Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

I am in love with deer hunting and predator hunting. Should i just go with the .243 for both, or should i buy two seperate ones. If i go with seperate, then what cartridge should i get. I was thining about a .223, but have no clue what i want for a deer cartiridge.

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

The 243 will work for both, but IMHO there are better calibers to choose from. I would buy two rifles. The 223 would be my pick for varmits. The 270-winchester would be my pick for a deer rifle.
The 25-06 would also make a fine varmit/deer rifle.
If you ever plan on hunting anything larger than deer? ie: Elk, bears, moose? You might want to add a third rifle or buy a larger caliber second rifle? Rifles chambered in .338 caliber & up are my pick for the larger critters.
You really could do it all with a 338-win mag, 338-R.U.M. or 340-Weatherby.:)

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

I'd go with the .243 and spend the extra cash on a high-quality scope for it.

Carter

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

IMO buy 2 ,a 233 or 22-250 for varmit/predator and a larger cal for deer , I would go with a 30-06

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

Think about the .260 remington. The 120 NBTs will do a number on smaller stuff while 140s work on deer. It's a stout little all purpose gun.

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

I'd go for two. Now, what to pick? The 243Win. makes a fine varmint rifle, but IMHO it is
MINIMAL for deer (whitetail or mule deer), and there's certainly better for black bear.
The 260Rem. is good, but not a whole lot of variety in factory ammo. Okay if you handload though. The 25-06 is good for deer, and can be used on varmints, but recoil
is a bit much if you do a lot of varmint shooting, and most rifles are equipped with 24"
barrels - a little long I think if you're in the thick woods.
Suggestion: For varmint use I'd look at either a 223 or 22-250. For big game hunting
take a look at the 270Win., 280Rem., 308Win. or 30-06. Any one of these will do for
deer, black bear, and can be used for elk & moose also. All but the 280Rem. can be had in a pretty wide selection of rifles, by any of the major manufactures. Selections for the 280Rem. are more limited, but there are good ones out there like the Remington
Mountain Rifle.
Here's a thought; get the 270Win., etc. for your big game rifle, and then get a 243Win. for use on varmints, and it could serve as a spare or backup deer rifle as well. :D

Check this one out: http://www.remington.com/firearms/ce...e/700mtnls.htm

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

.243 is great for both, or a 25-06. if you go two guns i would go .22-250 its faster then a .223 and a .270 or a .30 06 or a .308

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

Go for a TC Encore wtih a .243 barrel to start with and others as needed. I recently bought a new gun myself and am second guessing myself over did I get the right one. I love it and keep myself from getting too frustrated by knowing that if I'd bought the Encore I'd be doing the same thing in the other direction. So if you're like me you'll second guess any way you end up going, but at least with the Encore buying additional barrels will be cheaper than picking up additional rifles.

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

For one rifle, the 25-06 is the way to go. It will do much more than a 243.

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

I would also go with a TC Encore using a 22-250 Rem. for varmints, and a 270 Win. for deer. Good luck.

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

Another vote for the Encore...:D

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

one thing to keep in mind, the 22-250 has been mentioned several times. The down side to that caliber is the (relatively)large powder capacity. I handload and decided that for varmits the cost for a 22-250 was about equal to the 243,25-06, 250savage,ect... yet those others are all big enough to use on deer as well as varmits where the 22-250 isnt. So you get a one dimentional gun that is relatively (compared to the 223)expensive to shoot. I think that you would be better off with ONE nice rifle(243,250savage,257roberts,260,7mm08,25-06etc..) w/ an excellent scope, trigger job, and maybe a custom barrel or stock as opposed to two rifles.

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

This is what I was going to say. I've got a Handirifle in .223, and I'm looking for an 06 barrel.

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

I use a 25-06,have for years.When you say varmits are shooting chucks all day long or are you calling coyotes?I have a .223 for shoothing prairie dogs and chucks and I use the 25-06's for when I'm calling yoete's.
If you planning to shoot 100-200 rnds I would say go with .223 then buy a seperate rifle for deer,and that can be anything from 250 Savage to .338 Mags.
Plus the price of .223 ammo won't set you back.
BBJ

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

.243 would be the best combo. You can go from a 55gr balistic tip thats shooting 4000 fps for varmints to a 70 gr for bigger pests to a federal premium 100 gr. that put the .243 on par with a 25-06 for deer. the .243 or the 25-06 will be better at long ranges for varmints than any of the smaller calibers because they will drift less in wind.

RE: Should i buy one rifle to do it all or two.
 

i would go with a 223wssm or a 243 wssm they both are great and now you can get them in a reminton semi auto the 223 wssm is a big increase in each catagory like velocity, energy and so on and you can use them for deer and varmits but the 243 wssm wssm means winchester super short mag the 243 wssm is a small but reasonable increase i might get the 243 wssm but good luck glad i could help they would be realy great if you get a nice scope then you got a killing machine with ethier ok good luck and thank you