I know great caliber for deer but are they kid friendly? My son just won a raffle jackpot that was a mossberg patriot 25-06. He said he was going to set it up for the grand daughter to deer hunt. I've never fired one but figured it might be too much recoil for a 11 year old that weighs 90 lbs. It was at a local gun shop. I called him before he filled out the paperwork told him to trade it towards a 243 youth. But nope.

Perfect gun for kids

Uncle has one that he deer hunts with and has killed several coyotes. He shoots Sierra bullets, cant remember the weight. Has killed pry half dozen coyotes with it. .25 caliber in and half dollar or less exit. Hasn't hit heavy bone on any or im sure the result would be less desirable. The recoil on his is very mild on a relatively hot load but its a heavy barreled 700 so im not sure what it would be like on a small enough gun a kid could shoot.

and a youth gun that fits her
even a 308 with reduced recoil shells in a youth gun so that if fits her. if she really happens to grow to be a very tall woman and needs more than a youth gun that is a problem for down that road.

I bought my daughter one about 13 years ago instead of those youth model 243's. She was probably the same size as your granddaughter.
Its a bolt action Tikka 25-06 with a synthetic stock and has very little recoil. My wife shoots it also and likes it.
Very flat shooting rifle with good knock down power. Great for deer, coyotes or anything else.

25.06 is good for the kids. I also use it and shot my Elk this year with it.

Goes without saying to have good ear protection while shooting targets. Shooting critters she will never hear it. You can even get heaver bullets for elk or bears. It's a nice flat shooting caliber.

She will hear it, and should use ear protection when shooting critters.

X 2 for hearing protection ! Great caliber I really enjoy mine a great deal !

Think .30-06 case necked down for the .25-06 vs. a .308 case for the .243... my vote would be .243 for a 90 lb. 11 year old... just 1 opinion.

The .25-06 has a lot more recoil than a .243 or a .257 Roberts but it's far from unmanageable. I started my own boy out with a cheap one made by Marlin and he wasn't very big at the time.

A 25-06 is pretty shootable for folks who are recoil sensitive. Not sure about an 11 year old but if you reload it's pretty simple to turn the volume down to 243 or 257 levels. I would consider having the stock cut to fit her and save the cutoff, if its a wood stock, to add back in as she grows. If it's a synthetic stock consider buying a replacement stock and have it cut down to fit her and keep the full size stock for when she matures.

I like the 25 calibers. The 25-06 is a great deer round and mild on recoil. Best of luck with your season.

Great one. 100 grain or 110 -115 grain. Load it down a bit. She'll love it. I wished I could find one for sale privately.
Sarge

My son killed his first deer with my 25-06 when he was 7 years old. It is a heavy barrel Rem 700 though so that probably helped with recoil. Me and my father have absolutely slayed some deer with our 25-06s. Outstanding caliber in my opinion.

hmmmm....do they make a 25-08 ? .... 25 grendel would be cool too .... lemme see how much powder a 25-06 needs

I built a 25/222 several years ago. Haven’t killed anything with it yet. Need to get it out for some coyote calling this winter.

Shot one as a kid, little more recoil then a 243 but not much. Don’t need to shoot the heaviest bullets, go with like 100 grain to reduce recoil a little more.

Best thing you can do if you want kid to shoot it a lot to get comfortable with the gun is put a suppressor on it. Be like shooting a 223 then.

If I had to pick the ultimate kid caliber, it would be 7mm-08. Shoot reduced recoil ammo in t until they can handle full house loads. I am just not a fan of a 100 grain pill for an inexperienced shooter and prefer a 140 grain in 284 diameter.

Best little round I've ever had was 7.62x39 mm in my Ruger 77. 125 grain Sierra #2120 over RL7 was 1/2 inch gun at 100. Super low recoil and deer ran 30-40 and toppled over. Inside like hamburger.
Power wise, equal to 30/30 which I love at well. That Sierra bullet is deadly even when loaded as a single shot in my 30/30.

Sarge

Great first gun caliber choice in my opinion. That was my brother’s first rifle.