Deer rifle recomendation

[1bugman]

Buy the .243 like you planned. Then in a few years step it up to a .270 or 7mm. Then you will have a reason to by a new gun.  You have to always be thinking of a way to have to buy a new gun. Never settle for all purpose or convince the wife of an all purpose, you shoot yourself in the foot. Best to let them think that you have to have a new gun for everything.  works for me....until she reads this and I get home and all my guns are at the pawn shop.

  Amen to that

[steen]

There is nothing wrong with a 243.  Just practice so shot placement is good.  Some of our kids use them and they have worked fine for us.  I will always keep one around for the first time hunters or the timid ones.  I've heard the 6MM ( not sure if I'm saying it right) are pretty good without the recoil, but my husband would know more about them than I would.

[high country]

6mm rem is a copy of the 243win......too close to call. the 243 will be your favorite when you have to find managed recoil shells in pomeroy....they WILL have 243's......good luck on some special loads. if you spend much time in montana you will realize that lots of people use much smaller stuff then us magnum crazed washin' folk. the 6.5mm was the round of choice for moose hunting in europe for a long time. if a deer or an elk can walk away from a bullet because it is .5mm smaller then that, I would let it.

[Earshot]

I have shot three deer with my 243 and all went down with in a short distance. My 8 year old daughter shot her first elk last year with a 243 at 180 yard. first shot was a pass through double lung....it went down after about 30 yards. If it is a good shot all you need is the 243, If it is a bad shot then it's a bad shot. In this case a bigger gun might save your hunt but I wouldn't count on it.

[C-Money]

243 will do a great job!

[THunt]

7mm remington mag with a 150 gr Swift Scirocco.  You will have no problems with that one.

[Pathfinder101]

I have shot three deer with my 243 and all went down with in a short distance. My 8 year old daughter shot her first elk last year with a 243 at 180 yard. first shot was a pass through double lung....it went down after about 30 yards. If it is a good shot all you need is the 243, If it is a bad shot then it's a bad shot. In this case a bigger gun might save your hunt but I wouldn't count on it.

Earshot, I am looking for your opinion here and I just have a question; If that elk your daughter shot with her .243 had been hit in the rib (since you had double pass-through, I assume you slipped between both sets of ribs), do you think the .243 would have done enough damage for a clean kill?  Elk ribs are pretty stout, I just wonder if that small bullet would come apart on one if it hits it wrong.
again, to be clear, I am not sharp-shooting, just wondering your opinion...

[DoubleJ]

Here goes another question.

If I had a Savage Stevens 200 chambered in the 30-06 and swapped barrels to one chambered in a 338-06, would that go over ok or would some action work be needed?

[Curly]

Since you already said you wish your .308 was a 30-06, I'd say you should buy a Stevens in 30-06.  Then slap a Limbsaver recoil pad on your .308 for your boy and find some 125gr loads for the .308.  That should take care of the recoil and you'd have a 30-06 to use.

[DoubleJ]

I'm asking these quetions hypothetically, trying to understand the logistics of all of this.  How about a .308 being re barreled to a .338 Federal?  Both use the .308 case.

[high country]

I have shot three deer with my 243 and all went down with in a short distance. My 8 year old daughter shot her first elk last year with a 243 at 180 yard. first shot was a pass through double lung....it went down after about 30 yards. If it is a good shot all you need is the 243, If it is a bad shot then it's a bad shot. In this case a bigger gun might save your hunt but I wouldn't count on it.

Earshot, I am looking for your opinion here and I just have a question; If that elk your daughter shot with her .243 had been hit in the rib (since you had double pass-through, I assume you slipped between both sets of ribs), do you think the .243 would have done enough damage for a clean kill?  Elk ribs are pretty stout, I just wonder if that small bullet would come apart on one if it hits it wrong.
again, to be clear, I am not sharp-shooting, just wondering your opinion...

odds are that it would blow hunks of rib into the vitals, and make for a quick death. seen it many time with 22-250 on BIG deer in montana... the only real down side is that they tend to not bleed as much as with biiger calibers.

[WDFW Hates ME!!!]

My son is 10, i bought him a marlin XL7 in .270 last year. The managed recoil rounds are great. it doesn't hit at all. I looked at the 7mm-08 and i just didn't think it was ofr him. I think he can use the .270 his whole life.

[carpsniperg2]

i have known 2 people that have shot over 40 elk with just a 243 one is still alive the other is a tibal member that is not that was really good friends with one of my best friends. that is all they ever used. with a good soild bullet like partition, there is no problem with the 243 for elk. the shock of that bullet is very high.like said the first rifle me my brother and wife all shot our deer with was a 243. one of my little bros first deer was about 100 yards and the wind was blowing hard. the buck was almost broadside and he hit the deer forward on the front of the shoulder and brisket area. the deer went about 30 yards and crashed. when i gutted it out there was tons of bone shards from the shoulder/leg/brisket threw out the lungs and heart of the deer. it was really neat to see look liked a quill pig was turned loose in the deers chest.

[Dan-o]

Have you considered just getting one of those fancy new recoil pads for your 308?

I finally put one on my 7mm mag, and it makes an incredible difference.   It took it from pretty darn stout to really really pleasant.

Maybe one would do the same for your kids 308 and then you don't need to buy another rifle ..... unless you want to.

Wish I could remember the brand name of the one I put on a few months ago, but it sure makes a difference to my shoulder.... and my shooting.

[Earshot]

I do think that the 243 would do just fine if it hit a rib I'm not sure that it didn't., I reload and she was shooting premium bullets. As a proud  dad I have to post a picture.