Thank you to everyone for your advice. It's always amazing how I can always learn something new from TBN and start out thinking one thing, and in the end, buying something totally different.
It's a two hour drive to the Cabela's in Allen TX, but after a dozen or so phone calls, they where the only ones that I could find that sold the Remington 700 SPS Compact rifle in 7mm-08. They also had quite a few other calibers and brands to look at. I don't think there is any real world, shooting, hunting difference between the 7mm-08 and the .308, but there are very few .308's in youth model rifles. I would have gone either way, but when calling the stores, it became obvious that the .308 wasn't very likely.
Cabela's was different then any of the other gun stores that I've ever been to. They had hundreds of guns out on racks where you could just pick up and handle anything you wanted. They had trigger locks on them and the bolts where tied down so you couldn't work the actions without assistance, but otherwise, we where on our own to look through and handle all of them. Once we found the Remington, she fell in love with it and nothing compared. It was almost the most expensive at $599 one there, but for something that she will have and use the rest of her life, not a deal breaker. We got to thinking that the cheaper models in youth rifle are mostly for kids, so it makes sense to make them as cheap as possible and in .243 or .223. Those are the most common calibers there. The kid uses it for a few years and then they move up to a full sized rifle. For Karen, she isn't ever going to need or want a larger sized rifle, so getting her the best quality was worth spending a little more for.
Not to bash the other brands, but there was a significant difference comparing them. The Remington made her very happy!!!!
The paperwork took half an hour, and we walked out the door with the rifle less then two hours after we walked in the door. While waiting on the paperwork, we went shopping. There was a good selection of ammo with prices ranging from $19 a box to $39. I bought a box of the Winchester Super X and a box of the cheap stuff to get me on paper. We found Leopold bases for half off in the bargain cave for her rifle, but then had to get the rings for full price off the shelf. My favorite sling is the Gator Sling, and she liked it the best compared to the others that they had there. It just sticks to your shoulder when walking through the woods better then anything else I've ever come across.
I already have a decent Redfield five star scope that I used for decades on my rifle that she will use for now. We'll probably upgrade it in the future to something she likes better, but that's not a priority right now.
I'll update on how it shoots once we've run some ammo through it.
Thank you,
Eddie
