Question on .243

[Bawanna]

My favorites were 338 Win Mag, 375 H&H and 416 Rigby.

I guess I was on Elmer Keith's team and liked everything bigger.

I've now fallen back to the Jack O'Connor school and like that don't hurt so bad on both ends.

Probably shot more 30-06 than all others combined. Never did hurt anything but myself with the big boys either. Had a lot of fun wandering around the woods with them though.

[yote]

My favorites are 308 and 243. Hard to beat a Remington 700.

Picked up a Weatherby Vanguard carbine w/ 20 inch barrel in 243 recently. Found a good deal at Buds. Recoil is mild. Ammo is realtively cheap. Easy to carry all day long.
Excellent "brush rifle", yet accurate enough for long range shots.

[SpecK]

I cant weigh in on the caliber, as Im a 30-30 deer hunter. But...

http://www.ozarkshydrographics.com/

Those guys are in Highlandville and only charge $0.50 per sq. inch!! However, they do have a shop minimum of $250 so be prepared to get a few items dipped at once.

[DKD]

If I am not mistaken, the heaviest slug avaialble commercially for the .43 is about 105 grains...even so that is a bit light. You can also opt out for a 260 Remmington ith its 120 grain bullets at 6.5 mm which is a far better performer and penetrates better and still has very modest recoil. Thats what I got for my wife ina youth model Ruger model 77 and she loves it. I started her out with a Swedish Mauser in 6.5mmx55 mm which is ballistically very similar if not identical with a slightly smaller case length. She has taken several deer with it in the past five years with great effect even out past 300 yards. Just a thought...and the youth length of pull just might fit her really well.

[DKD]

Personally for deer sized game the 7mm-08 is about perfect and the 308 is also very good. I personally prefer the power and versatility of the grand old 30-06 for hunting. It will take most any typical North American big game cleanly and has a vast array of bullet weight from 110 grainers all the way up to 200 grain bullets. That cn not be said of any of the other previously mentioned calibers. I also have a 300 Win mag as well, so I am not what you might call recoil sensative. I do have a freind who for a short while had a 45-70 Marlyn CowBoy with the steel butt which was brutal to shoot with the 405 grain loads and it was sold for a magna ported Guide Gun....I digress....sorry.

[wyntrout]

I thought I needed to buy a 7mm Remington Magnum, but after reading that it would be better to get something that wasn't so punishing and something that you were more likely to want to shoot often, I got the cheapie Remington 788... back in 1973. I only really shot it at the range, though, never had a shot at a deer or pig in the limited "big game" hunting that I did out in California while stationed at Sacramento for USAF Navigator training. They had a good Hunting and shooting club and shotgun hunting on base at Mather.

Wynn

[JustinN]

I have considered a youth size gun for the size. Not sure she'd like shooting a 30-06, nor anything of comparable kick (plus I already have one of those). I don't see her using it on anything bigger than a white tail, and where we hunt, we're either in brush, or across a field...the place I've hunted my whole life I've made shots from about 10 yards or so up to about 220 yards, and the '06 has always served me well, but again, she is brand new to shooting and needs A LOT of range time before I'd let her fire at an animal, so I need something that won't make her gun shy to shoot, as well as has relatively easy to find ammo...maybe this would be a good excuse to finally buy a reloading press and learn the trade?

[Ken_K]

The Ruger American Rifle in .243 only weighs 6.25 lbs and is supposed to be extremely accurate. A friend of a friend said he couldn't believe how nice it was for the money. Not what the LOP is on it though.

[Gliderguy]

A little extra weight is your friend, in this case, particularly if we are talking about recoil sensitive. In the deep south, beanfield rifles are all the rage and set up to shoot to the next 40 acre section line 440 yards out. Since people using these usually park themselves in an elevated stand there isnt a lot of hauling the rifle around. 8-10 lbs outfitted with a large scope and sling is pretty typical. Some of the youth guns are down around 6 lbs and kick a lot more. If she isn't going to be hauling it up, down and all around the mountains, think on not going too light on gun weight.
.243, 7mm-08, .308 all based on same case and can do a medium length action, but go up progessively in recoil as each up the line can handle heavier bullet weights. the .308 is so close to 30-06 it is almost not worth talking about the difference between them.

