I'm a big fan of the 25-06. If you are worried about recoil you could look into possibly a .308 with a heavy bull barrel. Bought my wife a remington 700 SPS Varmit and she has no problems shooting it. It has the recoil of a .243 but has the ability to more loads than the 25-06. 7-08 is a great choice as well.

Any of these calibers should be fine for her. She is just going to have to shoot them and find which one she likes the best.

My BIL bought my sister a .243. She shot fine with it, but wanted to shoot my 30-06 to see the difference. She ended up killing her first deer with the 06 and doesn't mind shooting it at the range. It is a semi-auto and the recoil is very minimal.

My wife currently shoots reduced loads through my 270 well. Im going to get a 6.5x55 or a 7x57 for her in a year or so... so pretty much a 260 or 7-mm08. If you think she will ever shoot something bigger than whitetails I would lean to the 7mm-08 if not then I would lean to the 260... and even probably to a 243, with good bullets it is plenty for deer and even less recoil and muzle blast for her to deal with.

matt

IF not the .243, then .25-06

25-06 all the way!!! Btw I have for sale or trade .....

243, 7mm 08, 308, 25.06 all would be fine.

Are you saying buy her all 3?!!!!

I don't know how big your lady is, but you may look at a firearm theat is shorter or with a youth type stock. I would go 243, or 260 first.

243

key is to eliminate the fears of shooting, shoulder pain from recoil and the scope hitting her between the eyes. Long eye relief and good recoil pad on the 7mm08, cut to fit her, she will be good to go.

Don't know anything about the 260, the 25-06 should have the heaviest recoil of the three you considered.

7mm-08 or 308

x2..,in that order.

308 with lighter rounds and she can work her way to heavier loads when she feels comfortable. IMHO

If you don't handload: 7-08, .243, .308

If you do handload: .260, 7-08, .243, .308

I am a big fan of .308, but I think stock fit is way more important than caliber selection.

Whatever you do, I would say try to get a stock that fits her as well as possible.

Besides shorter arms, women generally have smaller faces and smaller cheekbone-eye dimensions, so the often benefit from higher combs on the stocks or adding a cheekpad to the stock. (Watch her shoot and be sure she is getting a good cheekweld, it will both help her shoot consistently and reduce the perceived recoil. If she is having to hold her head up off the stock and the gun comes back and smacks her in the face it will feel bad for sure!)

Depending on what she likes, you might consider an AR-10 with a telescoping stock or a magpul PRS stock (adjustable for length and comb height!)
That would give you a rifle you could both easily adjust and shoot with good fit, and the semi-auto action really kills the recoil.

(AR10's can be pigs for weight if you arent careful, though!)

If you want to stick with a bolt action, HS precision makes stocks to fit the Remington 700 that can be ordered in custom lengths of pull, and might be worth considering if you cant find a gun that comes with a stock that fits her well.

Wooden spoon and apron lol jk I would suggest a .243 my mother used one for years. She would often put many men to shame at the range with it. And yes she used the wooden spoon too but mostly on my hind end lol

There is little to no difference in recoil between .243, 7-08, and 260 so I would say any of the three and would the least expensive one I could find and upgrade from there if it's needed.

This is my favorite. I have a Remington Carbine that I just love!

I would worry more about it fitting her than the caliber. I would let her shoulder some youth length of pull sized rifles and see what feels right.

25-06 is a grat one. I bought the new Marlin bolt a couple of years ago and love it. .243 is a great caliber as well

257 Roberts or 243...

Well guys i thank you very much for all your time and consideration of replying to my post and all the advice as well. But were going to go with somthing not on the list and thats a 6.5 creedmoor. I'm really impressed with all i read on it and ballistics and all so im going to venture off with somthing i've never owned and give it a whirl

My wife shoots: .223, .243, .22-250, 25-06, with an emphasis on the .25-06