mostly deer hunting and target shooting and maybe maybe a little coyote and fox hunting

YOU HAVE TO HIT EM CORRECTLY WITH ANY CALIBER...I HAVE SHOT DEER RIGHT IN THE SHOUDER WITH 243 CALIBER USING SIERRA 85 GRAIN HOLLOW POINTS.AND ALSO HORNADAY 100 GRAINERS.FURTHEST DISTANCE..ABOUT 125 YDS...BUT I CANNOT RECCOMMEND USUNG ANY OTHER BRAND OF BULLETS AS I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE EXEPT TWO BAD ONES WITH WINCHESTER POWER POINTS IN 100 GRAINERS........SO I FEEL BULLET SELECTION CAN BE CRITICAL ESECIALLY IN THE LOWER CALIBER 243..SHOT A DEER THIS FALL IN THE LOWER CHEST WITH A 270 REMINGTON FLAT NOSE 150 GRAIN BULLET CORE LOCKED AT A DISTANCE OF ABOUT 50 YARDS ...A STRIAGHT ON SHOT WITH THE DEER FACING ME..I KNOCKED THE DEER OFF HIS FEET ..HEAD OVER HEELS...ONLY THING..WHEN I WENT TO GET THE DEER IN THE BRUSH...NO DEER...I CALLED SIERRA BULLET COMPANY TO SEE IF MAYBE REMINGTON BULLETS WERE FAULTY...THEY WOULD NOT CRITISIZE THE REMINGTON BULLET...BUT SAID THAT IT WAS PROBABLY JUST A KIND OF A FLUKE WHERE THE BULLET GLANCED OFF THE STERNUM AND KIND OF RICHOCED OFF THE RIB BONES...I HAVE SHOT A LOT OF DEEER IN THE LAST 20 YEARS PROBABLY AROUND 45 TO 50 ...WELL LIVE AND LEARN...MY SHOTS ON DEER FACING ME FROM NOW ON WILL BE HIGHER CLOSER TO THE BASE OF THE NECK..AT LEAST THATS WHAT I WILL TRY TO DO....JUST MY HUMBLE OPINION

someone said that new barrels were about $150. You can get most of the barrels fitted for $70-$110. Quite a good deal. I have one in .223 Rem, it shoots 1/2" groups at 100 yards.

The NEF in .243 would be great for any whitetail! Use a good 100 grain bullet though!

rdish,
Did you recover that deer to see exactly where the bullet hit?

To the best of my knowledge, Remington has never made a 150 grain .270 core lokt FLAT POINT. They do make a 150 grain round nose which is rather heavily constructed. I have seen this bullet shoot through both shoulders of an elk. They do not ricochet off the sternum or ribs of deer.

I tried two dealers to purchase the 7mm-08 and it was no longer offered in the new NEF catalog for 2004 . Does anyone have any info on this , Frizzellr ,TREEDOG .
The 243 win is a good round and very accurate in the NEF handi-rifle .

It should be available it just came out last year. They may be a little hard to find. Try Cabelas.

The 7mm-08 Rem chambering is still offered on their website. I saw two of them at one of our local gunshops.

Own a NEF handi rifle in 223 and it is a great shooter. Used a .243 for years for deer and it performed flawlessly as long as I put the bullet where I was supposed to. I used Hornady 100 gr SP pushed by 40.5 gr of IMR4350 and out of about a dozen deer, only one didn't drop where it stood.
But I have to agree with the other guys. The 7-08 will do everything the 243 can do, but better. Plus you have a bit more punch and versitility. All with just slightly more recoil. Heck, the Handi rifle in 7-08 would not only be a beginners rifle but would be just dandy for a seasoned hunter too.
One more thing - Why does everyone who asks these questions forget about the 260 Rem. This bugger sounds like a beauty of a caliber but I don't know anyone who owns one.

As others said, the 243 is good, but the trigger pull on these rifles is terrible. I had one and had to work on it to get a good pull.

dog1