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25-06 or 7-08

7-08 and the barrel will last a lot longer than the over-bore 25-06 especially if later down the road the gun see's some considerable use.
- Nothing against the 25-06 at all, but my vote goes to the 7-08 which has a better selection of bullets IMO.

Good Shooting !!
 
For a young shooter, especially on the thin side, I'd choose a 243 Win. It's important that he learn field shooting fundamentals. The best way to do that is to minimize recoil so he'll enjoy shooting and practice more often.

There are a bunch of excellent hunting bullets available now in factory loadings for the 243 making it an effective deer rifle especially if he learns to shoot and at the distances you specified. This rifle could also double as an effective varmint and predator rifle.

There are an abundance of rifles to choose from in this caliber since almost every manufacturer makes a rifle in this caliber in all price ranges. You can get a reasonably good quality rifle without breaking the bank especially if you can wait for sale. A Savage (w/ accu-trigger) or Tikka would be a good selection because these have good triggers and are reasonably accurate.

The 243 was my first center fire rifle back in the late 60's when bullet choices were limited. However the old stand by 100 grain Rem Core lok did the job quite effectively on eastern white tail in those days. I never lost a deer (I hit) with the 243. I also hunted ghogs and foxes with it using 80 grain bullets.

I wouldn't worry about barrel life at this point for a hunting rifle especially for a young person just starting. Ease of handling and shooting would be my first considerations.
 
Recoil tables indicate that recoil will be approximately the same, and that has been my experience shooting the few rifles I have handled in these two calibers. Weight of the rifle will make a bigger difference in felt recoil than the difference between these two calibers.

For a younger person and someone with a height disadvantage, I like the shorter action and a shorter barrel. The 25-06 really needs the longer 24 inch barrel to realize the benefits of a 30-06 sized case of powder. The 7mm-08 is fine with a 22 inch barrel. So that equates to 2 1/2 inches less, which for me makes quite a difference.

If I was using the rifle for long distance shooting, like for open country mule deer or antelope the 25-06 would be the easy choice. Personally I would take the 7mm-08 in almost all other situations.
 
I have and like both, but would recommend the 7mm-08. A bit less muzzle blast and more efficient is nice, on top of the other reason mentioned.
 
jamesh said:
Of your two choices I'd pick the 7-08 but I think the 6.5 x 55 Swede would be a better choice than either. I have all three well actually the 7-08 is my wife's. The 6.5x55 Swede is my go to gun.
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Sorry, couldn't resist !!!
 
There is no wrong choice between the two, both are very capable. If your grandson is a bit on the thin side you can, if you handload, back the load off a bit so he can be comfortable shooting it and avoid bad habits like flinching.

Better bullet selection for of 7-08 but there’s plenty of good quarter bullets too. BIB 110s in a 25-06 hit deer sized game like lightning bolts. I own them both and the thing that originally attracted me to the 25-06 was an Uncle griping about losing both front shoulders to blood shot, I had to have one.
 
rwk said:
Help me decide the gun will be for my grandson, hes 17 but on the thin side none of his shots would be more than 175 to 200 yards.
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All of our kids have 7mm-08 bolt guns. A T/C Venture, a Savage Axis, A 700 Compact, A Model 7 and a Handi-Rifle. The T/C Venture is the best of the bunch from an accuracy standpoint. We have great luck with the Federal Fusion 120 gr Factory Load out to 250. Always exits on ribcage shots. The Federal brass is great and gives us a great start for each of them to hand load their own. As the kids grow the 140 gr Sierra Pro Hunter works great for deer, lots of options for bigger critters.

In my opinion the 25-06 has more muzzle blast and that matters for a new shooter. My cousin has great luck with a 25-06, if the muzzle blast and longer barrel are not an issue go for it.

Not to confuse the issue, but 7mm-08 and 25-06 cost more than 308 or 243 and can be harder to find if you don't load your own. If he will be hand loading, go for the 7mm-08.
 
Here is another vote for the 25-06. I have killed hundreds of white tail deer with most everything from a stick through a 45-70 doing crop damage control for 15 years and hunting for 47 years and the 25-06 shooting most any 100 - 120 gr bullet drops deer dead in their tracks on average better than most anything I have used.
 
wholman said:
2506 will last a life time as a deer gun.
the berral has threads for a reason.
Click to expand...

Absolutely correct! I bought my .25-06 in 1978, shot it at the range and every weekend of every summer took it groundhog hunting. Also took it deer hunting and bear hunting. In 2005 the groups started to open up and I knew it was getting tired. That threaded barrel saved me, I had Kelblys go over the rifle and put a new Krieger barrel on it. You have to see it shoot now, very accurate and cleanup is a breeze. I'm actually glad the factory barrel wore out.

That original barrel lasted 27 years. I was never easy on that rifle, it was usually fired every weekend from May to Oct. No doubt that it could have lasted longer but back then I wasn't careful with cleaning.

Keep in mind too that Kelblys asked me what cartridge I wanted that new Krieger chambered in. I don't think I thought more then 1/2 a second and went with the .25-06 again.
 
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Both are a very extremely fine round...it would get down to long action or short. Personally, for me, I like at least a middle of the road power cartridge given the action length. I'd go with the 7mm-08. It may not be the most efficient cartridge ever made, but it has to be in the top three. It's a killer, it's a joy to shoot and like anything 308 based it is inherently accurate. Now, all that said, I never saw a 25-06 that shot bad either. Long action wise, if you are really serious about a 25-06...why not a 280 AI.??? Shoot lighter bullets, I cant tell a recoil difference in the 25-06. Then he has a rifle that will take him just about anywhere.
 
7-08

If you allow me to expand the list to factory 25 and larger cartridges
6.5 CM, 7-08, 260, 25-06

If you handload for him, you could put the 6.5x47 at the front of that list.

If you will expand the list to 6mm and handload, I’d definitely have the 6 BR and 243 high on my list.

Hard to beat the 243 for an all-around deer and varmint cartridge for a young man. That’s what I started on. Have killed a dump truck full of deer and varmints with it.

For someone that reloads and maybe wants to spend some time punching paper, and game no larger than deer, I’d lean towards the 6 BR. It’s just so easy and friendly.
 
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Whats not to like when 7mm-08 pushes 120 gr. ttsx @ 3050fps. ?
This is done with recoil that's easy to control. Not much can walk away!
Many more bullets to chose if you reload !
Captn T
 
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