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!!

.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

Buy the 7-08 and get the reduced-recoil loads for it until she grows into it.

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

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.

this

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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!!

.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.

7-08

243 was the right choice in your situation

(He already bought a .243)

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

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

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.

Didn't see it either

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.

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.

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.