Perhaps my opinions are tainted by my experience with the location and manner that we hunt. Box blinds. Solid rest. Never have had the need to rush a shot. Plenty of time to wait for the deer to turn broadside. I've never felt "under-gunned" with my .243 because it hits exactly where I point it, and I've never had a problem with it. Perhaps if I was hunting in Iowa, where the corn-fed bucks weigh 300+ lbs, and ranges across a cut corn field might be 300-400 yards or more, I might feel like a "needed" a bigger gun... But, for my purposes, I've shot deer with .30-06, .243, and 7mm Rem Mag (with the MR rounds), and I've not noticed a significant difference in performance on live game. This fall, we'll see how the 7-08 performs. Note that if I take a buck and still have time left in the season, I might take a doe or two using my .223... :D

All things being equal, probably not. But, for me, I shoot my .243 better than I do my .30-06. When I was young, I didn't really have a "mentor" for shooting. Dad wasn't really into it much, so I was pretty much on my own. I gave myself a flinch, by starting out with a .30-06 with no recoil pad, that I still fight to this day when shooting a rifle. I really have to focus, hard, to avoid it. No problems at all with the .243. I can shoot it all day. But, with the '06, I just don't enjoy taking it to the range (although, when actually hunting with it, I don't really feel the recoil). And, as we've agreed... Hitting the target is more important than what you hit the target with...

You need not be so sensitive about such things. You can surely use whatever the heck you want, even your piddly .223. I and others will continue to consider a 7mm-08 a better overall deer cartridge for the various situations a hunter might encounter.

Not quite sure how I'm being "sensitive"... Just stating an opinion, as were you. Heck, I even conceded that "all things being equal," you're right, the .243 isn't a "better" choice than the others you named for the "various situations" a hunter might face. But, there may be "specific situations" where it is just as good as the others...

Oh, I've seen the time that a .243 was "better"...

Five times actually...That's how many '06 users that I know personally that have gone to the .243 once they saw the results a few times...

As you get older, you appreciate such things...:s4:

Go shoot your gun and have fun. Anybody that wants to bash your gun can stick there own in there ass! they're either bored or jelous. Hell, I thought the hunting and shooting community was united. Sounds more like divided. I'm taking out my family to do some shooting and have fun. I recomend you do the same. And hvae ya some FUN! that's what it's all about anyways.

I've lived in Iowa my whole life, and while I've sure they are out there, and I've see a few fairly big bucks from a distance, the 300 lb monsters aren't exactly a dime-a-dozen in Iowa, at least not on the public and well hunted private land I hunt on. 300 lbs for a wild, free ranging deer is enormous even here. Now, as for the farm raised bucks the "pros" slaughter, err... I mean hunt, on TV, I don't know. All the deer I've ever shot have never had a leash on them.

Oh, and if you're taking 400 yard shots across a corn field at a buck in Iowa with a CF rifle, you better hope like heck there isn't a DNR LEO watching you when you do, or it'll be the last time you shoot that rifle, or drive your truck, 'cause both will be the property of the state of Iowa when you get busted for poaching. Iowa's a shotgun/ML state, with one small exception for the late antlerless season in the souther two tiers of counties. Just FYI... not trying to bust your chops, just clarifying a common misconception. :cool2:

Oh, and if you can't make a clean shot with a .243, why are would you try it with anything bigger? Doesn't seem very ethical to me. The .243 with a 90+ gr bullet is plenty of medicine for whitetail deer.

And as for the Remington thing... I just bought a new Rem 700 LSS. It's a very nice rifle, with very good workmanship and attention to detail, and it's plenty accurate shooting handloads into about 0.6 MOA, average. It's factory stock with the trigger adjusted (by me). There are plenty of good rifles out there. Most of the brands put out decent to excellent rifles. The base model M700's (SPS/ADL) are not that nice to look at, granted, because Rem is making them to a lower price point. Step up a notch to a BDL/CDL/LSS and you have a very nice rifle, but you're going to pay more than some guys can afford.

It's just a Ford/Chevy/Dodge argument. Just because someone prefers one brand over another, doesn't mean that the other brands are junk (though some of their models might be, i.e. the Rem 710/770).

Mike

Yeah... It was a hypothetical, without having first checked the local game laws...:s2:

I bet you're just itchin to get out there and give it a whirl. Congrats on the new gun.