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A Straight Walled Gun for my Wife

T

Trapshooter1

Well-Known Member
After taking my wife shed hunting,(she had some luck shed hunting, refer to photo below) my wife thinks she wouldn't mind trying to go deer hunting. I want to make it as comfortable and pleasant as possible. So it's going to be heated blind, heated socks, and hopefully a shot from 100 or less yards. So my question is which rifle should I buy her?

350 Legend is my first thought, and I'm open to recommendations. I don't have a 350 as I shoot a 450, but I think my 450 would be to much for her it kicks like a mule. Would prefer something in a bolt action, and would like the gun to be something that would work for me as well if she decides deer hunting isn't for her. I don't want it to beat her up as in recoil.

I've heard stories about the 350 lacking knock down power, So what say the Iowa Whitetail community?
 

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I have a .350 for my 13 yo twins and they have used it the past three seasons with no complaints. IMO knock down doesn’t come into play when hunting from a heated blind with shots coming under 100 yards. All the deer they have shot have gone down within 30-40 yards including one that was not a great shot placement. If she can make a decent shot with the .350, they are not going far.
 
I know you said you want a bolt action rifle. If you and your wife have a very different length of pull, I would think pretty hard about an AR. Adjustable stock could make a significant difference for shootability for different sized shooters. Also the gas operating action will help with recoil.
 
I have the 350 legend Ruger American Ranch Youth model for my 22 year old daughter. She is small (5'2" little over 100 lbs). The only thing different about the youth model is a shorter stock. The ranch rifle has a short barrel already. I also hunt with two guys that shoot 350 legend (regular Ranch model) that like it. It's a sweet little gun as far as I'm concerned. It's a legit 200 yard deer gun. I can shoot it just fine with the short stock too.

The only thing I caution is to be careful of the ammo you choose. The 180 grain Winchester loads do not expand very much and poke a small hole. Deer still dies, but almost no blood trail even with double lung hits. The 150 grain Winchester Deer Season expands better and does fine. This is a sample size of three with the 180 grain and three with the 150 grain. Six one shot kills from 50 to 150 yards but a better wound channel on all three with the 150 grain. There is a good YouTube video of the difference in ballistic gel that lines up with what I saw in the field.

The 350 legend is balletically similar to a 30-30 and no old guy from a rifle shooting Midwest state (Old guy from Michigan here.) will tell you the 30-30 can't stack up deer.
 
Unless you’re absolutely sold on a straight wall, have you considered a bolt shotgun. The Savage 220 or 212 will more than do the job. A 12 ga shooting Hornaday SST‘s has the same ballistics as a 45/70 at the muzzle (300grn/2kfps). I’m not sure what the 20 compares to but it’s still a 250 grain slug at 1800 fps. And you’re not giving up any accuracy at the ranges you’re considering. The 20 zeroed at 150 has less than an inch more drop than the 350 at 200 with 50% more weight behind it. Any of the rifled slug guns will more than do the job. Plenty of guys that went to the “rifle” have the sg’s sitting around and you should be able to find one at a reasonable price.

If you’re sticking to a rifle, don’t forget the 360 and 400 options. I’ve shot neither but the 400 may be a happy medium.
 
Barnes .350 ammo costs a little more than most but has been awesome. Quite a few good guns. Have never been too impressed with the mags/feeding on any of the savage ones. Gen2 ruger american is definitely an upgrade from the first gen. Adjustability of AR’s is nice
 
I have 3 youth hunters all under 12. Also have every gun mentioned above.

Both the 350 legend and the 450 bush master bolt guns both have a lot of recoil. I have both the Ruger American youth and the savage scout. Not a huge fan of either...

As stated above 350 lacks blood trail and knockdown.

All 3 of my kids hunt with the ar15 platform 450 bush master. Hands down the gun of choice. Have not lost 1 to date.
There is a lot percussion but not near as much kick as either bolt gun.

Honestly in the beginning I was not crazy about hunting with ar platform. Over the years the 450 ar has proven to be the most affective all around gun.
 

