Welcome aboard, it seems we are getting more females and that' s great. As far as a rifle, stay away from the .30 calibers, they can be punishing. .243 is great, but a 6mm is just a hair better but you don' t have as great a choice of factory bullet sizes to choose from. My wife shoots a .243 youth remington 700. It' s great out to 200 yards but after that, the short barrel causes the bullet to drop darn fast. It also has an adjustable trigger, from the factory it' s a bear to pull.