After shooting a Henry lever action .357 this weekend...wow, I was impressed how easy that thing was to shoot! I think my 10/22 has about the same recoil- the Henry was very accurate and fed nicely....the weight and balance were very nice as well-I don't know how much they are, but I would guess somewhere between your family jewels/no family jewels range?

It would seem that IN deer may be closer in size to a Great Dane than an elk, so the .357mag should be more than plenty?