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IowaBowHunter1983 said:
My experience on 350 legend on multiple deer is zero blood trail.
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I have not experienced this, but I’m wondering how that could be?… were they hit well? I’m trying to understand the trajectory/physics of zero blood leaving the animal after getting hit by a 150 grain + bullet?

I used to watch CSI ;) I can’t register it .
 
Hardwood11 said:
I have not experienced this, but I’m wondering how that could be?… were they hit well? I’m trying to understand the trajectory/physics of zero blood leaving the animal after getting hit by a 150 grain + bullet?

I used to watch CSI ;) I can’t register it .
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Lost one. (Bad shot) 3 others have gone less than 80 yards but zero blood trail. My sons first seer ever this year we watched fall down. I spent 20 min looking for blood.... didn't find a drop.
 
This was shot by my neighbors kid on his land. They lost it. I found it 2 days later after following up on some birds looking for ehd kills. It was roughly 500 yds from shot site. He shot it with 350 legend. Not 100 % where he hit but doesn't look too far off....
 

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My son shot and recovered 3 with his 350 by age 12. The 1st was a doe shot in the chest. She went 75 yards but we didn't find a drop of blood. The 2nd was big 10 point shot in his spine. Dropped on the spot. The 2nd was a 5.5 yr old doe shot in the chest. Tracked her 125 yards after dark. Very limited bloodtrail. He'll be using a 400 legend in '25. His 1st deer was with a 220. Weighs 90 lbs right now.

Oh and his 4th kill with the 350 was in Dec. It was a decent sized 7 point. Shot in the chest. I guess he took a few steps and was probably about to flop over, but he loaded another round quickly and put 1 in his neck.
 
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The 220 is an awesome gun but will kick your ass compared to any of the straight walls. The recoil on the 3” accutip on that gun is about 23lbs of free recoil - quite a bit for a small frame.

I have the Ruger America 350 for my son 75lbs. He has shot 3 deer with it without a problem. Recoil on it is about 8.5 ft lbs driving a 180gr bullet. I am guessing you will be shooting inside 100yds so should have 0 issues

I love the 450bushmaster it just had significantly more kick - about 22 ft lbs and didn’t want him getting shy behind the trigger as he is the primary shooter

I know much of this can be solved with platform but starting at low recoil overall is nice
 
I agree with 1983 on the blood trail as there has not been a great trail BUT all deer shot with the .350 that were decent shots were recovered in a short distance. I have saw the same blood trail issues with muzzleloaders so maybe something to do with speed of bullet and limited bullet expansion/fragmentation. To OP, if you haven’t noticed by now there are a lot of thoughts to look through but based on your objectives that you originally posted the .350 (mine is ar platform) is an accurate and lethal round with less recoil than most other options mentioned on here. Probably no perfect round but if you want your wife to enjoy the experience and potentially come back for more I’d go .350 legend. I have started several youth hunters and recoil is # 1 cause of bad shooting habits and being timid behind any gun for a LONG time after. I’d give up a little blood trail for a better experience for her and just make good shots which should be easy from <100 yds and from a blind.
 
My wife shot two bucks with Bear Creek Ballistics 160gr round with little blood. Same as everyone above. Her buck this year dropped at impact but got up and walked another 100 yards. I was advised to switch to a Barnes Vor TX 170 gr round. Gonna try. Love the gun.
 
Really surprised with the feedback on the 350 Legend. My kids have killed 8 deer with our Winchester 350 Legend. Dropped almost every single one in their tracks. Only a couple have even made it 50 yards. One made it almost 100.

Might be because I've got the kids aiming directly at the "point" of the shoulder. Meaning dead center of the shoulder and a couple inches high. Knockdown power doesn't happen by shooting them through the lungs. I'm always baffled at folks aiming double lung with a gun.
 
35 Whelan. CVA makes a single shot that is deadly. Not very expensive but I had poor experiences with both a 450 and 350 when taking youth hunters. A couple good shots and not good blood trails with lots of foliage doesn't bode well. The whelan either anchors them where they are or puts a fist size hole in them. My 55 pound 5 year old daughter shot it comfortably this fall for fun as did my 8 and 7 year old.
 
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