I understand your "size goal" but, what purpose do you have in mind for this rifle?
If you are looking for a varmit rifle that is one thing; a deer rifle in another to me. I am not looking for an argument on the subject because, I know that lots of folks use the 243 for deer successfully. That should be limited to small deer.
I am not much of a believer in "dual purpose" in this instance. Therefore, if this is to be a deer rifle, a 260 would be my minimum.
Last edited by Big Bullets; 04-08-2011 at 10:45 AM.
Reason: spelling