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...