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.243 vs 7mm-08

ATbuckhunter

By ATbuckhunter,
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ATbuckhunter Rising Star

ATbuckhunter

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I'm looking at buying a back up rifle/bad weather rifle for next deer season. I have the rifle I want picked out, now just wondering if I should get a .243 or a 7mm-08. I have an 06 right now and love it, but Id like something different for my next rifle. I hear amazing things about both calibers, my only worry is about bear. Bear are becoming more common where I hunt and I even got one last season on opening day of gun. My worry is will the .243 going to be under gunned for bear. For that reason only, I am leaning towards a 7mm-08. I would be using Barnes full copper bullets no matter which caliber I go with if that makes a difference. Let me hear your thoughts

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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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15 minutes ago, ATbuckhunter said:

I'm looking at buying a back up rifle/bad weather rifle for next deer season. I have the rifle I want picked out, now just wondering if I should get a .243 or a 7mm-08. I have an 06 right now and love it, but Id like something different for my next rifle. I hear amazing things about both calibers, my only worry is about bear. Bear are becoming more common where I hunt and I even got one last season on opening day of gun. My worry is will the .243 going to be under gunned for bear. For that reason only, I am leaning towards a 7mm-08. I would be using Barnes full copper bullets no matter which caliber I go with if that makes a difference. Let me hear your thoughts

Nothing against either chambering....Place a good bullet from either one in the vitals of a deer and you have meat..

However, with a shot at  a less than ideal angle, or on game heavier than deer ( including elk) I think the heavier bullets  in the 7MM08 have an advantage...I also think they are more likely to provide a good bloodtrail, should trailing be necessary.

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ATbuckhunter Rising Star

ATbuckhunter

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10 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

Nothing against either chambering....Place a good bullet from either one in the vitals of a deer and you have meat..

However, with a shot at  a less than ideal angle, or on game heavier than deer ( including elk) I think the heavier bullets  in the 7MM08 have an advantage...I also think they are more likely to provide a good bloodtrail, should trailing be necessary.

This was my thoughts as well. Knowing black bear already don't give a good blood trail as it is sometimes

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Pygmy Experienced

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27 minutes ago, eaglemountainman said:

A 7-08 pushing 120 TTSXs is hard to beat for one stop shopping on game in the lower 48. If I could only own one rifle, it would be my Montana in 7-08.

That has been my standby for the last 10 years or so...A 120 Barnes TSX  propelled at 3000 FPS....Blows half dollar sized holes out the far side of anything I shoot with it and kills very efficiently with minimum meat loss...

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CharlieNY Proficient

CharlieNY

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I have both a 7mm-08 and a .243. I carry the 7mm-08 just about all of the time and I love it. Every deer I have shot with it have been 1 shot kills. I would choose the 7mm-08. If you get one you probably will never carry your .30-06 again. I personally think that a .30-06 is too much gun for whitetail deer anyway. Whatever you choose good luck to you. I think you will enjoy a lighter rifle with less recoil and less meat damage.      valoroutdoors.com

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Kmartinson Mentor

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On 2/3/2022 at 8:13 PM, corydd7 said:

My first hunting shot with my 7mm-08 killed a bear from about 100 yards. The bear was next to a swamp so I put a second round in him but I'm not sure it was needed. Little to no recoil and light if your walking a distance. 

If you got an effective 2nd shot on a bear in any cover you didn't need it. Lol. I couldn't even cycle the bolt on my 30-06 before it was out of the plot and disappeared to its final resting place 40 yds away. 

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Daveboone Proficient

Daveboone

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I have been quite lucky to have spent a fair bit of time in bear camps (Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland). Never once have I seen a .243. Guides like big...and love 12 gauge slugs for bears.  Bears are not hard to kill, but they are very heavy boned and the fat absorbs alot of energy and closes up wounds. Bigger is better. Comparing the 7mm-08 to a .243 is ....no comparison. The .243 is very popular in southern states because the deer run much smaller. There are folks who use it in the north and do fine and brag it up...watch the responses to this reply...but anyone I ever met who shot a .243 had never shot anything else to compare. You want a fat heavy bullet for the most energy if you are buying a rifle thinking of bear.

