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243 vs 308 vs 7mm-08: Which Should You Use?
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May 10, 2024
To learn more about popular hunting calibers like the .243 Winchester, the 7mm-08 Remington, and the .308 Winchester, visit: https://huntingguns101.com/optin1615146914565?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=HG101&utm_term=YT&utm_content=243vs308vs7mm-08 ______________________________________________ HUNTING AND SHOOTING GEAR I LIKE AND USE Hearing Protection: https://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/earbuds My favorite scopes (blog article): https://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/best-rifle-scopes-for-hunting/ My favorite budget hunting rifles (blog article): https://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/best-hunting-rifles-under-500/ My favorite budget hunting rifle slings (blog article): https://thebiggamehuntingblog.com/best-hunting-rifle-slings/ The above links, or the pages referenced, contain affiliate links. Commissions earned. ______________________________________________ In this video I talk about how the .243 Winchester, 7mm--08 Remington, and .308 Winchester compare to each other. The .308 Winchester is an excellent cartridge, but that hasn't stopped wildcatters from attempting to improve upon it over the years in various ways. The .243 Winchester and 7mm-08 Remington are the two most common examples of cartridges developed by necking down the .308 Winchester to shoot smaller diameter bullets. While each of the three cartridges offer certain benefits to hunters, it's still easy to get confused when trying to understand their true strengths and weaknesses.
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0:00
Hi there. I'm John McAdams, founder of the Big Game Hunting blog
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And in this video I'm going to do a detailed comparison of the 243 Winchester, the 7mm 08
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ton, and the 308 Winchester cartridges. Now the 308 is an excellent cartridge
0:16
but that has not stopped wildcatters from attempting to improve upon it over the years
0:21
in many various ways. Now the 243 and the 7mm 8 are the two most common examples of
0:28
cartridges developed by necking down the 308 Winchester to shoot smaller diameter bullets
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While each of the three cartridges offer certain benefits to hunters, it's still easy to get
0:38
confused when trying to understand their true strengths and weaknesses. So for that reason
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in this video, I'm going to discuss the pros and cons of the 243, the 7mm 08, and the 308 cartridges
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so you can make an informed decision on which one is right for you
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The 30-od-6 Springfield has been one of the most popular and effective hunting cartridges in North America
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ever since it first hit the civilian market in the early years of the 20th century
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Even though it also performed very well in the hands of American soldiers and Marines in World War II
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leaders in the military began looking for a replacement for the 30-06 after the war
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They eventually settled on the 7.62 by 51 millimeter round in the 1950s
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The original 7.62 by 51 M80 ball load fired a 308 caliber 147 grand full metal jacket bullet at 2,750 feet per second
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The cartridge also had virtually the same ballistics as the original 30-od-6 load, which was 150-grain bullet at 2,700 feet per second
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but the 7.62 by 51 achieved that same level of performance with a shorter case length due to advances in powder technology that occurred after the development of the 30-0.6
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Winchester identified significant commercial potential for the new cartridge during the development process of the 7.62 by 51
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and they introduced the extremely similar 308 Winchester cartridge for the civilian hunting and shooting markets in 1952
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Since the new 308 Winchester cartridge essentially duplicated the performance of the 30-0.6 while using a smaller case
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the new cartridge was a pretty big hit with many American hunters and shooters
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Though the 308 did develop a reputation for accuracy, power, and efficiency with hunters and shooters
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wildcatters and gun designers started modifying the 308 to develop new and more specialized cartridges almost immediately after it hit the market
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Experiments with necking down the 308 to shoot smaller 243 caliber bullets yielded one of the first, if not the very first
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cartridge descended from the 308 in 1955. The 243 Winchester. similar to the difference between the 270 and the 30-06
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By necking down the 308 case to shoot smaller caliber bullets, the designers of the 243 Winchester built a cartridge with a higher velocity
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flatter trajectory, and less recoil than the 308 Winchester. The new 243 caliber cartridge really caught on with a segment of the hunting population
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that wanted a flat shooting and light recoiling rifle cartridge that was still powerful enough to hunt big game like deer and pronghorn
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Capable of shooting heavy as well as light bullets, with very good accuracy, the 243 Winchester was also a great varmint hunting cartridge and successfully
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bridged the gap between traditional varmant cartridges of the day like the 22 Hornet and popular
