ORIGINAL: whitetaildeer87
Hello, as of right now I use a 30.06 bolt action rifle. It's a bruiser. I love the gun, but after sighting it in, my shoulder is black and blue. Im looking for a more comfortable gun that will do the job.
Get yourself a nicely padded rifle rest for the range. You can also add some padding to the rest if you choose and you should have no problem with recoil. There is no reason why you should punish yourself unnecessarily. Next get yourself a good recoil pad for your 06. In a hunting situation you shouldn't be taking more than a shot or 2 anyway and with the adrenilin running while focusing on harvesting your animal you won't even remember pulling the trigger.So I would stick with the 06. As far as a small INEXPERIANCED female the other post's are on the money with a 270 or 7mm-08 as the minimum for Big Game such as Elk.