Bolt action rifle for whitetail for my girlfriend

My #1 choice given the situation would be a 7-08. You mention 270 a lot, so if you're wanting a long action I would suggest looking at the 25-06. I have Weatherby Vanguards in both calibers and they are very smooth accurate guns (guaranteed moa) on a budget.

Word of warning, I notice the difference between carrying a Vanguard and a M70 featherlight. The Vanguards are on the heavy side, which will do nothing but help with recoil. I'll throw in 308 too as a good choice, if you're wanting a common 30 cal and guaranteed ammo availability.

I would go with the .243 Winchester or 7mm-08 Remington in the Ruger American. Try the fit of the compact and the full size for her.

My Wife and Her Rifle - A Lesson for Men!

Just as a P.S. on this thread, I'll give my history with my wife and her rifle(s).
While we were dating back in 2002, she had a Birthday. I asked her what she wanted as a gift, and she said, "I want you to build me a fly rod." -So I did that. In the fall, I asked her to marry me. Next Birthday, I again asked what she wanted. She said, "a deer rifle." (So much for background)

The local seed/feed/sporting goods folks had a Ruger 77 Lightweight in .243, and I figured for a woman who had never fired a rifle, it would be a good hunting and range choice for her. She had never fired a rifle, or any firearm.

We joined a local club, and I set her up on the range. Let's just say, she has ALL of the right stuff to be a good target shot - muscle control, respiration, breathing, etc.

While there, I set up a couple of benches away from her to check sight-in on my Ruger .270win. After the first shot, I did a minor windage adjustment and took a second one. She immediately said, "What's THAT rifle?"

My response, "It's my .270. I just wanted to check the scope sighting".

Hers: "I want to shoot that rifle!"
(she made a nice little 100yd. overlapping cloverleaf with the 3 remaining rounds of reloads I had)

Her next: "Can I have this gun?"

We ended up selling the .243, I bought a Savage 11 in 7mmWSM, and the .270 is now hers.

Just as a P.S. on this thread, I'll give my history with my wife and her rifle(s).
While we were dating back in 2002, she had a Birthday. I asked her what she wanted as a gift, and she said, "I want you to build me a fly rod." -So I did that. In the fall, I asked her to marry me. Next Birthday, I again asked what she wanted. She said, "a deer rifle." (So much for background)

Hey Still Shooting, Does She have any sisters?

Candyman87 said:

Thanks all for your input. She likes my Savage 110 except for the recoil so we actually found a Savage Model 11 Trophy Hunter in .243. The gun is super light which she loves and fits her well, and she loves the included Nikon scope. The lack of weight is countered by a super thick recoil pad.

She opted for the .243 based on this thread and the opinions of a few more hunters that use the cartridge.

It's about 7.6 lbs. compared to my 9 lb. 110 in .30-06. She's absolutely in love with it and we're looking forward to heading to the range to try it out.

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Sounds like a solid choice, I'm sure it will serve her well in the deer woods.

I just got a CZ527 7.62x39 and wolf 154sp ammo is cheap. Practice with 123fmj for even less. Very light and handy short action bolt with a nice trigger.