i am buying a new rifle for deer season i am debating between a 30 30
308 or a 7mm08 i will be hunting whitetails and black bear i have only ever hunted with a 22250 i just need a rifle a little bigger does anyone have any advice

All will work so it depends on a few factors. If the range you expect to shoot is on the low side of 200 yards, open sights and need quick handling the 30/30 will serve for deer and bear. If longer/ scopedyou'd be better suited to pick from the 308win or 7mm08. If your buying ammo over the counter(factory loaded)then I'd suggest checking availability on the 7mm08 before purchasing and paying attention to what loads(bullets) are readily available due to the bear usage. While not hard to killbears do require a better constructed bullet then whitetails so thought should be given to this aspect when considering a dual purpose rifle. The 308win just maybea better/safe option.

If handloading then i'd take the 7mm 08, load it up with 140 barnes TSX or Nosler partition,etc to hunt either critters with confidence.

Good Luck

Can't say it any better. Close range the 30-30 is a great choice. Most versitile would be the 308. I have both the 308 and 7mm-08 for deer its a toss-up. If you like the lever gun you may want to check out the new Marlin 308 whatever its called.

I'd take the .308 over the others. You can hunt all kinds of game with it, and it does a great job on deer and bears out to good range, as long as you use the rightbullet (and sometimes even if you don't).

Are those the only cal.'s you would be choosing from? If so then skeeter hit it on the head. If not, and I know I am opening a can of worms, then what about the .270, 30.06, or 7mm mag? I own and enjoy all 3 but if you are open for suggestions then you have come to the right place for there are lots more choices.

Of the cartridges your asking about my choice would be #1 .308, #2 7mm-08 and #3 .30-30. Even with the new leverevolution bullets improving the 30-30 it would be my last choice. The 308 can handle the 180 gr bullets for bear and 150s for deer. (a 165 gr would be good for both). All 3 are more than capable of taken these critters provided you know their limitations.

7MM08 Would be my choice

Flip a coin between the 08's with the .30-30 being a distant 3rd.

I own all the calibers you stated also,the one that I get the most use from is the 7mm-08! Check this out...

http://members.tripod.com/sed88/rem7/

Man there is a lot of good threads here. As the new guy, I don't like to look like a post whore or troll, but I vote .308 anyway. From in close to long range, .308 is a great choice.