Im looking for a second hunting rifle

[Remington 243]

I am looking for another rifle but not sure what caliber.  I probably wont't be hunting anything bigger than white tail deer. I have a Remington 243, Ofc  you know that already,right..
And I dont know that much about all the different sizes to pick from.  All the popular ammo is hard to get now.  But what calaber is a common one , above the 243  and under 30-30 ?  Maybe 270, 30-06.?
The Rem 243 I have is a heavy barrel varmint gun.  Just looking for another lighter rifle.

Bill

[bobcat]

I'd go with a 270. That's what I use, for deer, bear, elk, and anything else I might happen to hunt. Just enough power, flat shooting, and relatively low recoil. Not to mention, cheap ammo!

[Straight Shooter]

A Marlin XS7 or Stevens 200 in either 7mm-08 or .308.  The rifles are right around $300 each and weigh about 6.5 lbs. 

[JackOfAllTrades]

Bought a Marlin XL7 in .270win for my youngest boy this year.  I've shot it.. Nearly a tack driver for that price! Probably the biggest bang for the buck in that price range. Take a hard look at the Marlin XS/XL series, Savage 110 in .270, 7mm-08, .308 and 30-06. Those rifles are tough to beat. Those are popular cartridges on the store shelves. If you've got a scoped .243 bolt action, then to start filling out the hunting rifle list... Everyone should have a lever gun. 30-30 or 35remington are vary popular. Even .44mag in a lever is a nice addition.

-Steve

[Big10gauge]

270 shooting a 130gr would be a hard caliber to beat, Plentiful ammo,accurate, lots of choices in guns.

[chevysquid]

You sound like prime candidate to get into relaoding.  Find someting in 30 cal, keep all youir brass, and you won't have to worry about availabilty on the store shelves again.  For a rifle, i'd say go with a 30-06, will cover anything you want to do, or as mentioned above, a 30-30.  Everyone has to have one.

[Remington 243]

Good info . Thanks
I have been looking at the Savage 11 & 14 series.  Also Remington again .  Havent looked at Marlin yet.
I like Weatherby,, good name brand.  
270 sounds good.

[Remington 243]

I have been thinking about reloading.
Dont have alot of brass yet.  200 rounds,, ofc that sounds like alot doesnt it .
Probably start out with a RCBS KIT.

[Bofire]

270/ 06 and 280 use the same case, of those I think the 280 has the best all round performance, very close to a 7mm Mag. Very close!

[Straight Shooter]

270/ 06 and 280 use the same case, of those I think the 280 has the best all round performance, very close to a 7mm Mag. Very close!

Agreed.  Not a huge selection of rifles chambered in .280, but it's a great cartridge.  Wouldn't choose it over the .30-06 or .270, simply because of rifle choices or ammo choices/availability... it would make a great 6th or 7th hunting rifle... unless, you're ready to invest in dies and components.  From varmints to elk, you can never go wrong with a .270.

[coachcw]

find the nicest gun in any off those calibers , good trigger pull and quality scope they all are capible rounds , but if the gun dosn't shoot well whats the point . oh yeah I really like the job my sons model seven remington in 260 works on deer . three one shot kills out to 200yards . good luck finding a shooter .Coach

[Rob]

If you go on the big side, adding something like a 300 Win Mag to your arsenal will equip you well for anything in North America. 

I usually recomend someone who wants to go with a single rifle to go with a 30.06 (Works on everything from Elk to Pronghorn, and shells are both cheap and highly available).

For the person who wants to go with two guns, a 270 and either a 300 WM or a .338 Win Mag.  The 270 is good for Mule deer and smaller, 300 or 338 WM for Mule deer or larger.

[rezboy]

I would go with a 270 short mag.  Great all around gun.  Very accurate and packs a very good punch.   

[Huntbear]

Look at a BLR in any caliber.  They are light weight, accurate, and easy on the shoulder.

[bucklucky]

I highly recommend the 600 Nitro express for anything from squirls to elephants 

[Rob]

People don't realize it but Charlie does shoulder surgery on the side.

[bod]

one of the better guns for the money is the marlin xl7, do little web research lots of positive posts, you can get the gun and a good scope for what it would cost you for a basic remington.

[BigGoonTuna]

i think a 308 would make a pretty good companion to the 243.

[ICEMAN]

270 shooting a 130gr would be a hard caliber to beat, Plentiful ammo,accurate, lots of choices in guns.

Agree.

[addicted]

Get a blaser R93 in 8x68.   

[Intruder]

30-06 is about as versitle as they come.  Would give you the option of hunting anything you want in N America, ammo is readily available and usually cheaper, and there are tons of good guns out there in that cal.  7mm-08 would be another if you looking to get into maybe a lighter short action gun. 

