shopping for a new gun for my son (caiiber selection)

[clos90009]

looking at new guns, looking at a REM 700 CDL in either
7-08
.260 rem
wish they made that rifle in 308 and 280, i know that they did orignally chambered it in 280 but not now.
will be for ELk.

 

[rem300ultra]

If those are your two choices go with the 7-08. There are a lot of different loads offered by the factory and a big selection in the reloading components.

 

[CapDog]

I'm a big fan of the 6.5's. We have 3 6.5x55's in the house and a .260AI. They have been used on everything up to moose with no problems and are very mild recoiling. My 8 year old son has his name on one. 140gr .264 traveling in the vicinity of 2700fps is very capable of dropping elk and moose. The 125 triple shocks or 130gr Accubonds would be a very good choice as well.

 

[Tracer]

I have been through your delema of choosing a rifle & caliber for an offspring in past years! My advice would be to pick the caliber in 7mm-08 from the two that you mentioned in your post.

The 7mm-08 has much larger (heavier bullets) bullets to choose from and if he were to go on an elk or moose hunt, this would be a plus in my book anyday. Nothing wrong with the 6.5 caliber or .260 Remington really, it is just more for lighter game in my eyes. I would rather hunt moose or elk with a 175 grain bullet out of the 7mm-08, than a 140 grainer from a .260 Remington.

The Sectional Density of the 175 grain bullet is .310 verses the 140 grains .287, so there is a big difference in penetration capabilities with using the heavier bullet out of the 7mm-08. This is what I choose for my daughter when she entered highschool some years ago.

List of bullet weights for 7mm-08 are as follows: 120 grain, 140 grain, 150 grain, 160 grain and 175 grain bullet weight.

 

[J E Custom]

Tracer is correct!!!!

The 7/08 is one of the best all around rifles.

I like 120 gr Ballistic tips for white tail deer.

140 gr Accubonds for hogs and large deer sized game.

And 160 gr Accubonds for Elk size game.

And in close quarters the 175 gr round nose for big and tough game.

Plus recoil is not bad in a light rifle untill you use the 160+gr bullets
and these can be loaded down for pratice and when hunting, loaded
up (Kid's never notice the difference when shooting game).

J E CUSTOM

 

[pjracer]

i put my son in a remmy 700 pss 308 win, 26 inch barrel and added a vais brake and havent looked back. he had some trouble keeping the sporter rifles steady. our hunting is different in texas so may not work for your intended purpose. he has shot 3 deer off of shooting sticks without difficulty. we shoot 155 vlds at 2858 fps.

 

[magicofmt]

Bought a Rem Mountain Rifle 7-08 for my son and wife and put a small KDL break on it, we all like shooting it and it's killed many, many deer and antelope. Short 22" barrell only likes 120 gr.s, three in a clover at 100 yds though. Anything else is 1 MOA.

 

[kraky2]

You won't believe what a 7mm-08 can kill till you run some 120 tsx or 140tsx through it at max speeds! I guess not a bear gun but great all the way up to and including elk.

 

[bigg_sexy1]

How old? How big is your son? I started my elk hunting career at 12 yrs old with a .243, and when I was 14 I got a .270. The recoil on the .270 was a little much so we put a brake on it right away, and I packed that rifle for another 14yrs dropping absolutly everything that I shot at. I guess in my mind your caliber selection might be based on a few different things including if you want to get a bigger caliber and put a brake on it or not. Happy shopping!!