First post here. I am looking to purchase a Howa rifle soon for personal use (adult male) but one that can also be used by my daughter when she is old enough to hunt with me. We are whitetail hunting only with the rifle, so small to medium game is accurate (100-200 lbs). Growing up, all I have ever shot was a 30.06 and 300 win mag, so I would rather not have to make my daughter shoot those and their kick. I just assumed I would get a .243 for her/us, but after looking around at some different models that Howa has, the .308 and 25.06 caught my eye. If anyone is familiar with the differences between the three and can provide insight, that would be great! I understand that barrel weight and also the particular grain bullet will make a difference as well (as far as kick), so any particulars other than these. Also, I'm choosing to go with a Howa simply because I have a Howa 1500 300 and LOVE it. The trigger is fantastic, the gun is durable, and the action is smooth as can be. *It did take me some time, however, to find the right ammo for it! Once you find that, its spot on! Anyways, any help on this topic would be much appreciated!!
.243, .308 or 25.06?? Which to get...
- Thread starter LSUfan
- Start date
My vote is none of those. 7mm-08. Almost as low recoiling as a .243 (even less with the new low-recoil ammo) so it is great for a kid. Much heavier bullets than a .243 too. Less recoil than a 25-06 and MUCH less muzzle blast. Not quite as flat shooting as a 25-06 but at ranges less than about 300 yds you'll never notice.
How big is the kid in question, and what ranges will she be shooting?
Do you handload, or are you restricted to factory ammo?
The 25-06 is a necked down 30-06 ... like the .270, only much moreso: all the powder capacity of the -06, just with way lighter bullets. Wayyyyyy overbore ....
To my mind, it's a top fuel funny car in a delivery truck job (hunting whitetail).
The .308WIN would work, but it's probably more than a kid needs.
My first deer rifle was a .243WIN. Same case as the .308, necked down to use lighter bullets, typically 100 grains, 2/3 the weight of the .308's typical loadings .....
If you handload, you can tailor just about any cartridge to suit your need:
My dedicated "kids'" rifle is a Ruger Frontier in 7-08 .... same case as the .308 again, just not necked down so much ..... and I it download a bit for the kids- 140 grain bullets @ about 2400 f/sec ..... less muzzle blast and recoil than the factory ammo, yet still hits with more energy than a 30/30 at 100 yards. The gun itself is very compact, yet has a heavy stock and fairly thick barrel contour, which helps further in the recoil management department.
I also loaded quite a lot of "reduced recoil" practice rounds for my nephew and eldest daughter..... many hundreds of 100 and 110 grain loads for 30/30 .....
If you don't handload, and I were in your shoes, I'd go with the .243WIN .
Do you handload, or are you restricted to factory ammo?
The 25-06 is a necked down 30-06 ... like the .270, only much moreso: all the powder capacity of the -06, just with way lighter bullets. Wayyyyyy overbore ....
To my mind, it's a top fuel funny car in a delivery truck job (hunting whitetail).
The .308WIN would work, but it's probably more than a kid needs.
My first deer rifle was a .243WIN. Same case as the .308, necked down to use lighter bullets, typically 100 grains, 2/3 the weight of the .308's typical loadings .....
If you handload, you can tailor just about any cartridge to suit your need:
My dedicated "kids'" rifle is a Ruger Frontier in 7-08 .... same case as the .308 again, just not necked down so much ..... and I it download a bit for the kids- 140 grain bullets @ about 2400 f/sec ..... less muzzle blast and recoil than the factory ammo, yet still hits with more energy than a 30/30 at 100 yards. The gun itself is very compact, yet has a heavy stock and fairly thick barrel contour, which helps further in the recoil management department.
I also loaded quite a lot of "reduced recoil" practice rounds for my nephew and eldest daughter..... many hundreds of 100 and 110 grain loads for 30/30 .....
If you don't handload, and I were in your shoes, I'd go with the .243WIN .
