Another Rifle Challenge

[WapitiTalk1]

OK, now that I'm set up with my new boom stick (first one in many, many years) thanks in no small part to the great folks of the Wapiti Talk forum, I'm on to a new challenge. I'd like to set up Mrs. Phantom with a rifle that she can shoot at the range with me when I take my .308 out. She's a great gal but doesn't hunt. That doesn't mean she doesn't shoot. We've got a handful of pistols that we shoot and she does pretty darn well. Here is the challenge. Wifey is very left eye dominant and is right handed. I have worked through this issue with pistols with her and she's accurate enough by canting her little revolver (and other pistols) just enough so she can line up the front post and rear aperture and shoot with her dominant/left eye while holding the gun in her right hand.

The crux of the biscuit:

1. Does she need to learn to shoot left handed with a rifle/scope?

2. What are your recommendations for a rifle/scope combo for the little bit that is Mrs. Phantom? She's 5' 5' and is a pretty dainty little chickadee.

As always, thanks! RJ

[Indian Summer]

I'm 5 foot 6 and semi dainty. I shoot a .300 Remington Ultra Mag.

So if it's just for targets the spectrum is wide open. But my guess is you want something that you might use for some type of hunting at one point or another. You already have an elk gun and I doubt she'd ever want to go elk hunting with you.... which is understandable. So it wouldn't be for any truly big game.

I'd say a 25.-06 is an awesome gun to shoot. Extremely accurate caliber and she would have fun out shooting that 308 any day of the week with it. My other thought was a .243. For target shooting I'd get a fairly high powered scope of at least 12 power. Nothing less than 10. When I sight in my gun at 100 yards I have it cranked up to 20 power. That combo would be one heck of a deer or varmint/coyote gun too.

If you had an extra $100 to burn you could put a muzzle brake on either of those guns ad it would have literally no recoil at all although they don't really need that being such light calibers. But you could.

[cohunter14]

I agree with IS that something in the .243 or .257/6.5mm would be great if you might use it hunting. If it is strictly for target shooting, maybe an AR-15? Never hurts to have one of those! Cheap ammo (.223) and very little recoil as well.

As far as the shooting goes, I would leave that up to her. If she closes her dominant eye, I would think she could continue shooting right handed. But it might be better to figure out which way she wants to shoot before buying something. If she wants to shoot lefty, you might want to buy a left-handed gun for her.

[Rangerz]

Another vote for the 25-06. Mine is a tack driver, very manageable recoil. Nice deer or antelope cartridge as well (if you need to borrow it ).

[Indian Summer]

That's a dream gun for lopes that's for sure RangerZ. Pretty darn good for whitetails too.

Phantom... how about a 22 mag! They make, or used to make heavy barreled versions which are really stable on the bench. No recoil. That is what we carried when lion hunting in Montana too and it will kill game that size very effectively. Ammo is dirt cheap. Winchester makes one now I know.

Another lightweight option is a .17 caliber rifle. They are pretty popular these days. I know nothing about them technically other than that they are tack drivers.

[DBLGBL]

Options, options... I would think about a .223 for the "petite" factor and ammo is fairly cheap and easy to come by. Maybe just a 22 and then she can really shoot a lot and cheap. If you think there is ever a chance she would want to hunt a .243 (My ex took a Cooper with her..still stings..the gun) or maybe even a 308 or a 7mm 08 if she wants to chase elk and can handle a little bit of recoil. The hard part will be find something that fits her well and figuring the eye dominance thing out. I might figure things out with a 22 then move to larger explosives. Good luck!

2gbl

[Elkduds]

Many semiauto rifles have ambidextrous stocks, meaning the butt comes straight back, so they are neither inherently left-or right-handed. Ditto for some single shots and lever guns. Semiautos recoil less than bolt actions in the same caliber. Regardless of how Mrs. P shoots handguns, my crystal ball sez she will feel most comfortable shooting rifles left-handed/left-eyed. Because the dominant eye will win out over the dominant hand, meaning she will quickly get used to squeezing trigger w left hand, but will never get used to sighting through scope w right eye. Take her to a range w a pro shop, where she can fire different rifles and see what she enjoys most.