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big-game hunting cartridges like the 30-odd-6. While the 243 was indeed a well-designed and
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very effective cartridge, there are plenty of good cartridges that don't experience commercial
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success for one reason or another. Fortunately for the 243 Winchester, Field and Stream editor
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Warren Page extolled the virtues of the 243. in his columns in a manner similar to what Jack O'Connor did for the 270 at Outdoor Life
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Page's columns certainly helped drive demand for the 243 Winchester. The 243 also got something of an unintended assist from Remington
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when that company released the competing 244 Remington the same year Winchester released the 243
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Designed by necking down a 257 Roberts case, which is itself a neck down 7 by 57 millimeter Mouser to 243 caliber
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The 244 Remington had a small ballistic advantage over the 243 Winchester
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However, the company made the unfortunate initial decision to use a slower 1 and 12-inch
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rifling twist in their 244 Remington rifles. These rifles were therefore unable to stabilize the longer 100-grain bullets that were
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best suited for use on Big Game. Since Winchester produced their 243 rifles with a faster twist rate of 1 in 10 inches
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they could accurately shoot heavier bullets and were thus much ном. more versatile than the 244 Remington initially. Remington renamed the 244, the 6mm
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Rimmigton, a few years later, and started producing rifles with a 1 and 9 inch twist rate
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but the damage had already been done and the 243 Winchester was already well established and had
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claimed the majority of the 6mm center-fire rifle market share. The 24-6-millimeter ton was not
5:05
a commercial success for the company, but Remington got the chance for redemption a few decades later
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when they finally legitimized another wildcat derivative of the 308. Wildcatters have been necking down the 308 Winchester to 7mm for years, but for reasons that aren't totally clear
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no company had ever standardized a 7mm cartridge based on the 308 until the Remington Arms Company released the 7mm 08 Remington in 1980 The 7mm 08 Remington uses the same 284 caliber bullets as the 7mmelmouser and the 7mm
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ston Magnum, and it fills the gap between the 243 Winchester and the 308 Winchester
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It has less recoil in a flatter trajectory than the 308, but is more powerful and uses larger and heavier bullets than the 243
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Now let's talk about the external dimensions of the 243, the 7mm 08, and the 308
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The shared heritage of these cartridges is evident, and the three cartridges are identical up to the shoulder
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All three also have the same 20-degree shoulder angle. The 243 has a tiny bit longer case than the 7mm.08, which has a slightly longer case than the 308
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but the 308 has the greatest overall length by a very, very small margin
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All three cartridges are used in short-action rifles, though. Now, since the 308 Winchester is the parent case for the 243 and the 7mm 08, all three have the same 0.473 inch rim diameter
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Not surprisingly, all three cartridges have virtually the same case capacity. They also have very similar maximum sammy pressures of 60,000 PSI for the 243
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61,000 PSI for the 7mm 08, and 62,000 PSI for the 308
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Even though the cartridges share the same roots and look very similar to each other at first glance
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there is a pretty big difference in their ballistics that reflects the different priorities Wildcatters had
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when designing the 243 and the 7mm 08. Like I mentioned earlier, the three cartridges use different bullet sizes and weights
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with the 243 shooting the smallest and lightest bullets, while the 308 uses the largest and heaviest bullets
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Not surprisingly, the 243 Winchester generally has a higher velocity and flatter trajectory than 7mm 08 Remington loads
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which in turn fire bullets at a higher velocity and with a flatter trajectory than 308 Winchester loads
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For instance, when comparing Hornity ELDX factory loads for each cartridge, the 243 hits about six inches higher than the 7mm 08 and about 13 inches higher than the 308 at 500 yards
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However, also not surprisingly, the 308 Winchester typically has anywhere from 5 to 20% more muzzle energy than the 7mm 08 loads and 30 to 65% more muzzle energy than typical 243 Winchester factory loads
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Additionally, the superior ballistic coefficient of the 7mm 08 Remington helps give that cartridge an advantage over the other two in terms of wind drift
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For instance, when comparing those same Hornady ELDX loads we just talked about
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the 7mm 08-08-3-0-8 has about 2 to 3 inches less drift than the 308
