243 Rifle

Hill Man

I am thinking of buying a 243 rifle for Deer stalking. Any advice?

sixpointfive

Sako 75 if you can get one, think mcbride has one down there in athlone, but you would want to be quick, they dont be around for long.

CJhaughey

I have a Browning A-bolt in .243, nice rifle and not overly expensive either.
Light weight and 60 deg bolt throw. Only thing I might change is the stock for a laminated version rather than the shiny factory stock.

ejg

Most newer bolt action rifles are accurate enough to shoot deer out to 200yds. But there is no guarantee for consistency with most standard rifles. Problems arise from wooden stocks swelling if one shoots in wet weather or flimsy plastic stocks changing the point of impact depending on how one rests the rifle for the shot. Most laminated stocks being terribly heavy.
Custom rifle builders and after market parts fix these problems.

My first choice as a hunting rifle would be a stainless Howa. This rifle is accurate, reliable, well built at a very good price. Fair ammount of aftermarket bits available.

After that it's a toss up with Remington being at the cheaper end but very accurate. CZ and Ruger good work horses but little aftermarket bits. Tikka good quality but only available in long action. Sako very good quality, expensive, but not more accurate than Remmy, Howa or Tikka.
Then of course there are some over engineered Euro makes.

Best advice might be to take your time choosing, maybe even talk to a custom rifle builder for advice because they are mostly very experienced.

edi

Jonty

Tikka T3 gets my vote

kakashka

ejg wrote: »

Most newer bolt action rifles are accurate enough to shoot deer out to 200yds. But there is no guarantee for consistency with most standard rifles. Problems arise from wooden stocks swelling if one shoots in wet weather or flimsy plastic stocks changing the point of impact depending on how one rests the rifle for the shot. Most laminated stocks being terribly heavy.
Custom rifle builders and after market parts fix these problems.

My first choice as a hunting rifle would be a stainless Howa. This rifle is accurate, reliable, well built at a very good price. Fair ammount of aftermarket bits available.

After that it's a toss up with Remington being at the cheaper end but very accurate. CZ and Ruger good work horses but little aftermarket bits. Tikka good quality but only available in long action. Sako very good quality, expensive, but not more accurate than Remmy, Howa or Tikka.
Then of course there are some over engineered Euro makes.

Best advice might be to take your time choosing, maybe even talk to a custom rifle builder for advice because they are mostly very experienced.

edi

Agree with that 100%

clivej

Good advice from edi there.
The CZ are good and do the job well and you get a set trigger with all of them over the Remingtons. And the Remingtons need work to bring them up to the CZ level, like a replacement trigger fitted.

I tried to get the Tikka when I was looking for a 308 but I wanted the shorter barrel version that came with a threaded barrel but none could be found and a 3 months waiting time. So I ended up with a Sako 75 second-hand model. IT shoots very well. It has a synthetic stock so I don't have to mind it like a wooden stock.

sako 85

I have a sako 85 in .243 with a grey laminate stock and a stainless steel barrel, I find it excellent. I previously had a .243 sako 75 which was also excellent IMO.

rob308

Definitely try for something with a synthetic stock. As for which make you cant go wrong really with any of the manufacturers mentioned above. It basically boils down to your budget,how it feels in your hand and how it looks. If budget is not a problem i'd definitely look at sako, steyr or tikka. A friend of mine has a steyr 243 and it has to be the sweetest rifle i have ever fired. As i said above though it will be you that will be investing and using it so make sure you feel comfortable with it and dont be in a rush to buy the first thing that looks good, try visit as many shops as possible to see whats out there and use the internet to browse through the various offerings from each manufacturer and create a shortlist for yourself

foxshooter243

ejg wrote: »

Most newer bolt action rifles are accurate enough to shoot deer out to 200yds. But there is no guarantee for consistency with most standard rifles. Problems arise from wooden stocks swelling if one shoots in wet weather or flimsy plastic stocks changing the point of impact depending on how one rests the rifle for the shot. Most laminated stocks being terribly heavy.
Custom rifle builders and after market parts fix these problems.

