25-06----- Love me some 25-06

IMO, the 25/06 is not just a great starter rifle, it's a great lifetime deer rifle! No need for anything bigger in Texas.

I went thru this same excercise couple years back when I was not quite ready to hunt after rehabbing a severly surgically damaged shoulder I had been told I would never recover from. Never say never to someone as stubborn as I am ! As a 270 shooter for 40+ years I knew that the sharper quicker recoil I was familair with was related to the chamber pressure (aka bullet speed) x's bullet's weight x's the gun weight weight. I had also shot a 257 Roberts and a 243 for about 10 years each, and a wide range of other calibers including a 25/06.

2 years ago I chose a 6.5x55 Swede in a Tikka T3 as it answers every one of your concerns, from low recoil, a wide range of bullet weights exactly equal to a 270, and a world wide 100 year reputation for extrodinary killing power capable of elk, black bear & moose because of the 264 diameter's aka 6.5mm unique super long bullet shape that on average penetrates deeper than other bullets of the same design in other other calibers at much slower speeds.

While there are certainly no flys on a 25/06, IMO the calibers limitations for your application are: same chamber pressures as a 270 ='s approx same recoil in same weight guns & bullets; limited to 120 gr bullets max weight & why I chose a 257 Roberts the last time I rehabbed an unrelated bad disc until I could start back with my bigger calibers again, 25/06 also is almost impossible to find in barrel lengths shorter than 24"s for a reason - they are over bored - aka larger powder capacity than normal to generate more speed otherwise they are basically not much faster than the 85 year old 257 Roberts, and more speed equals added recoil; my experiences in the late 1960's and 1970's with a 243 convinced me that I needed heavier bullets than a 100 gr'er despite being able to write both my initials on a business card at a 100 yards accuracy wise back when I was shooting 2500-3000+ centerfire benchrest bullets a year, leading me to try a 25/06 for a couple years before settling on a 270. A 260 Remington caliber - 264 diameter or 6.5mm - is based on the same 308 case & powder capacity as a 243, 7-08 & some larger calibers & generate approx the same chamber pressures @ + 52,000 CUP or + 60,000 PSI... and recoil.

I would reccomend either the Reduced Recoil ammo in a medium weight rifle totalling scoped and loaded at about 7 1/2lbs that comes closes to FITTING PROPERLY the young shooter in a 270 or 7-08... or some of the older lower chamber pressure calibers like a 250 Savage, a 257 Roberts, my 6.5x55 Swede or a 7x57 Mauser. Even the venearable 30/30 in a Marlin 336 would make a good choice for the very same reasons and ALL of these, except the 30-30, will reliably kill Texas WTails with ease out to 250-300 yards or more in the larger calibers, with the 6.5 Swede & 7 Mauser being the best of the bunch ...and all of these have chamber pressures at about 80% of any of the 308 or 30'06 based calibers ...or about 42-45,000lbs CUP or 48,000 - 50,000 PSI. OBTW The 257 Roberts is simply a 7 Mauser case necked down to a 25 caliber when it was done commercialy in 1925.

JMHO and YMMV ...but I've been doing this since 1969 and finally decided to pay attention to what distances I kill 98% of my critters at...under 300 yards ...but I still like shoot a 300WMg in 180's at 31-3200fps ...and now have added a 1905 designed Mauser 9.3x62 at 2400 fps in 285 grain bullets capable of legally killing Cape Buffalo too ...just for funsies LOL!
Ron