Caliber choice depends on range she wants to shoot. I love my old 22 mag (Marlin 57M, a rare bird), it is full size and full weight, but I have not found that ammo for sale in stores for over a year. A Ruger 10-22 never sits idle, if she wants to shoot 100 yd or less. Stepping up to centerfire, 223 ammo is not as cheap as it used to be, but target range is 400 yds+. Recoil in a semiauto in 223 is tiny. If one dislikes AR-style 223 semiautos, check these out: KelTec SU16. Mine is light, accurate, has a rail for scope mounting. I can put a red dot or magnifying scope on the rail, or use the factory peep sight. SU16 is also an excellent trunk and survival gun, the stock folds up under the barrel from behind the trigger, making the folded length about 17" for storage or in a pack.

243 ammo uses the same brass as your 308. So does 7-08, which is my favorite chambering of all the 308-length cases. These are designed for deer-sized game, as is the mildly recoiling 257 Roberts.

My wife is an excellent rifle shot, though she never practices. Mrs. P may be better than you, how cool would that be?

[WapitiTalk1]

Cripes!! Lots to consider I guess. She did pick out something today that was pink camo (I think it was a Savage or a Mossberg) .243. How I the heck can I use that gun? Probably won't lean toward a semi-auto, assault type platform. Too much weird junk going on in the world right now to breach that idea with Mrs. P. I'll see if I can get her behind my Weatherby this weekend to just "look through it" and see if she thinks she can shoot right eyed through a platform like that. Will let you guys know.

[husky390]

I'm going to go a different route on this one. Since you don't want anything tacticool, I'd recommend a Ruger 10/22 or if you want bolt action, a Savage Mark II FVSR. If you get a 10/22, add a picatinny rail scope base (The Savage comes with one) and a red dot sight. Total build cost should be roughly $400 depending on optic. You can get a Bushnell red dot for $70 or Primary Arms for $170.00

Here's why,
1. Everyone should own a .22
2. They're fun to shoot with no recoil and a fantastic tool to introduce Mrs. Phantom to rifle shooting.
3. It's a cheap tool for Mr. Phantom to brush up on his skills without breaking the bank. I break mine out to warm up with when I want to shoot tiny groups.
4. She can shoot with both eyes open using the red dot.

Granted, she's not going to be able to shoot itty bitty groups but it should be fun for her. Once she's comfortable with the rifle and ready to work on the eye dominance issue you can buy a cheap scope and have her practice with it. Meanwhile, if she wants to try a bigger caliber, she can shoot your .308 with mild loads. Or you can buy a Leadsled for her. Cabela's has a helluva deal on the Caldwell DFT for $119 right now.

Then, after that's worked out, you can look at a 25-06, .243, .257 Roberts or even .308. I hear 6.5 Creedmore has less recoil than the .308 and is a barn burner of a round. Bonus: You'll have three rifles then. They're like rabbits and multiply quickly.

I have an FV SR with a BSA Sweets .22 scope on it and it's a tack driver with Wolf Match ammo. I did have to sand down the stock a little to free float the barrel but that seems to be the norm with all of the cheap plastic stocks on these rifles nowadays. sigh.

http://www.kygunco.com/savage-arms-mark ... ries-82702

[Lefty]

I'm going to go a different route on this one. Since you don't want anything tacticool, I'd recommend a Ruger 10/22 or if you want bolt action, a Savage Mark II FVSR. If you get a 10/22, add a picatinny rail scope base (The Savage comes with one) and a red dot sight. Total build cost should be roughly $400 depending on optic. You can get a Bushnell red dot for $70 or Primary Arms for $170.00

Here's why,
1. Everyone should own a .22
2. They're fun to shoot with no recoil and a fantastic tool to introduce Mrs. Phantom to rifle shooting.
3. It's a cheap tool for Mr. Phantom to brush up on his skills without breaking the bank. I break mine out to warm up with when I want to shoot tiny groups.
4. She can shoot with both eyes open using the red dot.

