.243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

What would be the best choice for a beginner hunter 13 years old.243 7mm/08 or 270

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

Hi jdeerhunter270,

Find the rifle that you like and fits you best. Any of the three calibers you mentioned will work fine for deer!

Good luck!

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

The 243 will have the least recoil followed by the 7mm-08.The 7mm-08 offers the best selection of bullet weights if larger game is to be hunted.

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

Any of the three would probably work fine. It really depends on the 13 yr old. How big is this person? How much experience with a rifle have they had? Alot of factors go into it. Personally I'd opt for the 7mm-08. It's a great all around cal.

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

If he is really small framed or very recoil sensitive then I'd get the 243 but for the average 13 year old I'd get the 7mm08. It has a little more recoil than a 243 but not nearly as much as a 270. A 270 is a 30-06 hull necked down to 27 caliber. And most of the ones I have shot felt like they kicked about as hard as a 30-06.
In 4 years he will be 17 and probably able to shoot any gun he wants. If you get the 243 then by that time he will probably want more gun. The 7mm08 on the other hand is as much gun as you will ever need for whitetails and can even take elk sized game at reasonable distances and with the right type bullet. Heck I'm 38 years old and could use any caliber I want. A 7mm08 in a Browning A-bolt is my primary deer gun of choice. I think its just about the perfect deer cartridge. Light recoil, relatively flat shooting, lethal on deer, good ballistic coefficient, and accurate.

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

We shoot 22s alot and so does he thanks for the replys and keep um coming

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

We started my son out at 9 practicing with a 243 by the time he was 12 and started hunting moved up to 7mm-08 with no problems although tough to find a rifle at the time because of the samll frame he had.

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

Flip a 3 sided coin :D personaly id choose a 270 formyself but when my daugther starts hunting (if) ill start her on a 243.

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

Another round to throw into consideration: the .25-06. The ammo selection isn't as good as the .243 and some other popular calibers, however. Still a great deer cartridge.

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

If you can wait for them to come out Remington is offering a model 700 LA youth model "soon" chambered in .270 and .30/06. They also are coming out with a reduced load in both of these as well as 7mmRem Mag ( though the article I read didn't mention a youth model I this chambering) the idea is when the youth gets bigger you just buy a new stock and then regular ammo no need to upgrade.

Any of the ones you mentioned will work; I started my son off with a .243 he's 11 right now and the recoil doesn't bother him.

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

You didn't tell us how big your boy is.

Have him try out your deer rifle and see how he reacts to it. If the recoil bothers him then get the smallest round for him. If he develops a fear of recoil, then he will also develop other bad habits in shooting.

If he is a stout boy like I was at that age, then the 7mm-08 or .270 will be fine for him.

Another option is to get one of the larger calibers and then add an aftermarket recoil pad if necessary. These usually reduce the recoil a fair amount.

Personally, I would worry about the fit of the rifle first and then worry about the caliber. Go to a gun shop that has a large selection of rifles and have him bring it to his shoulder. Ask him which one feels better, comes up to a shooting position better, etc.. Once you have done that then see what calibers are available. The .243 and .270 run neck and neck as to the popularity of the three calibers mentioned. The 7mm-08 is rarer and will be more difficult to find shells for.

Good luck!
Matt

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

Another round to throw into consideration: the .25-06.

I agree! I shoot one and so does my son who just happens to be 13. It shoots flat, fast, and hits hard with light recoil and kills deer like lighting. Excellent deer caliber!

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

Hes 120 pounds and of the 12 gauge the 16 gauge and the 20 gauge none of them bother him but he doesnt shoot deer rifles very often at all thats why im gonna get him a gun and i dont hunt at all but i love target shooting but he LOVES hunting

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

If he can handle the recoil of a 12 guage then get him a .270

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

Get the 7mm08 or 270. That way he will never have to upgrade unless he wishes to. Either will handle All North American game. The exception would be the great Bears. I would want a 375 H7H or 416 Rem mag for them critters. Even though the 30-06 has taken a bunch of them as well.

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

Yeah but i was thinking of buying him a NEF .243 handi-rifle then when he gets older get him a .308 barrel or 270

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

If he can handle a 12 gauge any of the 3 will be in his recoil range. I think I'd look at a 7mm 08 first off as it will produce less recoil but offer lots of future considerations, the 270 would be ok as well but will produce the most push. Error on the side of caution with the 7mm 08 allowing him less recoil and really little need to grow out of it as it is plenty capable of deer hunting and will handle bigger game as well.

The 308 might be another consideration, ime it offers no more recoil than a 270. I started with a 308 at 11 weighed about the same and had no problems.

If you can get your hands on few and let him take a couple shoots you might be able to get a better idea.

Good Luck

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

jdeerhunter270 , I wasn'taware you had the rifle picked out when I posted about the new Remingtons. NEF makes a youth model in 7mm-08 as well as the .243. My son has the youth model in .243 and in skilled hands ( my wifes ...she's not much taller than him) the gun will group 3 rounds inside one of those inch squares on a sighting in target. I saved the target and if I can figure how to post a pic I'll post a copy of it .. I was impressed.

