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Old 11-18-2008, 11:31 AM
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eldeguello
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Texas - BUT NOW in Madison County, NY
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Default RE: 308 or 243?

ORIGINAL: 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.
People will tell you that the .308 has "light" recoil. Of course, it is not as light as the .243.With a lighter rifle which the short .308 round permits, it is probably no better than a .30/'06 in a heavier rifle! And no doubt the .243 will kill deer quite effectively. As you already own a 7mm Mag., you don't contemplate shooting elk or moose with the new gun, I suppose.Has your wife ever fired your 7 Mag.? How much recoil can she tolerate? I've seen women shoot Cape Buffalo with a .450/.400 Nitro Express, and not even seem to notice the recoil. Size & weight have nothing to do with one's ability to stand up to recoil. Actually, the bigger guys are worse off, because they have more inertia which permits the buttplate to penetrate into their shoulders deeperbefore their body starts to move rearward! To demonstrate this, place your backagainst a tree, then fire your rifle from the braced shoulder! You will see what I mean!(I actually did not expect you to try this!)
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