royak

Just to add my 2 cents worth I have several guns my biggest a 30 06 in a Browning A bolt but one of favorite guns and also my 12 years old granddaughter' s is the 25 06 all in all it is a great rifle caaan buy right off the shelf for small game or large up to 120 gr I shoot 117 gr Federal Preminum' s and have taken everything from Turkeys to deer with it. Before you buy give this great firearm a try.

Bloodnativ

I don' t believe a .223 is legal in Fla. Having hunted in Florida for several years as I remember any 22caliber bullet is illegal. Anything from .243 up to 7-08 or .270 should be soft enough for your wife with the .243, 25-06, and .257 Roberts being the softest. Stick with one of those and get her some good instruction (from another woman!!) and she' ll be fine. Florida deer are not big and are not difficult to knock down. The hogs can be a little tough sometimes. Use a premium bullet and put it in the vitals or even better just behind the ear and even the biggest Florida hog will hit the dirt.

kyhuntsman

I also recommend the .243 for both you and your wife. It has a minimal kick, will take any game that Florida has to offer, and when you feel that you' ve outgrown it you can give it to your wife and pick up a 30.06 or a larger caliber if needed.

Good luck!
Matt

Nomercy

While I' ve never used a .40S&W carbine for hogs or deer, I' ve used a 9mm carbine on deer (not hogs) and a .45acp pistol as well, the 9mm carbine of course would be much weaker than the .40, and the .45acp pistol' s power would be about on par with it. At short ranges (mid-range archery shots), they performed better than I assumed initially they would (I had planned on necessary follow ups) on hogs, I' ve seen PH' s use .45acp' s to great success as their last resort weapon on smaller hogs they almost always empty them, while they stopped gaining after a shot or two.

Check your state laws, then try out your accuracy (if you' ve already got the .40S&W) and get some good bullets. If you don' t have the .40S&W, don' t get it as your primary, because a primary it is not, it would just make for a good fun secondary gun.