[GoldTip]

You say your not going to hunt anything but whitetails, but eventually you will find yourself invited to hunt elk, or wanting to go out and do it on your own or maybe hunt bears.  If your truly ONLY gona hunt whitetails, then why buy a differnet gun, the 243 is a fine gun for whitetails if thats all your gonna hunt.  But on the other hand, if you want a larger gun, and do find yourself wanting to hunt some of the larger species, or hell, you get lucky and draw a Moose tag, then in that case the gun you buy should be able to also handle all of the other species that I mention.  For lower end recoil and versatility, availability of ammo, you really only have one choice, forget the 270 and get a 30-06. 

Now for all who wanna flame me for saying to forget the 270, we're talking true versatility for all species of game found in the lower 48 if he so chooses.  And if you think the 270 carries the same versatility across the board for all animals found in the lower 48 as does the 30-06, well then flame away.

[KimberRich]

I would go with a 270 short mag.  Great all around gun.  Very accurate and packs a very good punch.   

Good caliber but unless your reloading it's expensive to buy!! You can never go wrong with a .270 or 30-06. 

[huntnphool]

.270 would be a good choice but I would also take a good look at the 7mm. Plenty of ammo choices and ballistically one of the best calibers you could own.

[Red Dawg]

these are always fun threads to watch. I am only going to say two things. Buy American made and get a magnum of some sort. If you go that route you will never be disappointed in the purchase.

[Huntbear]

Wholesale Sports has Howa rifles for 399.99 in 10 calibers from 22-250 - .338 WM.  Your choice.

[bobcat]

these are always fun threads to watch. I am only going to say two things. Buy American made and get a magnum of some sort. If you go that route you will never be disappointed in the purchase.

American made I won't argue with but the magnum part... only get a magnum if you don't mind getting the snot kicked out of you. Or, if you don't plan on shooting from a bench then I guess a magnum is ok too. But I'd rather have a rifle that is fun to shoot. Seriously, only get a magnum if the majority of your shots are going to be well beyond 300 yards. Otherwise, there simply is no justification for it.

[jackelope]

these are always fun threads to watch. I am only going to say two things. Buy American made and get a magnum of some sort. If you go that route you will never be disappointed in the purchase.

American made I won't argue with but the magnum part... only get a magnum if you don't mind getting the snot kicked out of you. Or, if you don't plan on shooting from a bench then I guess a magnum is ok too. But I'd rather have a rifle that is fun to shoot. Seriously, only get a magnum if the majority of your shots are going to be well beyond 300 yards. Otherwise, there simply is no justification for it.

I've got 2 magnum rifles and both kick less than my a-bolt did in 30-06. 1 is a 300 win mag and the other is a 257 weatherby. the 300 is an encore with a heavy barrel and a muzzle brake and the roy is a vanguard. the encore is significantly lighter than the vanguard and the a-bolt even with the 26" heavy stainless barrel.

[bobcat]

Well that's true that the amount of felt recoil depends on the rifle itself and not just the cartridge it's chambered for. But a non-magnum will always kick less than a magnum in the same rifle...

[jackelope]

true story, Bob.

[bobcat]

Not that there's anything WRONG with a cartridge because it's called a magnum. All I hunted with for about 14 years was a 264 Win. Mag. in a Remington 700. I just finally got tired of flinching and realized I could get a 270 and it would do everything I was doing with the 264 just as well but with less recoil and less muzzle blast.

[Elk-aholic]

I would buy a 7mm Remington Mag, It's just about the most versatile production cartrage around, good for Deer, Elk, Moose, Bear or whatever you want and the ammo is easy to find at any wallmart or remote store way up in the sticks in Alaska. It's the most popular magnum cartridge to date for good reason, it's bullet selection is terrific and the ballistic coefficient of the .284 bullet is hard to beat along with super flat shooting trajectories make it an ideal choice for long range hunting with lots of knock down power well past 500 yards. I would choose the 7mm Rem Mag over the 270 all day long.

[Karl Blanchard]

i can't believe knowbody has thrown this one out 25-06. greatest deer cartridge made in my opinion.  Light recoil very flat and good knockdown power.

[KimberRich]

i can't believe knowbody has thrown this one out 25-06. greatest deer cartridge made in my opinion.  Light recoil very flat and good knockdown power.

Or the .257 Roberts. 

I'm a fan of the .25 caliber range. 

[jeff100]

You want a lighter rifle and larger caliber.  Short action or long?  In short action, I'd recommend a .308 Winchester in whatever rifle you prefer (I'm a big fan of Ruger).  If you prefer a long action, then you can't go wrong with the .30-06.  At the end of the day, I think you'd be better served with the .308.  That maintains some consistency between your rifles....