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

.243, 6mm, .260, and 7-08 are some of the calibers that the young and adult female members of my family have hunted with. Right now the wife has a sweet Savage youth model .243, and my son still hunts with the Rem. model 7 in 7-08 that he had when he was just getting into the deer hunting, except now he bought the full sized stock to replace the short "youth" stock that it came with. These are all good deer killers, and the 7-08 is also a good bear killer!

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

I'm also thinking about getting a rifle for a young shooter and was pretty much sold on the .243 until I just read about the 7-08 some of you are touting.

How do the ballistics compare to the .243?

My concern with the .243 is that I have to buy a larger caliber for bigger game. Recomendations?

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

I've never fired the 7mm-08 but it's supposed to be about the same as the .243 recoil wise. If all you are going t hunt is deer then the .243 is all you need.If you're thinking bear (black) then I'd go with the 7mm-08.

I've seen that argument before and I don't know where it came from get a .243 for the youth now and get him something larger when he's older ... if he .243 kills ( and it will) deer when he's 10 it will still when he's _______ ( you fill in the blank)

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

I purchased my son a 7mm 08 to start hunting with at 12...He is now 15 and has had 3 sucessful years . He wouldn't part with it if I payed him . I am so impressed with this "little" gun that when he had to go to school and I was off work I carried his gun . ( with his permission of course . ) I am considering buying another for myself .

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

Well they are both based on a necked down 308 hull. The 243 will shoot a little flatter (not much flatter however) but only because the heaviest bullet weight for it will be 100 grs compared to about a 140 gr bullet for the 7mm-08. But the 7mm-08 is by far the more powerful and deadly whitetail gun and will kill black bear and even elk with the right bullet. And it does this without knocking your shoulder out of joint. In fact with a good recoil pad its really not much worse than a 243. Remington also makes a 120 gr hollow point in 7mm08 that will make a 7mm08 a very flat shooter and is perfect for coyotes and other varmits. Heres a comparison chart. The top line in each category is a 100 gr 243, the second a 120 gr 7mm08 and the third a 140 gr 7mm08.

PRINTER FRIENDLY

Index No. Cartridge Type Wt. (grs) Bullet Style Primer No. Ballistic Coefficient
243 Remington Express 100 Pointed Soft Point Core-Lokt® 9 1/2 0.356
7M08 Remington Express 120 Hollow Point 9 1/2 0.343
7M08 Remington Express 140 Pointed Soft Point Core-Lokt® 9 1/2 0.39

VELOCITY (ft/sec)
Cartridge Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
Remington Express 100 PSP CL 2960 2697 2449 2215 1993 1786
Remington Express 120 HP 3000 2725 2467 2223 1992 1778
Remington ExpressC 140 PSP 2860 2625 2402 2189 1988 1798

ENERGY (ft-lbs)
Cartridge Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
Remington Express 100 PSP CL 1945 1615 1332 1089 882 708
Remington Express 120 HP 2398 1979 1621 1316 1058 842
Remington Express 140 PSP CL 2542 2142 1793 1490 1228 1005

SHORT-RANGE¹ TRAJECTORY*
Cartridge Type Bullet 50 100 150 200 250 300
Remington Express 100 PSP CL 0.1 0.7 zero -2 - 5.4 -10.4
Remington Express 120 HP 0.1 0.6 zero-1.9-5.3 -10.2
Remington Express 140 PSP CL 0.2 0.7 zero -2.1 -5.7 -11

LONG-RANGE² TRAJECTORY*
Cartridge Type Bullet 100 150 200 250 300 400 500
Remington Express 100 PSP CL 1.6 1.5 zero -2.9 -7.5 -22.1 -45.4
Remington Express 120 HP 1.6 1.4 zero -2.9 -7.3 -21.7 -44.9
Remington Express 140 PSP CL 1.8 1.6 zero -3.1 -7.8 -22.9 -46.8

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

I'd go with a .308. My dad has had one for 30 years and its the only rifle he owns and its killed many elk, deer and antelope. I bought a .308 last year and shot my first antelope with it and that boy droped so fast! Then right after that i dropped one of the buck's does (i had two tags). And i shot my first buck with a rifle with a .308 (i mostly bow hunt).
The .308 is like a 7mm/08 but from what i heard the .308 is better. The .270 will drop a moose and an elk with ease.
The .243 is a good caliber, but out here in Montana it wouldnt get much use sept for deer, coyotes and pronghorn. Wich might be good if thats all you hunt but i wouldnt even think of shooting an elk or a moose with one.

RE: .243 7mm/08 or 270 for beginner hunter
 

Dont over look the .260, recoil at .243 level and ballisics aproaching 7-08. Bought the wife a model 7 youth in .260 a few years ago, heck I use it more than her, short little rifle and cartridge, Ive shot deer all the way out to 300 yards with it. Very sweet outfit.