My son has asked for a new deer rifle........

Id really suggest trying to find one of each for him to shoot before you buy. I doubt the recoil on the 7-08 would be an issues. It will add give quite a bit more power over the .243 and shoot nearly as flat. Id probobly go with this over the .30-06 (even tho that was the first gun i ever fired), for the simple reason they are easier to shoot and if your after animals no larger then deer the extra horsepower isnt needed. The 06 on the other hand will hit quite a bit harder then either the .243 or the 7mm, id honestly rather have this if i was shooting animals 300lbs or heavier i think.

in the end tho id see what guns and rounds he felt comfortable with and just get what ever he wanted.

as for other cartridges id look at anything from the .257 on up to the 06' anything in that range will provide a bit more knockdown without being too hard on the shoulder.

7mm-08 would be nice choice with there being minimal recoil rather than the stout '06. There are many bullets out on the market in 7mm line going from light to moderately heavy, a great selection. LoonWulf is right on with what he has shared, the 7mm will have more power over the .243 and shoot as flat if not more.

If all you are going to shoot is anything up to whitetail or mulies then the 7mm-08 would be great, a real flat shooter. If elk and moose are in the equation then the 30-06 might be more viable and I believe there are reduced recoil loads.

In the grand scheme of things you can't go wrong with any of them and most importantly it depends on what your son can shoot most comfortably and accurately without inducing the flinch. My first rifle was a .270 and when you are hunting your adrenaline is usually going so you won't feel that recoil nearly as bad.

Anyways I hope he finds that perfect hunting rifle and enjoy the time outdoors with your son!

my Howa

http://s843.photobucket.com/albums/zz354/TEHLEGITGUY/sniper%20rifle/

how big is he?
how old is he?

my dad just got me a Howa Model 1500 in .308 for my birthday, im 14 and i shot a 7/8ths inch group with it, i was looking at the 30-06 but the ammo was a little more, and im confident with shot placement since i've been shooting since i was 7 on a .22
but if he's not a 5foot9 150pound kid like me i wouldnt reccomend an '06 they can kick and induce flinch to a person who cant control it as well.
but my favorite overall caliber is .308
then .300 win mag
then .223 for coyotes and such.

I would go with a 308

and here is why. The 30-06 is overkill for most deer and you don't need to subject yourself to the extra recoil. The 7-08 is a great cartidge and has the advantage of being a slightly flatter shooter than the 308. With all that said, there is little, if anything, either one of these calibers will do that the 308 can't. Factory ammo is cheap and abundant. Components are less expenive if you roll your own.

not to mention the ballistics are insanely easy to predict, and there is a reason they switched the original M-24's to .308 from 30-06.
even though in afghanistan they are switching to .300wm for those guns, the .308 has gotten a 1250meter kill with an M-24 SWS.

id say 25-06 and this is why

most young boys even teens are still learning to shoot and judge distance so if he is at or nearing the age where dad won't be right at his side to say hold just at the top of his back or something along those lines boy don't yet have this figured out. with the 25-06 he will have a light recoil and very flat forgiving round that may save him the heart break of the big one getting away because of lack of understanding. if you can aford it try to get it in a good action so the next time he says hey dad I want a new rifle or maybe later in life he can build his own to whatever he wants . that will maybe keep his mind on guns and hunting instead of girls for a while. and he will always have that rifle that dad got for him.

i say no and this is why

he will one day think tactical rifles and snipers and all that are cool, cause i do.
and another big reason i got the .308 is because the US snipers use it, as do most police sharpshooters.
a .25-06 will never have the thump a .308 does. and .308 ammo is alot more common at wally world they have multiple brand choices for it.
you wont regret the .308
also take a serious look at Howa M1500 rifles, my setup is at 550 now. and i have 2 bipods for prone and benchrest shooting. but that makes it in the 600's
and the gun came with a nice nikko stirling scope i zero'ed with and its been a better scope than i expected.

We need some more details so as to make a much better suggestion. What is the terrain like, what will the average distances be that game will be shot, what game will be hunted?

I would go with the 7mm-08 every time from your choices though. If you reload the 7mm components are no more expensive than any other popular big game caliber projectiles. The 7mm-08 was concieved as a target round for bechrest hunter class competition so that should tell you something in regards to it's inherent accuracy.

The 7mm-08 firing a 140gr bullet will do anything that the .308 Win will do with a 165gr bullet as they have the same sectional density of .248. The 7mm-08 will do this with a flatter trajectory as it will have a higher BC rating and shoots about 150fps faster with less recoil to boot. IMHO the only thing that the .308 has over the 7mm-08 is it is a bit more common.

Future Army Ranger the Army never used the 30-06 in the M24 SWS it has always been the .308 housed in a long action until recently when the switch was made to 300WM. Furthermore any cartridge is easy to predict once you get to the ballistics and how your particular rifle shoots. While the the .308 is good there are better options available today, which is why a lot of serious long range competitors have moved on to variuos 6.5 and 7mm cartridges.

Here is a good read on the 7mm-08 and others, hope this helps enjoy.
http://www.6mmbr.com/7mm284.html

He wants a new rifle for the same reason we all want one. To have something new. Fine, he's starting to act like a gun guy!

Take him shopping, find the rifle that fits him well in .270, .30-06, or .308. All of those calibers will kill deer very well, and they're a step up from the .243.

I would vote for the 308, that is the caliber most of the members of my family hunt deer with, 2nd choice would either be the 260 remington or 270 before the 7MM-08, although it is a very good caliber also..

Given how many deer I've killed with a .243 and how many have been done in by others, it sounds like more of a case of "I want" than "I need".

No flies on a 7mm08, of course.