Granted, she's not going to be able to shoot itty bitty groups but it should be fun for her. Once she's comfortable with the rifle and ready to work on the eye dominance issue you can buy a cheap scope and have her practice with it. Meanwhile, if she wants to try a bigger caliber, she can shoot your .308 with mild loads. Or you can buy a Leadsled for her. Cabela's has a helluva deal on the Caldwell DFT for $119 right now.

Then, after that's worked out, you can look at a 25-06, .243, .257 Roberts or even .308. I hear 6.5 Creedmore has less recoil than the .308 and is a barn burner of a round. Bonus: You'll have three rifles then. They're like rabbits and multiply quickly.

I have an FV SR with a BSA Sweets .22 scope on it and it's a tack driver with Wolf Match ammo. I did have to sand down the stock a little to free float the barrel but that seems to be the norm with all of the cheap plastic stocks on these rifles nowadays. sigh.

http://www.kygunco.com/savage-arms-mark ... ries-82702

He wrote a lot of what I was going to say
I do have a another definition of a "fun" gun .17 or .205
If your looking at cheap to shoot and want to load your own) look at a 222,( or other .22) or maybe a 243,..
A fellow at work, his wife really go into hand loading , so now they shoot even more,..

As far as dominance,.. let her shoot both ways,.. then let her decide

[husky390]

Lefty brought up a good point about .17cal. .17HMR is a great round as well, hardly any recoil but faster than a .22. Ammo is twice as much as a box of CCI's at around $14 a box of 50 but, and this is a big one, you can at least find .17HMR.

[huntnfolk]

Have you considered sticking with a .308 for her too, but using reduced recoil loads. Several ammo manufacturers sell .308 reduced loads, or if you reload your own you'll have plenty of brass to share from what you shoot.

Regarding the eye dominance: If she ends up shooting iron sights, she is definitely going to need to learn to shoot a long gun left handed. If it is going to be with a scope, then it will probably depend on how good her eye sight is in the right eye. If the dominance isn't too strong, then it will be easily overcome by closing her left eye while looking through the scope with her right. However, if her eyesight is not very good or the dominance is really strong, then her right eye will quickly fatigue and have problems focusing even in a scope.

If nothing else, buy a box of reduced recoil .308 rds. and have her try shooting your rifle lefty and righty. See what feels more comfortable to her. $20 bucks to determine what works better is better than spending a few hundred on a wrong handed rifle.

Good luck

[WapitiTalk1]

Interesting slant John... Thanks!

[Indian Summer]

You should definitely get a Caldwell Lead Sled for both of you. It is priceless.

[pointysticks]

W a rifle scope the eye dominate thing goes away.

Ii is super awkward to work a bolt off handed. Im left eye dominant and it is a non issue w a scope.

Buy her a bolt action 22lr. She will love it and so will you.

[ST52V]

I believe they Remington and Hornady make reduced recoil ammo for the 308. Buy some so you could get the hand eye thing figured out. Make sure you buy a youth gun so it fits.

[baddaddy]

RJ,

After training several cross dominate shooters I'm going to suggest you look at something like a Ruger #1. Its ambidextrious because its a single shot. Also I'm going to recommend a centerfire caliber so you can reload. Something like a .223 would be great. It can be reloaded or factory rounds are cheap. Also you can find .223 just about anywhere. Some places its still hard to find rimfire ammo and when you do its not cheap. Just my .02.

[WapitiTalk1]

Good stuff BD, I'll look at that.

[dotman]

If it is just to plink get a 22 or 17hmr. 223 can be inexpensive to shoot unless a mass scare comes on then it sky rockets. IMO I would get her a bolt action in either caliber and open sight or put an inexpensive scope on it. Plus being you are just getting back into boom sticks you probably don't want to spend a ton of extra $$$$ getting setup to reload, that said reloading is a great hobby in itself and very relaxing.

If you have a local FFL you trust look at cdnnsports.com, they have killer prices at times that can be lower then any sale prices.

[ST52V]

I would look at the Howa 2n1 in 243 or 6.5 creedmore. The same action as your vanguard in a youth stock and adult stock.