RE: 243 win.
 

Definitely farther that I can shoot! My eye's ain't what they used to be. :eek:

RE: 243 win.
 

Definitely not a 770. Its just the 710 with different bolt. Get a new 700 with the new X-Mark Pro Trigger, its so sweet.

RE: 243 win.
 

How about a comparison between the 243 and the 7mm08...this is the decision I'm struggling with right now. The rifle will be used for hunting whitetails in MN. I never knew how recoil sensitive I was until I saw how poorly I shot my 7mm WSM. I just hope I'm switching soon enough that I didn't develop a flinch that will be hard to get rid of.

RE: 243 win.
 

bav...Welcome to the forum!!!

My brother has a 7mm-08, I have a .243, they both do the job...We have both used them since the 80s, and don't really see any difference on the effectiveness of deer...

Now, his 7mm-08 is a Model 7 so it has a 20 inch barrel, my Ruger has been rebarreled to 24 inches...His Model 7 does have a little pop to it, it has more muzzle jump than my .243...My rifle kicks straight back, I never loose sight of the deer in the scope after the shot...

Point being, different rifles can kick different depending on their design...A Remington CDL has a 24 inch barrel and a nice recoil pad, it comes in both 7mm-08 and .243...You deer run a bit bigger on average over our NC deer...
I would be fully confident using my .243, but I have about 40 years experience in deer hunting...

It would be great if you could shoot a .243 and 7mm-08, both with the same barrel length so you could feel the difference...If you are more comfortable going with a larger caliber, pick a rifle like the CDL with a longer barrel and good pad, I'll bet you would see a big difference between it and your short mag...

If my memory is correct, with standard sized rifles there is about 3 pounds of recoil difference between a .243 and a 7mm-08 (12 vs 15) if I'm thinking right...Knowing that your deer run larger and you might not have as many deer in your area as I do, so you might not have as many shot opportunities, I'd lean toward the 7mm-08...

RE: 243 win.
 

Thank you Hawkeye...valuable feedback. I was leaning toward the 7mm-08 and I think I've made up my mind. I should say I thought I'd made up my mind - a local gun shop has a used BAR in great shape with a decent scope on it right now for a very good price. The problem is that it's a 30-06 which is not exactly known as a mild recoiling caliber. I don't have any experience with the semi autos so I wonder if you (or anyone else)might give me an idea of how much of the recoil is negated by the gas auto type of action. I mean if a recoil table tells me that a 150 grain 30-06 has about 17 or 18 ft/lb of recoil energy, what would I expect to feel shooting that round in an auto? I do really love the feel of that rifle - it just seems to fit me really nice. Thanks.

RE: 243 win.
 

My only problem with a semi auto is the trigger...With a bolt gun the trigger is adjustable or you can replace it with an after market trigger...My Ruger M-77 is adjusted to 2 1/2 pounds, no creep, no over travel...

While a semi can be honed it can never be set as light (safely) or as crisp as a bolt...

You are right about an '06, while they are loved by many, you simply don't need that much power to kill deer effectively...In the past several years I have had 5 hunting buddies switch from an '06 to a .243 bolt action, none have ever reqretted it...Both of my brothers have also had an '06 in a semi, it was the older Remington model, one now shoots a .270 bolt, the other a .280 bolt...

I'd go with the bolt...

RE: 243 win.
 

nchawkeye has given you some good advice. I myself have gone to the 7-08 in 700 CDL just for some of the attributes he explained....24" barrel, R3 recoil pad (Limbsaver)..light recoil, and usually very decent accuracy out of the box.
I've killed deer with many different cartridges. My previous carry was a 7mm Rem. Mag that I used for about 20 yrs. Since I went to the 7-08 I have no intention of going anywhere else. I love it.

RE: 243 win.
 

Thanks guys...I noticed you both mentioned Remingtons but I'm looking more ata Savage - I think the length of pull is a little longer which seems to fit me better (I'm a pretty big guy). I'm thinkingthe Weather Warrior in 7mm-08 with a Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9-40 silver scope. That keeps me under $700 for the whole package except for the scope rings.

RE: 243 win.
 

Here's a table that charts out recoil for various cartridges.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

I'm not sure how large Minnesota whitetails are, but, I suspect they're a good bit larger than the Texas Hill Country deer that I use my .243 on. I took a 158 lb buck last year using 100 gr. Remington PSP Core-Lokts. The bullet went through both shoulders, but didn't exit. Found it under the skin of the far shoulder. I've had all 1 shot kills with my .243, but, if your deer are quite a bit bigger, then it might not be a bad idea to step up to the 7mm-08 (or go for behind the shoulder shots rather than through the shoulder shots with a .243... or switch to a premium bullet...)

An alternative that hasn't been discussed, if you have future plans to pursue game larger than deer, would be to get a .30-06, or 7mm Rem Mag, use Remington's managed recoil rounds when deer hunting, and switch to the full power loads if you go out chasing elk, or moose, or bears. I've got a 7Mag that I inherited when a buddy died 10 years ago, and I'm planning to use it this fall with the MR rounds. They are a little more potent than the 7X57 Mauser, a little less than the 7mm-08, so it ought to make for a sweet deer rifle...

By the way, there are lots of Savage fans here. I'm more of a Remington guy, but, I don't think you'd be making a mistake picking a Savage, particularly if it fits you better.