Youth hunting rifle...

Out shopping this evening, lookin for a new hunting rifle for my 11yo son. He is a south paw (left handed), so the selection is slim. Was looking for a 243, but found a 7mm-08. I don't know much about the round, other than what I just read on the net and the "gun expert" at gander told me lol. Appears to be a nice round, and they had a large selection of brands and grains, but....again, don't know much about the round. Anyone have any info? Thx.

By the way, If someone wants to buy some 7mm-08 factory ammo, Remington and Winchester 140gr. I have some. I will sell it for $25 per box. PM me if interested. I am in the Wausau area.

Bought my son a savage 7mm-08 youth model for his 10th birthday. He killed his 200 pound bear with it stone cold dead with one shot. I read alot about them, I dont think you'll be dissapointed. Alot better caliber all around than the .243

Appreciate the info fellas, I'm sold. Heading out to pick it up, soon as we get home this evening. The only negative I see, as someone mentioned, a little more cost per round to shoot it. That's minor. Thx again.

7mm-08 is a great deer caliber w/ 140 or 150 grain bullets. I load 140's for my brother and 154 gr. Normandy round nose for me.

Browning makes the X-Bolt and A-Bolt in left hand too. The 7mm-08 or 243 would be a great choice.

I just bought a new deer rifle a couple years ago. I wanted a 308. but found a really nice wood stocked 7mm/08 so I took the plunge. It's got the ballistics with a 140gr bullets as the 308. with 150gr. But it's got alot less recoil, sweet cartridge for all game up to black bear. 243. is great for deer but I personally would buy a gun in a caliber that my kids could use the rest of their life, and 243. is a bit small. Thats's my opinion i'm sure they'll love either choice! Last minute thought 243. IS cheaper to shoot with a better variety of bullets.

I got both my kids the 7mm-08 also as I wanted something just a tad bigger than a 243, and I am glad I did. I buy the 50% reduced recoil load/Remington 140gr and it works wonderful!

The 7mm-08 is a wonderful deer caliber. Recoil is only a little more than a 243, but with a lot more bullet penetration. I used a 7mm-08 to kill the largest buck of my life (in pounds, not antler size). It did the job wonderfully. In my opinion the 140 grain bullet is best. I killed a number of other deer with that caliber and it always worked flawlessly. Some of the younger hunters in our group used 7mm-08 youth rifles and have had excellent results with it. The only time we had to track a deer was when the young hunter gut shot one. We recovered that one too. Some of the young hunters are staying with 7mm-08s even when they outgrow the youth rifles. I hope your son has a lot of fun killing deer with the 7mm-08.

You probably could not find a much better all around round for someone to start with and probably hunt the majority of game in North American than the 7mm-08. It offer a large selection of .284 caliber bullets and is a relatively easy shooting rifle. Nothing wrong with the .243, and without starting any arguments its a marginal caliber that requires solid bullet placement. Go with the 7mm-08 and don't look back in IMHO. Shoot straight and shoot often GF

bought my son a 7mm-08 for his first season. it is a ruger 77m youth. really nice shooter. put a good scope on it. he's taken several bucks with it and all but one dropped in their tracks. the other went 30 yds. he still uses it to this day and i wouldnt hesitate to use it either. imo it is a better choice than a 243. also 2 black bear have been taken with it with no issues.