RE: what gun should i get
Welcome country boy!!!!!!!
for a medium size caliber i like the 7mm-08, .308, rem .260, 6.5sweede, if you ever plan on reloading i'd stick witht the 7-08, or the .308 for the widest variety of bullets, as for the mags. why shoot something that kills on both ends, i bought my wife a rem model 7 s/s in rem 260, i have 4 "magnums" that stay in the safe now, the 260 is a pleasure to shoot, handles great, and will flat do a number on whitetails,,,imo there is nothing wrong with the 243, it would be on the lower end of my choices, about the lightest bullet i shoot at deer is 125gr.but the 243's accuracy cannot be disputed, and they also are a dream to shoot, today if i was buying a new gun, (if didn't have a deer rifle) it would be a compact gun like the model 7 or the ruger compact in 7mm-08 or the .308, if you don't like the small frame guns or don't need it, i'd buy the same caliber in a remington 700..
best of luck