better caliber .308 or 7mm-08?

cawilson82

cawilson82

New member
what is the better of the two calibers for deer? lookin for the ol lady a gun. heard some good about the 7mm-08 and have owned the .308. opinions please
 
7mm is faster, i've always been a fan of faster bullets... im sure it might have less recoil, but both dont have much... best .308 based cal in my opion would be .243... man am i get catch heck for that statement....
 
.308 T/C 15''Pistol....Shooting Hornady 168 gr. BTHP Match.... She'll be pretty close to outshooting ya with anything you got.... LOL ! Out to 200 yards and beyond these are DEADLY !
 
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You really can't go wrong with either. I've become as big of 7-08 fan as anybody the last few years. It's a great big game caliber. But inside 400 yards, they pretty much are a wash for all practical purposes.
 
The 7mm-08 would be better for deer/antelope in my opinion. It's flatter shooting and you can get higher BC bullets for long range.

You give up the ability to shoot 180 gr. and heavier bullets, which can be nice for a brush gun on elk and bear.
 
The 7 is about the same power wise as a 270, just a short action. For an old lady or recoil sensitive I'd probably look closer to the .243 or 25-06 range though.
 
7mm08 is a better starter gun. I can't knock the .308, but felt recoil is less. I don't see where the 7 is faster? 150gr sp: 7mm08 2400..2600fps, .308: 2700..2800fpsThe better BC and SD make it a great cartridge.

shanedogg "7mm is faster, i've always been a fan of faster bullets... im sure it might have less recoil, but both dont have much... best .308 based cal in my opion would be .243... man am i get catch heck for that statement...."
 
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My wife uses a 7mm08 in a Remington model 7 youth model. I load it down a little, but she still drops deer out to 200 yards. She's been using that rifle for about 10 years now. It's one rifle I can't sell or trade.
 
jpattersonnh: I think that the 7mm08 is usually going to be pushing a 130 grain bullet so it would normally be faster even if it is just due to lighter bullet weight.

I'd personally go 308 if it doesn't bother her. Unless she plans on making regulare 300+ yard shots the 7mm superior BC wouldn't matter, and you already either load or buy .308 ammo. Always easier to go with the same old caliber. With a decent recoil pad neither round really punishes much, and if it bothers her you could step up to the high tech pads like on the new 870's, or go .243 with a pad.

I shoot m700 '06 with a good pad and m788 .243 without a pad. My '06 is more comfortable to shoot than that .243! So much so in fact that since I like the .243 (I put three to five times as many rounds through it), and it's my yote rifle till I can afford an AR, and the stock is all blemished up I've decided to buy a new stock for it also no one makes a pad for the 788.
 
Their's no practical difference between the 308 family of calibers when it comes to killing whitetail. If you want a little less recoil then go with a .243 or .260. If recoil is not an issue than either the 7mm-08 or the 308 will do just fine.
 
Is she recoil sensitive?? Or noise sensitive?? Alot of people think people are recoil sensitive when really it is the muzzle blast that alarms them.

7-08 and 308 are pretty close. The recoil edge goes to the 7. The practicality edge goes to the 308. More options with the 308. However it comes with a little more recoil. So you decide. 308 is cheaper to shoot, and easier to find ammo if you do not reload. 308 wil be a little easier to resell if she does not like it, but not much real difference in resale. Practice ammo will also be considerably cheaper with the 308.

Both cartridge wil serve her well. Personally my minimum deer caliber is the 6.5mm bullets. And I would go with the 260 Remington instead of the 7-08. Then there will be a bigger difference in recoil between the 260 and the 308. And the 260 can get er done. Tom.
 

I am a big fan of the 308 Win. It all started when I was
shopping for a Savage Striker(bolt action pistol, with a 14"
barrel) and the bigger bore(over the 7mm-08) meant less
velocity loss in the short barrel. So I went with the 308 Win
chambered version, and that started the love affair. After
some load development, and getting accustom to shooting this
hand cannon, I started getting regular sub MOA groups. Also,
without signs of pressure, I have chronied my 130 gr. Barnes
XBT load(Win. 748 powder) at 2800 fps, in that 14" barrel

So when I went to purchase my last "deer" rifle, it was a
pretty easy choice to buy a Browning BAR, Lightweight Stalker
in 308 Win. The gas operated rifle shoots softly, and with my
Barnes 130 gr. XBT hand loads, is a .5 MOA rifle. The same
load goes sub MOA in two different firearms...Nice.

So my vote is for the 308 Win. Easy to find accurate ammo
for, plenty effective on non-dangerous game up to elk size
critters, and easy to make comfortable to shoot by most
shooters.

Squeeze
 
I have the .308 the .243 and the .260, the 308 loaded with 125gr sp will knock down deer without much recoil at what ever distance you want.

The .243,(87gr) does about the same out to say 2-300yd.

The .260rem,(140gr) just flat smokes anything you point it at, at any reasonable shooting distance.

The .243 has a little less recoil than the 308, the .260 has more than the .243 but less than the 308.

The 7-08 will do the job just as well as the other three, but cost more for ammo if you don't reload. So just roll the dice, you can't go wrong with the 308 family. blue
 
308 in the AR platform will have less felt recoil

308 is cheaper and more readily available

308 AR would be nice to have around if the world went crazy (NATO caliber of 7.62X51 is good in a 308)

As far as caliber it probably won't make a difference to the deer

Get her a list of pros/cons of each. If she's like my wife it would be better to let her decide (I mean that in a nice way).
 
she's not really recoil or sound sensitive i mean i wouldn't let her shoot a 300 mag or anything and we have a variety of rifles. she's been shooting the .243 mostly and my 25-06 when dad hasn't got it which is rare. just wanting her something with a little more knockdown. the .243 is a great caliber but it lacks the whop really needed to put deer down unless you lie to do alot of tracking. we were discussing getting her a new gun b/c i can't go with her all the time and then i have to go track the deer she shot "somewhere over there". she gets pretty excited but is a crack shot. maybe another 25-06 is in order. thanks everyone
 
Originally Posted By: cawilson82 the .243 is a great caliber but it lacks the whop really needed to put deer down unless you lie to do alot of tracking. we were discussing getting her a new gun b/c i can't go with her all the time and then i have to go track the deer she shot "somewhere over there".

6mm 95gr Nosler Ballistic tip(or Combined Technology). I've shot over a dozen whitetail with them with none going over 50yds and most being nearly DRT. They've ran just as far with my .300WSM and a .308 I owned with well placed hits.
 
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