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and about 3 to 4 inches less wind drift than the 243 at 500 yards
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So as you can see, each cartridge has distinct strengths and weaknesses
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The 243 has the flattest trajectory of the bunch, but it starts off with markedly less kinetic energy than the other two cartridges
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and carries even less of that energy down range. The 7mm 08 splits the difference between the 243 and the 308 in terms of trajectory and muzzle energy
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and is generally the least vulnerable to wind drift out of the bunch
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The 308 carries significantly more energy downrange than the other two cartridges
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All that being said, these three cartridges all still hit hard enough and have a flat enough trajectory
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they're suitable for use on a variety of game at practical hunting ranges
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There is more to the story than just comparing the external ballistic performance of each cartridge, though
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For instance, the 308 Winchester isn't a hard recoiling cartridge by any stretch of the imagination
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but the 243 Winchester and to a lesser extent the 7mm 08 Remington, both have very well-deserved
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reputations for mild recoil. For example, when fired from a Ruger American rifle, a 243 Winchester load firing an 85-grain Nosseler partition
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has about 45% less recoil than a 140 grain partition from the 7mm 08
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and about 60% less recoil than a 165 grain partition from the 308
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Most shooters should be able to handle the recoil of all three cartridges
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but the 243 Winchester definitely has a big advantage in this respect
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Don't underestimate the impact that recoil has on the ability of a person to shoot accurately either
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Some people do handle recoil better than others, but all other things being equal
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they will absolutely shoot more accurately with a milder recoiling cartridge. Now, as I previously mentioned
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the three cartridges all fire bullets of drastically different sizes and weights
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The 243 uses 243 caliber bullets, the 7mm 08 uses 284 caliber bullets
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and the 308 uses 308 caliber bullets. The 243 Winchester cartridge most often uses bullet weights
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in the 55 to 115 grain range, with 55, 87, 90, and 100 grain bullets being the most common
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7mm 08 Remington factory loads most often use 120 to 160 grain 7mm bullets
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and 120, 140, 150, and 160 grain bullets are the most common
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Finally typical 308 Winchester factory loads use bullets in the 110 to 180 grain range with 150 165 and 1008 80 grain bullets being the most popular The 284 caliber bullets of the weights used by the 7mm 08 strike a good balance that results
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in a better ballistic coefficient and higher sectional density than the bullets used by the 243
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and the 308. Sectional density is a measure of the ratio of the diameter of a projectile to its mass
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All other things equal, a heavier projectile of. a given caliber will be longer and therefore have a higher sectional density and consequently
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penetrate deeper than projectiles with a lower mass and lower sectional density. As an example
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150 grain and 160 grain 284 caliber bullets have sectional densities of 0.266 and 0.284 respectively
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This compares favorably to 150 grain and 180 grain 308 caliber bullets, which have sectional
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densities of 0.226 and 0.271 respectively. The same also goes for 90 grain and 100 grain
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243 caliber bullets with sectional densities of 0.218 and 0.242 respectively. All that being said
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the 308 Winchester does use larger diameter bullets than the other two cartridges
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Consequently, it has about 18% more frontal surface area than the 7mm 08 Remington and about
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60% more frontal surface area than the 243 Winchester. All other things being equal, a bigger bullet
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will make a bigger hole, cause more tissue damage, and result in more blood loss for an animal
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So where do we stand overall with these three cartridges? With the flattest trajectory
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and the mildest recoil of the three, the 243 has a definite edge in those two categories
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These factors make the cartridge more forgiving of range estimation errors and help maximize
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the shooting abilities of the hunter to a greater extent than the other two. However, the 308 carries more energy downrange and, since it has a larger bullet diameter
