Need some gun advice

[annieoakley]

I've got a lever action .30-30 Marlin, I bought it about a year ago & took my first deer with it this past fall. However, I don't particularly like it. It's got quite a kick, and I don't have much range with it. I shot a friends .223 Ruger bolt action over the weekend, and MAN, I loved it! I was thinking of trading in my Marlin for a .223, but I did some reading online and I've found that a .243 is better for deer.

I want to buy something that I'll be able to shoot more than one type of game with. Deer, pig & coyote are what I will mainly be shooting. Will a .243 be sufficient for all 3 of these? Or would a .223 be ok, too? Any and all advice is appreciated I'd ask my husband, but he's not real into guns. He's the one who got me the .30-30, and he thinks it's great to shoot anything with.

Also, if you've got a .223 or a .243, what kind do you have? I want a good gun, but I don't want to spend a fortune on it. Thanks in advance!

[camoman1]

Im not a big rifle guy...I dont know everything about them. But I would go with the .243. A .223 for deer seems a bit light, but I could be wrong.

[RangerClay]

A .243 is just fine for everything you mentioned. This past fall I shot a doe and a coyote with my .243. In fact this gun will belong to my daughter when she is old enough to carry it.

[hunterbobb]

Annie I think you are a first. I have never met a woman that enjoyed guns and her husband didn't.

First of all if the only choices on the table are a 223 or a 243 definatly go for the 243. The 243 has 60% more muzzel energy at 100 yards then the 223 does.

Second if cost of the firearm is the primary concern I would look into the Marlin XL7. it is a new firearm that Marlin is selling for way less than it is worth. I think they are trying to break into the very competive boltaction rifle market and that is why they are selling so cheaply. The XL7 has many features you will find on rifles costing almost twice as much.

Third here a piece of advice from an old gun crank. Based on what you said you will be hunting I would like to recommend another option. If it was me I would buy a Remington Model 7. Chambered in 260 Remington. Actually I already did buy one and I love it. The Remington Model Seven is a lightweight carbine that in my opinion is the best rifle on the market for women. It is a little bit smaller and lighter than any other production rifle and is easier for women to handle. If size and weight of the gun is not a consern then I appologize. As for the 260 Remington it is another step up on the ballistics scale having about 20% more muzzel energy than the 243. However this is a pricey rig and will cost at least twice as much as the Marlin.

I hope this was helpful. If you have any furture questons feel free to seend me a private message.

:gun2:

[annieoakley]

Thank y'all so much!

hunterbob- I'm gonna check out that Marlin XL7. I've heard that a .243 doesn't kick any harder than a .223. I'm not a weenie, but I don't like a gun that kicks real hard. I've been a little hesitant about that since I shot my sons .25-06 and the scope broke my nose, lol. It's embarrassing to admit, but hey, we all do stupid things every once in a while.

Thanks for the picture RangerClay! When we took my 3 year old dove hunting last fall, he carried his toy gun, too

[Jeramie]

Definately go with the .243. It does kick more than the .223 but not as much as the old 30-30. My 13 year old niece killed her first doe with my .243 this year. I own both and while I love the .223 and how cheap it is to shoot its not near the caliber the .243 is.

Recoil is VERY light and there are a few different bullet choices for different game. I use a 100grn BTSP round for Deer (think Remingto Corelokt or Winchester Super X). They are cheap and deadly accurate. This will work well for hogs too.

I use a Hornady V-Max for Varmint. I load them so its cheaper but a box will run about $25 around here. They are SMOKIN fast and deadly on yotes.

Sight a .243 in 1 1/2" high at 100 yards and youre good to 200 holding dead on. The caliber is actually good out to 300 yards on large game and MUCH farther on small game like yotes and prarie dogs. Personally I wouldnt shoot my .243 much over 250 yards but many cant shoot that far anyway.

They are definately a great round and the way to go with those two...

Btw, her is my .243 custom. Its a Ruger M77. Its is by far my favorite Rifle in my cabinet. Talking about a tack driver. I shoot 20oz water bottles (full of water) at 200-250 yards. Its a hoot!

[annieoakley]

Hey, a fellow Okie! Nice gun, by the way. Very nice.

