Originally Posted by UncleNorby

It sounds to me like you are a small-framed person, and the 243 is unwieldy for you. The Marlin is a probably a shorter gun and therefore you feel more steady with it.
I am 5'4 and weigh about 145lbs. I wouldn't call myself skinny but I also wouldn't call myself fat either. I do feel more steady with the 35, maybe because it is shorter.

Will you be walking, stillhunting or driving deer, or will you be primarily stand hunting? We'll be walking into the woods and then stillhunting into a feild. No driving deer.

The weight of the gun won't matter much on a stand, and a good rest will take care of the wobbles. I would like to look into a stand <for the gun> or find a nice stick to rest the gun on. Any suggestions? Would WalMart or Kmart have anything reasonable?

Do you plan on shooting longer ranges (beyond say 175-200 yds) where the 243 would be best suited? Um, I'm sure if a deer was that far, I'd try to shoot at it with the 243. It seems what? the 35 isn't for long range?

If you're not primarily a stand hunter and don't need to shoot too far, I'd go with the lever and put a low power fixed or variable, wide angle scope, or even a peep sight on it.It's already scoped. I don't know what the power is but I can call dad and find out later.

A 35 Rem is a great deer gun. The Marlin lever will have some kick but it is not too bad. Go ahead and shoot it and if it suits your needs better by all means use it.I'm sure it is a great gun. I look forward to shooting it this Sunday.