Texas Hunting Forum

.243 or 7mm.08 ?

Posted By: Stegar

.243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 07:31 PM

How much more recoil does a 7mm.08 have over a .243? This would be in a youth rifle for my 9 yr girl. Any help would be great!!
Posted By: JRJ6

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 07:37 PM

.243 will take anything in TX. If you already own one, I would use it.

My daughter is 9 also and we started with a 223 and now she is using a 243. I didn't have a 243 but ended up buying one.

I don't have a 7.08, but I would assume the recoil is not much more than a 243
Posted By: QuitShootinYoungBucks

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 07:42 PM

Buy the 7-08 and get the reduced-recoil loads for it until she grows into it.
Posted By: Brother in-law

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 07:49 PM

It is my opinion that the recoil is much more noticeable in the 708 than a 243.
Posted By: TxHunter80

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 09:34 PM

There will be a noticeable difference, especially on a youth rifle. The managed recoil rounds are a good idea. I would spring for a quality recoil pad for either. It will help.
Posted By: SingleShot85

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 09:53 PM

Originally Posted By: Pwdr1
The managed recoil rounds are a good idea. I would spring for a quality recoil pad for either. It will help.


this
Posted By: scalebuster

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 10:16 PM

I was working up loads for a .243 and 7-08 yesterday. Alternating the two. The 243 shooting 85gr sierras had less recoil than the 7-08 with 120gr noslers. Both with max and above loads. The 08 wasn't bad but the 243 recoil wasn't noticeable at all.
The 243 was a buddies sons. It's a short kids mossberg ATR that probably weighes less than 5lbs.
For a small girl I'd go with the .243 and the 80-85gr loads. They'll kill anything she wants to shoot at.

I wouldn't recomend the mossberg of they are all like this one. It's a good feeling little gun but has an Extremely short throat and jammed factory ammo into the lands.
Posted By: J.G.

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 10:27 PM

7-08 will recoil a bit more, but not a huge margin.

If you handload you can make a 243 thump hard, and you could make a 7-08 a [censored] cat, and vice versa. If you're stuck with off the shelf ammo, the 243 is the way, if you're concerned with recoil.
Posted By: Jimbo1

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 10:37 PM

My wife is a tiny thing and she shoots a Savage youth 7mm-08 with the Hornady Lite loads. Very little noticeable recoil.
Posted By: Chris42

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 10:40 PM

You could look into an intermediate cartridge like 6.8 spc of 300 blackout in a bolt gun.

That being said, my dad's 243 win 70 featherweight is beautiful.
Posted By: JJH

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 10:48 PM

The 243, with hunting bullets (read deer bullets, not varmint bullets) is all you need.

Spend the $$ you save on ammo and have her practice with a rifle that is fun for her to shoot.
Posted By: WileyCoyote

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 10:50 PM

Go look at a TC Venture Carbine 20" barrel with the Youth stock and a 1" insert to bring it back to normal LOP's. Gottem in 223/243/7-08 & 308. You can get 'em at Ruger American prices too, 'specially with the $75 Rebate on 'em now. One thing I just learned on the Venture I just bought that is not in the literature...the Safety ON position locks the trigger but allows you open the bolt to unload the chamber SAFELY...and by using the EMPTY drop box magazine you can restrict how many rounds are in the gun at one time & top load single rounds.

I like the idea of reduced 7-08 loads for early years usage and then step up to standard level rounds in the future - or get Chad to do some soft loads tuned to the gun - to get better bullets and a better long term rifle than buying a "Kleenex" gun to use a couple years and throw/give away later.
JMHO & YMMV
Ron
Posted By: Stegar

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/24/15 11:34 PM

Thanks for the input y'all. JJH I was thinking the same thing. I went to Academy and got her a CVA .243 it was only $179 I will give a range report this weekend. Thanks again for the input!!
Posted By: flintknapper

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/25/15 01:36 AM

.243 was the right choice. Started mine at the same age with a .243, at age 14 we moved her up to a 7mm-08. By then her 'length of pull' was just right for a full sized rifle with a 1" Pachmayer decelerator recoil pad. She is 28 yrs, old now...and still loves that rifle.
Posted By: Tactical Cowboy

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/25/15 01:45 AM

7-08
Posted By: patriot07

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/25/15 01:53 AM

243 was the right choice in your situation
Posted By: T Bone

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/25/15 02:35 AM

Originally Posted By: Tactical Cowboy
7-08


(He already bought a .243)
Posted By: Hirogen

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/25/15 02:44 AM

If you are a reloader split the difference and go Rem 260. Same parent cartridge.
Posted By: Oldpaint

