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

Looking at getting a new rifle for my wife, and wonder which would be best. She currently shoots a model 70 XTR in 243. It is really a heavy rifle. She looked at some Remington model seven youth rifles today and liked them. How does the recoil compare between 243, 260, and 7-08? I have several 6.5's, and 243's but am not familiar with the 7-08.

7mm-08 has very mild recoil. If she is very recoil sensative, shoot a 120gr bullet. If not, any good 140gr will do.

RH

Both will work great, but I'd go 7mm-08 for the great bullet selection and ammo availibility... and ability handle heavier bullets, etc.

-jeff

If you reload, you already stock the 6.5 bullets.

I doubt there is very much that the 7mm-08 can do that the 260 can't or vice versa.

More factory ammo for 7mm-08 if your not a reloader.

I do reload, one of the 6.5's is a 6.5 X 57 mauser, very little loaded ammo available in the US. The wife is not really recoil sensative, but she does not like a model 70 lightweight in 30-06. That rifle kicks more than my pre-64 300 H&H at full tilt. I will see which of the two are available, leaning toward the 260, as I already have bullets.

Well, In my opinion the .260 is everything that the .243 should have been. Just enough extra thump to make the difference. No significant difference between it and the 7mm/08, when using bullets of similar construction and weight. Major difference (to me) arises when you look at ammo availability. The .260 is much more a reloaders cartridge, with significantly less factory options available. Either operates well within the others' "design parameters", with a slight edge in bullet weight going to the 7mm. With all that blather said, I'd pick the .260 and run..........

Kaiser Norton

I'd lean towards the .260 just because you could load some 100 grain Partitions that will be very shoulder friendly and also kill very nice.

Like the others said, if you reload, run with a 260. I own 2 and just bought one for the girlfriend. If you dont roll your own, go with the 7-08.

Er.... One of each?


ATB
T260

I dropped my 7-08 for a 260 as a deer rifle. Both acually are very similar. The 708 has a touch more recoil and will handle heavier bullets (160/175gr) better if needed. For deer sized game a 120 gr bullet is all you need in the 260, and as another post suggested a 100 gr Partition is available that was designed with the 260 in mind.

Having two of each....although only one is a field weight 7-08...my choice would be the 7-08 because of rifle & component selections...the 260 bullet selection is somewhat limited compared to the 7-08....either of the two are excellent choices..

The bullet selection for the 6.5mm's is plenty enough for any type of hunting you'll do...

For deer/big game all you need is the 120 BT, the 100, 125, or 140 NP, and for smallish critters the 95 Vmax o the 85,100 Sierra HP...

I run 100 NP's for my deer and I could not be happier...

Never had a .260, but am on my third 7-08, so I must have an affinity for the little cartridge! I recently purchased a Rem 700 CDL SF in 7-08, didn't intend to as the factory specs were not all that appealing in terms of weight. I can honestly say this rifle (for me anyway) is perfectly balanced, so any concerns I had about weight went out the door...with me and the rifle! For some reason it loves 150 grain Core-Lokt bullets better than other "popular" brands with H4350. First time out 10 shot group .9x.4 group. Good balance...good shooter.

if she is shooting deer get the 243 and dont look back....

woofer

if your a bit bigger than your wife.....to get proper eye relief without putting a towel between your shoulder and the but is going to cause you pain i hate sighting in my wifes Rem 7 Youth in 7-08 cause i always forget a towel......beats the hell out of me. however it fits my wife PERFECTLY and she loves it. we were looking for either a 7-08 or a 260, didnt much matter cause i handload some. since she wants to hunt elk but wont be doing so every year we went with the 7-08. for MY light deer/speed goat/general packing rifle i with a Kimber 84M in 260 cause ive got a thing for 6.5's however the wife has found out with a 6x36 Leupy on board it weights less than her 7 Youth with no scope and has been eying it lately

The main issue is that my wife is 5' tall and any rifle to fit her properly will need to be cut down, or be a youth model with less LOP. Her current model 70 XTR in 243 is cut down but that thing weighs a ton. We are not getting any younger, and after a day in the field she is starting to feel the weigh more now. I am going to look at another option, I have a Steyr SBS in 6.5 X 57 mauser that has removeable spacers for LOP. It is much lighter than the Winchester and is a tack driver. I can use my old Sako AV in 6.5X55. Can't bring myself to cut that one down for her though.

Kimber Montana in either of the above calibers would be light as a feather!

-jeff

and more of a chore to cut down........

My thought is get a .308 if you want a short action. I have a .260 and stepson has a 7mm-08. For all around use I think the .308 is better. Also, still don't like the new short mags.

I'd go the 260 with 100 gr Partitions. I have a 7mm-08 and in a light rifle it still has a little sting to it, though I admit the 120 gr bullets are not a problem. That said, however, if I was getting one for my own wife who is not much taller than your's I'd try to get a 260.