The beauty of the 243 is that you can buy terrific over-the-counter shells fo this rifle. My fav load is the 95 gr Nosler CTBT with a good dose of IMR4350. 3000'/SEC is the magic number for this cartridge for deer. For varmits, the 55gr Nosler CTBT is unreal.....upwards of 4000'/sec and accurate. Good luck and regards, Rick.