RE: Caliber Choice
I say go for the .30-06. If the recoil of the standard loads is too much, then try some of the new Federal or Remington reduced recoil loads. Recoil is about 1/2 of the regular loads and my 12-year-old daughter has no problem shooting my .30-06 with these loads. Then as you get older you can shoot the heftier loads for whatever situation you encounter.