Hello to all, guestion for forum:
Condidering purchasing Rossi/or H&R, singleshot, how does the 7mm-08 perform on Whitetail, good choice or is 243. better option.
Thank you.

If the 2 calibers are all you have to choose from the 7 would be my preference.I seen to much tracking with 243 cal.I'm sure you will get a LOT of opinions on this.

Thanks for the reply, hopeing for some feed-back, I have given up tryingto decide for myself.

The 7mm08 is a MUCH better choice for deer. There is really no comparing the two as far as big game goes.

Why not a 270 instead of the 7MM-08. They have similar ballistics and ammo is cheaper and available at every Wal-Mart.

A 270 is a long action caliber while the 7MM-08 is a short action caliber. But that won't matter with a single shot rifle.

Thanks for the response, recoil is a consideration, I feel the rifle, being a single shot; would have a wallop.

either cal.would be a good choice jmo, the 7 would have more knock down power,.243 easy to find ammo for,good luck....

You can shoot a lot heavier bullet with the 7-08, but I still think the 243 is a great deer cal. I've seen ammo for the 7-08 at every wal-mart I've been in.

thanks for the response there D.B.. Does anyone on Forum shoot,or haven taken a Whitetail with caliber?
Thanks
Bittercreek

I have a Remington 700 Classic in the 7mm-08 that I take every time I go hunting. I use this as my guide gun sometimes and have taken down quite a few animals with it on my own hunts as well.

Its a very flat shooting rifle. Make sure you get one in a barrel length of at least 26" for maximum potential. If you make your own handloads this rifle caliber is even better. If you don't you may find that you will only see the factory ammunition in 140 gr because its the most popular. If you reload you can make your own and I have some heavier Hornady bullets that my gun really handles well.

I wouldn't say you can't go wrong with the 7mm-08, but I'd say that it was a better choice than the .243.

I have taken several whitetails with my 7-08 and without any problems.

7/08 is a great cal for white tail as is the 243 & 308 that share the same case. For me I am a fan of the 243 for Texas Whitetails & my handloaded 85 gr barnes X has never let me down. For stand hunting under 300yds the 243 is great.

But if you are faced with a moving target & your going to try a really iffy shot I would not recommend the 243 or 7/08.

I have killed many deer, hogs, Prairie dogs, and a few other species with the 7-08. I bought one a few years ago and love it. Mine is a much different rifle than yours. It is a Rem 700 vls, 6x24 scope, 26" varmint barrel w/brake, and Choate UV stock. The gun is very heavy, but will shoot great all day long.

On deer you will want to stay with 130gr bullets or heavier. I reload and have tried from 100 hp's to 140gr partitions in mine, and here's what I noticed on deer and medium hogs.

100hp's- The most accurate bullet from my gun period. I neck shoot deer with this round, and shoot hogs behind the ear. Body shots do not exit and therefore leave no blood trail if they run.
120gr sp's- Exit about 50% of the time, not good enough for me.
130gr sp's - Exit about 80% of the time, still not good enough for me, but acceptable. But I haven't tried any bonded bullets in this weight.
140's - all shot so far have exited animals. I would shoot Elk with this round confidently.

I haven't shot any heavier bullets than 140 because velocity drops so low that at 200yds the drop is unacceptable for casual hunting, the 7mags would be the ticket then.
The advantages of the 7/08 over the 243 is shear energy. The 243 will shoot just as accurate. To me there were two advantages over the 270. 1- Short action round= lighter rifle & ammo,2- more avail. bullet weight's/styles FOR THE RELOADER. Ballistically w/the same weight bullets they are about equal, and let's face it everyone owns a 270, I like to be a little different.

As far as recoil goes, I can only tell you how mine feels. Your single shot design will obviously kick more than my 13-14lb rifle with a brake. The 243 will kick less/ less energy, and the 270 about the same, give or take.

I do love my 7/08, it is a great all around cartrige. Mine has shot any weight bullet tried in it under 1 moa. My accuracy round will shoot 1/2 moa all day long. Any factory load I have tried also shot under 1moa.

That's about all I can say for now, I have almost talked myself into buying another one here.


Jay

This is my 7mm-08 Remington with Leupold Vari-X III 6.5-20x50. It has a bull barrel that's been cut down, crowned and fluted by Texas Guns. This gun has shot .35 MOA. I have taken several deer with this gun, some at well over 150 yards, from different positions. I have no problem with this caliber, but I would not have a problem with the 243 either, nor the 270 as long as shot placement was good. A sloppy shot with either and it's tracking time.

This is what Frank Barnes wrote about the 7mm-08:

The 7mm-08 140gr. load surpasses the .308 150gr. load downrange, according to Remington's tests and measurements in a twenty four inch test barrel. the difference is not likely to produce a rush to get rid of a good .308 rifle since it is measured in tenths of an inch in useful range trajectories, scores of feet per second and mere dozens of foot-pounds, but it is there. There being no fee lunch, it can be assumed the 7mm-08 operates at high intensity internally, which is ok.

It will be, as Remington says and the facts indicate, a good cartridge for a great deal of North American hunting. The difference between the 7mm-08 and the 7x57 is .220" in case length, and hardly any in case capacity and hardle any anywhere else. If you can say a cartridge is as good as the 7mm Mauser, you're saying it is a very good cartridge indeed. And that's what we're saying.

Written by Frank Barnes