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has significantly more frontal surface area than the other two. Those traits give hunters a tiny bit more room for error in shot placement when compared to the 243 and the 7mm 08
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Finally, the 7mm 08 strikes a balance between the other two. It uses a larger and heavier bullet that carries more energy downrange than the 243
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but has a whole lot less recoiled than the 308. The 7mm 08 also generally uses bullets with a higher sectional density and a higher ballistic coefficient that will penetrate deeper and more reliably, resist wind drift better, and do a better job of retaining energy at longer range than the 308 or the 243
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Yes, I'm really nitpicking the strengths and weaknesses of these cartridges. They're all very accurate, relatively flat shooting, and hit hard enough for use on a wide variety of game at reasonable hunting ranges
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regardless of whether you're using a 243, a 7mm 08, or a 308
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no pronghorn or deer will go far if you put a well-constructed bullet into its vitals
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Now let's talk about ammo and rifle selection. All three are very popular hunting cartridges
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and ammo availability for them is generally not an issue during normal times
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However, the 308 is still by far the most widely used, and the 243 Winchester is a distant second
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but both still rank among the top 10 in ammunition cells in the USA each year. The 7mm, Remington, is relatively widely used as well, but it really
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lags behind the other two. Even so, the big ammo companies like Barnes, Browning, Federal
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Hornady, Nossler, Remington, and Winchester, all still produce a wide variety of quality
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243, 7mm 08, and 308 factory ammo suitable for hunting. Most of the highly regarded bullet types
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specifically designed for big game hunting are available in these three cartridges as well
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like the Barnes TTSX, the Hornady ELDX, GMX, Interlock, and SST, the Nossler Acubon, ETIP, and Partition, the Remington Core Lock
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and the Winchester PowerPoint. Predator and Varmat rounds like the Hornaddy VMAX and the Nossler Varmageddon
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are also commonly available for the 243 Winchester. Prices and availability do vary, but ammo for all three cartridges is pretty common
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The 308 Winchester is the most common and the least expensive, followed by the 243, and then finally the 7mm 08
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Reloading components for all three are also widely available. Since they use the same diameter bullet as other popular cartridges
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there is an excellent bullet selection of 243 caliber, 284 caliber, and 308 caliber bullets of various weights and styles to choose from
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In addition to the abundant ammunition choices available in 243, 7mm 08, and 308
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there are also many quality rifles manufactured in these cartridges. Just like with ammo, 308 rifles are the most common, and 7mm 08 rifles are the least common
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None of them are rare, though, so finding a good deer rifle shouldn't be an issue regardless of which one you choose
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The 308 is relatively common in semi-auto sporting rifles like the AR-10 and the M1A
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The 243 Winchester and the 7mm 08 Remington are both available in the AR-10 platform as well as the Browning Automatic Rifle
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but there aren't nearly as many semi-auto rifles produced in those cartridges
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All three are very common in bolt-action rifles, though. Of course Remington and Winchester produced their flagship Model 70 and Model 700 rifles in 243 7mm 08 and 308 Additionally the Browning X the Kimber Hunter the Mossberg Patriot the Nosslerm 48 the Ruger American Ruger Hawkeye Savage Axis and Weatherby Vanguard
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among many others, are available in all three calibers. Though there are some exceptions
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the rifles of the same model chambered in each cartridge are virtually identical to each other
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Most of these companies also make a youth model line of rifles for young hunters chambered in these
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cartridges as well. Depending on the exact model, 20 inch, 22-inch, and 24-inch barrels are all very
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common for all three cartridges. So which one is right for you? The 243, the 7mm 08, and the 308 are all
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mild recoiling and flat-shooting cartridges well-suited for hunting thin-skinned game like coyotes
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pronghorn, mule deer, or whitetail deer. They also meet the minimum caliber and bullet energy
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requirements for legally hunting deer-sized game in just about every state and province in the
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United States and Canada. They're outstanding for hunting small to medium-sized game, but all three
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cartridges are perfectly capable of doing the job on bigger game as well. A premium quality
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bullet from any of these cartridges will cleanly and quickly take bigger and tougher game like
