help picking a Rifle

help picking a new rifle

  • .243

    Votes: 63 55.3%

  • 6mm

    Votes: 3 2.6%

  • 6.5 Creedmoor

    Votes: 13 11.4%

  • 7-08

    Votes: 35 30.7%
  • Total voters
    114
  • Poll closed .
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JO JO

JO JO

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which one .243,6mm,6.5 creedmoor,7-08
Im still looking for a mild/mid recoil rifle for the kid and
me I have work injury's so heavy recoil in an issue for me
I do reload want to be able to shoot target/range fun and
have option to load it up for mid sized game hunting if
ever needed. This will be a bolt rifle
Thanks and Happy New Year
 
For what you've described I'd go for the 243. You can shoot bullets down to 55gr and the 100gr is dam fine for deer or antelope.
Ammo and brass are easy to find and not a maker out there doesn't carry the caliber across most all their lines.
 
+3 on the .243. I don't know how big your kid is but my wife shoots mine and she is petite. I've used it for white tail deer plenty of times and it's a great range gun. It's easy to reload for and we've shot it accurately out to 500 yards. All around it is a good caliber with very little recoil.
 
the boy is 11 yrs old has tons of 22lr experience not shot
anything bigger yet
 
I just shot my Tikka T3 lite in 7-08. I too have a bad shoulder and this rifle doesn't kick much at all. But any of the others is a good choice as well.
 
243 if shooting varmints to deer

7mm-08 if shooting deer to bear with occasional varmint

Although if you reload and can get brass, I would say the 6mm. I have one an it is a great caliber, but there have been issues getting brass.

Not to muddy the waters, but what about a 257 Roberts?
 
Go with 7mm-08 since you handload shoot the 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. Should be easy to develop an accurate load. Will be deadly on deer and smaller game. Load them to ~2800fps and it will be just as easy on the shoulder as a 100gr .243 factory load. Also the 120gr NBT is a "stout" bullet it has a thicker jacket than the 140gr NBT does. You can always "light" load a 7-08 to .243 recoil, but if you get a .243 and find it lacking there really isn't much you can do to get more punch. The 7-08 can be a "kitty" if you need, also can become a large deer/elk rifle when loaded with 160-175gr bullets.

In short 7-08 can be a .243Win and then some. A .243 can only be a .243
 
CarJunkie for the WIN!!!

I LOVE my 7-08. Short action, less power than full house .308, more than the .243, with a high BC bullet.

My niece liked mine so much she now hunts with one of her own. While she's a little older, certainly, after seeing how well she shot my Browning Micro A bolt, we got her into the same gun.

This is certainly a caliber that can grow with your son, and with reloading, you can optimize the round for the shooter and the target.
 
I shoot suppressed, so I have an unfair advantage, but I shot the rifle I built for my son in 7mm-08 with Hornady lite loads. Those lite loads with a suppressor made that rifle's recoil a kitten...soft and purring. Accuracy was excellent as well.

The .243 is certainly capable, but I like CarJunkie's response also. There's wisdom there...
 
The CZ rifles are nice guns and also I like the new mossberg bolt action patrolmans carbine that acceps AR-15 &AR-10 MAGS but is only offerd in 308 or 223. But you can load Reduced loads for the 308 with light weight bullets to your likeing... of the mentioned calibers Im a 30cal fan but if I had to choose another it whould be 6.5 . The 308 with 125gn bullets can be a kitty also and with 180's a totally different animal.
 
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If were talking out-of-the-box with factory loads I would go with the .243. The 7mm.-08 has the edge and more versatility if you're set up for reloading.
 
243 is quite a bit faster and flatter. You can hold dead on for coyotes way out there and make precise shots on deer. It doesnt recoil as much so you can enjoy shooting 40 rounds instead of 20. My preference is easily for the 243. I owned a 7-08 in a rem 700 classic. I found that it had enough recoil that it crossed a the line from light to moderate recoil. In fact off a bench it could downright jab you. 243 is easily enough for even the big bucks.
 
CarJunkieLS1 pretty much made my case. Go down gr. bullet, load down powder charge, you have a 243 recoil ( check out Chuck Hawk's recoil tables on his site ) then want a better knock down load, go up on both, and the 243 will not allow this, taking into consideration that people kill big game with a 243. 7-08 just runs a bigger swath. But any you mentioned if one grabs you, don't think twice, as people here told me, when I asked same question. Good luck and sorry on the bad wing.
 
If you handload, Lyman 49th has reduced recoil loads for 7-08 as well that should be great for plinking-style range time. You will need a different powder, but can use the same bullets.
 
The 243 is the way to go. Savage Axs and REM 783 will not hurt your pocket. Both are accurate. GOOD LUCK
 
Glad that I could help :) There is a reason why I have a custom rifle chambered in 7-08...IMO it is the perfect caliber for target, new shooter, varmint, light recoil, and bigger game up to elk.

Ballistically speaking it is a .270 Win in a smaller package and it does it with less powder and recoil. However I LOVE my .270 and my 7-08.
 
You do realize that the 6mm and the .243 use the same bullet? The 6mm Remington is an excellent round but you are pretty well limited to a Remington 788 for a rifle, which is a great choice but getting hard to find. The 6mm Remington packs a better pop than the Winchester .243 and you can vary the power of your loads to match your purposes also.
 
I don't believe the 7-08 downloaded is even close to what you can get out of the 243 in regards to varmint and target shooting at any decent distance one might encounter at a prairie dog town or shooting chucks.
The 243 will not equal the 7-08 with a 140-150 gr bullet either for larger game.
The Op seemed to give an outside probability of hunting and then it was animals in the range easily take by the 243.
For all out fun for his young shooters 55 gr Ballistic tips or up to 70gr HP's will be flat shooting little varmint bombs.
I think he would be sadly disappointed with reduced loads in the 7-08.
I'm not a fan and don't endorse it but I know of more than a few late season cow elk that have fallen to the 243 and just as the 223 on deer, if one shoots the right bullet and hits the right spot the 243 will do the job.
 
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