Rock30golf Report post Posted April 16, 2017 Well I need a little insight here. My 9 year old just passed hunter ed. My salvage 243 is just to big for him. I have been looking at some youth rifles. 7mm-08 vs .243. Any insight would be help full. I have heard of people taking a elk with a 243, to me its just sounds a little on the light side. Dont get me wrong you can kill a elk with a 22 if the shot is correct. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke-BE Report post Posted April 16, 2017 243 is a great youth gun, but if you are planning within the next year to go elk hunting buy a 7mm-08. If it was me I would just get both 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
apache12 Report post Posted April 16, 2017 I own both. I have here boys. They use the 243 for pig and deer. Up to mules deer doe. For mule deer buck and cow elk. 7mm-08 Eurooptics website selling the tikka older model for very cheap. Great light rifle for a kid. If I had to pick one 7mm-08 has more range. 120 gr to 160 grain Chuckhawks website has a cool recoil table. So you can see what each caliber recoils. 7mm-08 is just a little more recoil than he 243 Have fun 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rock30golf Report post Posted April 16, 2017 What about a 270? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke-BE Report post Posted April 16, 2017 If they can shoot a 7mm-08 a .270 130 grain would be great! Elk 140 grain. A little more ump behind the .270 with not that much more recoil. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dusty Report post Posted April 16, 2017 Just got a savage axis youth model 7m-08 for my 10 yr old grandson.I had a muzzle brake put on and worked on the trigger.Had him shoot a 20 gauge first,then the 7m-08.He thought the rifle was a piece of cake and got a decent group. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SunDevil Report post Posted April 16, 2017 Ruger American compact in 7mm-08. 18 inch barrel. Start out with reduced recoil Hornady ammo for deer 120 grain and then graduate up to150 grain for elk 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hoss50 Report post Posted April 16, 2017 7-08 or something larger with brake. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted April 17, 2017 What about a .260? Right in between, better ballistics than either the .243 or 7-08. Most .243s are twisted for 90-100gr. max. Manageable recoil without a brake, better for deer than the .243, and enough for elk with good 140gr bullets. Maybe equal to the 7-08 150gr. Bullets. Flatter trajectory and better speed too. I can vouch that a .260 is plenty to take big mulies out to 650 yards with authority. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted April 17, 2017 7-08 or 260 would be great for a kid starting out. I just bought an Axis too, uuug that 7# trigger what were they thinking. I will probably put a Rifle Basix trigger in it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wish2hunt Report post Posted April 17, 2017 All 3 of my girls shoot a 270 without any trouble Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IA Born Report post Posted April 19, 2017 7-08 or 260 would be great for a kid starting out. I just bought an Axis too, uuug that 7# trigger what were they thinking. I will probably put a Rifle Basix trigger in it. My thoughts exactly, including Lance's plug for a .260. When my daughter was 9, I got her a Savage Axis youth in 7mm-08 and had a brake put on it. She loves it. For the longest time, she swore up and down that my AR kicked harder. It didn't take me long to take that horrible factory trigger out and put in a crisp Timney set at 3.5lbs. With her elk hunt coming up, I also finally ordered a Boyd's stock for it, after talking to my gunsmith up here. As soon as that gets here, I'll get it to him and have him lighten the trigger a little more. After many conversations back and forth with Barnes, I opted for the 140 grn TTSX for both deer and elk. Barnes assured me that was plenty enough to kill a bull elk at any reasonable yardage she'll be shooting, including out to 400 yards. Handloads with that have been right around 0.5 inches. Her situation was kind of a "If I'd have known then what I know now" thing with the 7-08 and Axis. In retrospect, I probably would have gone with a .260. When it was time to get my son his rifle this past December for his 9th birthday, I opted for the Savage 111 Trophy Hunter compact, also in 7mm-08 since I was already set up to hand load that round. His also has a brake on it and he loves it. Just like with his sister, I started him out with the Hornady 120gr reduced recoil rounds. He's about ready to step into the 139gr/140 gr loads and we'll be starting hand loading soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost85 Report post Posted April 19, 2017 Why not a 6.5? Plenty for elk with 140's, low recoil and ballisticly superior to 7mm-08 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SunDevil Report post Posted April 19, 2017 one of the deciding factors for me on the 7mm08 over the 6.5 Creedmor was the selection of OTC ammo. fairly limited on the 6.5 vs tons of selection on the 7mm08. I do not reload. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rock30golf Report post Posted April 20, 2017 So many different options I cant make up my mind. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
