whitetaildreamerthe 7mm-08 is an excellent whitetail caliber. A lot of guys in my neck of the woods start out buying one for their wife or kid and end up using it most of the time themselves. LOL! How old is the son you are considering one for? It kicks a little bit more than a 243 but not bad at all. Recoil is a very subjective thing however. What's mild to one person could be substantial to another. As far as I'm concerned the 7mm-08 surpasses both the 243 and the 30-30 as a deer caliber. Not that there is anything wrong with those two calibers.But the 7mm-08 gives you the ability to step up to a little heavier bullet compared to the 243and shoots much flatterthan a 30-30.A 140 gr 7mm-08 bullet has a great sectional density and penetrates like the devil. I haven't had a deer I've shot with mine make it more than 40 yards and most didn't make it that far.