I have one objection to the .308: Aesthetics. After messing with an '06 for many a decade, the proportions of case length to bullet diameter "just don't look righteous". So, I went with a 7mm08. Visually more pleasing.

And there ain't a nickle's worth of ballistic difference when talking to Bambi.

Given how many deer I've killed with a .243 and how many have been done in by others, it sounds like more of a case of "I want" than "I need".

Click to expand...

Yep.

Not that that's a bad thing, but I grew up satisfying my wants with my own savings. My parents satisfied my needs. That's why they bought a .243 for me to use and then took it back as soon as I'd purchased other rifles. That was the agreement. I sure do miss that .243 though.

Let your son have a few more memorable hunts with his Ruger. He'll soon learn what sentimental value is and how it blossoms.

That being said, I'd go with the 7-08 for deer. I wouldn't move to the 30-06 unless elk came into the picture.

I was only puting the point across that a young shooter needs all the help he can get. the 308 just wouldn't be what I would send a kid into the field with. there is just to much guese work it shoot like a rainbow. if I were to send a kid out on his own it would be a flat shooter. a 25-06 or 7mm08 or a 270 footsteps the bill. and future ranger there are more procession rifles made from a Rem 700 than any other. there is a lot of room for error with the 308

coug, I politely disagree wholeheartedly. Young shooters need to learn the fundamentals first. Trajectory between the cartridges you speak of differs very little at a range any young shooter ought to be shooting at.

30-06

A common round, easily available, a common chambering for most rifles, wide variety of bullet selection, more range/knock down power than the 270, 308, 243, etc.

For the rifle, I've actually looked at the TC Venture's. Guaranteed MOA, 5R rifling, adjustable trigger, match grade crown, about $500. I have no experience with these rifles, but that's a tough package to beat. The Howa 1500's (w/Hogue stock), and Tikka T3. These are all the best buy.

If paying more doesn't bother you; R700 XCR II, Win Mod 70 Fea, Savage 111FHNS.

yes iagree that we all need to learn how the bullets that we shoot fly. the best way for any boy to learn this is for his dad to get him ivolved in reloading so he can see in print what the difrence in rounds are. and then s/end a lot of time burning dads powder and lead. even with all this young men almost always get exited and forget steps. after Ne is seasoned or we as most of us. we and he im sure will want fast and flat. just in bigger calibers.

I have two sons, one 18 and one 14...they are both thin. They each have their 'own' shotguns and 22's. Neither showed an interest in centrer fire rifles...until...I had my oldest site in my new 7mm08 featherweight. After a few scope adjustments he was plinking away at the bulls eye 100 yards away. After each shot he would just smile.

Afterwards he said 'this rifle is mine.'

So...I started looking for another 7mm08, for me for real this time. After checking all of the options I still went back to the M70 featherweight. After i sighted it in...the 14 year old shot it...he just smiled.

I don't know if I'll ever really lay claim to my own 7mm08...my wife shot 2 boxes of shells from the same one the 14 year old is drooling over. She hit the 100 yard prairie dog target and smiled too.

The 7mm08 is a very soft kicking gun and for non-reloaders they even make reduced recoil ammmo and regular hunting loads for it. I don't know if I'll ever get to own one or not...

It's hard to beat IMHO.

Buy the rifle, not the cartridge. Any of the aforementioned cartridges will work, but finding a rifle that fits the shooter and that he feels comfortable with is far more important.

Don

How old and how big is he? The 30-06 is so versitle and he already has the smaller 243. I bought my son a Marlin XL7 30-06 when he was 14 and the recoil is fine. I could not be happier with the gun. It outshoots my Remington hands down. Not as pretty but alot less in price and in my opinion a better gun...Russ

My vote goes for the venerable .308. I'm 50 and like to shoot. I can shoot the .308 all day without getting sore. And its the range time that pays off when in the field after a deer.

I'm a big fan of getting him a large enough rifle so that he becomes proficient with one rifle and can use it for anything when he gets older. 270 win, 280 rem, 30-06, or maybe a .308. The recoil won't bother him in a year or two and it will be worth it.

As others have stated it would be useful to know how tall, and how heavy your son is Viking499. Without this info it is hard to recommend much in the way of a new caliber.

Just about any caliber suggested here could be the right one, given that the young man can tolerate the recoil and is already experienced enough with a centerfire rifle to make good hits. I will say it seems kind of silly to replace a perfectly serviceable .243 if it has worked for him, with another larger caliber. Sounds like a case of idiotic teenage boy peer pressure and one-up-manship to see who shoots the largest caliber among a group of peers.

Given a choice between the .30-06 and 7mm-08 for a younger smaller stature shooter I would pick the 7mm-08 everyday and twice on Sunday if deer were the only game on the menu. In fact 7mm-08 will do for elk as well, and moose, and black bear.... so long as good quality bullets are used. The cartridge is more or less the ballistic twin of the 7X57 Mauser, which in skilled hands has killed elephants.

Now the .30-06 is a great choice as well, but will likely have a lot more power than needed. It will kick more. Ammo will be more expensive. Rifle size and weight will increase over what he is used to. On the plus side the .30-06 can sling a heavier bullet quite a bit faster than a 7mm-08, making quartering shots on larger animals a safer bet.

One other advantage of the 7mm-08: if money is tight and you don't want to go to the expense of buying the boy a new rifle, new scope, sling, etc etc then you can re-barrel his .243 to a 7mm-08. They are both based on the .308 family of cases and have the same bolt face size, and same magazine dimensions. You could have him hunt one last year with the .243 and then have the trusty Ruger shipped off to a good gunsmith for a re-barrel. In fact the relative savings could be used to buy a much higher quality barrel than the stock unit, and maybe have a few other refinements made to your son's current rifle.

Food for thought.

I hope he plays fooiball. He is big enough to shoot a 7mm...Russ