what gun should i get
 

I am in the market for a gun and i need some peoples advice on what to get i am going to be deer hunting and i am going in aopen area and little bit of the forest. i am looking at a .243 but im not sure yet


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RE: what gun should i get
 

How about getting a .300 win mag or maybe a .300 WSM they are a good flat shooting caliber capible of taking deer and moose or black bear or almost any north american big game animal.

RE: what gun should i get
 

Well Country, if all you are going to shoot is varmits, deer and hogs, the .243
is fine with the proper bullets or go with 6.5mmSwede 156gr Norma.

RE: what gun should i get
 

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what would be te best bullets

RE: what gun should i get
 

The .243 is a fine choice for all around hunting. You can cleanly take game up to the size of a wild boar with little reservation. If you plan on ever hunting bigger stuff, like bears or elk, you might want to move up a little bit into the .280 to .308 range.

debate
 

7mm mag or a .243 which one is better


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RE: debate
 

7 mm for sure. with 165 grainers for deer.

RE: debate
 

First, welcome to the board!
Second, with good 100 gr. hunting bullets, the .243/6MM will take down ANY Whitetail, and is a very good minimum deer caliber/varmint caliber.
Third, not knowing your experience with centerfire rifles, or your tolerance for strong recoil, I would NOT recomend a 7MM RM, or .300 Magnum! While I use a 7MM RM on deer, I would be the first to tell you big calibers are NOT needed for deer sized game! The middle calibers such as the 25-06,.260, or the 7MM-08 are very good choices. Good luck!

RE: what gun should i get
 

All mentioned are good chocies. However, I would suggest a .270win or .270wsm. It will give you the flat shooting and distance of a .243 with a heavier bullet.
It is one of the most accurate calibers ever made. It has virtually no recoil. It can be handled just like a .243 and will give you a 130, 140, and 150 grain bullet option. A lot of hunters like the newer calibers, but the history of the .270 as a hunting caliber will never be questioned.

I have a Remington 700ADL in .270win. My g'f even loves shooting it, so that should show ya how much recoil it has.

As far as the gun goes. I would go to a dealer and shop around and see which fitted your body. Browning, Remington, Ruger, Thompson Center, Weatherby, and many more make great rifles that are more than adequate for the average to everyday hunter.

And if you want to step up to the big boys, sure a .270 Weatherby Mag, 300mag, or 7mag would do.

RE: what gun should i get
 

7mm for sure!!! I shoot 175 gr. Federal Premium ammo and have had great success with it. I think that if you are going to buy a rifle, do it right the first time and get a caliber large enough for the things that you want to do without any question as to its size. If, in the future, you decide to take an elk hunt or something, you will already a great gun for it. I really don't agree with the "too much gun" argument alof of people make.

RE: what gun should i get
 

If you like short action calibers you could go witha .308 or 7mm-08. These calibers are descent flat shooters and offer a wider variety of bullet choices than the .243 The .308 or .30 caliber offer bullet weights ranging from 100 gr. all the way up to 200 gr. and the 7mm-08 range is pretty much the same up to 175 gr.

Although I would suggest staying in the mid range weights due to the lower velocity of the short action you may not have enough punch to properly expand the heavier bullets.

Just my .02 cents

RE: what gun should i get
 

I've always considered the .243 a bit on the small side for deer, but many people use them with 100 grain bullets. It just isn't something I'd choose. I like the .270 for deer.

RE: what gun should i get
 

Since this sounds like your first high powered rifle I would stick to the 243. The recoil is minimal and it makes a great varmint on up to deer gun. ...Deleted by CalHunter... It is all about shot placement boys. I shoot 95gr Combined Technology Ballistic Tips when I shoot deer with my 243. I also have a 7mm, and I use Hornady 139gr SSTs in that. The deer will not know the difference what caliber hits them, cuz as long as you can place your shot well, they are going down.

RE: what gun should i get
 

"capable"? absolutely, ...Deleted by CalHunter... If that's your logic our logic could be that a beginner probably isn't "capable" of the shot placement needed for a .243 to execute a clean kill.

Now doesn't that sound dumb?

RE: what gun should i get
 

I personally like the 25-06 for deer.It shoots as flat as a 270win and will kill any deer at any range just as well as a 270win only with less recoil.

RE: what gun should i get
 

What I was getting at is everyones magnum crazy ideas. It seems like all the magazines, shows, etc all are saying you "need" a 300 WSM to kill a deer. 2 seasons ago I had 4 antlerless tags for the january extended deer season, all 4 of those does were shot with 1 shot from my AR15, which is chambered in 223. Sorry if I offended anyone, but if I did maybe they were offended because they aren't "capable" of making clean shots. :eek:

RE: what gun should i get
 

Seeing how I'm the only person who responded to your "capable" theory I assume your directing your last post to me. I'm no fan of magnum calibers either, just so you know. I am however very " capable " of killing a deer with any caliber you choose. Especially the light rifle calibers you like so much. Anyone who has the proper discipline and skill to shoot deer with sub-par calibers I say have at it. But in reality MOST hunters today DO NOT spend the time needed at the range to make clean kills. That is all I'm saying.And I guess we agree on that.I teach rifle and pistol courses and beleive me there are ALOT of guys who know everything and talk a good game , but when it comes to range time they are happy to hit a pie plate at 100 yards. Like I said the .243 is very capable of killing a deer, but again alot ofhunters aren't about shot placement.

RE: what gun should i get
 

I second the vote for a .25-06

RE: what gun should i get
 

Welcome country boy!!!!!!!

for a medium size caliber i like the 7mm-08, .308, rem .260, 6.5sweede, if you ever plan on reloading i'd stick witht the 7-08, or the .308 for the widest variety of bullets, as for the mags. why shoot something that kills on both ends, i bought my wife a rem model 7 s/s in rem 260, i have 4 "magnums" that stay in the safe now, the 260 is a pleasure to shoot, handles great, and will flat do a number on whitetails,,,imo there is nothing wrong with the 243, it would be on the lower end of my choices, about the lightest bullet i shoot at deer is 125gr.but the 243's accuracy cannot be disputed, and they also are a dream to shoot, today if i was buying a new gun, (if didn't have a deer rifle) it would be a compact gun like the model 7 or the ruger compact in 7mm-08 or the .308, if you don't like the small frame guns or don't need it, i'd buy the same caliber in a remington 700..

best of luck

RE: what gun should i get
 

You got your mind right.....243 is a good gun capable of good kills on a number of variousgame