I have a serious question. Why when a member asks for help choosing between two calibers in a rifle to buy, do people start throwing out other calibers? The fact that the guy has it narrowed down to two calibers says he gave it some thought before he asked the question and all the other calibers do no more than cause confusion.
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The more I get to know about people, the better I like dogs

It's the nature of the beast for people to do that. If you recall, the same member just had a 3 page thread that started with him asking for what he should get between a 44 mag and a .243 with the fact that he's in Indiana and has some limitations on what he can use. He now has changed it to the .308 and .243 and of those two I would also go with the .308 that is legal there since it's more versatile. However, I'll digress just a little bit like others and say if he want's to go the .30 caliber route that the 30-06 has just a tad better ballistics along with better options for going up in bullet weight over the .308 and is also legal there. If he has any thoughts of going out where he will be after elk and moose sized game, I'd go with it whether he reloads or just goes with factory ammo because it's probably the easiest centerfire ammo to find anywhere.

Not only what TG said but I am spending HIS MONEY,
What I shoot is the best too and I intend to tell you so.




:D Al

That's how a forum works. Without opinions there wouldn't be any posts at all. Between the two I'd go .308 if I only had one rifle. That being said I've never owned a .308 and I do own .243s... But if I had to pick just one of those two it'd be the .308 probably.
-Jake

The only reason I mentioned the 6.5x55 (and I also noted he can't legally use it there) was to show how going up slightly in caliber, in this case from 6mm to 6.5mm, you can get a much wider range in bullet weight. My complaint with all the 6mm calibers is that the heaviest bullet you can get is 105 gr and those are hard to find unless you handload. Most 6mm calibers max out at 100 gr bullets in factory ammo and I think a 100 gr bullet is a little on the light side. Hence my recommendation that of the 2 calibers he mentioned my vote goes to the 308.

But I also agree with Top. If he is considering the 308 he might as well get an 06. Ballistically the 308 and the 06 are identical with bullets up to 150 gr but the 06 is the better chambering if you want bullets heavier than that and I am a fan of heavy for caliber bullets.

I think folks should adhere to addressing the original question and then throw in a little other info to consider to kind of make sure all facts are being considered or entertain thinking out of the box.

That being said, I feel the 243 is fine for deer and the 308 is good for deer and larger game.

Now my aditional though is why not one of the finest cartridges ever? The .30-06?

TC Venture, shot MOA at 200 yards with factory Hornady 95gr SST. A very accurate and well balanced rifle.

I think one of the reasons is, is, that simply, folks try to offer opinions, that maybe the OP, hasn't thought about, as anyone asking about a caliber or rifle, , is many times new to the game and , might not know the pro's and con's to some things, so, folks tend to offer up suggestions to ALSO consider before buying and then learning more
I'd agree, its best to answer there question FIRST< and then if wanted add in other , food for thought! for them to digest!

Not everyone on a forum is a long time gun owner or hunter, and many don't know what all is out there that MIGHT fit there needs better
its the name of the OPEN forum game
ask and you will get all sorts of answers to anything, on or off subject
just part of the game , and some times it can be educational, and sometime, wasted words on a screen! LOL

I own both a 243 an a 308. Took me a while to find what I wanted out of the 243 for deer hunting but once I did I rarely take the 308 out to hunt with. I hand load a 85gr hpbt game king bullet for the 243 and it has always did the job even on the bigger UP Michigan bucks. If the choice came down to only being allowed one I would again go back to the 308 works great with a hand loaded 168gr hpbt game king bullet. I don't believe if you can shoot half way decent you need a chunk of lead the size of a small pick up truck.


:D Al

Not sure I follow this logic. I like heavy for caliber bullets and after using them for quite awhile I find they tend to perform more consistently than the light fast bullets, do less meat damage from bloodshot, don't deflect off bones, penetrate better and are more likely to leave an exit wound. I have shot end to end through a whitetail buck with a 286 gr bullet from a 9.3x62 mauser. Try to do that with a light fast bullet.

But hey, what do I know? I've only taken 68 species of game, have hunted 13 states, 2 Canadian provinces and made 5 African safaris. By the way, it was African PHs that sold me on heavy bullets and they see more game shot in a single season than most of us will see shot in our lifetime. I listened to them and have been sold on their advice.

As to accuracy, it comes down to practice. If you shoot heavy bullets a lot and put in the range time, you'll shoot them well. Look at what the old buffalo hunters did with their black powder Sharps Rifles in the 1800s. They were killing them by the thousands at ranges over 500 yards with open sights. I'd say that was pretty good accuracy.