Son's first rifle, 7mm-08?

[Stein]

Santa will be squeezing a rifle down the chimney this year.  I am set on a Savage Axis, my other kid has one and it's a shooter and if they don't keep with hunting or drop it in a river I won't cry.  I'm not looking for an heirloom, just a tool to get them through until I know whether they need something else.

The first one I bought was in .243.  Great rifle, but I don't really like the exploding bullets that are pretty much the only game in town for that caliber.

7mm-08 seems to have a huge following and the internet research seems to put them in good light, able to shoot better (IMHO) bullets with just a touch more recoil than the .243.

I'm not interested in going much above that or I would just go 30-06 since I have all the reloading stuff already.

Any reason to go with something Axis chambers other than the 7mm-08?  I've never shot one so I'm going off what I read online and the advice here.

He needs a 300 yard deer, elk, antelope rifle.

Thanks!

[redi]

The 7mm-08 will handle any big game up to 300 yards my kids shot everything from black tails to Moose and have no problems including good size Roosevelt bulls and big black bears

[Dan-o]

 

I love 7mm-08.   

It certainly fits your bill.

[Igor]

That's the rifle we just purchased for my grandson.  He had been shooting one of my .270s, however he is somewhat sensitive to recoil, and was not enjoying shooting.
I ordered the Savage Axis in 7mm-08 online thru Bass Pro Shops, and it was at the local Cabela's in 5 days, with free shipping.

We took it to the range last week, and it is a pretty impressive for a rifle that won't break the bank.  The 3x9 Weaver appears to be a decent scope.  We tried a couple different types of Hornady ammo, and my son got it to shoot 3-round groups of 1 3/4" at 100 yards.  And, recoil is definitely not an issue.

[bobcat]

My daughter has a Savage Axis in 7/08. It's been great, for lack of recoil and accuracy. Everything I've loaded for it has shot good. I load 120 grain bullets at slightly reduced velocities. I use both Nosler Ballistic Tips and Barnes TTSX bullets. She killed a big cow elk with the Barnes bullets at 250 yards. Muzzle velocity is only about 2,600 feet per second, and recoil is practically nothing.

[D-Rock425]

7mm08 will be fine.  My daughter's shot deer, elk and a bear with her's.

[Karl Blanchard]

The 6.5 creedmoor would be another great option but in my opinion the 7/08 is a lot more versatile with the variety of bullet weights. There's no downside to the caliber at all. Our kid gun is a ruger American compact 7/08. Ive moved my daughter into another gun as her skills have surpassed what that rifle can do but my son has kept the barrel warm on the 7. 

[yakimanoob]

I love my 7mm-08.  As stated above, it will handle absolutely any game under 300 yds and certainly elk/deer/bear in the 500-ish range depending on the bullet and load. 

[timberfaller]

Hey don't forget about the Bob!!!  great one too!  257 Roberts!

[bowshot1994]

7mm08 is great, 20ish yrs ago it was my first rifle and it will tame about anything and is good for recoil depending on the size of kiddo. I still use it to date as a lighter more packable gin due to youth size. Definitely recommend!

[KFhunter]

The worst thing about a 7mm-08 is finding ammo, gotta be the worst caliber to shop for atm


I did find a ton of 500 nitro express though 

[jamesfromseattle]

I don't have one, but have been doing the same research for my brothers' kids (and mine a few years later) and came to the conclusion that a Savage Axis in 7mm08 is the perfect first gun. And it's a capable enough caliber that they may never need anything else.

[WapitiTalk1]

Browning X Bolt .243. That’ll do.

[Jason]

I would also throw my vote towards the 7mm-08. Better bullet selection than 243.

I’ve got a Ruger American in 7mm-08 and it’s a 1/2” moa shooter with 140 Accubonds.

[deerlick]

I've got one in a .25-06 and it's been a great little gun. Ammo is easy to find for it also.

[lewy]

Great caliber choice

[Alchase]

I bought my oldest son a Winchester Youth Model 70 in 243 WSSM for his first rifle. Those tiny pills hit pretty hard.

[h2ofowlr]

My oldest son shoot a .7mm-08.  It has been a great gun for him.  He has dropped everything he has shot at with 1 shot.

