308 or 243?

[bighorn11]

I'm looking at buying one of these two guns to deer hunt with. I currently own a 30-30, .223 wssm, and 7mm mag. I'm looking at the .243 and .308. I'm planning on making the new gun my primary deer gun. I'm leaning towards the .308 but want a gun my wife can shoot to. I don't have a lot of experience with either round and am worried about the recoil for her. Any opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[no_skill]

Well my buddies girlfriend shoot his .308 no problem. She's like 100llbs so I think anyone can handle it.

[RugerM77.270]

I would go with the 308 its just a deer killing machine, not that the 243 isn't also.

[DannyD]

Although the 308 does not have a huge amount of recoil, it hasquite a bitmore than the 243. Twice as much by some accounts.
Are you worried about the recoilbecause she has shown any issues with what she has shot in the past? You mention you have a 30-30. Does she have issues with the recoil on this gun? I can tell you the 243 is less and the 308 more than the 30-30

As far as performance, IMO for deer, both will be fine

[popeye]

Another vote for the 308.

[bighorn11]

ORIGINAL: DannyD

Although the 308 does not have a huge amount of recoil, it hasquite a bitmore than the 243. Twice as much by some accounts.
Are you worried about the recoilbecause she has shown any issues with what she has shot in the past? You mention you have a 30-30. Does she have issues with the recoil on this gun? I can tell you the 243 is less and the 308 more than the 30-30

As far as performance, IMO for deer, both will be fine

She shot her first deer with the .223 wssm last year and it performed pretty well. My father-in-law lost a deer with a 22-250 this morning and I've decided to retire the 22 cal. (as far as she goes anyway) I've been wanting a short action, but just wasn't sure of the recoil for her. If the .308 is more recoil than the 30-30 that may be a problem. Don't .308's and .243's have the same size of case?

[ButchA]

ORIGINAL: popeye

Another vote for the 308.

....and yet here's another vote for the 308!

The .308 is actually the military 7.62 NATO cartridge and is well known for its legendary accuracy. The recoil is not anywhere's like a .300 magnum or a 12GA with a slug.

The .243 is a descendent of the .308 (.243 is just a necked down .308) and shoots a little flatter trajectory, that's all. But the .308 has more knockdown power.

[bronko22000]

Bighorn - why not a compromise? How about the 7-08? A bit more recoil than the .243 but less than the 308. And no deer will ever know the difference if it was hit with the 7mm or the 308 bullet. Actually IMO the 7-08 causes a bit more tissue damage than the 308.

[bighorn11]

That told me a lot of what I wanted to know. I thought the only difference was the caliber. Why wood a larger caliber equal more recoil? Doesn't the powder, weight of gun, etc....... determine "kick", instead of bullet size?

[bighorn11]

ORIGINAL: bronko22000

Bighorn - why not a compromise? How about the 7-08? A bit more recoil than the .243 but less than the 308. And no deer will ever know the difference if it was hit with the 7mm or the 308 bullet. Actually IMO the 7-08 causes a bit more tissue damage than the 308.

To be honest I thought a 30 caliber might just be the way to go. Does the 7mm-08 use a necked down .308 case? So the 7mm-08 is a little more devestating? I had actually thought of that round but had almost ruled it out. I might take another look at it.