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/25/15 01:22 PM

Started my girls (3) with a 25-06, and they still shoot it today. All you need in Texas.
Posted By: BMD

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/25/15 01:27 PM

Go with 7/08 and 120gr bullets. I went through both with my daughter the .243 at 7 and 8 and switched to 7/08 at 9 and she has taken big game up to giraffe with her 7/08 and wouldn't have considered taking the .243 to Africa. I sleek from experience is she is nine she can handle the 7/08 get nice scope with good eye relief she will no issues.
Posted By: BMD

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/25/15 01:27 PM

Originally Posted By: T Bone
Originally Posted By: Tactical Cowboy
7-08


(He already bought a .243)



Didn't see it either roflmao
Posted By: charlesb

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/25/15 11:26 PM

I've had both, and liked the .243 better. Same gun, swapped barrels.

The 243 was generally more accurate, and had less recoil. I played with loads for the 7mm-08 for quite a while, trying to get it to shoot as well as the .243 barrel. It never did.
Posted By: dee

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/25/15 11:29 PM

Originally Posted By: charlesb
I've had both, and liked the .243 better. Same gun, swapped barrels.

The 243 was generally more accurate, and had less recoil. I played with loads for the 7mm-08 for quite a while, trying to get it to shoot as well as the .243 barrel. It never did.



The 243 is no more accurate than the 7mm08 as they both are off the same case and are equal. It was likely your barrel or sensitivity to recoil.
Posted By: syncerus

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/26/15 12:30 AM

I used the 105 grain Speer bullet loaded to 2575 fps in my .243 WSSM and it was far more effective on hogs than I ever imagined it might be. Recoil was next to nonexistent and it was very effective at reasonable ranges; my longest kill was at 175 yards and most of the others were well under 100 yards.
Posted By: Gone to Texas

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/26/15 01:11 AM

Originally Posted By: FiremanJG
7-08 will recoil a bit more, but not a huge margin.

If you handload you can make a 243 thump hard, and you could make a 7-08 a [censored] cat, and vice versa. If you're stuck with off the shelf ammo, the 243 is the way, if you're concerned with recoil.


Exactly what Fireman said. If you are using off the shelf ammo, stick with the .243. Recoil will be lighter. However, if you hand load you can make some light recoil loads for the 7-08.

Both are great calibers, I am bias toward the .243 because it was my first caliber and I still shoot it all the time.
Posted By: 7mag

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/26/15 01:54 PM

Originally Posted By: BMD
Go with 7/08 and 120gr bullets. I went through both with my daughter the .243 at 7 and 8 and switched to 7/08 at 9 and she has taken big game up to giraffe with her 7/08 and wouldn't have considered taking the .243 to Africa. I sleek from experience is she is nine she can handle the 7/08 get nice scope with good eye relief she will no issues.


this^^^^^^^^^^^I bought my wife a nice 243 a couple of years ago. She took a heavy bodied west TX wt and first shot placement was perfect, right behind the shoulder. The buck rocked back and forth and was gathering his energy. I told her to take another shot and placed once again right in the boiler maker. We were using 100gr. bullets. 243 may work for some but if I am going to have to opt her shooting head and neck shots more so on WT, I will get her another rifle. The next one will be a 7mm08. BTW, jut for grins, the 223 is not a WT round either, jmo.
Posted By: nsmike

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/26/15 04:29 PM

Originally Posted By: 7mag
Originally Posted By: BMD
Go with 7/08 and 120gr bullets. I went through both with my daughter the .243 at 7 and 8 and switched to 7/08 at 9 and she has taken big game up to giraffe with her 7/08 and wouldn't have considered taking the .243 to Africa. I sleek from experience is she is nine she can handle the 7/08 get nice scope with good eye relief she will no issues.


this^^^^^^^^^^^I bought my wife a nice 243 a couple of years ago. She took a heavy bodied west TX wt and first shot placement was perfect, right behind the shoulder. The buck rocked back and forth and was gathering his energy. I told her to take another shot and placed once again right in the boiler maker. We were using 100gr. bullets. 243 may work for some but if I am going to have to opt her shooting head and neck shots more so on WT, I will get her another rifle. The next one will be a 7mm08. BTW, jut for grins, the 223 is not a WT round either, jmo.

