Want to buy a 243 rifle

[tenderheart]

Looking to buy a 243 rifle for hunting. 

[h20hunter]

Permission granted, be safe out there.

[quadrafire]

Good caliber
You might cruise through the classifieds in the upper right hand corner.
there is a .243, and a .243 wssm in there right now.

[Hornseeker]

Tell us more Tender... Been hunting long? Just starting? Deer? Elk? Sasquatch?

What are you looking for? High end gear? Mid range...economical?

I love the 243... just got one setup for my daughter!!

Good Luck!

[Straight Shooter]

  Great predator, deer, back-up caliber.

[tenderheart]

Permission granted, be safe out there.

ha ha thanks

[tenderheart]

Tell us more Tender... Been hunting long? Just starting? Deer? Elk? Sasquatch?

What are you looking for? High end gear? Mid range...economical?

I love the 243... just got one setup for my daughter!!

Good Luck!

This will be my first year. I also have a 10yr old son, it is a gun he could use also. I will be hunting deer and elk. Maybe Sasquatch who knows lol. I have seen them for around $300.00 at Cabela's and Walmart. Guess that's a good buy since I just looked at the classifieds on here and they want $500.

[Lincoln4]

Price generally depends on the quality of the rifle.  That said, good starter rifles would probably include Savage, Howa, and Marlin (hearing good things about the XS7).  Figure at least $150 for an ok scope.  I know Savage sells several rifle scope combos that will get you by until you want to upgrade the scope. .243 Might be a bit small for elk without very good shot placement.  I've taken many white tails with .243, and know many who have taken mule deer easily with it.  Nice caliber. 

[Buckmark]

Weatherby made a youth combo in the vanguard, available in .243, .308 or 7mm-08 (my recommendation), came with a youth stock and a full size stock, can be found for under the 500 mark, great guns and they can grow into it, or you can swap on the fullsize stock for you to use..
 

[Straight Shooter]

You may want reconsider and look at 7mm-08 or .308... maybe even .25-06 or .270.  Not sure about the .25-06 but, I know that you can get factory reduced loads for 7mm-08, .308, and .270.    .243 is a great caliber but, is on the light-side for elk IMO.   

[1bugman]

Permission granted, be safe out there.

I think I peed myself!

[KimberRich]

Great caliber.  I hunted with a Kimber 84 in .243 for about 8 years and it killed everything I ever wanted to kill with it.  Including some big mule deer.. Light recoil and flat shooting.  Great for your kid also. 

[mallard79]

Look hard at the 308.  Your son can shoot the managed recoil loads or lighter bullets to get the recoil a little lighter (it's not bad to begin with).  You can shoot any good hunting bullet.  I shoot Hornady Light Magnum loads that push my bullet out at 3000 fps and plenty flat!  It is also an easy caliber to find in case you forget your ammo when you head out hunting (7mm-08 is a good cal but a little harder to find in a pinch)

I just got my son the el cheapo remmington model 770 youth scope/rifle combo for under $300 and it came with spacers in case I want to shoot it too.  For a starter gun it is great and shoots good after an easy at home trigger job (trigger is heavy from the factory and has a little creep).

Also don't forget to watch the pawn shops.  Good deals can be had on occasion.

Good luck, let us know what you go with.

[Raul Duke]

Bought my 10yr old, the same Model 770 last year. He loves it. Shoots straight , and I just saw it @ Bi-Mart for $267.

I remember paiying $308 with a box of ammo,out the door, last year when I picked his up.

[Lincoln4]

Dang...  Bi-mart sounds like a fine place.  Wish there was one around here...

[demontang]

I bought a mossberg 100 atr youth in 243 and ill have to say its the most accurate gun i own now. The mossberg looks just like a savage and has the accutrigger too.

[elkslayer069]

I think I peed myself!
[/quote]

No kidding lol i had to wipe pepsi off the screen

[engelwood]

Great starter gun for deer/varmints. I personally wouldn't use for elk, not worth wounding them. Keep us up to date on what you decide to go with.

[Recurve-Elk]

Here is a great gun.  313 bucks brand new.  Single shot break barrel.  Comes in loads of different calibers including .243

http://www.hr1871.com/Firearms/Rifles/youth.asp

[chuck270]

My $.02, If your wanting a rifle worth having don't look past the Ruger M77 youth model.  Yes, more money but more value.  I got one for my son (9yrs) in .243 and it as exceeded my expectations and has been a real confidence builder for my him.  It's light with fast target aquision and is a tack driver.

I am looking at getting one in .308 for my self as a whitetail brush gun.  Given that statement you might want to seriously consider a larger caliber.

[BallisticsNut]

Just picked up mine, a Weatherby .243 and have already started to reload ammo.  This morning, I shot a Nosler 55gr with RL15 41.0 gr of powder and pushed this thing 3500FPS.  Thats only a 11" drop at 600 yards.  Great gun for varmints.

An avid hunter friend of mine told me he wouldnt hesitate to take down a cow elk with a 100gr Barnes triple shock.  Seems to me this rifle can do it all.  I picked mine up for varmints and for my daughter to use this deer season. 

The ballistics on this rifle are impressive.  No hesitation or second thoughts.

[Antlershed]

Load that 55gr BT with some H414 and push it out at 4100

[BallisticsNut]

Load that 55gr BT with some H414 and push it out at 4100

Now thats fast!    Hows the accuracy?  How much powder are you "packing" in that case?   

