Can't decide on rifle caliber!

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CC268 said:
Alright well obviously the general consensus here is the .243. I am going to Bass Pro, maybe Cabelas, or Sportsmans to see what they have for .243's. I know BPS has no Savage 11's at all in the .243 and I am sure they are probably all sold out at Cabelas and Sportsmans too, but I will check. Is there another rifle out there that would be good in .243 besides the Savage 11?
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I'm personally not aware of a significantly better rifle for a .243 in that price range without taking the time (and risk) to go used. (If I had the budget then I'd go with a CZ 550 American, but that will cost nearly double.) But I'm skipping the point of my response.

Whatever you get, you will want to consider the price of a scope in your overall decision.
 
I own a .308 bolt rifle. In fact I have owned two now.

The first time I shot one, being my old CZ550 Deluxe, I thought "Great. One shot and I have a flinch already. I can't say I flinch much now, only occasionally but this is now largely due to a) having shot it a bit more and b) selling the Deluxe and getting the CZ550 Varmint bull-barreled version.

So this is to say that .308 is not all that bad, but I can empathise with worries over recoil-induced disappointment.

Which to choose?
I'd say either would be fine, but perhaps .243 in a hefty rifle would just make shooting more pleasurable, sooner. You can always trade up later....
 
I really like my Tikka T3 Lite in .243 Win. It shoots 1/2 MOA, out of the box and is nice to carry as well as to shoot at the range. Tikka and Sako are the same company and Tikka uses match quality barrels from Sako. Cabelas had a sale on Tikkas when I got mine last year, but Dick's has had sales recently as well.

The Ruger American is also a nice rifle for the money, but handle a bunch of rifles and decide for yourself. It's hard to make a bad decision.
 
Wow that is funny you mention the Tika T3 Lite. I was just looking at one at bass pro. I'm working on getting the money to buy that Tika! We will see what happens. I am going to get a .243 though regardless of what rifle I get.
 
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If you don't plan on shooting more 400 yards then the 243 should do everything you want and do it wonderfully. It will shoot farther than that but wind starts to become a big factor.

The 308 will handle longer ranges better because the wind won't blow the heavier bullet around as much but it does recoil so it depends not only on what you want to shoot but how far away it is. By the time you start talking about the longer ranges where the 308 really shines cost, especially of the scope begins to be a factor.

Both are great calibers but for 90% of what you are doing the 243 will do well. When you want to do more you can always upgrade. On the other hand the 308 will do anything you could ever want to do on this continent so you would have a hard time justifying a new gun to the wife:D

+1 for the Tikka T3. Especially for the 243. It's very light, smooth action and accurate out of the box. On a budget I would couple it with a Nikon 4x12 BDC.
The Savage would also be high on my list for either caliber.

I'm a fan of Ruger in general but as an instructor I see a lot of feed and accuracy issues with the Ruger bolt guns.
 
I'm not knocking the Nikon at all. I have the 3-9x50 ProStaff on my 30.06 and have zero complaints. It was my first "better-than-Tasco/BushnellBanner" scope. But I've since found for near the same price that I like the Vortex Crossfire II scopes MUCH better. I get a brighter image, better eye relief, and a lifetime warranty. The 4-12x40 AO would be great, the non-AO would be fine too. Heck, I just replaced an ancient Bushnell 3-9 with the 2.5-7x32 Crossfire on my Woodsmaster (semi-auto) in .243 and I think I'm going to like it.

Cameraland has some great prices on the Vortex right now. The 2.5-7 cost me $99.

But any easy you go, for hunting, I really like the BDC reticles.

http://www.vortexoptics.com/category/crossfire_II_riflescopes

http://www.cameralandny.com/deal_of_the_day.html
 
Well guys I am picking up the Tika T3 Lite .243 tomorrow! As far as scopes I am not sure what I am going to do yet. Will probably have to pick up something like the Nikon Prostaff until I have money for something nicer.

Quick question..would you still take the .243 over a .270 for my needs?
 
243's are barrel burners, the 308 will do everything, and more, than a 243.

I am not a 243 fan, had one, it shot awful, recoil in a featherweight was not light. Rebarreled that rifle to a 308.

If given the choice between a 243 and another light caliber, I would take the 257 Roberts every time. Light recoil, lower pressures, flat trajectory.
 