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elk, black bear, and even moose at reasonable range. Shot placement is always very important
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but it's even more vital when using a smaller cartridge like the 243 for hunting elk and other really large game
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However, keep in mind that all of these cartridges, but particularly the 243 Winchester
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are in a completely different league from serious heavy hitters like the 7mm mag and the 300 win mag
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If you're going to use any of them on really big game, be very cautious about closing the range as much as possible
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be very particular about your shooting angles, and only use well-finding. constructed bullets
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So, do you primarily hunt medium-sized game like deer at ranges within 200 yards
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All three are great deer-hunting cartridges and will quickly and ethically take deer-sized game
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with great shot placement. Truth be told, there's very little ballistic difference between them inside 300 yards
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Go with the 308 Winchester if you want the cheapest or the easiest to find ammo or the 243
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Winchester if you're sensitive to recoil. Do you want a rifle ideally suited for both predator and varmint hunting
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as well as big game hunting? The 243 Winchester fits the bill almost perfectly on both counts
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It's a great round capable of using lighter bullets in the 55 to 60 grain range for varmint hunting
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like prairie dogs, coyotes, etc., as well as 90 to 100 grain bullets for deer-sized game
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with excellent accuracy. Are you very small-framed or extremely sensitive to recoil
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I shot my first two deer with the 308 as a young man. The recoil was manageable
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and neither buck ran more than about 30 yards, afterwards. So the 308 will clearly work, but the low recoil 243 or 7mm 08 cartridges are
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also excellent choices. That's part of the reason why they are such popular entry-level
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cartridges for new hunters as well as for smaller frame hunters like women and children
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They're both more than powerful enough to ethically take deer size game, but if you can handle
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the little bit of extra recoil, I'd personally lean towards the 7mm 08 Remington. But that's
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just me. Now are you looking for a great cartridge for mountain goat, big horn sheep, or tar
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where a flat shooting in mild recoiling cartridge and a lightweight rifle is very desirable
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None of these cartridges are known as traditional mountain hunting calibers, but they will
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all get the job done if the hunter is up to the task. In my opinion, the 7mm 08 Remington
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provides the best balance of mild recoil, flat trajectory, wind resistance, and plenty of killing
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power with good shot placement. Now what if you want a cartridge better suited to hunt bigger animals like elk, moose, red stag, kudu, or ν
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The 7mm 08 and the 308, but particularly the 308, are both better hunting rounds for really big game animals due to their advantage in frontal surface area and kinetic energy
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But of the two, the 308 is the bigger and the more powerful. And once again, that's probably where I would lean towards in this case
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Now with all that being said, the 243 Winchester, the 7mm 08 Remington, and the 308 Winchester
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are all excellent rifle cartridges, albeit ones with very different strengths and weaknesses
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Though the differences between them are significant in many respects, they're all suitable
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for a pretty big range of hunting tasks. Get a good rifle, chambered in the cartridge you think fits your needs the best, learn to
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shoot it well, use quality bullets, and you'll be all set for most hunting situations
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Now if you enjoyed this video, then please make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel right now
21:16
Just click on that red subscribe button below to make sure you don't miss out on any of my new videos about hunting gear reviews, caliber comparisons, and more
21:25
Now, for more detailed comparison on the 243, the 7mm 08, and the 308 cartridges, and how they compare to other popular hunting cartridges
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click on the link in the description below or go to Hunting Guns101.com to get a free e-book
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I have written on the best hunting calibers. Okay, now I'm going to turn it over to you guys
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Which cartridge do you prefer? The 243, the 7mm 08, or the 308
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What game have you taken with each one? Let me know by leaving a comment on this video right now
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Thanks for watching. Have a great day and good hunting
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