So I have the task of replacing my mother in laws deer rifle this year. She gave me some family heirlooms for our son and in exchange I owe her a rifle. She wants a lever and I have decided on a Browning 81 lightweight over a nice used Savage 99 and a Marlin 336.

She has hunted with a .243 since the last gun I got her ten years ago(gun headed to my safe). But 81s are somewhat hard to come by. They show up in a lot of calibers but mostly .270, 30-06, .308, 7-08, .243, and 22-250. She is a good shot with a .243 and wants another.

How does a 7mm-08 compare to s shooter. Not worried about ammo availability as that is my job anyway and I buy online. Understanding she went from a Remington 760 in .270 to a Remington 700 in .243 to reduce recoil, how would she feel about the 7mm-08?

Heard a lot of great things about it. Wondering how a 64 year old woman who likes her .243 will react to it?

Thanks

Keep in mind these are the lightweight under 7 pound models. Thats why the 336 and 99 are not really options.

Thanks

I have a stainless BLR in 358 winchester. It has a the straight stock which I've heard causes more felt recoil than the pistol gripped stock. The "recoil pad" on it is hard rubber. Its a bit over 7lbs all up with a lightweight 1-3x weaver on it. I'm not especially recoil sensitive but the combination of stock geometry, weight, recoil pad, and caliber means its not the softest shooter even with 158gr pistol bullets loaded down around 2500 fps (which should roughly duplicate the felt recoil from a 7mm-08).


Even from a standard bolt rifle you will be hard pressed to tell the difference in recoil between 7mm08 shooting 140 grain bullets and 308 using 150 grainers. It should not be as bad as a 270 760 but it will be in the same ball park. The BLR will probably weigh .5-1lb lighter than her 700 too which will increase the felt recoil. They make the BLR and 7600/760 in 243. Why not just get here either of those? Here they are in stock:

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_58_126/products_id/32895/Browning+BLR+Lightweight+81+243+Win+20in

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_58_126/products_id/14846/Browning+BLR+Light+Weight+243

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_58_126/products_id/61393/Browning+BLR+LT+PG+243+Stainless

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_57_983/products_id/94653/Remington+7600+Pump+.243%2C+Satin+Walnut%2C+22%22+Blue+Barrel





[This message has been edited by Flack (edited 6/29/2014 8:07p).]

IMO 7mm-08 has as little if not less felt recoil. I do not shoot a .243 but I do shoot a 6mm and the recoil of my 7mm-08 to me is less. I do shoot about as hot a load as I can out of both. I'd recommend it to anyone who is concerned about recoil.

Great caliber; I highly recommend it for anyone, including anyone worried about recoil. It packs as good a punch as you'll need in TX and is a fun round to shoot.


My main goal in life is to find a beer as cold as a woman's heart

Love the 7mm-08, recoil is negligible and those 284 bullets are extremely deadly on deer sized game

IDK how everyone here is saying recoil is negligible... calculator says a 7.5 lb 7mm-08 blr will be pretty much the same as an 8.5 lb 270win 760.

I never noticed much difference between 7mm-08 and 308 in similar guns, not that either of them bother me. Neither does 270 though and if she had issues w/ a 270 in an 8.5lb rifle she is going to have a similar experience from a 7-08 in a 7.5 lb rifle.

Here is comparison for 270 vs 7-08 remginton green box:



http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp

.270 Win. (130 at 3140) 8.0 16.5
7mm-08 Rem. (140 at 2860) 8.0 12.6


http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

[This message has been edited by HookThis (edited 6/30/2014 1:26p).]

Those are both from 8lb rifles. The BLR is 7.5 w/ a scope and the .270 760 (that his MIL got rid of due to recoil) is 8.5 w/ a scope.

Also that's on the hot side for factory 270. You can push a 130gr 270 to well over 3100fps but standard factory loads like win pp, rem cor lokt, and federal blue box are all running about 3060 per the manufacturers. Most likely thats what his MIL was having problems with in the 270. And we are spiting hairs... which is pretty much the difference between the recoil between the two calibers in the actual rifles mentioned.

My 7-08 with composite stock has much greater recoil than my .243 with a composite stock.

7mm-08 user continuously for 20+ yrs; it kicks like I would expect a cartridge launching 140gr-ish bullet at 2700-2800fps, which means it's no softie in recoil in the average weight rifle. All relative as mentioned: rifle weight, stock profile, recoil pad type.

But not a magical "low recoil" cartridge, just an efficient user of propellant for its case size.

When I want less recoil, I drag out my 250 Savage


NRA Life
TSRA Life

Why dont you just get her another .243 if it has served her well over the years and she likes it. Nothing wrong with it as a texas whitetail caliber. Be patient and wait for a .243 to come available in the platform she likes.

[This message has been edited by unearth222 (edited 6/30/2014 10:09p).]

get a 6.5 creedmoor

Derrick Ratliff
Horizonfirearms.com
Custom Built Rifles Aggie Owned & Operated
A horizon is nothing but the limit of your sight…don’t be limited!

quote:

---

Why dont you just get her another .243 if it has served her well over the years and she likes it. Nothing wrong with it as a texas whitetail caliber. Be patient and wait for a .243 to come available in the platform she likes.

---

Because an 81 in 7mm-08 had a no reserve penny auction on Gunbroker.com.

My grandfather bought me a Remington Model 7 in a 7mm-08 as my first deer rifle when I was 10. He chose that gun and caliber because it was something that had easy recoil, is an excellent shooting round and was something I could use for years to come. Here it is 20 years later and I still use that gun every year.

The only thing I have changed over the years was a new scope and a new sling.

If you or she is concerned about recoil they do make managed recoil ammo for the 7mm-08s.



These managed recoil rounds will still lay down pretty much anything you want to shoot right where they were standing. I've let my sister shoot mine with them a few times and she had no problem.

I do appreciate all the feedback. I am going to stick with the .243 if I can find it.