If it were me and I thought I was going to have good shot opportunities at ranges past 250 yards, I'd want something with a little more oomph than the .243 Win. Don't get me wrong, I think the .243 is a good little cartridge and makes a fine short to moderate range deer cartridge, but for what you want to do I think you'd be better off with a little more rifle.

The .308 Win. is a great cartridge and will certainly to the job that you want it to do. But if it were me I'd think strongly about a milder magnum, specifically the 7mm Rem. Mag. With 150gr. bullets it shoots much flatter than the .308, which means a longer Max. Point Blank Range (305 yards vs. 275 yards for the .308Win, +-3"). It also hits quite a bit harder, especially out past 300 yards. In fact, a 7mm Mag. with 150gr bullets has almost as much energy at 200 yards as the .308 does with 150gr. bullets at the muzzle. The 7mm Mag. does kick a little more than the .308 with similar bullets, but not so much more that it'd be a real problem unless you are recoil sensitive. Just don't go with a featherweight rifle and you'll be ok.

I'd suggest you visit Chuck Hawk's website at http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2.guns.htm

Mike