IMO I would stick with the .243 for your niece especially if you have a .308 already. The .243 is a very versatile gun with loaded ammo anywhere from 55grs to 105grs. The Howa rifles are a good well built rifle, a friend has one in 22-250 and is extremely accurate. The 7mm-08 and the .308 really have about the same recoil if your using 140grs in the 7-08 and 150grs on the .308. It's quite frankly hard to tell the difference in the two. If the over all weight of the guns are quite a bit different or your using 180gr bullet in the .308 then you can tell a difference otherwise not really. They both although still mild in recoil compared to others do have quite a bit more recoil than the .243. The Winchester 95gr XP3, a well bonded 100gr bullet or even the Nosler 90gr E-Tip ( Nosler's lead free ) would all be good choices for the .243. Good luck
Opinions needed, Howa 1500 Ranchland Compact
Been looking for a rifle for my niece, the Howas weren't even on my radar, but I looked at a couple of them at a gun shop the other day. I really liked how it looked, felt, and shouldered, and the price was pretty good, too 
. Trigger seemed pretty decent, but that can and probably will change when actually shooting it. All in all, it seems like a pretty nice rifle, nice enough I may get one for myself and just let the niece use it . I was originally thinking .243, but further research and suggestions here (thank you all!) have me leaning toward 7mm-08. A little more versatile, a little more power, but no appreciable increase in recoil over the .243, and still well under the recoil of my .308.
So what say you? Good choice, or should I stay with one of the big names like Savage or Remington? I like the Savage trigger, but I also like my Remington X-Mark Pro, despite what many have said about it, and I'm pretty picky about triggers. Thanks in advance.
Dave
. Trigger seemed pretty decent, but that can and probably will change when actually shooting it. All in all, it seems like a pretty nice rifle, nice enough I may get one for myself and just let the niece use it . I was originally thinking .243, but further research and suggestions here (thank you all!) have me leaning toward 7mm-08. A little more versatile, a little more power, but no appreciable increase in recoil over the .243, and still well under the recoil of my .308.So what say you? Good choice, or should I stay with one of the big names like Savage or Remington? I like the Savage trigger, but I also like my Remington X-Mark Pro, despite what many have said about it, and I'm pretty picky about triggers. Thanks in advance.
Dave
