if the mrs wants to shoot yotes and an ocaisonal deer a 243 would be fine and is in a short action , the 25-06 has more variety of bullet wt and higher velocity and stopping power, but the sendero is a big heavy gun for a woman to tote around for any distance, but a real nice gun. the 300 rum in the sendero may be the ultimate elk rifle, but overkill in fla.
as iluv2hunt said 7mm-08 is a great round with reloading can have bullets from 100 to 175 gr or the 260 rem 85 to 142 gr both short action.
I love my Browning 243 lever action. Little to no recoil and very accurate. Ammo is also very easy to find and you have quite a few options to choose from. So far it hasn't let me down.
my 7mm08 is and has been my go to gun since 1983 and is a dream to reload, accurate as hell with every bullet type and powder I've ever tried. I've probably used and shot 90% of my game with this gun. my only caution is to use a well constructed premium bullet for hunting.
not to say that the 308 would be any different, with a wider selection of bullet choices and easier to find ammo in stores. no such thing as bad guns, just bad shooters.
