Went to the range today!!

[Klayton]

Well went to the range today. We don't go as often as I like, were down to about once a month, occasionally slipping to once every other month :(

Well, two things happened today. We confirmed the Mrs does NOT like the kick of the .338 Federal, and we broke my Nightforce scope. No idea how we did it, only thing I can think is the rings were not properly tightened by the gunshop when we dropped it off to be mounted and boresighted?? We will be calling NF Friday, HOPEFULLY they can fix it without costing me an entire new scope???

BUT, wife said she will never fire the .338 again unless its the last gun with ammo available. So this puts me in a pickle, she has her AR(5.56), but I would still like her to have a gun with some more oomph for those long shots she may need to take post SHTF.

Do you think if I drop back down to a .308 that will be enough of a decrease in kick to make it appealing enough for her to practice with it? Ugg, and normally range days I come back with the "I just had more fun than a kid at chuck e' cheese-grin on my face"... :(

[WiseOwl]

Man I heard those .338's will put a tattoo on your shoulder.....

[tech]

A good AR and shooter with iron sights can put rounds into a man-sized target (and pick where on the target) @ 500 meters...

More ooomph? I can tell you that I do not want to be on the firing line when an AR is being fired, even with sapi plates installed...how about you?

Be realistic. Let her shoot a weapon she is comfortable with. She'll be more likely to take the shot if she isn't going to be sore for a day afterward.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

A good AR and shooter with iron sights can put rounds into a man-sized target (and pick where on the target) @ 500 meters...
More ooomph? I can tell you that I do not want to be on the firing line when an AR is being fired, even with sapi plates installed...how about you?
Be realistic. Let her shoot a weapon she is comfortable with. She'll be more likely to take the shot if she isn't going to be sore for a day afterward.

Agreed, look at the gravel pit and the sandbox. It is getting it done. No it's not a t-rex slayer but be realistic, you slap a rd in center mass at 5-6 and they aint gonna keep coming forward. Don't ruin her or make her get the flinch and mess up what she is doing good with.
I can tell you that my teen daughter slaps the deer down with the 243 with no recoil issues, might give that a try, it can be had in an AR platform as well though I dont know about the added weight.
Dunno, if it aint broke and "Tremors" aint happening with giant worms then why tinker with it. I rather be beside someone who will dump 556 all day than someone who will hesitate with a 338

[Klayton]

Well she does like her new AR, guess I can just buy more ammo for it, and leave the .338 for me. :)

Thanks guys...

[brokedownbiker]

Maybe a compromise? How do you think she would deal with the recoil of the intermediate 7.62x39 round? Just a thought; I personally don't think there is enough of a difference in the effectiveness between the 5.56 and the 7.62x39 to make that change.

I'd be more inclined to let her shoot what she feels comfortable with.

If you really want her to be proficient with the heavier round/rifle, you could load up some milder loads for her to practice with in the .338 to reduce the recoil.

[ebb]

A lot of the people shooting tactical matches are using a 243. If you do jbm balistics on a 243 with a good match bullet with a high BC it has down range numbers as good as a 6.5-284 and far better than a 308. A 260 rem is as a good one to look at with good ballistics and low recoil. Maybe something to look at. If the AR is going to be her thing maybe some 69 gr match bullets, as most ARs have a 1/9 twist nowadays.