7mm-08 how does recoil compare to .243 .308 also

Is this cart. still popular? Thanks in advance J P.S. the rifle I may get is a 700VLS 9.25 twist and 26' long and will weight in at 10.25 lbs with scope approx..

Judging from recomendations from this NG I'd say it's still pretty popular.

More than .243 and less than .308.

Carrying that rifle would be more painfull than shooting it. I have the Rem. Sendero in 25-06 that I *never* take deer hunting. I prefer a CZ 7x57 Mauser or a Winchester 6.5x55 Swede.

Bill Van Houten (USA Ret)

Thermopylae had it's messenger of defeat, COME AND GET THEM ! The Alamo had none.

I've had all three. The 7-08 is really closer to the .308 in recoil. Should be quite mild in the rifle you've chosen.

Yep, seems to be. Seems to be a long range deer rig mostly.

Alot more recoil than a .243, but, then, a .243 recoils like a daisy Red Ryder BB gun anyway . A *bit* more than a .308WIN (one of which I use), to perhaps .30-'06 levels.

Shells ain't cheap, though. A good candidate for reloading, I think.

The 7mm-08 is quite popular. Works just fine - almost as well as a .308 - but ammo will cost more and it won't do anything better than the .308

Just wondering... what is the attraction of a TEN POUND rifle with 26' barrel, in 7mm-08?

I'm wondering what a 7mm-08 or a .380 will do that a well aimed 7x57 Mauser won't.

Bill Van Houten (USA Ret)

Thermopylae had it's messenger of defeat, COME AND GET THEM ! The Alamo had none.

That's easy, Bill: they'll both hit a little harder, be more accurate than most 7x57 rifles, ammo is much easier to get, they both have short actions (7x57 is long) and both .308 and 7mm-08 are commonly available in new rifles.

7x57's main draw is that it is really old and still pretty good. No reason to opt for it, over the other two.

Seeing that it's the carteridge that gave T. Roosevelt and his Rough riders fits I guess its 'old'. But so is the 30-06 that was developed in answer to it.

I use two 7x57s. A Rem.'Classic' and a CZ 550 'American'. No deer I hit knew the difference a couple hundred fps made. They were dead before they hit the ground. How much ammo do you need ? After my zero check, my seasons ammo supply fits in a plastic Sierra bullet box. Since both of them are sub-MOA shooters they'll serve as far out as my shooting ability will take me. The only thing I give up is a bit of recoil, and saying, 'WOW ! I've got a 7mm-08'.

Here's my take on ammo availability...

For some guns (such as your EOTWAWKI gun) you will want both a plentiful supply and better odds of getting more if you need it. For a hunting gun, you really don't need to have too much on hand since, as you said, you don't need all that much for the hunt itself and for sighting in. Of course, one would hope that you would be able to get a reasonable amount of practice with that specific weapon, but even that can be done without having to worry about running down to your local store and being able to choose from among a wide variety of ammo.

But, and there's always a 'but', if something happens to the ammunition you take with you hunting (the airline loses it, you left in the other car, you lose it when your canoe tips over or your pack goes down the river, it gets damaged somehow or just whatever) then it would be a good thing to know that your ammo is readily available at any sporting goods outlet, whether that means a department store like *-Mart or a country store or the local gun shop.

If I were to find myself in a strange area of my state and suddenly in need of more 7x57 ammo, I'd probably have to do a bit of driving to find a decent selection. Maybe even to find any at all. Now, if I wanted .308 or 30-06 or any of the more common cartridges I wouldn't have to worry about it much. If it came down to it, I could probably bum/buy a few rounds off of a local rather than travelling for potentially an hour or more to find that less-common round.

Having owned both a .243 and a 7mm-08, I can tell you that the selection of both of those calibers is going to be at least somewhat limited almost everywhere you go. Generally (where I live anyway) the .243 is more common. Of course, we are not known for having really big deer in South Carolina, so the 7mm-08 may be more popular in other places.

Murphy is out there folks and one of these days he's going to get his hands on your ammunition. When that happens, you just might wish you had a more common cartridge.

Well said, Bill. If I'm ever fully employed again, I want to find a Savage 99 in 250-3000, just so I don't have to go with a .243

I'm not one who wears a belt and galluses at the same time but