get 2 guns or one to do it all
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: New Goucester Maine
Posts: 264

i'm wondering if i should get a .243 and a large cartridge or just get a .270 or a .308. it will be for moose, deer, bear and varmits. what do you guys think.
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Gypsum KS USA
Posts: 1,289

Personally, I buy as many guns as I can afford...If I needed a gun that could handle everything from coyotes to elk, I'd likely use a .30-06, it'd be a bit heavy for coyotes, but just a little light for elk/moose...I'd personally prefer to have two rifles that fit the bill of each scenario perfectly than force one gun into a spread that wide.
I break cartridges up into four categories, light, mid, heavy, and super-heavy...buying a .243 and a .270 or .308 is buying two rifles in the mid category as far as I'm concerned...I'd personally buy something along the lines of a .243 and a .338WM...this would be a good mid-powered rifle and a good heavy powered rifle, and a really good pair.
If I culled off the coyotes, or just didn't care about the pelt damage, I'd probably consider a .30-06 or one of the .300Mags to suit your needs.
But, like I said, I take every opportunity I can get to buy a gun.
I break cartridges up into four categories, light, mid, heavy, and super-heavy...buying a .243 and a .270 or .308 is buying two rifles in the mid category as far as I'm concerned...I'd personally buy something along the lines of a .243 and a .338WM...this would be a good mid-powered rifle and a good heavy powered rifle, and a really good pair.
If I culled off the coyotes, or just didn't care about the pelt damage, I'd probably consider a .30-06 or one of the .300Mags to suit your needs.
But, like I said, I take every opportunity I can get to buy a gun.
#3
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: The Fine State of Wisconsin
Posts: 57

Id get the 243 and a larger cartrige like 30caliber or bigger. That way you dont have huge holes in your varmits if its something you want to keep the fur of like a coyote, etc. But if you dont really care just get something in 30cal, there is such a wide range of bullet types and weights that you cant go wrong.
#4
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location:
Posts: 207

What about .223 and .270 WSM? I'll most likely get a .270 WSM in the next month or so, then considering getting either a .223 or .243, which one should I get? More to round out my rifle battery than anything else and to have something really light in recoil to shoot all the time.
Thanks.
Thanks.
#6
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Iowa
Posts: 100

I had a similar dilema too myself. I wanted to get a deer rifle, plus wanted to elk hunt sometime in the future, even wanted to do some varmint hunting myself. Ended up getting a 300 win mag for deer up to elk or whatever, plus plan on getting a 22-250 for varmints so I don't blow them up quite as much as the 300 mag.
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Gypsum KS USA
Posts: 1,289

Just remember not to get more than you can afford to feed! When I started college I had to quit buying guns for a little while so that I could afford to shoot the ones I had...eventually I gave up that theory and got two jobs and gave plasma twice a week so I could buy new guns AND shoot them, all the while going to school to become a chemical engineer....talk about having your cake and eating it too!!