guys gimme your opinion on a gun for my twins> .243 or 7mm-08?..now i have shot .243 and i loved it.but never shot a 7mm-08.which has more kick?

The difference between your 7mm-08 and .243 is the bullet its shooting. Its the same brass but necked to a different diameter for each.

I dont think a 7mm-08 has much kick at all. It may have a little bit more than a .243. I have a spare 7mm-08 that I lend to hunters that need to use a rifle. There have been plenty of youth hunters that have used this rifle with no problems. Two months ago it was a 9 yr. old girl that used my 7mm-08 with no problem to take a axis doe at 70 yards.

Your biggest draw back is going to be availability of ammunition on the 7mm-08. You will have a bigger variety in the .243 but I like a heavier bullet than what the .243 shoots.

7mm-08 & .243 are the same cartridge, just one is necked to .243 and the other to .284. A good rule of thumb is that if you have the same cartride loaded with about the same amount of powder the one with the smaller (lighter) bullet will have less recoil. In which case if you are going to be buying factory ammo the .243 for a young child is a much better choice. You can find ammo from 70 grains up to 100 for it.

I have a 22-250, .243, 7mm-08, and a .308 all in the same rifle model. These shell cases are all pretty much identical except for how they are necked up or down for their respective cartridge. I can tell you that there is a felt difference from one cartride to another even comparing the 22-250 with 55 grain bullets to when I load 55 grain bullets in the .243. The .243 has slightly more recoil even with the same bullet.

In closing I'll say this, my son is now 8 and has been shooting the .243 since before he turned 7. He is in the 100th percentile in size for his age group and is very strong for his age. He handled the .243 very well from the first time he shot it until now but still does not like the 7mm-08 loaded with 130 grain bullets or the .308 loaded with 150 grain bullets. He has a lot of confidence in the rifle and has knocked down 5 bucks and 2 does without a single bad shot much less a miss in the last two years. I've shot 2 deer with it myself this year and when he's with me it is the only rifle that goes in the jeep or the deer stand with us. I wouldn't hesitate a milisecond to draw down on the buck of a lifetime at 300 yards with it.

Depends on what you intend to hunt. If Whitetail is the upper limit of game animals, then the .243 is just fine. The main concern is to get something that they will not be afraid of shooting. I've seen kids develop some bad shooting habits just because they started off with a rifle that was a tad too much for them. You can always go with something larger in a few years... A 22-250 or .223 are another couple of good candidates for low recoil. If you're talking about buying one rifle period, I'd go with a 30-06 or .308 and put a muzzle brake on it. Reduced recoil without giving up bullet weight. JMHO

For Texas deer hunting a .243 is great! My son shot his first buck at 9 years old with one and has been using one ever since. I have also taken several deer with a 243 and that is definitely the one I would choose over the 7mm-08.

243 is great. the 7-08 is better all around (deer hogs, etc...) that gun would satisfy them for a long time. i like the browning boss system for kids. usually you would be with the child when he/she shoots it and with a lot of choices in hearing protection, the boss in 7-08 would be my pick. you could even change out the muzzle break (boss) and put on the non-muzzle break (cr-boss) once they are able to handle the recoil.

I like the 25-06 that's what i got my wife and she has nailed plents of game with it...... cant go wrong...

i am glad you mentioned the 25-06. i have the win coyote 25wssm that has recoil similar to the 243 maybe even less. it is a great shooter. this would handle anything in TX. there is one for sale in the classifieds on this forum. it has a medium-heavy barrel which aids in recoil reduction.

A 100 grain .243 core-lokt bullet is hard to beat when it comes to white-tail deer hunting. That would be perfect for your twins.

Besides when they get older and want to move up to a .270 or .30-06 for longer distance knock down power. That .243 they learned on will make one awesome varmit gun, when stooting the smaller 75 grain accu-tip cartridge.

I do'nt think the "jury is out" yet on the 7mm-08 cartridge. It is basically a "slot fitter" for collectors and might not enjoy the popularity 5-10 yrs. down the road like the better known calibers such as .223, .243, .270, and .30-06 !!!!! If ammo is already scarce, it might just get hard and harder to come by in the future. Most guys I know that shoot the 7mm-08 kinda like being different and are into the hand-reloading game.

These are JMO's and good luck on your decision either way !!!!

GUYS.....THANK YOU and all of your knowledge that you have given me was very helpful.....