My personal upper limit for the 243 is 180 lbs field dressed or about 215 live weight. If there's a chance, an animal will be bigger, I choose a bigger cartridge. I refuse to be handicapped by a marginal cartridge.
Posted By: charlesb

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/26/15 04:34 PM

Originally Posted By: dee
Originally Posted By: charlesb
I've had both, and liked the .243 better. Same gun, swapped barrels.

The 243 was generally more accurate, and had less recoil. I played with loads for the 7mm-08 for quite a while, trying to get it to shoot as well as the .243 barrel. It never did.



The 243 is no more accurate than the 7mm08 as they both are off the same case and are equal. It was likely your barrel or sensitivity to recoil.


Case design or capacity does not determine accuracy. The 7mm-08 barrel looked much better with the bore-scope, the .243 barrel had significant button-rifling chatter, making it look like corrugated iron inside. I have heard many shooters refer to the 7mm-08's tendency to finicky-ness as to how it is loaded, and what it is loaded with. Most of these stories end with a really good load being discovered... I ran out of patience before I found that load.

There were no such difficulties in working up an accurate .243 Winchester load. - Several of them with different bullets, in fact.

My first rifle as a teenager was an 1895G in 45-70 and I've been a big-bore magnum fan for years. Recoil is not an issue here, particularly with anything built off of the little .308 Winchester case... Once I mastered the lightweight 45-70 as a kid, I never developed and flinching tendencies after that.

On the other hand, I have never owned or used anything more powerful than a .375 H&H, either.
Posted By: dee

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/27/15 11:05 AM

Originally Posted By: charlesb
Originally Posted By: dee
Originally Posted By: charlesb
I've had both, and liked the .243 better. Same gun, swapped barrels.

The 243 was generally more accurate, and had less recoil. I played with loads for the 7mm-08 for quite a while, trying to get it to shoot as well as the .243 barrel. It never did.



The 243 is no more accurate than the 7mm08 as they both are off the same case and are equal. It was likely your barrel or sensitivity to recoil.


Case design or capacity does not determine accuracy. The 7mm-08 barrel looked much better with the bore-scope, the .243 barrel had significant button-rifling chatter, making it look like corrugated iron inside. I have heard many shooters refer to the 7mm-08's tendency to finicky-ness as to how it is loaded, and what it is loaded with. Most of these stories end with a really good load being discovered... I ran out of patience before I found that load.

There were no such difficulties in working up an accurate .243 Winchester load. - Several of them with different bullets, in fact.

My first rifle as a teenager was an 1895G in 45-70 and I've been a big-bore magnum fan for years. Recoil is not an issue here, particularly with anything built off of the little .308 Winchester case... Once I mastered the lightweight 45-70 as a kid, I never developed and flinching tendencies after that.

On the other hand, I have never owned or used anything more powerful than a .375 H&H, either.


Case design has a lot to do with accuracy potential. I've never heard of a 7mm08 being finicky at all. It's been no more difficult to find a load for than any other 308 based round.
Posted By: redchevy

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/27/15 12:54 PM

I think 243 is the right call.
Posted By: charlesb

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/27/15 02:52 PM

I'd pick .243 over 7mm-08 for a 12 yr old girl - or boy. Not a lot of weight or upper-body development at that age, and a bit too much recoil can undermine shooting confidence. Always give a kid a break.

The deer won't know the difference, it's lights out in either case.

Posted By: BIGDOG1956

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/27/15 04:10 PM

Originally Posted By: charlesb
I'd pick .243 over 7mm-08 for a 12 yr old girl - or boy. Not a lot of weight or upper-body development at that age, and a bit too much recoil can undermine shooting confidence. Always give a kid a break.

The deer won't know the difference, it's lights out in either case.


I Agree with you
1
Posted By: tth_40

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/27/15 04:14 PM

Originally Posted By: charlesb
I'd pick .243 over 7mm-08 for a 12 yr old girl - or boy. Not a lot of weight or upper-body development at that age, and a bit too much recoil can undermine shooting confidence. Always give a kid a break.

The deer won't know the difference, it's lights out in either case.



