I would also suggest the 25-06. I have used one on deer for years and never had a problem. There is a moderate amount of bullet choices and many of the major companies make rifles in this caliber. the last year tha my dad was able to hunt he used my rifle to shoot a doe and a 8 point and had no complaints. He had cancer with a tumor next to the nerves in his left shoulder and the recoil was manageable even with that. Whatever you get, trying to decide what caliber to get a new gun is a pretty good problem! Good Luck