I am looking into getting my wife into hunting. I have been looking at guns and like the 7mm08. I am scard that it might have too much recoil and that I would be better with a .243. Has anyone shot the two and can compare them for me? It the recoil that much more. My wife has never shot before so I want to set her up right.
Thanks
All else equal, the 7mm-08 would have more recoil because it is propelling a heavier bullet and powder charge at roughly the same velocity as the .243Win, but the difference isn't extreme. Bear in mind that the weight of the rifle (and other things too) has a big impact on recoil. So a featherweight .243 shooting 100gr bullets might have slightly more perceived recoil than a heavier 7mm-08.
I think that if you go with a mid-weight .243 you shouldn't have any problems. Add a quality recoil pad (Pachmeyr Decellerator (sp?) or Sims Limbsaver Pad are both good pads). Another suggestion I'd give you is to have her refrain from doing too much shooting off a bench. Benchrest shooting intensifies felt recoil because generally less of the body is used to absorb it so it kicks straight into the shoulder unhindered. My wife is pretty recoil sensitive and will begin to complain about recoil after about 20 shots from our 22-250 off the bench. This also illustrates that every person is different in how the percieve recoil and how much cumulative recoil they can tolerate before it becomes a problem for them. I'd start her out with a .243 and see how she does. Then, if she tolerates it OK and wants a larger caliber you could move her up to a 7mm-08.
the 7mm takes a bit more powder than the 243 and recoil is a bit more but not that much more.
if your wife is going to use this rifle for deer either cal is adequate. if she is small in stature, i recommend getting her one of the youth model like the reimington model 7.
if it were my choice, and owing both calibers, i'd opt for the 7mm-08
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The 243 has less recoil and works well on deer.If you reload the 260 rem might be a good choice.You could load the 100 gr nosler partition and get about the same recoil as the 243 or load the hevier bullets like the 125 gr nosler partition and get the preformance of the 7mm08.
Get the 7mm 08. I have shot both of them. The 7mm 08 kicks more, so says the energy chart, but I can hardly tell. The 08 however is a much better suited deer rifle. The .243 is a great little round, but just a touch on the small side. The 08 fills the niche for deer perfectly, which is why I hunt with one. I have a browning a-bolt and am about to buy a Tikka T3 in the same caliber.
The 7-08 doesn't have that much recoil...Last year we had a 12 year old girl that went hunting with us. She used my boss's 7-08(It was the first time she'd ever shot a high power rifle)and handled it just fine.
Dont over look the .260. Hardly any difference between it and the 7-08 and much less recoil. Bought the wife one a few years ago, it kills deer period. She is 5" 100lb and doesnt mind the recoil one bit.
I own one of each. The 243 is definately the milder on recoil but the 7mm-08 is not that much worse. If its her first gun I would probably stick with the 243. I say this even though my 7mm-08 is my own personal favorite for deer. The 243 however is a good starter rifle. It hardly kicks at all and will kill even the biggest deer if you stick with a 100 grain bullet and be careful with your shot angle. I will say this for the 7mm-08 though, if she could handle the slight jump in recoil you would be getting a gun with a lot more thump.
.243 or 7mm08 for less recoil?
I have a browning a-bolt and am about to buy a Tikka T3 in the same caliber.
