Low Recoil 7-08 Bullet Recommends?

[camelcluch]

My son just turned 12 and will start to hunt. I’m leaning heavily towards the 7-08 as he can use it for antelope to elk. I plan on loading some lower recoil loads for a bit before going to a full load. What bullets would you recommend for hunting that will work with the lighter recipe?
Info: I’m not stuck on the 7-08 and have thought about the 6.5 CM. It does seem the 7 is better for elk but I’m open to anything.

 

[cmahoney]

ShootersCalculator.com | Recoil Calculator

An online calculator that calculates the recoil energy, impulse, and velocity of a firearm according to the firearm's weight, powder charge, bullet weight, and bullet muzzle velocity.

shooterscalculator.com

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[elkguide]

Light loads with 120's for practice and to get used to recoil.

120's for antelope and 140's for elk.

 

[miller3483]

I’ve literally been down this exact same road with my daughter. I bought a tikka compact in 7mm-08 and loaded up some 120 grain soft points with 27 gr of H4895. I’ve also used the Hornady reduced recoil factory ammo as well. Both loads have very little recoil. But…., if I had to do it over again I’d go with a 223 as the full power 7mm-08 loads in that rifle still have a fair bit of recoil. If you haven’t read the 223 thread I would suggest it. I also own a tikka in 6.5 creedmoor that has less recoil than the 7mm-08, if I wanted a larger caliber for a kid I’d probably go with 6.5 over 7mm-08 myself

 

[camelcluch]

Thanks. All good info.

 

[Macintosh]

If youre handloading I might lean toward the 7, you can load down to 6.5 level of recoil easily and seems theres a wider bullet selection. They are close though, bet you could decide based on already having dies, local availability, etc. the one thing relevant thing 6.5 has is WAY better availability of factory loaded ammo if that is at all important to you.
my wife has killed several deer sized critters with the hornady reduced recoil loads in 7mm08, and they all died VERY quickly out to past 200 yards. Those are sst’s at about 2600 fps if I recall. Probably no reason to step up from that for deer for a loooong time. Or ever unless he gets into taking really long shots.

 

[swe048]

I have two sons, both grew up with the 7mm-08 hunting whitetails here in PA, in fact both are still using rifles in that caliber to hunt deer here. When they were just starting out I loaded a 120 gr. Nosler ballistic tip over IMR 4350, can't remember the exact amount but I know it was down around minimum charge. When they were in their mid teens we went up to 140 gr. Nos BT's pushed by a little more 4350. Killed every deer they shot with that cartridge, the majority of them with little to no tracking needed. If you reload you have plenty of options, I don't think you can go wrong with either cartridge.

 

[sndmn11]

.284 Cal-090gr Hammer Hunter™ - Hammer Bullets

Here is the 7mm pure copper Hammer Hunter™ speed demon. Just think about running this in your 7 mag at 3700 fps plus, or in your 7mm-08 at pushing close to 3500 fps. Laser comes to mind!

hammerbullets.com

I took the 85gr 6.5 in a Creedmoor out last season for mule deer, and I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it at an elk. DRT and I can't think of why this bullet at 3500+ wouldn't be the same.

 

[03mossy]

I was going through the same decision last summer. Bought my 11 year old a Tikka Compact 7-08 and 10 boxes of the Hornady low recoil ammo. Figured once he burns through those this summer we will work him up hotter hunting loads. He did shoot a buck at about 80 yards with the low recoil ammo and it worked great. Now if I could only find some 140 accubonds we would be good.

 

[MHWASH]

My son used the 120 7mm-08 recipe on a couple of small moose and a cow elk plus some deer. On the bigger critters he used the TTSX. On the deer the Speer 120 gr sp. All with 48.5 H4350. I still have several of the Speers that I'd send you if interested. The rifle is a Marlin, which is pretty light, similar to a Tikka.

 

[MTElkChaser]

Hornady makes a good hunting round with light recoil:

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/7mm-08-rem-120-gr-sst-custom-lite#!/

I used these with my Son when he was younger and I thought the performance on deer and antelope were really good too. Good luck!

 

[Plainsman79]

I started my daughter with a .223 for her first few years and then stepped up to a 7-08 in the factory light loads. She’s now 18 and shoots handloaded 143ELDX. My buddy did the same thing with his daughter but went the 6.5 route as did my sister.

Either option is a good one. Both will kill up to elk size game with good placement. Good placement comes from good practice. Good practice comes from good teaching. Don’t overthink it, have fun with your son on the range. It’s a great time to be a dad.

 

[camelcluch]

Thanks everybody! I looked at the Hornady lite loads. They claim 30% reduction in recoil. That should be good for him to step into. I do like the performance of the 7 compared to CM on bigger game.

 

[camelcluch]

My son used the 120 7mm-08 recipe on a couple of small moose and a cow elk plus some deer. On the bigger critters he used the TTSX. On the deer the Speer 120 gr sp. All with 48.5 H4350. I still have several of the Speers that I'd send you if interested. The rifle is a Marlin, which is pretty light, similar to a Tikka.

Thanks a ton! That offer is very nice of you.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Don't forget the Limbsaver recoil no matter which route you go.

 

[HandgunHTR]

I am going to be "that guy". Whatever you decide to do, you should also seriously consider adding a suppressor to it. It will significantly reduce the recoil as well as help protect your son's hearing. Get it using a trust and when your son turns 18, put him on the trust. The suppressor is then, essentially, his.
I cannot express enough that using the suppressor will make shooting that rifle more enjoyable for him while being better for his hearing later in life. I really wish they would have been more available to me when I was younger. If they had been, I believe I would be a better rifleman as well as not having to be contemplating hearing aids at the age I am at.

I realize that $600-$1000 is a significant investment, but I know, based on the posts here, that you parents out there love your children dearly and will do whatever it takes to keep them safe and make them happy. A suppressor is something that will do both.

I don't have children. I do have nieces and nephews who like to shoot and some are getting into hunting. I have dedicated suppressors for each of them that they use when shooting my firearms, and should they "get the bug", I will ensure they have at least one that is theirs even after I am gone.

 

[camelcluch]

I own a few suppressors. It’s already in the plans.

 

[Unckebob]

If youre handloading I might lean toward the 7, you can load down to 6.5 level of recoil easily and seems theres a wider bullet selection. They are close though, bet you could decide based on already having dies, local availability, etc. the one thing relevant thing 6.5 has is WAY better availability of factory loaded ammo if that is at all important to you.
my wife has killed several deer sized critters with the hornady reduced recoil loads in 7mm08, and they all died VERY quickly out to past 200 yards. Those are sst’s at about 2600 fps if I recall. Probably no reason to step up from that for deer for a loooong time. Or ever unless he gets into taking really long shots.

I have a 280 AI and a 6,5 CM and reload for both.

In terms of availability, I have found it an order of magnitude easier to source a variety of different bullets (both in grains and it bullet designs) in 6.5CM vs 7mm bullets.

In particular, I have found it difficult to source any lightweight 7mm bullets.

 

[Pharmseller]

Good choice dad. 7mm-08 is a great cartridge. I used 120 BT at the lowest charge of Varget for my boy, then gradually worked up to a max charge of Big Game with 150 ELDX when he got older.




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