My first choice as a hunting rifle would be a stainless Howa. This rifle is accurate, reliable, well built at a very good price. Fair ammount of aftermarket bits available.

After that it's a toss up with Remington being at the cheaper end but very accurate. CZ and Ruger good work horses but little aftermarket bits. Tikka good quality but only available in long action. Sako very good quality, expensive, but not more accurate than Remmy, Howa or Tikka.
Then of course there are some over engineered Euro makes.

Best advice might be to take your time choosing, maybe even talk to a custom rifle builder for advice because they are mostly very experienced.

edi

Most factory rifles shoot more accurately than the guy behind the trigger,
if you can get to the stage when you are better than your factory rifle for every shot, only then will you improve with a blueprinted action..dont forget that Team Savage outshot custom rifles with factory rifles recently.Buying a custom rifle wont make you a good shot!. practise and trigger time is whats required.

deerhunter1

Hill Man wrote: »

I am thinking of buying a 243 rifle for Deer stalking. Any advice?

Go 308 otherwise you will change later

clivej

deerhunter1 wrote: »

Go 308 otherwise you will change later

What deerhunter1 said.
Its no more expensive to go the 308 route now over the 243.

Put a 243 and 308 bullet beside each other then decide which claibre to get.

Boyle243

l have a remmington sps tactical 243 with a gamo scope. the rifle has a synthetic stock and has a heavy gauge barrel very good rifle shoots lovely. cant go wrong at 1150 euro for all but think it was special offer at the time...

benboat

I had a remington .243 but changed to a steyr prohunter 25/06..a beauty.. make sure before u buy and buy once. remember bigger caliber more recoil ..25/06 seems perfect for me anyway.

kakashka

.243 is a fantastic allrounder,i have a variety of calibers but i still end up taking the 243 most days,something you can carry and shoot at ease is very important for a stalk

pm.

benboat wrote: »

I had a remington .243 but changed to a steyr prohunter 25/06..a beauty.. make sure before u buy and buy once. remember bigger caliber more recoil ..25/06 seems perfect for me anyway.

Hi i have the steyr prohunter .243 with zeiss glass on top a very accurate gun

CJhaughey

clivej wrote: »

What deerhunter1 said.
Its no more expensive to go the 308 route now over the 243.

Put a 243 and 308 bullet beside each other then decide which claibre to get.

Shoot in windy conditions and the 243 will beat the 308 any day of the week.
6mm is better ballistically,Good SD for that projectile.

meathshooter

I shoot a few deer calibers among them would be 243/308 which are my personal favorites 243 is a great all round and more than capable with a well placed shot cull all the species of deer we have in this little country of ours.I have a rem 700 Vls heavy barrel in 243 took a bit of work to get the rifle right pillar bedded,trigger standard trigger was horrible but the work I done on it made a big difference.the rifle is heavy compared to my sako 75 .308 hunter which makes a big difference if on a long stalk I use the 308 for red deer the bigger bullet weight makes a difference in dropping them bit more forgiving than the 243,shop around there are bargains to be got I got the 308 for £750 new in the north also some lovely secondhand rifles about in the money,there not much in the difference with bullet drop out to 200yrs I personally wouldnt try any futher than 200yrds I like a clean kill

daithi55

cant go wrong with a savage .243 accu trigger well priced and well accurate from the box
i have one and getting thumb nail groups at 100 yards using 100 grain federal powershock and there not dear at 30 euro a box
heres a link to them comes with synthetic stock and adjustable trigger

http://www.savagearms.com/11f.htm

daithi55

cant go wrong with a savage .243 accu trigger well priced and well accurate from the box
i have one and getting thumb nail groups at 100 yards using 100 grain federal powershock and there not dear at 30 euro a box
heres a link to them comes with synthetic stock and adjustable trigger

http://www.savagearms.com/11f.htm

clivej

The Savage shoot very well out of the box.

But look at this range if your going the Savage route as these have a new bedding system fitted in the complete range.

http://www.savagearms.com/16fhss.htm

How it works
http://www.savagearms.com/accustock_how_it_works.htm