Yup. cheers

For me, I'm actually looking for another 7mm-08 so I can shoot 120 grain handloads exclusively with it. It'll be my varmint/truck rifle. Trying to decide between a T3 (my wife has one in 7mm-08 and loves it) and a X Bolt (I have one in .270 Win. and it's awesome).
Posted By: Aggieman775

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/27/15 11:50 PM

7mm-08 is a great rifle. i shot my first deer with one when i was 8 and it did wonders. The good thing about it is she can use it the rest of her life.
Posted By: redchevy

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/28/15 12:21 PM

Originally Posted By: Aggieman775
7mm-08 is a great rifle. i shot my first deer with one when i was 8 and it did wonders. The good thing about it is she can use it the rest of her life.


My grandfather hunted his entire life with a 243 win. Age 16-70 and never had a need for anything else. A deer isn't going to know the difference between a 100 grain 243 and 120 grain 7mm08.
Posted By: WileyCoyote

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/28/15 12:51 PM

Uh You might want to think about this... it might make a difference between a 100 gr 243 and a 140 or 160 & mebbe 175 gr 7-08... don't loose sight of everything available in a 284's versatility range that a 243 cannot ever reach, just 'cause TxWhite tails don't weigh much over 100-130 lbs on avg. So IMO, for a One Caliber Lifetime Gun purchase IMO the 7-08 is by far a better choice between these 2 calibers....but then only owning a single caliber in a Lifetime these days is very rare, with our Kleenex Culture of gun ownership.

This is why I have moved to a softer recoiling 260, with my advancing Geezerhood's creaky bones that in many ways resembles a young pre or early teenager's physical aspects from my old TX Standby 270 WCF for a Do All TxWhitetail shooter, with common WTail capable bullets from a "243 like" 100gr's - at more MV's than a 243 can provide -, to a "270 like" 130 & 140'grs and even a tad heavier in some bullets in the "7mm like" 156gr & 160 gr stuff. Reloading, as always, allows the maximum amount of flexibility within a caliber in bullet selection ... and even more so with today's broader range of bullets to choose from in a given caliber.

IMO it's always been about the bullet chosen to do the job required, and then choose the caliber & cartridge needed to deliver that bullet payload to do the job most efficiently @ the highest % of success and least amount of drama involved.

FWIW a 243 was also my 1st real deer rifle in the late 1960's and I shot it long enough to learn it's pro's & con's on Texas WT's - believe it not we did not have the bullet proving ground to experiment on called HOGS back then, moved on experimenting with several other calibers, and settled on a 270 in the early 1970's and have always had one since then and still do, despite my change in concentration into 6.5's.
JMHO & YMMV
Ron
Posted By: JJH

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/28/15 02:29 PM

Originally Posted By: redchevy
Originally Posted By: Aggieman775
7mm-08 is a great rifle. i shot my first deer with one when i was 8 and it did wonders. The good thing about it is she can use it the rest of her life.


My grandfather hunted his entire life with a 243 win. .


Your grandfather?? Wow, I'm feeling old. I remember when the 243 was introduced. crazy
Posted By: redchevy

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/28/15 02:33 PM

Originally Posted By: JJH
Originally Posted By: redchevy
Originally Posted By: Aggieman775
7mm-08 is a great rifle. i shot my first deer with one when i was 8 and it did wonders. The good thing about it is she can use it the rest of her life.


My grandfather hunted his entire life with a 243 win. .


Your grandfather?? Wow, I'm feeling old. I remember when the 243 was introduced. crazy


Yup told the story many times how him and his brothers ran trap lines for furs to buy it.
Posted By: QuitShootinYoungBucks

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/28/15 02:59 PM

I shot a .243 for a long time and took probably over 100 WTs with it and my dad has taken more than that with his. It is certainly a capable gun and I still have my 1979 Rem 788. I also own a .308 and recently bought a Ruger American in 7mm-08 because it was a great deal and I always wanted a rifle in that cartridge. Despite being pretty light weight the 7-08 had surprisingly limited recoil both with 120 and 140 gr loads.

The OP got a great deal on a gun that they can use for a long time, and in the event they move on can sell it and not lose much if anything on the deal. But I feel like Wiley above; the 7-08 is a much more flexible cartridge. It can do everything the .243 can, from low recoil shooting with managed recoil/lite loads up to 160+gr loads capable of taking much larger game or taking game more cleanly depending on size/distance. And there are plenty of OTC offerings for the 7-08 if you don't want to handload.
Posted By: redchevy

Re: .243 or 7mm.08 ? - 04/28/15 03:18 PM

My experience with reduced recoil loads is they are less functional/effective than smaller caliber rounds using full power and good bullets.
© 2024 Texas Hunting Forum