My wife's favorite (she is a small lady...about 105 lbs.) is a Ruger Compact in 7mm-08. She also has a .308 (in another Ruger), but it kicks a bit more. The Browning Micro's are also very nice. Scope-wise, there are MANY, MANY very good choices depending upon your type of hunting, preferences and, of course, budget. A 3-9 X 40 is a good all purpose selection. Bushnell Elites, Vortex Vipers, Sightron SII and the Big Sky models, Burris Fullfield, Redfield and Leupold (to name a few) have such offerings and are good choices.