I know you guys get these a lot so it shouldn't be any problem getting and answer.. I have a 223 Savage right now but want to get a 700 Remington but I don't know what caliber. The reason I was going to change to a 243 is to justify spending 700$ on a rifle that chances are I'm only going to shoot woodchucks and coyotes out to about 350 yards, then I can always take it up deer hunting if I wanted. But I'm stuck I hae all the reloading stuff for my 223 and grown quite fond of its performance.. What do you all think..
I highly suggest sticking with the .223 due to the ballistic performance along with already having the reloading supplies. The range instructor at Meadville Police Department told me that the .223 has the same point of impact at 34 meters and 300 meters so once you sight the .223 in at 34 meters dead on anything out to 300 meters is just a hold on and shoot.
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Buying a new set of .243 dies won't cost that much. If you've already got a .223 and want a gun that can handle deer as well as varmints, the .243 is the only logical choice IMO.
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Go ahead and get the .243 you'll be glad you did. It will give you a larger variety in your varmint hunting. I have two rifles for deer hunting and am looking at a third just to spice things up sometimes. You can never have to many rifles.
If you wouldn't have thrown deer in there I would have said stick with what you have or bump up to a 22-250. But once you bring large game into the equation then the .243 is the perfect round in my opinion.
I did the exact same thing as you. I live in lower Michigan where you can't deer hunt with a centerfire. I mainly wanted a high powered rifle to do some woodchuck hunting with, maybe a coyote or two. However there is always the off chance I will go up north and hunt someday and centerfires are legal there. So rather than getting a 22-250 I went with the .243 instead.
Paul
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I've never been a fan of the .223.....so IMO get a .243
To me if the .223 weren't a military round, it would be cease to exist. Both the .22-250 and .220 swift are way WAY better.
And the .243 has more of a varmint/deer combo where as the other is pretty strickly varmints. Seriously, if you gave me a .223.....I'd sell it. If you gave me a .22-250, .220, .243, I'd certainly keep it/use it.
Good news! You have a Savage. You can convert it to a .243 with nothing more than a barrel ($120), barrel nut wrench ($20), bolthead ($30) and a couple of headspace gauges ($30). After you invest in the tools, you can then use the same tools and switch it to 7mm-08 or .308 for just the cost of a barrel. Tkaes less than 30 minutes to do the swap.
To me if the .223 weren't a military round, it would be cease to exist. Both the .22-250 and .220 swift are way WAY better.
A bit better as far as muzzle velocity and ballistics, but, they use more powder, make more noise, have a bit more recoil, are more expensive to shoot, are harder on barrels, aren't available in an "EBR".... Kind of like saying "if the .308 and .30-06 weren't military rounds, they would cease to exist. Both the .300 Win Mag and .300 RUM are way WAY better..."
A bit better as far as muzzle velocity and ballistics, but, they use more powder, make more noise, have a bit more recoil, are more expensive to shoot, are harder on barrels, aren't available in an "EBR".... Kind of like saying "if the .308 and .30-06 weren't military rounds, they would cease to exist. Both the .300 Win Mag and .300 RUM are way WAY better..."
LOL, excellent analogy...
As for the original post, yes, get the .243 and go hunt somedeer with it. You'll have a blast.
I am not sure if I am reading your post right, but it sounds to me like you are wanting to upgrade the quality of the rifle you have. So I am asuming you are going to get rid of the Savage. In that case I would buy another 223. If you are wanting to buy an additional rifle and keep your Savage then I would skip the 243 and get a more substantial cartridge.The 223 is adequate for what you want to do, but you are pretty much at the limit at 350 yards for ground hog's and coyote's. You might try the larger bulets-if you already have not done so.
I am not a fan of the 223 for deer.Some people like the 243 for deer, but I do not particularly care for it. Buy a good quality 223 now, and if you do some deer hunting down the road you can upgrade to a better cartridge and have two rifles. Tom.
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223 or 243
