Elk Hunting~ Please very scared?

Question

Okay I just bought a Remington 30.6 Ultra Light. I way 105 lbs so not much to me. This gun weighs maybe 5 lbs. This is my first gun I have bought. Anyways my brother just found out that i bought and told me to take it back to the guy. (my brother buys everything from this guy big hunter) And I am suppose to tell the guy that sold it to me that he is pissed. Since it is a light weight. Okay my questions is would you let your sister or wife shoot this guy remember I am tiny. And if not what type of gun would you suggest. I will be elk hunting. And to add to all this know that I have had 15 people tell to get a different gun I'm scared to shoot it. I shot a 22.3 before this one.

Answer 1

well a 30.06 is a little big for a beginner. why are you afraid of it, the most that you'll get is scope eye, and maybe a bruised arm...

Answer 2

I know a lady that is about your size, maybe 5 lbs. heavier, and she hunts white tail with a Ruger M77 30/06.  She gets a buck most every year.  She uses no special recoil pad, or reduced velocity loads.  Did I mention she's 72?  Use a recoil pad, if you feel that it will help.  Target shoot with reduced velocity loads.  When you have that big bull elk in your sights, and squeeze the trigger, you won't feel any recoil.  Your 30/06 is an excellent choice for elk, without getting into a magnum.  Learn to shoot it, don't fear the recoil.  That can lead to flinching, and you surely don't want that.

Answer 3

Remember your going to be the one that has to carry it & you being small will mean a big heavy gun will wear you down quicker, I have shot several elk from a 30-30 open sights  & a 30-06 & as I got older & dont walk as far I decided a 7mm is a good all around gun which will reach out farther , all my rifles have light weight stocks. Remember you going to be going out into the beautiful surroundings what mom nature has to offer enjoy it. I prefer a scope as you can take a minute to observe the animal before he becomes dinner.

Answer 4

Lets do a little thought experiment.

Imagine an empty soup can and an empty cast iron frying pan.  Imagine two fire-crackers lit on the ground.  You put the empty soup can on top of one firecracker, and the iron skillet on top of the other.

Is the can and the skillet both going to jump equally high when the firecracker explodes?

No, the heavier one will jump less.

Same with guns.  Take two guns that fire the same ammo, a lighter one will kick a lot more.

I suggest returning the gun as well.  I suggest getting a regular weight gun in 7mm-08 or 270 win.  Both of those are just a tad less potent than the 30-06, but both can take elk if you do your part.  What's even better, Remington Ammunition Company loads ammo for both of them that is 'Managed Recoil' so if you are a bit leary of shooting at the beginning, you can get experience with the Managed Recoil to build up your skill and confidence.  Then when you do go elk hunting, use regular ammunition.

The Standard Remington 700 in BDL, CDL, or SPS are all going to be good choices, but so is Ruger, Savage, CZ, Browning, Winchester, and a few others.

You want to get a rifle that weighs at least a little bit over 7 pounds, 7 1/2 is good, 8 pounds wouldn't be too much.

Answer 5

Okay Sweetie, first of all you did buy a nice rifle.  A lightweight '06 could be a shoulder-bruiser for a small person such as you.  You'd probably be okay using the lightest bullets in .30-06 but unfortunately for Elk you need at least 150 grain rounds with the 180 grainers working better.  Here's how the recoil indext breaks it down:

.30-06 150 grain round 8.0 lb. rifle:  17.6 pounds of felt recoil.

.30-06 180 grain round 8.0 lb. rifle:  20.3 pounds of felt recoil.

You could get a padded shooter's vest and hold the rifle tightly to your shoulder when you shoot.  Also, if your rifle is scoped don't get your face too close to the scope.  Or trade it for a .30-30 Marlin.  The heaviest factory .30-30 round only produces 11 pounds of felt recoil.

Happy hunting.

H

Answer 6

Get a muzzle brake put on it no recoil then or very little

Answer 7

An 8 lbs. .30-06 has about 18 to 20 ft.-lbs. of recoil, and that is enough for many people. A 5 lbs. .30-06 has much more kick than that. If you only weigh 105 lbs., it is probably too much for you to tolerate. My lover Miyuki is 5'-0.5", 97 lbs., so you are bigger than she is. She is strong for her size though, since she has been into ballet and karate since age 4 and lifts barbells some with me. She has not fired my .300 or .460 magnum rifles, and I do not encourage her to do it. She has a friend Yuki who is 5'-3", 105 lbs., but I would not allow her to shoot my big rifles either. I am doubtful about either of them or you handling a 5 lbs. .30-06. I advise to to wait a while before you go elk hunting. Any rifle adequate for elk is going to kick more than you can probably tolerate.

