Thanks for all the great advise. We're going out this weekend and shoot the .243 to see how it fits. I'm taking along a 30-30 as well.

He currently handles his .410 well and neither of those recoil much harder. Might give those new bullets a try that are loaded for reduced recoil. I heard they are making a version for the 243 that'll reduce the recoil by up to 40%.