CC268, you made a fine choice. And that same Tikka lite in 308 might have rattled your fillings a bit. As for 270 versus your 243, that depends on your shooting needs. With the 270 you don't really have a varmint rifle, and the kick in a light rifle is significant, so for an all around cartridge (varmint to deer) the 243 should fit your needs just fine.

And now you mentioned you need a scope. Boy, that'll get em all to talking. Even worse than rifle caliber decisions. The Nikon Pro Staff should do till you decide what you want to spend the big bucks on.
 
Yup Tikka 243 it is! Well I guess if its a crappy caliber and the 308 is better than so be it. I'm notneven going to get into scopes on here lol
 
Quick question..would you still take the .243 over a .270 for my needs?
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The 270 is a 30-06 with the neck reduced from .308 to .277. As such it has a lot more energy than the 243 and more recoil. The trajectory is very flat, however. It is a good caliber.

As is the case most of the time, too much is being made of caliber. Buy what you can afford to shoot and shoot. Often. All these calibers work well otherwise they wouldn't have made it past the wildcat experimentation phase. The accuracy is going to be inherent in the rifle and the T3 will be accurate. One round doesn't do everything perfectly, there is always compromise. In your case it will be a light bullet that gets pushed around by the wind when shooting longer distances, but the recoil should be pretty light even in the very lightweight T3 and as I said, if you ever want to shoot something bigger or farther away you can get a bigger rifle and save that one for your wife, son or daughter.
 
Congrats: You'll absolutely love the .243 Tikka T3 Lite!!!

You might want to save up to get a Leupold VX-2, 3-9X. It will do anything you want. Cheaper scopes may serve you okay, but the Leupold can be had for about $340 and is worth the wait.

I use Weaver detachables, but any low, strong mount will do. Stay away from dovetail mounts like the Redfields. Not reliable.
 
Thanks guys! Can't wait to pick up that Tika tomorrow! I think the .243 will be a great first rifle and I will get something of bigger caliber for my next rifle!
 
For what you mentioned in the original post, the .243 is an excellent choice. 270 has fairly heavy recoil in a light weight rifle, and my experience has been, if I shoot a rifle a lot that is over about 12 ft. lbs. of recoil it makes me flinchy. A muzzle break is a double edged sword. The muzzle blast increases about 10 times what the recoil decreases (exaggeration).

You done good! Enjoy!

Oh yeah--if you want to start shooting right away (and I sure as heck would!) get a scope you can afford--some of the suggestions here are not expensive, and later you can upgrade. Glass does make a difference, but for now a rather inexpensive unit like the Nikon Prostaff would be fine.
 
CC268 said:
Thanks guys! Can't wait to pick up that Tika tomorrow! I think the .243 will be a great first rifle and I will get something of bigger caliber for my next rifle!
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You might think of a higher quality .22 LR for your next rifle. (I think my CZ 452 gives me a great bang for the buck, but there are lots of good ones.) There is something to be said for lots of trigger time and nothing will do that like a rimfire.
 
I have quite a bit of trigger time with rifles, just never shot a .30 caliber. I have shot 22-250's, 22LR, .243, .270, .25-06 and I am probably missing one or two others. So as far as trigger time I don't think I am lacking too much. I think the .243 will be a great gun for me to get some decent trigger time on as well and will allow me to hunt coyote and deer well. I just got back from a white tail hunt and I was using my buddies .270. I hated using friends guns for hunting though, not the same as having your own gun that you have confidence in.

Anyways...don't want to start another this vs. this argument, but thanks for all the help!
 
Since you mentioned it......

For your purposes I have to agree with the folks recommending 243 Winchester. If you decide that later on you want more power you can consider a 270, which would be my first choice, but it kicks more. My idea of a good scope at a good price is to find a used Leupold 3x9x40, probably at a gunshow and probably for around $150.00. Where I live, (Portland), ammo for 243, 270, 308, and 30-'06 all costs the same except for Milspec type ammo in the military calibers which I wouldn't use even if I could. All the folks who recommended the 243 were steering you in the right direction.
 
I know this is last minute, and you look like you have settled on the Tika, but if that doesn't work out for some reason, the Remington 700ADL is a good deal at around $400 (and available in 243).
 
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