At 5'4", I'm on the short side of average for hunters. Despite that, I typically shoot off-the-shelf guns and have adapted to them quite well. But my daughter, Maggie, is only 4'6" at age 9. She killed her first deer last year using an AR-15, but this year we are headed to my home state of Pennsylvania to hunt at the family farm — and until PA joins the 21st Century, a semi-automatic rifle is out of the question. She needed a bolt-action, but an off-the-rack gun was definitely not going to fit her.

A youth gun seemed like the obvious choice, until I stumbled upon the Savage Model 11 Lady Hunter. It's got Savage's great AccuTrigger, which Maggie is already familiar with because she learned to shoot on Savage's Rascal (which I can't recommend highly enough for a kid's first gun, by the way). It's also the same size as Savage's youth rifles, but with women-specific ergonomics that make a real difference in fit. She's been plugging targets at the range for a couple of months now and is fired up about taking it afield for deer this season!

Check out the video for specs and details.