7-08 v.s. .308 Recoil in a Handi-- Any real difference?

[RickC.]

This is probably a tired old subject here also, but I haven't found what I'm looking for in my searches.

 Here's the deal- I'm trying to decide between these two cartridges for my next NEF for my wife (that's her in the avatar to the left shooting a blackpowder .44 mag load).  She can handle .45-70 trapdoor loads just fine in my NEF, and handled my Rem 788 in .308 fine when I had the Ramline stock on it with the Pachmyr pad.  She finds the .308 a bit uncomfortable with the Reinhardt-Fajen stock it usually wears (I didn't much like the Ramline, Ebayed it.)  So she's not extremely recoil-shy, but I don't want to make the commitment and end up with something she doesn't like to shoot.  She shoots my .280 Handi with no problems but doesn't like the long barrel.

 So, if you have and shoot both, is there any real difference with medium weight bullets?  The old 788 has the short 18 1/2" barrel, but it's a pretty hefty little rifle compared to the Handi.

  Thanks,


  Rick

[bigjeepman]

Here's a recoil table to use for reference:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

[Fred M]

Rick.
If your wife can handle the 280 Rem Handi then it is obvious she can handle a 7mm-08.  

The extra weight of 4" barrel in the 280 can be added in the 7mm-08 stock bolt hole. The more weight you have in a rifle the less recoil.

Shooting lighter bullets like the 140gr will also amount to less recoil. I think the
7mm-08 is a very good choice. I am going to buy a 7mm-08 for a 10 year old kid this year and make up some light loads for him.

He be able to use this rifle for the rest of his life.

[RickC.]

Thanks Guys,

 I have a bunch of 140 gr Core Lokts left from experimenting with the .280, figured I'd start there if I got the 7-08.  A friend has a youth model Handi two of his sons share (they each got a deer within 30 seconds of each other earlier this season, using the same rifle!) and they're 9 and 10, I think, so I know my wife could handle the 7-08 OK.  I guess what I'm trying to figure out is whether she'd be comfortable with the .308 since I have dies, bullets, powders, and 25 years of loading that cartridge already.  Really no way to tell without her actually shooting one, I guess.

 She really likes her .30-30 Handi, but as I mentioned in another thread, the club where I am now presents shots at the outside of that cartridge's range, though I did kill a 5 point using 130 gr Hornadys with it last season at just under 200 yds-- that wasn't the intention though, the deer just came out on a trail that was much farther away than the trails I was watching.  Funny how they like to do that! 

  I -could- just have the .280 barrel cut and crowned, but I'm resisting that idea.  The only situation in which I don't like the 26" barrel myself is in shooting houses.  The long barrel isn't as handy as the 22", but it hasn't presented a problem in ground blinds or in tree stands, killed a deer in each of those situations with the .280 this week, not a problem with that.


              Rick

[LEO]

The difference in recoil in the 7mm-08 and the 308 in identical rifles is almost nonexistent.  What I did with my handi in 308 which I also have a 12 gauge turkey barrel for was to put a Sims limbsaver recoil pad on it.  Obviously I did that for the turkey loads but as a side effect it has reduce percieved recoil of the 308 to like that of a 243, it was definitely 19 dollars well spent.  If you want to go with a 308 or even with the 7mm-08 for that matter you might want to try that and if you add some lead to the stock you can decrease the recoil even more.  I tried that with the turkey barrel and it made a difference but it made the gun heavier than I wanted to carry turkey hunting, if I wanted to carry a 8 1/2 pound shotgun I would have used my 11-87 rather than a single shot,  it would be less a factor in deer hunting from a stand or a blind.  Or even turkey hunting in areas where you weren't walking a long way, where I am at somedays you will travel a long way over rough country trying to get on the birds.