well my browning bar .30-06 has no kcik to speak of, mind you its enough to let you know its there, but nothing thats gonna leave you with a sore shoulder.

I am trying to get my wife to go hunting with me and I am going to get her a 7mm-08. Little recoil fast and flat. My wife is 5'5 and 128lbs. she can handle the recoil no problem.

I'm not sure of the stature of your wife. Why don't you take her to the gunshop and let her try a youth stocked rifle? It may fit her better than the longer one. Heck I even have a couple youth rifles thaty fit me so good and I'm 5'9".
As for cartridge - anything from .243 up will do nicely for deer. Some youth models to consider are from Savage, Browning, Remington. I got my Grandson a Savage 11FYCAK (or something like that) in 7-08 with detachable box mag., and adjustable muzzlebrake. That little rifle shoots 1/2" groups using Hornady 139 gr bullets.

.243 or 7-08, on a Rem 700 platform.

Scope it with a Leupold VX-1 or better.

Thank me later..............

For the rifle, just think of itas trying on rings: you put on a bunch of different ones, 'til one just jumps out at you.

For the cartridge, I'd suggest .243 to .270. The former is certainly good enough for deer, while the latter manages to harvest elk & moose every Fall in the hands of competent shooters. .260, 6.5 x 55, 7x57, 7mm-08 would all be wonderful choices.

Remember: if the rifle fits her perfectly, the recoil issue mysteriously disappears.

FC

I purchased a Howa youth rifle in .243 for my 23 year old daughter last year. She loves the gun (not expensive either). It was her first year hunting and only shot rimfire or pellets previously.

Stock fit will be important as will stock design and the weight of the rifle also. Auto loaders are nice to shoot but the added weight is difficult to hold up for some. I had my daughter just walk through the woods with me holding a few different rifles that I owned. After that I had a better guess as to what she would like.

There is a wide range of good "soft" kicking cartridges available as mentioned above. I will only add the .257 Roberts to the list if you handload. Availability of ammo may be a concern. I would stay away from the 30.06, .280, .270, 25.06 and all magnums unless recoil is of no concern. Most likely it is! Go with "soft" and work on accuracy.

7mm08 in a Ruger compact... Would be just about perfect for her for almost anything North America can throw at her..

i dont have a wife but my little sister has had great luck w/ her 6.5x55 sweed. killed everything from cyote to moose

.308 Win. Good luck.

My wife hunts with a Remington 700 in 280 Remington. It is flat shooting, and works good on both deer and elk.