Chambered, I agree. I think I also would recommend the 7x57 instead of the .270... (but I'm not such a .270-fan)

tut tut tut... Aloysius just when I start to like you you say something like that. the 7x57 is a great cartridge but crickey dicks its close enough to the .270 to be its twin. Im biased but I cant think of a single thing you could do with one that the other cant do just as well. If you wont less recoil go down in projectile weight. if you wont still less make the load a light one powder wise.

If it turns out to be a recoil issue you need to evaluate what she intends on hunting. If the largest thing she will hunt is deer the .270, .280 Remington of 7X57 are all really not necessary for clean kills. There isn't anything wrong with any of the 6mms (.243 Winchester or 6mm Remington) with proper bullets and shot placement and recoil is manageable by pretty much anyone. You could even step up to the various .257 calibers (.250 Savage, .257 Roberts) and still have reasonable recoil levels. Another thought would be the 6.5 Swede, which has an excellent kill record without beating the shoulder.

Whatever the choice, a premium recoil pad on a stock that has been properly fitted to her build and shooting style will make a huge difference. Stock fit can not be emphasized enough for successful shooting for anyone.

Elvis wrote:

the 7x57 is a great cartridge but crickey dicks its close enough to the .270 to be its twin.

Watch yourself ....... them there .270 nuts will disbar you from their society for talk like that !!!

Elvis, just talking about factory loads, a 7 mm Mauser will have less recoil and the barrel stays cooler for more shots than when using a .270 Win.
When you go for reloads: in .308 you can find most different types of bullets, but after the .308 the 7 mm class is following with far more different bulletweights than the .270.

Maybe I'm a little bit mad about the .270 because that's about the only rifle here that still couldn't please me. Have to correct that: the Woodmaster in .280 Rem is also giving groupings that don't convince me to take it out hunting.

good on you Aloysius. sorry to hear you have a bangstick or 2 that are giving you grief.you have a point about factory loads if you shop around you can get mild .270 loads the PMC 130s come to mind. the S&B loads should be the same if thier .223 loads are anything to go by.

Is she right or left eye dominant?
My daughter could shoot pistols as well as anyone - better than most, but she couldn't hit anything with a rifle. I had her do the standard test for dominant eye and found out she was left eye dominant - so I taught her to shoot left handed and now she shoots as well as I do with a rifle.

Keep sessions short. Avoid burnt out.

Be SUPPORTIVE, not critical. Spot for her and coax her onto the target. Honest praise goes a long way. Dont slop it on.....

Practice practice practice. Esp for a first timer! Ingrain the basics first, then move on to marksmanship. Grip, breathing, break...snap caps can help. Agreed on double hearing protection.

Shoot at SOMETHING, not just paper. Cans, gongs, a rock, a post, etc. It's much more rewarding to actually hit something that makes a noise or moves when you hit it, it's very motivating and rewarding to say "I GOT IT!" Shooting for groups on paper with a highpower rifle @ 100y is about as boring and abusive as it gets. I never start new students on paper. I always have them shoot reactive targets. Hanging pop cans, pots and pans @ 25y etc are great. Little eyes light right up and they cant wait to go again. The coup de grace is a star exploding target in a bag at the end of the day @ 50y as a reward they have to work for- BOOM! Man they cant wait to go again after that.

Thank you all for you comments and ideas, I have passed many of them along to Natalie.

If she still finds recoil from the .270 to be to much then as suggested by someone else, the 6.5 Swedish is one heck of a good alternative & very popular in Europe for anything from foxes to European Elk(Moose)

stovepipe wrote:

Shoot at SOMETHING, not just paper. Cans, gongs, a rock, a post, etc.

All of which will get your membership revoked at the places I shoot !!!

Amazes me when someone places a target on the support post of a target frame.

I agree with stovey....... just use a little common sense !!!
We had a guy that loved to shoot heads of lettuce with his .44

chambered221 wrote:

stovepipe wrote: Shoot at SOMETHING, not just paper. Cans, gongs, a rock, a post, etc. All of which will get your membership revoked at the places I shoot !!! Amazes me when someone places a target on the support post of a target frame. I agree with stovey....... just use a little common sense !!! We had a guy that loved to shoot heads of lettuce with his .44

Good point...I usually take first timers to the desert, not a formal public range cuz of noise, distractions etc. I have a 4'x6' stand and all kinds of reactive targets etc....and same takes place after a safety class.

I like shooting egg's @ 100y with my 44m.

All I can chime in is what worked with my daughters, who like Omni, I started out at the young age of 5 and 7 on BB guns. Actually, my dad had my oldest daughter shooting a 22 rifle off the back deck of his house when she was 3. It was only 3 shots, but she liked it. But back to the point, the noises really scare them, and the backfire does. I dont know if I would start my kids out on a 270. 22 and work up to it over time maybe, but thats just me and that is what I know about my kids and also how I was taught. And even if they wanted to hunt right now, I would really want them to have a much more proficient understanding of firearm safety and firearm and hunting etiquette for everyones safety.

as a side note, as of last night my 11 year old daughter , on her own, was working on field stripping the AK. And I timed her and she can strip it and reassemble it in under 40 seconds flat. Not to bad for an 11 year old, although I am sure there are many younger than her in Afghanistan and Iraq who can do it much faster.. lol.. But hey, she is a blond, so I cut her some slack LOL

just show that to her first boyfriend, along with Dad cleaning the 12ga of course.

GET A VIDEO CAMERA and record some sessions of her at the bench!! with you away from it. We did this when we first started shooting our bows. Made a HUGE difference in how we did things from the point of viewing the video. We got alot o better in our technique after. And the targets showed the improvement.