I used this chart here- http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

And a lot of 7mm-08 owner/user recommendations to buy the 7mm-08 rifle discussed here- http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php/topic,51181.0.html
for my wife & son to use.

IMO, the kick was more severe than what I expected.
I suspect the weight of the gun has a lot to do with it.
Shooting it felt much like my Remington .270, & much more than my 26" bull barrel .308 w/ HS precision stock.

Evidently if you want a light recoil out of a high powered rifle you will need to weight it down (heavy stock/ barrell), & or use a muzzle break & or use a simms style recoil pad.

Personally I'm not much of a .243 fan myself.

I'd fancy a 30-30 using the leverrevolution ammo & a decent scope.
I'm tempted to add one of these to my collection sooner or later.

 

Dave,

Thanks for the very informative reply.

Ike

 

ike,

The 7mm-08 recoil is very manageable. A good recoil pad like a Pachmyer Decelerator magnum pad or Limbsaver will make a big difference.
Consider loading the Nosler 120 gr BT for deer hunting, it is a very robust bullet.
Other caliber options would include the 260 Rem and 257 Roberts. Both are low recoiling and kill deer like lighting. Loaded up with Nosler Partitions and they can offer deep penetration.

JD338

 

7mm-08 recoil is very managable and the bullet selection is very good as you can go from lighter bullets to heavy to hunt the desired game. Of course the more heavy the bullets are the more the recoil will be.

 

My first question is what are you intending to hunt and at what ranges are your typical shots be?

Without that I will offer you anther thing to consder. Remington and I belive Fedral make recoil sensitive ammunition. I know they make it for the 30-30 not sure about 7-08. But with the 30-30 you could shoot the 170 grain and the 160 grain LE ammo for more distance and your wife could shoot the recoil sensitive 125 grain ammo.

Also have both you and your wife shoulder the rifle and see which "feels" right to both of you.

Better yet buy both!

 

For the 30-30, there are "youth loads" tha can be worked up using the 125 Grain Sierra HP with Hodgdon H-4895 powder. These are reduced recoil loads designed for young beginner hunters, but they are capable of taking deer out to 100 yards. Check out the Hodgdon homepage look for "Youth Load" data.

I have loaded some of these rounds and they are are quite accurate in my old 336 RC 30-30 with just iron sights.

Cascade jinx

 

You can also consider the Marlin XL7 in .270 Winchester as Remington does have a Reduce Recoil load that loads a .277 115gr JSP at 2500 fps or so. This is the same ballistics as the 6.8 SPC and that is a deer load.

CD

 

Remington does make Managed Recoil in the 7-08. It would give you a 140 grain Core Lokt at 2300 fps and 1644 ft. lb. of energy at the muzzle. The Managed Recoil 30-30 gives you a 125 grain Core Lokt at 2175 fps and 1313 ft. lb. of enery at the muzzle. Or standard 30-30 load of 150 grain Core Lokt at 2390 fps and 1902 ft. lb. of energy at the muzzle.
My OPINION is that the 7-08 is the better choice. With the soft recoil pad on the XS7 a new shooter shoud be able to get comfortable shooting the Managed Recoil ammo and after gaining confidence and experience move up to full power loads.

Tarheel

 

Seriously, it has more bang than kick. Most of the perceived recoil of a 7-08 or 270 is in the "bang" and the startle of the gun going off. It's about the same discomfort level as flossing your teeth ;D

The recoil pad of an XL-7 is pretty good, and the stock pattern doesn't whack my face at all.