Answer 8

I have an alternate opinion for consideration.  

Before you give up on your 30-06, try this.  Sims Vibration laboratories recoil pad.  They cost ~$30.  They are miracles when it comes to taming recoil.

I have a 300 WSM and the recoil was more than what I call mild.  I put the Sims recoil pad on and voila, it was like shooting a 7 mm 08 or a mild .270.  Not punishing in the least.

You might try this before you return your snoochy new rifle.  

Answer 9

I am a certified Alaskan hunter safety instructor and have more than 20 years teaching women's rifle marksmanship to both civilian and military women.  In Alaska frequently I train women to become expert shots with the 338 Win Mag for bear territory.  This is 3x the recoil of the 30-06.

The rifle recommended to you - 30-06 Ultra Light is THE perfect for you to have on this hunt.  You need a caliber with sufficeint power to drop an elk - the 30-06 has it, and all calibers with less recoil will not do the job.  The 30-06 is a good choice of caliber.

For your size - highly doubtful you would be happy or able to carry a full sized rifle in the field all day long - let alone the rifle, back pack, or packing out meat.  For this - again - the Ultra Light is the best rifle of choice for you.

This 30-06 Ultra Light is not going to be your favorite rifle at the range - but - it will become your favorite rifle to hunt with.  You can practice your shooting skills with a 22 long rifle or 223 and learn just as much as if you were using this rifle.

Your training should start by showing up at the range and putting a standard 10" paper plate at 100 yards.  Your first 3 shots of the day need to be one this paper plate.  After firing the three shots - put the 30-06 away and work with the lesser sized rifle.

When hunting - your first shot of the day is what counts......not how good you did at the range after three hours of practice!

Day comes you nail the 3 shots in the paper plate at 100 yards - move it out to 200 yards and fire three more.  You really do not want to put more than 6 rounds per day for the first 6-8 sessions unless you are totally comfortable with it.

You might be tempted to put a set of heavy scope rings and a heavy scope on the rifle - yes, it will lessen the recoil, but you want to use light weight rings and scope to keep it light - the rifle won't do you any good if it is too heavy for you to take anywhere.

Check around your local gun shops for 55gr 30-06 sabots.  If you can find them at a reasonable price - this will give you a 223 like tiny recoil from the rifle and might be a help learning the trigger better.

Hope this helps!  

Answer 10

They make recoil pads you can slip over the butt of the rifle that really cushion the recoil on the rifle. Here is a link for some recoil pads.  

Answer 11

I would give my wife a 223,270 or 308 at the most .And im iffy of the 308 for her.

Answer 12

Stay with the gun, just hold it tight to your shoulder when you shoot. Most recoil is noticed on the range or when you hold it loose.  My first '06 was about that weight, and I was smaller then than you are now. That is a good weight for a mountain gun, light to carry and should be easy swing for a shot. Use a good recoil pad. Have someone you trust load some light target rounds for you to practice with. Be sure to do a final sight in with your hunting loads.  

Answer 13

Here's the problem.  Any caliber that is sufficient for hunting elk will have some significant recoil.  It's one of the laws of physics.  For any action, there is an equil and opposite reaction.  Therefore, if a gun puts out enough punch to kill an elk, the shooter is also going to feel the recoil.  There are a few ways to handle the recoil, though.  The simplest and cheapest way is to buy a recoil shield.  That is a pad that is attached to a harness that holds it to your shoulder.  The shield absorbs some fo the felt recoil.  You could also buy a heavier gun.  Heavy guns absorb more of the recoil than do light guns.  Another very effective, but a bit expensive, way of handling recoil is to have your barrel Magna Ported or install a muzzle break.

If none of these things work for you, just realize that the recoil from a .30-06 is not so great that you cannot handle it.  It will jar you but it is not all that bad.  I would suggest that you buy a long eye relief scope for it.  A regular scope will have your eye too close to the scope when you fire the gun and the recoil could cause the back end of the scope to hit your eye brow and give you a nasty cut.  Lots of people, my mother included, have gotten these cuts.  They bleed a lot, all head woulds will, and make yout think you are hurt more badly than you really are.  Occasionally they will require a stitch or two to close them so they don't leave a scar.  A long eye relief scope will keep your eye farther from the end of the scope and will prevent any "scope bites".  

Answer 14

Hi Melissa, and welcome to the sport.

