Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles WTB stainless 308 boltface, questions

My son is wanting to have a stainless rifle and he has the blue/matte SPS .308 with a LVSF stock. I wish he was not so picky LOL but I think if I bought this stainless for him he would keep it longer if that is what he wants. I know he will not fork over the bucks for a stainless rifle. He is only 13 years old so I might as well get him this rifle.

Was thinking of getting him the 7/08 as I do not have this rifle and brass can easily be kept separated. Is the 7/08 as versatile as the .308?
Oh yeah I do not have a 7/08 so I got something I can play with :-)
I am just thinking this will do it all in the VA woods and field. I am going to head to Cabelas and see if they have this on their rack to fondle.

I saw a Kimber rifle in their used rack a couple weeks ago so I want to see if its still there. Are Kimbers problematic?

BTW I had a Winchester in 7RemMag but sold it as it was too much for our shooting as most deer are not shot more than probably 150 yards.

So what is the consensus of the 7/08 as opposed to the 308?? And I need to find a stainless rifle for the lad. (I like the looks of blue rifle). I guess with my son's stainless LVSF he wants to get its big brother.

At one time, I had five 7mm-08s for the grandsons and guest hunters to use. Now, I am down to one , my daughter has one and two of my grandsons each have one. We have used them to take several pickup loads of whitetails, mule deer and pronghorns. Last November, my youngest grandson used his mother's 7mm-08 to kill a really big cow elk at a little over 300 yards. We have used the 120-grain Ballistic Tip for everything since it replaced the old solid base 120. We don't do any classic varmint shooting, but it will kill coyotes handily given the opportunity.

I have had a couple of .308s, but it jus seemed that my other .30-caliber rifles got all the use. They never stuck around very long. YMMV.

A good move.

With the correct choice of bullets and at the range you stated, you won't be able to tell any difference in terminal performance between the two cartridges (.308/7mm-08).

Which one do you like best?

mudhen:
actually any caliber will kill coyotes. I read that the 7/08 is used by many for silhouette shooting, that gives me the idea that is may be slightly less recoil than a 308.

Vic:
I have shot mostly M700 308 and I am used to them. All of my rifles are either 30-06/270/308/243/22-250 and 223 calibers and all leftys. My son has a M700 223 and a blued RH SPS 308 with a LVSF stock. He just prefers his rifles to be stainless and if that matters to him then that is his choice. Obviously he has outgrew all of the youth rifles I got for him so I am on the path to getting him a rifle he wants and hopefully keeps for a long time.Not to mention I have never shot a 7/08 so this will be my experience as well.

Which do I like? I got all of my reloading stuff around the calibers I mention above. Would not bother me to buy the dies and bullets for this rifle. For sure I will trip some of my stuff and his stuff as I hate to accumulate more rifles than I can shoot. Obviously if I like a 7/08 and want a lefty I will have to have one made BUT I can happily shoot a RH 7/08 for fun.

This is what makes it all appealing...different calibers to shoot.

I've also used numerous cartridges for deer, and have bought one for no more reason than "I wanted to".

So, if there's any way I can help talk you into a 7-08, please let me know.....(grin)