I've decided to get the .243, despite the fact that my husband has done nothing but gripe at me for it. He says the /243 is a crappy gun & he wouldn't own one if it was given to him. He says it's a slow gun. Whatever, my mind is made up. When I kill a huge buck with it this fall and he can't reach one with that .30-30, I'll try not to laugh.

[Adjam5]

Welcome to Realtree .

Good Luck with your .243 purchase. It will work well for all of the game you have mentioned. You should be able to get loads with bullets up to 100 grains for deer, hogs and varmints. A flatter shooter than the 30/30.

For the record...the 30/30 has killed more deer than any other caliber on earth. It was at one time, the DO ALL cartridge. We have since evolved ballistically.

All things being equal, A pointed bullet in a bottle necked case will always perform better than a flat nosed bullet will.

I have a .243, but my Marlin 30/30 always gets the call to go deer hunting.

Have fun and hunt safe.

[Lance86]

Wow Annie, I've been researching the same topic for months- trying to decide on a .243 or 25-06 for my 13 yr old daughter. I've decided on the .243 for the simple fact that the recoil is next to nothing. In fact, when comparing the charts with the .243 and a .410 shotgun with a 3" slug, the recoil is almost exactly the same. Plain and simple- you need to be comfortable with the gun to be a great shot, and recoil has everything to do with making some people comfortable.

I've narrowed my search to the Remington 700 SPS or the Thompson Center Venture. There is quite a bit difference in price though. The Venture is TC's "entry level" gun. It's marketed to compete with some of the lower priced competitor models, but it is made similarly to the TC Icon without a few of the bells and whistles. It retails for under $500 and has a mfr guarantee to have 1" or tighter groups @ 100 yards. The gun also has a great warranty compared to others.

As for the .243 capabilities- all of the above replies have hit it on the head. Great gun for everything from p-dogs to whitetails including antelope, hogs and yotes.

I am planning to pick mine up at Cabela's on Wednesday!

Have fun and it's always great to hear from a lady that loves to hunt!

[MichiganHunter]

I wound not let my friends hunt deer with a .223 just because there can be issues with the .223 not causing enough damage. the .243 is a knock down round.

[annieoakley]

Y'all are awesome I talked to my dad tonight & decided 100% on a .243. He also said the exact same thing about the .30-30: it's killed more deer than any gun there is, ever. But, I just don't like it. I'm hoping I can get $250-$300 trade for it. I'm going to the gun store on Wednesday, I can't wait!

[annieoakley]

Y'all are awesome I talked to my dad tonight & decided 100% on a .243. He also said the exact same thing about the .30-30: it's killed more deer than any gun there is, ever. But, I just don't like it. I'm hoping I can get $250-$300 trade for it. I'm going to the gun store on Wednesday, I can't wait!

[Goinghuntin]

I've decided to get the .243, despite the fact that my husband has done nothing but gripe at me for it. He says the /243 is a crappy gun & he wouldn't own one if it was given to him. He says it's a slow gun. Whatever, my mind is made up. When I kill a huge buck with it this fall and he can't reach one with that .30-30, I'll try not to laugh.

Annie, you are my hero :jaw: :group:

Nathan

[wtnhunt]

Welcome to the forums Annie.

The .243 is a pretty decent round for deer imo. My wife and oldest daughter both have their own .243's, each use different ammo, both have been effective with them on deer. With the exception of my daughters first deer where shot placement was not so great, neither has had a deer to make it more than 60 or so yards. My wife's savage model 10 in .243 is one of the most accurate rifles we own.

Your husband might want to research ballistics tables on lighter weight .243 rounds, think the factory 75 grainers are leaving the barrel at over 3300 fps if I remember right, not exactly slow for modern non magnum centerfires.

[dbHunterNY]

I say get the best 243 you can afford and don't look back!

[Rhino]

Yep...you made the right choice with the .243 especially if you ended up with a broken nose shooting a 26-06. When my son was a lot younger he shot a .243 loaded with my handloads. He never had a problem killing deer and pigs at all. Some of his deer dropped in their tracks too. I got a good laugh about your husband's comment about a .243 being slow. I had my son's .243 loaded with 90 gr. Barnes X bullets leaving the muzzle at ~3300fps. That's about the same velocity as my 300 Win Mag back in the days when I used to hunt with it.

