I've heard tell of a lot of folks using the .243 for deer. If you respect it's limitations you should I would think be fine. Would a .270 be to big?

OR even a 7mm-08 (don't know much about it though).

A .270 or 7mm-08 might be fine for me, but I'm thinking about something that I can use to get my kids familiar with centerfire rifles. Also, something I can use for practical purposes - whitetail deer hunting, though I'm looking at a range of about 250 years max.

And related to this topic...something that will be useful at the end of the world as we know it.

The 7mm-08 is a sweet round but a little spendy the upside is I always see it on the shelves.

I really like the 7mm-08 and 7x57 for deer size game

the 243 is a great round. The 25-06 isn't much if any worse than the 243. The 243 is a necked down 308. The 25-06 is a necked down 30-06. If you reload, it's not too bad. any more it seems like 243 ammo is getting just as spendy as 25-06 which I can still find for about $1/round. The 243 with a 90-100 grain bullet is more than capable of killing deer cleanly at 300 yards. 25-06 shoots between 100-120+ bullets. THe bigger 257 bullets will whack a little more than the 100 grain 243 but not too badly. My oldest has been shooting a 243. I'm going to get him on a 30-30 or my 25-06 this year.

If you put 150 grains in the 30-06 it's not too bad. Just stay away from the 180-200 grain bullets

7mm-08 is always in Walmart or Dicks Sporting Goods and is also a perfectly fine deer caliber.

IMO, .270 is a bit much for a younger kid--again, it's a necked down 30-06, but shoots a larger bullet than the 25-06. Bigger the bullet, the harder the recoil.

My 8mm Mauser with a 196 grain bullet can deliver a destructive kick, which is tempered by the weight of the rifle. I believe that it's equivalent to a 30-06. That is one hard-hitting bullet, but I'd rather not put a scope on it as it's original WWII. I'm considering a Stevens 200 or Savage 11 with accu-trigger. Not sure if 25-06 or 243 is a better small caliber rifle for the eastern woodlands.

if you can spend the little extra the accutrigger is more than worth the cash, take a look at the Mossberg 100s with the LBA trigger the same as the accutrigger and a little less money.

I shoot a Stevens 200 in 25-06. Shoots 120 gr bullets nice and accurately. Doesn't come in an accu-trigger--you need to upgrade to the Savage 111 for that. The Stevens was gifted. If I were buying it, I'd have dropped the money on the Savage, but the Stevens is dang accurate even with the stock trigger.

And it's fine for the woods (or cornfields, or meadows, tc.) of VA