Having owned both and shot both I'll vote for the 7MM-08 only because IMHO felt recoil seems to be less in the 7MM-08. When I've had rifles that are about 99% identical I always thought the 08 just didn't seem to kick as much or felt that way. The CM seemed more snappy if that makes sense?? But since you said for a young hunter it may make a difference??
OM, that's interesting and probably due to the "rocket effect" given the .264" bore vs. the .284" bore. I've often found cartridges don't "feel" like recoil numbers indicate, and have always assumed bore size, given comparable platforms, accounted for most of the perceived difference.
