7mm-08 or .243

[8mmMagnumHunter]

Having both a 6mm Remington and 7mm-08, I can say they are both fine deer rifles.  I think the question you have to ask yourself is "What else will I be using the gun for?"  My 6mm is used for both deer and varmints.  Much more pleasant to shoot several hundred groundhogs.  My 7mm-08 is a single purpose deer rifle Model 7 SS short barrel.  However weighing 6 pounds with scope I don't even notice carrying it all day in the woods.

What other guns do you own?  Do you need this gun to be a single purchase all around gun?  Then the 7mm-08 has much more versatility.

Hopefully I raised a few questions for you to help make a better decision.  The ultimate answer is however The deer will be just as dead being hit with a well placed shot from a 243, as it would from a 7mm-08.

[Luckyducker]

If you handload you can use bullets up to 175 grains in the 7/08 for hunting elk size game, you are limited to 100 grain bullets in a factory built 243Win.  I have owned both and if I ever own another 243 it will wear a heavy barrel for a varmint rifle and will shoot bullets in the 55-60 grain weight.  My kids have shot whitetail deer with the 243 and we have found it kind of iffy.  I am not a fan of the 243 for a large game rifle.  I like the 139 grain Hornady spire point  bullets in the 7/08 for deer.   Just my 2 cents worth.

[AtlLaw]

My kids have shot whitetail deer with the 243 and we have found it kind of iffy.  I am not a fan of the 243 for a large game rifle.

Uh Oh... Now you done gone and done it!   

INCOMMMMMING!!!
 

[Fire Fox]

I have used the 7-08 pistol with the serria 120 pro hunter for many years on deer and hog with great results. I have found that this bullet is very tough in a Encore pistol at 2700 fps. If you reload and want a load with less recoil in the 7-08 rifle you can load it down to about 2800 fps and it should work well on deer. It has the advantage of loading it up with heavier bullets for big game or down with lighter bullets for medium game or varmits. Hope this is of help to you.

[scootrd]

hears my opinion for what its worth. Both are 300 yard max deer rounds. Anything over 300 and i want something more powerful. Out to 300 yards the 708 no doubt is a bit more powerful but hit two deer in the same spot in the vitals and I doubt youd see a pinch of differnce in actual killing power. Both deer will be dead and last i checked theres not degrees to dead.

I know you are not making this as a statement , as you said IMO.
Your comment just reminded me of what I have heard others say as a statement regarding 7mm-08 only good out to 300 yards , but then in the very next breath say something like for longer use a 30-06. (At which point I just smile and walk away. )

Just a cut and paste example as close to apples to apples as I could find quickly (others feel free to chime in.)

30-06 Premier® AccuTip 150 grain 
7mm-08 Premier® AccuTip  140 grain

30-06 velocity
400 yards 2077  - 500 yards  1893
7mm-08 velocity
400 Yards 2146 -  500 yards   1986


30-06 energy foot lbs
400 yards 1436  -  500 Yards 1193
7mm-08 energy foot lbs
400 yards 1432 - 500 yards 1225

30-06 Long range trajectory
400 yards -21.5 500 yards - 43.7
7mm-08 Long range trajectory
400 yards -21.1 500 yards -42.5

For me , my 7mm-08 will never be a 500, 400, or even 300 Yard rifle, for a few reasons , 1) My eye sight is old, 2) The terrain I hunt does not offer such an opportunity, 3) Even if the terrain did I would never be comfortable even attempting a 300 + shot with my remmy because I don't practice for it . But non of my personal reasons are because a 7MM-08 is not capable of doing so, and I'm sure plenty of guys out there fill their freezer every year with a 7mm-08 out past 300 yards.

I hung up my '06 and adopted '08 caliber for my dedicated niche whitetail rig , Purchased a nice little lightweight pkg that suits me for steep terrain I hunt. I like the short action, compact size  and it's a pleasure to shoot. In my opinion it was definitely a trade UP so to speak. 

[T.R.]

Deer are not difficult to kill quickly with a good shot placed into the chest organs.  Both cartridges are up for the task.  But for game larger than deer, I suggest the 7mm-08.
 
TR

[RevGeo]

hears my opinion for what its worth. Both are 300 yard max deer rounds. Anything over 300 and i want something more powerful. Out to 300 yards the 708 no doubt is a bit more powerful but hit two deer in the same spot in the vitals and I doubt youd see a pinch of differnce in actual killing power. Both deer will be dead and last i checked theres not degrees to dead.

Words of wisdom and obvious experience.

[scootrd]

hears my opinion for what its worth. Both are 300 yard max deer rounds. Anything over 300 and i want something more powerful. Out to 300 yards the 708 no doubt is a bit more powerful but hit two deer in the same spot in the vitals and I doubt youd see a pinch of differnce in actual killing power. Both deer will be dead and last i checked theres not degrees to dead.

Words of wisdom and obvious experience.

Give me a break.

 7mm-08 is an Easy Zero at 250 yards and capable of taking Deer well out way past 300 yards with more than enough energy to do so if shooter is capable . Additionally 7mm-08 max range has been discussed before on GBO with multiple real world experiences  posting they have dropped whitetails with  140's using proper bullet selection at 400 plus yards.  Don't want to believe GBO posters just google any number of sites and articles.

Could I do it ? probably not.
Can the caliber? Absolutely.

[gr8ful]

Both kill deer well, but a .260 with 125gr partitions is hard to beat.  Unless it is with the best deer cartridge ever invented, the 25-06.

[Savage .250]

As it`s more a matter of opinion and have never shot a 7mm-08, I`ll stick with something that has worked for years. That being the .243.
  Have used it on nothing but deer. Had to pass on some shots due to brush or not a good shot from the get go but other than that , It`s a fine cal for what I use it for. 
  Got the Savage model 110 in the late 60`s and never looked back.   