[fowl smacker]

My kids shoot a Ruger American compact in 7mm-08, it shoots sub models and my oldest just shot her first buck with a Hornady Superformance 139gr GMX bullet.   Deer was dead instantly with a heart shot.  I was very impressed with the bullet, I found it opposite shoulder just inside the hide.  I haven't weighed it yet, but expansion was great and it appears to be intact.

[ShaneTyTrey]

My youngest has a Tikka 7mm-08 for his first and it has been a really good shooter, we have used 140 grain accubonds.

[C-Money]

I can't say enough good things about the 7/08. Light recoil, ease of reloading, accuracy, on game performance...It is the whole package!!

Note...Plz try the 100gr Hornaday interlock bullets in your .243win. Find a load with IMR 4350 that works in your rifle, and its magical. I gave the old boss man mule deer buck an instant dirt nap yesterday at 330 yards with this load. And, its done it many times before for us.

[Stein]

I can't say enough good things about the 7/08. Light recoil, ease of reloading, accuracy, on game performance...It is the whole package!!

Note...Plz try the 100gr Hornaday interlock bullets in your .243win. Find a load with IMR 4350 that works in your rifle, and its magical. I gave the old boss man mule deer buck an instant dirt nap yesterday at 330 yards with this load. And, its done it many times before for us.

Thanks, will do when I can round up the components.

[jasnt]

7/08 is a great choice but I wouldn’t over look the 243 either.  Place I buy my ammunition components currently has 2 choices on the shelf.  Few .338 bullets and a good selection of 6mm choices.   Though I don’t shoot factory ammo I have not had any trouble getting bullets for my 243 even when shelves were empty otherwise.  Jme

[Stein]

Yeah, I have been able to scrounge up several boxes of .243 that he used to kill his first deer.  We ended up shooting it with Winchester Deer Season and I have to admit I was impressed with that. 

Prior to that one, I loaded Nosler BTs and was not impressed at all.  It kills eventually, not great in my limited experience and leads to significant meat loss.  My daughter hit a mulie perfect and it stumbled around for quite a while, fell down a hill, got back up and then finally died.  Next year she shot a doe center chest facing toward and it ran off through a bunch of junk, down a big gulley and finally died.  Both had much more meat loss than I expected.

From my experience, when deer are hit with 30 cal, they go down real quick, I've seen my 30-06 and my brothers .308 and they never go more than 20 yards.  That said, the Winchesters put a doe down this year, she fell in her tracks and no meat loss, so maybe I haven't done enough research on bullets yet.  Everything I read said use a rapid expanding bullet in .243.  The Deer Season went completely through but didn't seem to have a huge crater like the Noslers do.

[bearhunter99]

My wife and all three daughters have 7mm-08s.  Wife has a Thompson Encore, 2 of the Howa 1500s (cerakoted camo Howa at Sportsmans on clearance for $349 couldn't pass it up, bought both they had) and a Savage.  All shoot great and have knocked down many a deer.  Tried switching my wife out to a different gun but the new one sits in the safe because she always grabs the -08.  IMHO you can't go wrong with that caliber for youth or female shooters.

[DRB3224]

Since recoil is a consideration, you can develop reduced power reloads for 7-08 with H4895.  This is discussed by Hodgdon here:

https://imrpowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/h4895-reduced-rifle-loads.pdf

NOTE THIS GUIDANCE ONLY APPLIES TO CARTRIDGES THAT HAVE LOAD DATA FOR H4895 ON THE HODGDON WEBSITE.

You can start low and then increase powder charge as your son is able to tolerate more recoil.

You can find Hodgdon's load data online for 7-08 and H4895 here:

https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/

GM

[buckfvr]

Id go with best available ammo whether 6.5 or 7-08.  I can say the 6.5 cm with Sierra 130 tipped game changer is just slightly the little brother of the .270 shooting 130gr.  Tad slower but better bc.  And never ever discount the .243, especially if you reload.

[screedler]

My Howa 7mm-08 shooting federal premium loaded with nosler partitions has done well for me so far; two deer killed with it. Not a lot of recoil either.

The first one I shot from a relatively close range and the partition bullet really put a big ol hole thru the ribs and it didn't move from the spot it was shot in, he fell right over.

Similar story with the second deer I shot with that same ammo, vitals shot and it was down in its bed.

Now to find partition bullets for reloading, I'm not counting on it