Still looking at rile choice, again I am still learning. I was talking to a guy the other day about concerns I had with the .308 due to the distance they travel, etc. He told me the .243 is actually a light faster bullet that would travel further then the heavier .308. He stated if the distance was an issue he would choose the .308 (he said he would choose that one anyway). If I end up getting a rifle to hunt with this year I would only take it to the places I hunt from a stand, and not from the ground. A few of the farms I hunt have open fields where the range of a rifle would be good, however there are houses and other hunters with woods within a mile or less.