That is the one bane of youth style guns is they manage to pare so much weight that you end up paying a noticeable price in recoil.

[DKD]

Recoilguy I would beg to differ alittle on the statement that the 308 and aught six are on par. the 308 with the same weight bullet generally yield about 150 fps second difference in the 150 grain class bullet and it goes considerably more with 165 grainers and 180 grainers for sure. It is primarily due to the lack of adequate case capasity of the 308 shell casing which utilize heavier chagre weights of slower burning propellants. I know about this due my past +36 years of reloading all calibers and have the manuals that would back up this statement. I also have done alot of chrongraphing loads over the years. Thats the only reason I use the 30-06 over the 308 because of its versatility with a wider selection of bullet weight. The 308 all in all is still a very good choice for most folks and will a pretty good job overall and it is easy to get ammo anywhere.

[CJB]

My favorite rifle calibers are:

.243, .270 and .308 those calibers are all flat shooting and will work on almost any game out there.

The 24cals are good shooters. I'd take the 06 over the 308 - only because of my own preference. After that... forget the 270, if you can't do it with an 06 or 24 like the 6mm rem (or 243), its not gonna get done with a 270. So, move up to something manly like the 375H&H - my personal favorite for everything weighing over 100lbs. Old bud Darryl, whacked a whitey in the shoulder with a 375, it knocked the old beard sideways into a pine tree so hard its rack became embedded to the degree it could not be removed.

[Dirt doc]

I have taken 5 deer in Missouri, 4 with .243's and 1 with an 06. The only one to drop in his tracks was taken with the .243. I have 2 .243's and Bawanna is spot on as usual. One of mine is a Ruger 77 ultra light. It is very light and if you don't have it firmly in your shoulder it can smart. No it's not as bad as the 06 or a 45-70 but it is there especially from a shooting bench. I'd still highly recommend it for the purpose intended but get the standard weight and not a light weight.

[Wiski]

My choice = 7mm-08

As some others have stated, the 7mm-08 is also an excellent choice. Developed off of the same .308 case, if I remember my history, but with a slightly bigger dia. Maybe a bigger choice of bullet weights too, but with todays premium bullet offerings, probablly not that big an issue any more, as the .243 is more than capable for "most" NA game.

I have modified two Rem 700 "Mountain" rifles for my daughters when they were 12 yrs old, and getting into hunting. Both in 7mm-08 cal. One thing that I don't know if was mentioned yet was shortening the length of pull of the rifle to fit your wife. I ended cutting off 2" off the stock and adding a Limb-Saver recoil pad for my girls. Those changes along with reduced loads (either your re-loads or comercial) worked well for me/us. Neither of my girls had shot anything more powerful than .22s or .223 AR type rifles before, and did just fine.

I also like the idea of double hearing protection... ear plugs as well as the electronic type muffs. Seems to take away some of the bark, and for some shooters, the blast is the worst part.

[rvanpelt]

My wife and son, when in junior high, used a .243 Remington 700 bolt for deer and found it to be a great choice. My grandsons have both shot deer with a .223 modified 700, shortened stock and barrel. Might be a little light unless she is a very good shot and you might want to check to see if it's legal in your state. My grandson was only 7 this last fall but a very good shot and got a 5X6 Mule buck with one shot at 125 yds. The buck field dressed over 200 lbs. You're right, I'm real proud of both my grandsons and they can out shoot me. LOL
Happy hunting!
Rod

[rvanpelt]

I might add that a caliber with a flat trajectory makes shooting much easier for a beginner or anyone that has trouble estimating distances. A lot of deer have been shot with the old 30-30 which has a rainbow trajectory compared to the .243. I started out with a Win. .32 special (similar to the 30-30) lever and missed a lot of deer until I learned how to judge distances better.
A .243 is a great caliber for a young person or someone that is a small frame. I've seen several shots needed with a 7mm mag. cause the shots weren't placed where they should have been and have seen deer drop like a ton of bricks with a .223
Just my 2 cents.
Rod