So my oldest daughter lost a good buck this year, she hunts and is a good shot but doesn’t shoot as much as her younger sister and I. Where we hunt was timbered about 8 years ago and it’s become not the place for the 243 anymore. She is tall but yet thin in stature and really despises recoil, she would still be carrying the 223 if it were her choice. Anyhow long story short thinking of buying a .308 for her, possibly with a brake. Thoughts? Guessing 130gr or so? Any suggestions on gun or different caliber?

260 or 7mm08 would be easy to shoot as would a 7x57 Mauser. My friend’s daughter shot a 6.5 Swede. First kill was 300 yd broadside shot on a cow elk.

Maybe look into a 7mm-08 I believe it's .308 but with less recoil

My suggestion would be a 7mm-08 with "reduced recoil" ammo. I have given 3 to young kids and they all shoot them quite well.

7x57 and 6.5 Swede are a couple of my favorite calibers but "reduced recoil" factory ammo isn't available. I REALLY liked 7x57 but the Swede is quickly surpassing it.

that brush will continue to grow and will eventually become a pole stage habitat ('wildlife desert"), before eventually progressing to small sawtimber.

I think if I were you, I'd invest my time in obtaining different hunting grounds, rather than buy another rifle to be used in an area that may not even hold many deer in the relatively near future.

I'd be curious to here where the 243 falls short. I feel it's a very solid caliber on whitetail out to at least 200 yds. If I was going to step up from there I'd go the 7mm 08 or 270.

What's that mean?

I'm not one to discourage a new rifle purchase. 7mm08 is a perfect deer gun IMO for a small framed person.

What grain of bullets are you using in the .243?

Barnes solid copper will solve the brush problems

I am 77 and had my fifth rotator cuff surgery in September. I no longer tolerate recoil well. Still in PT. I have many rifles to chose from but my Mod 700 in 7-08 is about as large as I can risk this season. It is an all around good rifle. It dropped a large ten point buck in northern Idaho, so I know it is capable of cleanly taking anything in NC with a good shot. Your daughter should have no problem with a 7-08. Find her a Model 7 if possible.

A 308 will work as well with a little more recoil. I also have a Mod 7 in a 308. It carries well and is handy in a deer stand (how I hunt).

I still think a 7-08 shooting 120 grain bullets seems like a perfect fit for both of us. Good luck. Will it be a Christmas gift from her dad?

I'm .308 all the way. Feed it 150 barnes ttsx. If you brake it you can probably go heavier and it will still be like shooting a 22.

The 7-08 is probably a great option I hadn’t considered, her sister carries a creedmore which I had to do some pretty serious homework with to find a close range(<100 yrd) load I was pleased with. I feel the Swede would be very similar to the creedmoore in that it is a great cartridge but not a great deer cartridge at closer ranges. Just eating at me that the kid did what she was supposed to do hitting the deer 2 out of three shots and not getting him. The deer made it off our property onto the neighbors where another guy claimed it, not sure he fired a shot., if he finished it off it’s his, no question, otherwise not so much.

The ttsx is a great bullet, that’s what we went to in the creedmoore.

The .243 isn't the issue
Brush rifles are a fallacy and a larger bullet can and will deflekteer just as easy.

but A 7- 08 with a copper barnes bullet would be a good choice.

practice practice also

Have you looked at weatherby rifles the 300 has some pretty rough kick but you could stay in the .2’s caliber and have a fast moving bullet that still has pretty good knock down power.

I picked up a Kimber 84M mountain rifle in 308 has a brake on it super light and minimal recoil they also chamber it in 7-08 That being said I shot the gun with no brake much more recoil
someone had mentioned 7x57 -7mm I have a ruger Rsi number one in that and love that caliber both my daughters have shot that rifle with zero complaints on recoil. downside is the rifle is to nice for me to take in the woods.I have been looking for a 7mm-08 a caliber ive always wanted but not certain on any particular brand yet.

A deer size animal is only going to absorb some much energy from a bullet all the extra energy just keeps going with the bullet. That deer didn't get away because the caliber she was using unless it was past 200 yds or you were using the wrong bulletl.. Last 2 deer we shot with a 243 never took a step. One last night at 60 yds one 2 years ago at 180 yds. 1mm bigger bullet isn't going to have any different terminal performance on a whitetail.

Just use a better bullet.

Agreed not the fault of the .243, if dad wouldn’t have gotten so enamored with how well the 85 grain sst’s shot and dropped the 100 gr corelocks, it might have been different, if dad would have realized it was a 120-130 inch 10 point I might have pushed it more, if pap and little sis didn’t have a couple down for dad to take care of it probably been different, but at any rate dad’s gonna use it as an excuse to buy another gun.

Sounds like an accuracy problem more than a caliber problem and I surely doubt going larger is going to help a person that admittedly has an aversion to recoil. Not a deer in north america that can stand against a properly placed 243 round. Hope you find something that works for her.