[Buckmark]

Load that 55gr BT with some H414 and push it out at 4100

Now thats fast!    Hows the accuracy?  How much powder are you "packing" in that case?   

Stuff that 55bt into a 6mm rem behind 41.0 of H4895 for 4115fps

[Rob]

On the scope.  I posted this on here somewhere before, but I think this is the best deal running for a decent low cost scope:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/default.aspx?productnumber=746570

110 bucks plus shipping for a Simmons 6.5-20 x 50.  I have picked up three of these over the past few months to put on my plinker rifles.  They are not Leupold, but for the price... wow.  Nearly a 5 star review rating with 174 reviews too.

[Rob]

Also,

Check this out:
http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2711043/m/5061063941

Evidently this guy is blowing out Savage Rifles to get some kind of status level with Savage (based on how many rifles you clear out).

He can do anything you want from Savage.  he specifically lists this:
SAVAGE 11FCXP3 BOLT ACTION CENTERFIRE RIFLE PACKAGE 243 WIN, BLACK SYNTHETIC STOCK, 3-9X40MM SCOPE, QD SWIVELS, DETACHABLE MAGAZINE
$350 plus 22 shipping.

I picked up a rifle from him. It is en-route to my FFL, and per the tracking it is due in the middle of next week.  He seems to be legit, and if you want to wait until next week when my rifle arrives to see, feel free to PM me.  (however I am not sure how much longer he will be clearing these rifles out...  He stated yesterday he will be running this for one more week)

[Bofire]

55 grain, 3500 fps, my books show it at 50 inches of drop at 600 yards at 3950fps at muzzle, very flat but not 11 inches, get real.
unless you sight in at 12 inch high at 100.!! geeeeez. that same load is 279.8 inches of drop at 1000yds. 11 inches of drop is less than 400 yards.
Carl

[wsucowboy]

My first gun was a 243 savage. Dad bought it at wal mart for me to start hunting with. Does  fine on mule deer, white tail and yotes. Accurate, no kick and fun to shot.

[engelwood]

55 grain, 3500 fps, my books show it at 50 inches of drop at 600 yards at 3950fps at muzzle, very flat but not 11 inches, get real.
unless you sight in at 12 inch high at 100.!! geeeeez. that same load is 279.8 inches of drop at 1000yds. 11 inches of drop is less than 400 yards.
Carl

I was gonna say, 11 inches!!!!

That surprised me a lot. Not surprised to see that it was off a touch. 

[BallisticsNut]

55 grain, 3500 fps, my books show it at 50 inches of drop at 600 yards at 3950fps at muzzle, very flat but not 11 inches, get real.
unless you sight in at 12 inch high at 100.!! geeeeez. that same load is 279.8 inches of drop at 1000yds. 11 inches of drop is less than 400 yards.
Carl

I was gonna say, 11 inches!!!!

That surprised me a lot. Not surprised to see that it was off a touch. 

Sorry guys, my bad.  Should have used more common sense and less software.  Your absolutely correct.  Drop at 600 yards was -10.35 MOA and 65" at 600 yards.  My bad.  Thanks for catching my mistake.
Still a pretty flat shooter. 

[trippledigitss]

I got a Savage Edge Combo  in .243 a few months ago (now called Axis) at Cabela's, camo stock for $329. They also had them with black stock for $279-$299 at Big5 & Walmart - Cabelas was $299. It came with a Bushnell 3-9x40 scope that seemed OK but I never shot it on that rifle. I put it on my boys 10/22 and it works fine for that. I just shot the 243 for the 1st time this last weekend and I was impressed - but being a rookie that doesnt take much!  The bolt is smooth & tight and I shot a 3 shot group within an inch, inch & half total spread at most. For me thats good and I'm sure the rifle will shoot better than I can. I dont know about all the ballistics stuff and that, I just bought the cheapest ammo they had at Cabela, I think it was 100gr, dont remember the brand, I'd have to go look. I put an older-ish Tasco 2.5-10x42 Target/Varmint Scope on it that I bought used somewhere and it seems suprisingly good to me - again limited experience. But even compared to my Nikon Coyote Special it is not bad at all. I would recommend it for a cheap rifle. I can post some pics  if you are interested?   

[Phantom Gobbler]

I have a Savage Model 99 in .243 and it is a joy to shoot!  Have fun!

[chuck270]

Is .243 big enough for Elk..?  9 years old.  200+ yards.  Ruger M77 hawkeye compact.

I beleive it might be.

[KillBilly]

I don't know the twist rate of the Barrel but you must keep in mind that you will not be able to shoot any bullets over 95 gr unless you have a fast twist rate. It should be at least 1 in 8" or faster.

Not that a 95 gr bullet won't kill an elk but it will require some exellent shot placement.

Look farther into this before you purchase

[trippledigitss]

That is awesome Chuck270! Congrats to your boy!

[chuck270]

Thanks Trippledigitss.

But the credit goes to him.  I was just the guide and the guy packing all the food it takes to feed him all day.

Sorry, this has gotten a little off of the original post.  I should have put it in the Elk hunting section.

[carpsniperg2]

Thats a very cool pic! thanks for sharing it chuck. Love seeing youth hunter with animals Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face