[mannyrock]

  Well, you are kind of comparing apples to oranges.


  The .243 is an ADEQUATE deer cartridge, judiciously used with proper shot placement in the right hands.

[mannyrock]

  Oops, broke my post.


  The 7mm-08  is a GREAT deer cartridge, capable of taking bigger game and at longer ranges.




   The biggest mistake people make when they choose a .243, is that they look at the foot pounds only, and the flat trajectory, and think it must be a really great big game round.  Unfortunately, this is only half the story.  The diameter of the bullet (only 20/100ths of an inch greater than a .22 LR), plus the light weight of the bullet, must be solidly taken into account.  It has its limitations, and you must stay within them.  Lots of folks can't or won't.


  Hope this helps.


  Mannyrock


   

[D Fischer]

The 22 Hornet can kill deer just as quickly as any cartridge. I'm on my 3rd 243 and I don't use it much for anything other than predator's and varmints. I've killed several deer with it but it just leaves me wanting. There are just to many cartridges with bigger and better bullet's for hunting. Weather or not one cartridge is better than the other doesn't make much to me, they will all kill if used properly! I don't thing the comparisons of loads to 300 and 500yds is worth a dink either. The overwhelmingly vast percentage of animals are shot well under 300yds. What matter if one outproforms the other at ranges most people normally don't shoot?

Some have said they like the 120gr bullet in the 7mm-08, I shy away from that thinking. When I had my own 7mm's, a 7x57 and 7mm Rem Mag, Speer made a 115gr bullet for them. Very fragile. They would certainly kill deer but it was an iffy thing. Perhaps these 120gr bullet's are beefed up to take it rather than designed for varmints as the 115 gr was. it seem's all a great many of todays hunter's care about is how fast they can drive a bullet rather than what happens when the bullet hit's. Things go right, I know a deer can be killed quickly with a 58 gr 243 bullet pushed as fast as it caqn be pushed, doesn't make it a game bullet. And the idea that so many people go hunting thinking they need a cartridge that will work to 500 yds when they never have shot anything that fat, not even a target is absurd. I could guarantee that using a 223 with a 50gr Hornady SX I could kill deer as fast and as dead as anyone with any bigger cartridge.

The thing that should be talked about more than what cartridge may be good and which not, is how the cartridge is used. That seldom if ever get's discussed. The only thing most have to say is to put the bullet in the right spot and nothing else matter's. Easy statement to make because it is true! But the conservation always ends there.

I don't think there is a 24 cal cartridge that is a good a cartridge as the 25's. Even the huge Weatherby's I've never shot. The idea to me, is to see how humanely I can kill the animal at a reasonable distance, not how far away I think I can do it, just so long as the animal dies. Someone mentioned the 25-06 is the best deer cartridge ever made. I love my 25-06 and it is very good at killing deer. I do not think it's as good a cartridge as the 250-3000 though. The 250-3000 fires more than adequate bullet's at velocities that won't tear up the bullet of the animal and does in in a light weight rifle with less recoil and muzzle blast than the 25-06. But I do love my 25-06 and have killed a lot of deer with it. My choice between the 7mm-08 and the 243 is the 7mm-08 hands down. never shot one but have had three 7x57's and there's not a lot of difference there. So I think the biggest difference in the two is the bullet range's. 7mm hands down. Lot's of people claim the 85gr and 90gr bullet's are even better than 100gr in the 243. They are talking 10 to 15 grs max on bullet's already awful light. I have a number of different favorite deer cartridges, none are under 25 cal or over 30 cal.

[no guns here]

I have the 6mm Rem and a 7mm-08.  I like the 6mm Rem for coyotes, deer, and perfect shots on hogs.  I bought the 7mm08 for my son.  I wanted him to have a "deer" rifle that in most aspects was an "anything" rifle.  Deer, hogs, elk, exotics, whatever... it's a better all around cartridge than the 6mm/.243 cartridges.  I could have bought a .30-'06 for him but the 7mm-08 is enough and doesn't kick nearly as much as the '06.  I could have bought the .308... but again... not as much kick.  The way I look at it... the 7mm-08 is probably the best "all-around" cartridge with the least recoil.  So that's what he got...
 
NGH

[petemi]

I have both 7mm-08 and .243.  The .243 is my dedicated wolf rifle.  I'm on a control permit when they become a problem.  I don't use it for anything larger.  I had a Rem Model 7 in 6mm and killed a few deer with it, but it just didn't do it as quickly as my 7mm-08, .308 and larger.  I can shoot 400 to 500 yards on open fields on my property.  My 7-08 is sighted at 300 and I have no problems with it beyond that.  My three distance rifles are my .22-250, 7mm-08 and .308 depending on the target.  My larger bores, including the .356/.358, .38-55, and two .45-70s are sighted in for 200 and reach 300 easily.  I get a chuckle out of popping a woodchuck with a .45-70 out there about 300 yards.  It takes some "Kentucky Elevation", cause there's a tad bit of drop between 200 and 300.

Another factor to consider might be wind.  It's windy here most of the time.  My .243 works very well with the 85 gr. Sierra Gameking at around 3100 fps.  I'm thinking the 140 gr. BT out of the 7mm might just not buffet around as much.  That is an unproven hypothesis.

Pete

[kombi1976]

7mm-08 gets my vote. I've shot goats with 243 but even with 120gn Nosler BTs the 7-08 is great on deer. In fact the Noslers are excellent & much more reliable than 140gn Barnes TTSXs. The 243 is adequate but the 7-08 is ideal. Personally I go for ideal over adequate any day of the week & twice on Sundays!