Rifle for my gf

Looking to get a rifle for my gf for christmas. Either the Remington 770 or savage axis, I know they're cheap guns but she doesn't need a $800 + rifle to shoot targets. What I can't decide is what caliber to get, I was thinking .223 or .243. Mostly target shooting but I might get the urge to hunt with it once and a while, will a .243 be to much recoil for her? She shoots 20 guage with no problem but I don't know how that compares with the .243 in terms of recoil. Any suggestions?

 

The .223 has almost no recoil, but IMO its a little light for deer hunting, it'll kill them, but margin if error is small. I would have to guess that a .243 will have less recoil than a .20 gauge. It would come down to the weight of both guns vs the weight of the shot charge/bullet weight.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

A .223 did that?

 

I shot my first deer at 6 years old with a .243

Both my younger sisters have shot deer with the same gun when they were 15-16. and we are all smaller people, I doubt she would have a problem shooting it. We always used 80 gr. bullets for target/bench shooting and used 100 gr for hunting.
Remington

 

Looks more like a 308 or 30.06

 

For hunting, I'd go with a .243, but for a gun thats a ton of fun to shoot, buy an ar15 lol...

 

Looks like alot if th damage was done by fragmenting bone/bullet, that is gnarly. There are some pics somewhere of a young GI shot in the thigh with a 5.56/.223, the femur was blown out while not even being struck, just from the hydraulic shock wave of muscle tissue.

 

Alright guys looks like .243 is the gun to get, thanks for the help. Is the Remington 770 ok for a "beginner" or someone that just wants a gun that shoots and no need for the fancy high end guns?

 

Great point, my 1 in 12 .223 will stack 50, 55 grain bullets, but will not pattern the heavy stuff, I've spent many hours at the reloading bench/range trying to find the right combo to no avail. To the OP, for money spent and a first rifle the 770 will be just fine.

 

Thanks alot to every one for the suggestions.

 

7mm-08 is a perfect, light kicking caliber.

 

Hmmmm 7-08, forgot about that one.

 

How tall is she, if a full length stock doesn't fit, a youth model .243 would. My wife is about 5'4" and she got a youth model Rossi Combo, .243, 20 ga, and .22 as a "kit." Fits her very well. I know Remington, at least, makes a youth model 700 bolt. Had to get the Rossi as she is left handed and the single shot was a whole lot cheaper and easier to find than a youth model left hand bolt.

 

She's 5'3" should she use a youth model?

 

Only way to know if a full size, or youth model will work, is to take her to a store and measure the length of pull for her. I would say that most likely, a youth model will fit her better, thus be much more comfortable for her to shoot.

 

Negative on the youth model, unless you can use it too

Go to a store, and try them out.

If it were me, I'd be going in to get her a .243.