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steve863 Community Regular

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13 minutes ago, Daveboone said:

I have been quite lucky to have spent a fair bit of time in bear camps (Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland). Never once have I seen a .243. Guides like big...and love 12 gauge slugs for bears.  Bears are not hard to kill, but they are very heavy boned and the fat absorbs alot of energy and closes up wounds. Bigger is better. Comparing the 7mm-08 to a .243 is ....no comparison. The .243 is very popular in southern states because the deer run much smaller. There are folks who use it in the north and do fine and brag it up...watch the responses to this reply...but anyone I ever met who shot a .243 had never shot anything else to compare. You want a fat heavy bullet for the most energy if you are buying a rifle thinking of bear.

 

Agree 100%.  Why go with what most consider the minimum for big game?   I hunted at a lodge in Virginia a couple of times where the deer are smaller than in the north yet the guides absolutely hated the .243.   They said that in the majority of cases where they've had to track deer it was a deer that was shot at with a .243.  I myself have always considered the .243 as a caliber for an expert marksman and not for a beginner or someone who is just a so-so shot.  My son at 14 with a bit of practice really had no problems shooting a .30-06, and surely would have even less of an issue with a 7MM-08 or .308 so why would I give him a .243?

 

 

 

 

 

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Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

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So a 6mm bullet isn't adequate for a black bear and barely so for a whitetail deer.  The proper bullet in the proper place is what kills......a 7mm bullet in the guts isn't magic! 

Is that 1mm increase in bullet diameter (and some extra bullet weight of course) the insurance you might need for shot in the paunch?

I'm surprised 20ga deer slugs will even take down a deer.  Did guys hunting the southern tier shy away from a 20ga just in case they gut shoot a bear?  LOL of course not.

Some advice for those folks would be to wear a helmet in your passenger vehicle as your seat belt just may not be adequate in the event of an accident.  :)

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ATbuckhunter Rising Star

ATbuckhunter

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My number one pick for gun hunting is my 06 as of right now. Ive been using that gun since I was 13 and I still love it. I just don't have a good back up (other than my muzzleloader) which is why I want something for a back up/bad weather gun. I think im going to go with the 7mm-08. I don't specifically target bear, but If I see one and want to take it, I want to be sure Its going to be put down. Even with my 06, I was nervous walking up on the bear this year. 

I will say if bear weren't something I thought I would see, I would get the .243. I know people who shoot big bodied deer with it every year and they certainly do the job. I have zero worry about using a .243 for deer. Eventually I will probably get one, but for now its going to be my 06 and a 7-08

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Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

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2 minutes ago, ATbuckhunter said:

My number one pick for gun hunting is my 06 as of right now. Ive been using that gun since I was 13 and I still love it. I just don't have a good back up (other than my muzzleloader) which is why I want something for a back up/bad weather gun. I think im going to go with the 7mm-08. I don't specifically target bear, but If I see one and want to take it, I want to be sure Its going to be put down. Even with my 06, I was nervous walking up on the bear this year. 

I will say if bear weren't something I thought I would see, I would get the .243. I know people who shoot big bodied deer with it every year and they certainly do the job. I have zero worry about using a .243 for deer. Eventually I will probably get one, but for now its going to be my 06 and a 7-08

What gun are you thinking of getting?

 

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Shoots100 Mentor

Shoots100

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On 2/3/2022 at 7:46 PM, ATbuckhunter said:

I'm looking at buying a back up rifle/bad weather rifle for next deer season. I have the rifle I want picked out, now just wondering if I should get a .243 or a 7mm-08. I have an 06 right now and love it, but Id like something different for my next rifle. I hear amazing things about both calibers, my only worry is about bear. Bear are becoming more common where I hunt and I even got one last season on opening day of gun. My worry is will the .243 going to be under gunned for bear. For that reason only, I am leaning towards a 7mm-08. I would be using Barnes full copper bullets no matter which caliber I go with if that makes a difference. Let me hear your thoughts

If a bear encounter is likely to happen, I wouldn't want to be carrying a 243 or 7mm08.

I suggest you carry a couple of rifles in different calibers, just in case, or maybe your one 30-06. 

 

 

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ATbuckhunter Rising Star

ATbuckhunter

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2 minutes ago, Shoots100 said:

If a bear encounter is likely to happen, I wouldn't want to be carrying a 243 or 7mm08.

I suggest you carry a couple of rifles in different calibers, just in case, or maybe your one 30-06. 

 

 

Im confident in the 7mm-08 putting down a bear. They're not that hard to put down

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