BTW...these days most of my rifle hunting is with a Remington Model 7 in .308. Although it's a light weight rifle it does have a kick to it and that's with my handloads that are loaded on the light side for that round. The .243 has very little kick and will do fine hunting anything on your list of big game.

Welcome to the forums too.

[annieoakley]

I made my purchase today! I got a Remington Model 700 Buckmaster .243, in Realtree Hardwoods camouflage. I put a 3x9 scope on it, too. I can't wait to go shoot it!

[Jeramie]

Great choice! The 700 is probably my all time favorite rifle. They are deadly accurate and very dependable! Youll be very happy with it.

As far as speed of the round is concerned, check out the following. All data is based off of the same bullet (different weight for the .243). This is from Winchester's site. The .243 SMOKES the 30-30 and beat the .30-06 for speed. The .30-06 is still arguably the best round ever made but the .243 is nothing to ignore. They are versatile, fast, and amazingly accurate! Speed is measured in feet per second. Energy is measured in Foot Pounds per Second. It takes about 1300 ftlbs to kill a deer cleanly in its tracks. Thats not to say less wont get the job done. The .223 takes them down and are legal in Okieland. .......show this to your husband, then ask him about a slow round.......

Btw, what part of Oklahoma are you in?

.243 100grn soft point

Distance-------Speed---------------Energy----------Bullet Drop

Muzzle---------2960fps-------1944 ftlbs/second------1.5"

100yards-------2696fps-------1612 ftlbs/second------- 0"

200yards-------2447fps-------1328 ftlbs/second------3.3"

300yards-------2211fps-------1084 ftlbs/second-----12.4"

30-30 150grn soft point

Distance-------Speed---------------Energy----------Bullet Drop

Muzzle---------2390fps--------1901 ftlbs/second-------1.5"

100yards-------2017fps-------1353 ftlbs/second---------0"

200yards-------1682fps---------941 ftlbs/second-------7.1"

300yards-------1397fps---------649 ftlbs/second------26.7"

.30-06 150grn soft point

Distance-------Speed---------------Energy----------Bullet Drop

Muzzle--------2920fps---------2837 ftlbs/second------1.5"

100yards------2605fps--------2258 ftlbs/second--------0"

200yards------2311fps--------1777 ftlbs/second-------3.6"

300yards------2036fps--------1379 ftlbs/second------13.8"

[annieoakley]

Thanks Jeramie, that's very helpful! I'm gonna show him that tonight when he comes home

I live near Lawton.

[Ed Hobbs]

223 vs 243

Here in the West we think of the 223 as a varmint cartridge. Years ago I shot a small mule deer in the head with a 222 and that did the job. I and my wife have taken a number of both mule deer and black tailed deer with a 243 using 100 grain hand loaded Hornady bullets at a little over 2900 fps. That worked as long as we limited our selves to shots under 200 yards. I attempted to use the 243 in Utah on large mule deer back in the early sixties and was disappointed. Switched back to the 270 and was much happier. The past few seasons I have been using a 260 Remington with hand loaded 130 gr. Barn's X bullets and that seems to be better than the 243. But dead deer are dead no matter what you kill them with. Placing a bullet in the chest either getting lungs or the heart is important no matter what you use. A shot in the legs or guts means a long chase and possibly a lost animal.

Ed Hobbs

Edited May 9, 2010 by Ed Hobbs

[johnf]

I made my purchase today! I got a Remington Model 700 Buckmaster .243, in Realtree Hardwoods camouflage. I put a 3x9 scope on it, too. I can't wait to go shoot it!

Congrats, that's a great gun. Hope you put a good scope on it. What kind of glass is on it?

Let's get some pics on here.

[annieoakley]

Congrats, that's a great gun. Hope you put a good scope on it. What kind of glass is on it?

Let's get some pics on here.

I put a Vortex 3x9 scope on it. I looked through all the scopes, Leupold, Nikon, etc. and liked the Vortex the best. I'll try to put up some pics!