Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 260 or 7-08?

My 5'1" wife is deadly with a cutdown 700 .243, but I have moved her up to .260 and 140's for bigger deer and hogs. The model 7 is getting a new stock cut to size with a better pad this week.

stumpy

If deer and similar size are what you hunt, either will do splendidly and the 260 is plenty. The 7mm-08 is a better choice IMV when you get into bigger animals simply due to the fact that it handles heavier bullets with greater ease. My Model Seven -08 does feel about as hard in shooting as does a standard '06 does though IMO. I'd go light on the bullets in either case - unless you/she decide to go after bigger stuff.

My Model 7 LSS in 7-08 kicked a lot less than my 30-06.... FWIW...

-jeff

I have been doing a lot with both cartridges in recent years. I am finding the 260 is winning my heart over, if elk are not part of the equation. The 100 grain bullets in the 260 generate less recoil than any comparable thing I can brew up in the 7-08, and I haven't seen anything walk away after having been shot with one of them. You can easily load them to be going 100-200 fps faster than a 243 100 gr.

Recoil of 140 gr bullets in either the 260 and 7-08 feel quite similar.

But the 260 only acheives its potential through handloading, while a wider range of perfectly acceptable factory loads exists for the 7-08.

Either would be a great choice; the ergonomics of the gun probably matter more than the difference between the cartridges.

Looks like it is going to be a 7mm08, no 260's in stock in my area. Like most have mentioned, the egonomics of the rifle are more important than the differances in the caliber.

Thanks Again

smithrjd

You made right choice going with the 7mm-08, especially since you reload. Lots of 7mm bullet choices. I've two 7mm-08's, a Rem Mtn LSS and a Rem 7600. Tried lots of different bullets and wound up with three I use for different situations. Sierra 100grn HP (extremely accurate) for varmints, Speer 145 Grn HotCors for open area big (deer) game and Hornady 154 Grn RN for woods hunting.

Good luck with your 7mm-08

firstshot
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Make your first shot count!

Bigger is better. You can always load the 7mm-08 down a tad with 140 grain premium bullets if you foresee bigger stuff in the future. As far as FELT recoil, it's all in how the rifle fits the shooter between the 2 calibers.

Wayne

Look at an A-Bolt Micro Hunter. LOP is about 12 3/4". My wife's taller than yours, about 5'7", but loves hers. One big reason is because it fits. Forearm is in proportion to the LOP and with a 20" barrel everything balances out. Actually I'm pretty fond of it too. It's a 7mm-08 and up till this year she's been shooting handloads with the 139 Hornady. Hard rubber pad could be a little better but recoil isn't bad. She has no complaints and it really whacks a deer. This year I've loaded some 120 TSX's and we'll probably get a testimonial from a whitetail or two this weekend. Another positive for her is the removable mag. In the A-Bolt the floorplate looks just like a drop down model but having the detachable mag is just a lot easier for her to drop it in here fanny pack till time to load up. And the trigger is NICE for a factory rifle. As far as caliber choice it's pretty much a toss up vs the 260. We've been loading our 260 with 100 & 129 Hornadys and I dropped a buck last year with the 120 Rem AccuTip. The 100's recoil is very mild and the results are impressive. The 129's probably give more penetration but so far all my son and I have had are broadside shots. The 260 is head and shoulders above a 243 from what I've seen even with 100 gr's. I've been impressed enough with it that I picked up a Ruger 77 6.5x55 this summer and am looking forward to sending a 120 Speer toward some fur ASAP. Personally since you load I'd choose the 260 and start with a 100 gr load for deer and maybe never even work up. If it ain't in stock in your area you can get it shipped in. Anything's available on the internet and your gunshop knows it. FWIW