The .25-06 will handle any deer anytime. Why put up with extra recoil? You will likely be more accurate with a lighter kicking rifle or you can opt for a lighter weight rifle and it will still be comfortable to shoot. As for bullet choice there is more than enough. You can go from 100 gr Barnes to 120 grain Partitions and all are excellent on deer sized game. I chose the .25-06 in Tikka T3 Stainless/Syn myself.