The good news:

Ultra Light model will be easier to carry around due to its light weight.  This is a good rifle.  You did good.

The bad news:

Lighter rifles kick more than heavier rifles, and the 30-06 could kick excessively hard for a 105 lb. beginner.

Bottom line:

Have your brother, or someone you know and trust train you on smaller caliber rifles first, and work your way up to your 30-06 Ultra Light rifle.

I have heard of many beginners turned off to the sport of shooting because someone had them try to shoot a firearm they were not ready for, and scared them from the sport for good.  Unfortunately, this does happen all too often, but it can be avoided.

I hope you will enjoy the sport of shooting and hunting as much as we do.

Be safe.

Answer 15

It sounds like you are fairly new to shooting.  A 30-06 isn't what I would call a beginners rifle.

It is definately a pretty big step up from a 223 Rem.  However, I am not sure if I would go as far as to take the rifle back yet.

If you use specially made reduced recoil or managed recoil ammo, the recoil of a 30-06 isn't too bad at all.

Dealing with recoil actually has very little to do with your size.  Learning to deal with recoil has more to do with proper ear protection, good shooting technique, and becoming accustomed to muzzle blast.  Size is a factor though.  All the technique and ear protection in the world won't override the laws of Physics.  If it makes you feel better, I was shooting a 25-06 when I was a little more than 1/2 your size (I was about 6 or 7 years old.  My Dad has pictures of it...I was so small I could barely pull the trigger). The 25-06 is the same cartridge as the 30-06, necked down to 25 caliber.  I was probably about 125 pounds when I started shooting the 30-06.

A 30-06 is a pretty common rifle.  It sounds like you may come from a hunting family, so my guess is that you know someone that has a 30-06 already.  I would borrow a 30-06 from someone and buy a box of reduced recoil ammo or a box of 125 gr. ammo (if you can not find it locally, MidwayUSA has a great selection of ammo.  They don't have the cheapest prices, but you can't beat their selection.  Check them out at http://www.midwayusa.com).  Once you have the ammo, go to the shooting range and give it a try.  With light bullets or reduced recoil ammo, you will probably be surprised how managable the recoil is.  One shot isn't going to do any serious harm to you if you have even the slightest idea of how to shoot a rifle.  If the recoil is a bit much for you, then take your rifle back.  If it is unfired, you probably have a better chance of taking it back.  If you have no problem with the light bullets or the reduced recoil ammo, get a box if 150 gr. ammo with quality bullets like Nosler Partitions or Barnes X (just to name a few, there are many excellent hunting bullets out there) and give those a try in your rifle.  The idea with the light recoiling ammo is to build your confidence up a bit.

When you take your first shot, you may want to consider shooting from a standing position.  When you do this, your entire body acts as a shock absorber.  Your shoulder will not take the full force of the recoil.  Shooting while standing will greatly reduce the amount or recoil you feel.

Personally, if I were to take a beginner shooter out elk hunting, I'd probably opt for a 7mm-08.  Personally, I'd prefer a cartridge with a bit more power, but with good shot placement and quality bonded bullets, the 7mm-08 will take an elk.  

As long as you stay away from the heavy bullets, the recoil of the 30-06 isn't that bad.  I would give it a try before you take it back.  I would wear shooting glasses in case the scope hits you (it won't cut you as bad if at all if you got good plastic shooting glasses...preferrably with the large once piece lenses).  Shoot from the standing position with light recoiling ammo and I think you should be fine.  

To answer your question about the ultra light rifle...the lighter the rifle, the more recoil you will feel.

Shooting is supposed to be fun.  Don't be scared of the rifle.  Just remember that you control the rifle, the rifle doens't control you.

Answer 16

OK, so you're in a bit of a jam here. I will suggest using the 150 grain Nosler Partition bullet, loaded to medium 308 specs, which will be magnificently effective on elk, and not too punishing, even in a light gun. The Hornady Fifth Edition reloading manual lists 14 such 150 grain 30-06 loads. The IMR 4064 powder is known for consistent accuracy at a variety of temperatures, and is widely available. 47.9 grains of it will result in aproximately 2700 fps, an adequate long range velocity, typical of such 308 factory ammo, and considered "standard" for elk. A card up at the local gun store will find you a reloader. Or http://www.midwayUSA.com/ or their Google competitors will have everything you need, and the Hornady or Speer manuals have excellent reloading tutorials. Get some practice with the "tuned load" before hunting with it, as it will still kick smartly. Regards, Larry.