Opinions needed, Howa 1500 Ranchland Compact

Been looking for a rifle for my niece, the Howas weren't even on my radar, but I looked at a couple of them at a gun shop the other day. I really liked how it looked, felt, and shouldered, and the price was pretty good, too . Trigger seemed pretty decent, but that can and probably will change when actually shooting it. All in all, it seems like a pretty nice rifle, nice enough I may get one for myself and just let the niece use it . I was originally thinking .243, but further research and suggestions here (thank you all!) have me leaning toward 7mm-08. A little more versatile, a little more power, but no appreciable increase in recoil over the .243, and still well under the recoil of my .308.

So what say you? Good choice, or should I stay with one of the big names like Savage or Remington? I like the Savage trigger, but I also like my Remington X-Mark Pro, despite what many have said about it, and I'm pretty picky about triggers. Thanks in advance.

Dave