7-08 or 260 Rem.
Both soft shooters, and very versatile.
My little, tiny, petite 12 year old grand daughter killed her first mule deer with my 700 ADL with 6mm-284 barrel using the 95 gr ballistic tip. It could have just as easily been a 243 or 6mm.
The 260 is essentially a ballistic twin of the heralded 6.5 Creedmoor, especially in my fast twist barrels and extended mags. Both of which are irrelevant using a 100 gr or 120 gr bullet at reduced velocity.
Yes, I would hand them one of the 260s with a 95 or 100 gr bullet at 2500-2600 fps.
A 7-08 with a 120 at 2500 fps would work equivalently.
Or Hell, just hand 'em a 30-30.
