Man a .243 thread and I wasnt invited. LOL You guys know I,m a .243 fan, been one most my life. I have used other guns but always liked the .243 the best. .243's are usually very accurate guns right out of the box, very little recoil too. I shoot a Rem .243 VLS with bull barrel. I can see the deer drop through the scope after I shoot, it has no recoil cause of the weight of the gun, it's pretty heavy because of the bull barrell. The bullets I recomend are federal 100 gr sierra gameking, the federal 85 gr.howlow points and the hornady 100 gr. .243's will usually group better with the 85 gr. I sure wish federal would load their 107 gr. hpbt matchkings and put them on the shelf, with a SD of .259 and a coefficiency of .527 that is an awsome round for the .243.
I think you made the right choice in getting the .243. Not saying the .270 is no good, by far it's an awsome caliber as well but it's too much like what you have now. As far as .25-06, it is nice gun but it's just not that efficient of a burning cartridge, Its what they call an overbore, which gives it a much louder report and more recoil, and unburnt gasses (powder) usually equates to inconsistency, the .243 makes just as much power with a lot less powder. Its a very efficient burning cartridge which gives it its inherent accuracy. I would try the federal 85gr. HPBT's, they put a lot of bigger guns to shame. Did you know the .243 is a case necked down .308