a benchrest set up and start working on hitting what you aim at.
Burn enough ammo and you will get real comfortable. Having confidence in knowing that when you pull the trigger you will hit what you are aiming at is important.
BTW, the 243 is all the gun you'd ever need for deer hunting. I have one and also a 243 Ackley Imporved that has taken plenty of game. We have a friend that ranches in northern Nebraska that has used a 243 all his life and has taken hundreds of game animals with a 243.
Killing a game animal is all about bullet placement and the resulting tissue damage. A deer is just as dead with a heart blown up by a 243 as it is with a 30-06. Strive for placement above all and don't take risky shots.
Good luck. Hunting is a wonderful pursuit.

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"They laughed, because he was different"

"He laughed, because they were all the same"

Got a TEENY problem with that... the heavier gun may move less, but momentum is mass times velocity - a heavy object can move more slowly and still deliver as much force - think of a semi travelling 50 - it'll hit you harder than a Prius at 60. Basically, the amount of force used to throw the round downfield is coming back thru the gunstock, unless you have a way to vent the gasses, etc.

Basically, Newtonian physics says for every action is an EQUAL and opposite reaction - the stronger you propel a bullet, the more kick you get. (a .22 can have less kick - the bullet itself is smaller). Recoilless field pieces vent gasses, use pistons, etc - but they are not normal guns. Think of bazookas.

And like WIHH said, load and form matter. Less charge=less kick, and having the stock secured properly helps a lot too.

Newtonian physics are not the arbitrator of felt recoil.

I can take 3 bolt actions, from three manufacturers, weighing the same, shooting identical shells.

One will exhibit more felt recoil to the shooter.

Is a 243 all you need for deer hunting?

Yes, with good bullet placement. But that goes for most rounds. I've killed a couple of deer with a 7.62x39. Heck, I've killed deer with a 22LR.

I want a round that will kill when bullet placement is not as good as it should be. A funny thing happens in the woods...deer don't have bullseyes painted on them. They don't stand still. One can't always assume proper shooting form before firing. Lots of different variables that contribute to less than desirable accuracy.

I hunted for years with a guy who served as a Marine Corps sniper in Nam, with several credited kills. He could literally call the corners of a cereal box at 300 yards. But he could also miss deer, when they came by at 90 to nothing, looking like a piece of brown spaghetti...even the best are less than perfect.

I want all the edge I can get...

For squirrel hunting, and target practice, I use a Ruger 22 carbine. It's a shorter made rifle, but has a very good feel to it. For deer hunting, I use a marlin 243. Very mild recoil, and very accurate.

I am 5' tall ... and generally weigh around 120 to 125 lbs ... not much body mass for a rifle. I learned to shoot a rifle with an old .25-.35 lever action that my grandfather had (lots of recoil) and later used a .270 but again, more recoil than I was really comfortable with.

My ex-husband was a police officer and a competition shooter and got me a .243 for hunting which I used for years. Still have it but no longer able to hunt, unfortunately.

He also had the stock cut down to add a recoil pad so the total length was "individualized" for me ... I'm shorter from shoulder to elbow than the average person and for it to "fit" right it had to be shortened. If it is the correct length, it is easier to fall into place, easier to shoot correctly, easier to hold where the recoil is minimized ... and the recoil pad will also take up some of the shock as well.

For me the .243 was an excellent compromise between something too light to effectively hunt with and the bigger calibre rifles that were heavier and had more recoil than I was comfortable with. I don't know as I'd recommend it for anything bigger than a mule deer ... but I've eaten a lot of mule deer that I killed with it ... and I've never had one injured but not killed although I have always been careful and not taken a shot that I felt was "iffy" ...