TexasBowHunter

I have several guns and both my daughter (9 years old) and wife prefer the 25-06 over the .243 I bought them.... The 25-06 is a bench gun/varmint grade gun and is heavier and does not have hardly any recoil!!! Both of those caliber's are great for smaller frame people, I don't think you can go wrong with either one....

Mojotex

Another vote for the 243 Win. My daughter uses one. She's ionly 5' 4". I am not a fan of any smaller diameter bullets than 25 cal. class. Sure a deer can be cleanly killed with a 22-250 Rem. or 222 Rem. or 223 Rem. , etc. But why go there? The 243 Win. is superb, long proven, short action, mild recoil, good hunting ammo is easy to find .... that's be my choice. I'd stay with a 90-100 gr. medium game grade bullet. HAve to be careful not to be usuing a "varmint" buillet on deer. Now, if she can manage the recoil of a .410 shot gun, I'd go straight to a 7mm 08 Rem or 308 Win.

Pawildman

...... Although the great Jack O'Connor was a heavy promoter of the .270 Win., his wife successfully killed game everywhere she went with the .257 Roberts. I don't think 'ol Jack could have pried that gun off her. Great cartridge, lots of potential, a little bigger bullet and mild recoil. One more vote for the 'ol "Bob"....

HEAD0001

My girl friend just loves to hunt. But she does not care to hunt in a field. She only hunts in the woods. She says that she just enjoys everything that is going on in the woods. She does not even care if she shoots a buck or a doe. She just want to get a deer. It makes her think she is the "provider". So much for that.

I have an Encore with a thumb hole stock, and she really likes this rifle. It is short and fast handling for her. I had a 30 Carbine barrel made for the rifle. I went with a 24" barrel for a little more velocity. Sierra makes a 130 grain bullet that is designed for the 30-30 single shot rifle. I load this bullet. However for most of her ammo I load a cast bullet. With a cast bullet she can shoot all day long for next to nothing.

She really likes this rig. And it is a very effective cartridge on game in the woods. And trust me you do not want to be in the woods if she wants to shoot. She is deadly with this rifle.

She has shot alot of my other rifles. However most of them do not "fit" her very well. However she does shoot my dad's old Model 7 in 7-08 pretty well. I think if I bought her a new bolt rifle, I would look at one of the "youth" rifles. They would fit her better. However there is no need for another rifle, she likes her Encore. Tom.

dtac96

is she shoots well their would be no problem with a .223 if you want a really smalll kick and you could get those anti recoil things

Sheridan

You need to let her shoot the smallest caliber rifles first, and then buy her a .243 win.

That will do her fine to start (You can never have enough guns !!!).

halfbakedi420

put her on a 22 with a scope and just varmit hunting til she sweeps em up for awhile,
then move her to a .223...she what she says ..maybe a recoil pad...she does good with that then a 243...and so on..

pistol..get er a 380, or a 9...even a 25 or 35 is good fer chicks. and they will do the job fer anyone

GTOHunter

I have been Hunting for over 30 years with a 30-06 and I went with a .243 Browning A-bolt Hunter,its a very accurate gun with little recoil and I have shot several nice size Doe's and have 2 nice size 8-Point Bucks hanging on the wall from the same gun.I also bought my 2 Daughters a Rossi single shot .243 and they like it.The heaviest bullet I could find was a 100 grain in the Hornady's or Remington.

Another choice I saw mentioned was a 7mm-08,that would be a good gun for Your Wife and if You get a bolt-action Rifle You can use the Remington "Managed Recoil" shells so it will have even less recoil and as mentioned you can shoot a heavier bullet for bigger Game.Be sure to check your States Laws on the smallest Caliber You can shoot for Deer.

Wolf killer

243, 257-Roberts or 25-06 either would be a fine choice. My wife used to hunt with a 25-06, she loved the 25-06 because it had a very light kick. She fell in love with a 280-Remington at a gun shop one day and has hunted with it ever since.

zrexpilot

.243 is a great caliber, for kids, women and men. 100 gr hornady BTSP and nothing will survive that load through the chest.
while there are other good calibers, the .243 is the way to go. Its chambered in every manufacturer in any flavor you desire, ammo is at every store that sells ammo, it makes the top ten list for calibers sold in the US, for a good reason too.
Flat shooting, light recoiling, plenty power.
Put a a 100 gr and go deer hunting, put in a 55 gr and go yote hunting.
Handloaded it will push a 100 gr to 3100 fps and a 55 gr to over 4000fps

7-08 is another fine choice, but a deer wont know the difference.
I used a .243 for over 20 years, just recently went to a 7-08 just to see what all the hoopla was about concerning this caliber.
Not to mention I handload now, and a short cartridge that will push a 120 gr bullet to 3200 fps sounded awsome