My son is 8yo and shoots a 243, which if the deer run after the hit it doesn't leave much of a blood trail. Would a 7mm08 be to much gun for a kid?

Try the 80gr TTSX if you want a blood trail in a 243

No a 7-08 wouldn't be too much for some kids, would be for others. I'd switch bullets in the 243 and keep using it though. Nothing wrong with a 243 on whitetail and they're great for kiddos.

I started shooting 7mm08 when I was 10 or 11.

Like said above, your problem isn't with 243, it is with your bullet selection. Either get you some of the bullets he recommended or a Nosler Partition(Federal Loads them) They will make a huge difference.

Also make sure to spend some time shooting it for practice. A blood trail really does not matter if you put the .243 right through a major vital organ like the heart.

1. Use a good bullet like Remington Corelokt 100gr, Nosler Partition, Federal Fusion, TTSX.
2. Shot placement in major organ, or if you're worried about them running, front shoulder.
3. Practice. Practice. Practice.
4. Teach him (and you) to watch where the deer runs after the shot, noting the trails and which he might have taken.
5. If the deer runs and you don't witness him fall, give him at least 30 minutes before you start after him.

this ^^^

Berger VLD on that list for some big shock

[qwouldn'te=BOBO the Clown]

Try the 80gr TTSX if you want a blood trail in a 243 [/quote]

I wouldn't get a 7MM-08 for that age, .243 is plenty. I used this exact bullet this past weekend on a doe and it left a good blood trail.

Tell him to start shooting them in the neck.

Don't think I would recommend a corelockt bullet I've seen a lot of them not exit.

He shot a doe Saturday, he hit her exactly where I told him to (middle of shoulder)she ran 5yds into a tree fell down got up and ran back to where he shot her. We used corelokt's and it went all the way through her, it did alot of damage on the inside but a small hole in and out. I'll get the 80gr TTSX.
Thanks for the info...

Define 'a lot'. We've shot over 150 deer with 100gr .243 Corelokt and while I'm sure there were a few that didn't exit, I can't remember a single time that I did my job that the bullet didn't do its. If the bullet isn't exiting, then you're either taking a long (or wrong) angle or hitting some major bone, both of which should be lethal.

I'm willing to bet that over 90% of the time when somebody says they need a larger cartridge it's because they aren't doing their job.

TTSX will generally do less internal damage than a cup-and-core bullet like a Core-Lokt provided no major bone is hit. All else being equal, it will penetrate better of course...

Confused about the small hole in and out coupled with much internal damage. Maybe a fragment exited? IDK....

So, 5 yds to the tree and 5 yds back is 10 yds? Lots of internal damage? I guess I'm not seeing the problem. Are you using the 80gr or 100gr? What size exit are you expecting? If a .243 doubles upon expansion, you're still only getting around 1/2" going out. If you're shoulder shooting and not catching that much of the lungs, it's going to be a weak blood trail until the cavity fills up with blood to the height of the shot. Catch a lung, they'll be spraying from both muzzle and holes then.

As NP said, if you don't hit any bone with that TTSX you're going to get an even smaller hole than with the Corelokt.

If you says so... It helps to have actually used them before you slam them. 80gr TTSX 243

Ill agree with this too. While im not a big corelock fan they do a decent job. If the hit was higher in the top 1/2 of the body sometimes they run more than 10 yards before you will find blood even with bigger calibers and bigger exits.

Care to show an interior photo of entrance and exit?

That's exit

This is entrance




That's an 80gr bullet leaving barrel at 3320ft/s

I know, I'm asking to see the interior of the deer, because I'm betting you caught a rib on the way in, which would be the part where I said 'hit bone'. I'm not knocking them but I've heard at least 5-6 guys on here say you better hit a bone on the way in or it will be through and gone before you know it.

My experience with them is limited to tsx (not ttsx) in calibers above 243, like 270 and 300 wby I have had trouble getting expansion even when hitting large bones. With light fast calibers 22250 220 swift light 243 etc they expand well even on soft tissue.

I don't typically take inside pics. But that's pretty typical results Ive had with lung area hits. Shoulders it's worse.

Their experience with the TTSX is with the bigger slower calibers. Or small slow calibers.

Even I say no on the bigger cal. And always say run light and fast ...the plus 3200 muzzle velocity range.

IMO the smaller the caliber the better off you are with a tough bullet like the Partition, TTSX, Sirocco, A-frame, Accubond, Trophy Bonded..... when wanting an exit. With those in a 243 you will get good penetration, plenty of damage to kill effectively and get an exit one almost any shot.

The small exit hole in the OP was most likely from a piece of the bullet core after it came apart from the description given of internal damage and small holes.



To be honest I went to Partitions in the 7mm08 30+ years ago when a 140gr Remington "Core Lokt" bullet completely fragmented on the shoulder of a buck that weighed 150 live weight. I know for sure it did since the followup shot went through the ribs and destroyed both lungs qith bullet fragments in the offside rib cage, so I could see what the first bullet did. That was in the early days of the 7mm08 and after a lot of complaints Remington admitted for the first runs of ammo in that caliber they used a different bullet from another manufacture (Hornady) in the first few runs of ammo and those were the bullets that prompted me to switch to reloads with Partitions.