got a favorite .243?

upptick said:

I came across a new Henry Long Ranger in .243 today with a price of $825 (in a military base exchange store). I nearly made an impulse buy but thought I should do a little research first, which led me to this used Parker Hale with glass sights for about $800:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/891142838

I've always heard that the Parker Hale is a good but under-appreciated gun.

If you were looking for a .243, would you go for one of these? or would you keep looking and get a different .243?

Click to expand...

I would pass. Not a fan of carved stocks and see no reason for a brake on the muzzle of a 243.

Price is high, the engraving looks ok but that nose cap is loose or something, having a Simmons on it doesn't help.


I've owned and shot a lot of 243s, my favorite was a basic commercial fn mauser. Really wish I still had it, good but if my early deer hunting was done with it. Shot lights out as Well.

Here is my favorite. Remington Mohawk 600. Bought it used as a project rifle. Someone had removed the butt plate and installed a recoil pad so it was too long. I had it cut down to my LOP and a limb saver installed. Refinished the stock. Converted the impressed checkering to cut checkering (a painstaking process right there). Full length epoxy bedding. Hunted down an original rear sight to replace the missing one. Took a long time to figure out what it liked to shoot and how to load them, but now it's one of my favorite rifles.
View attachment 975432

upptick said:

That looks like an elegant shooter.

Click to expand...

First time I've heard of a Mohawk called elegant. You find out right away that the 18 inch barrel kills the 243 ballistics, but it carries really well. Fits on the back seat of a Jeep Wrangler too.

The Mannelicher stock on the Parker-Hale really does it for me, but the engraving doesn't. I'd personally pass on it.

If you're on this board, I'm guessing you own a hunting rifle or 10 already, so this 243 is probably just for funsies. If it is, buy a gun that speaks to you. If you can't hear either of these rifles calling your name, keep the $800 in your pocket and spend it on something that does.

FWIW, my 243 is a Savage model 110. I learned to love the accuracy, but it probably weighs close to 10 lbs slung and scoped and is a pain to pack around. Not a bad gun, but overbuilt for what it is IMO.

My new favorite .243 for the last couple years is a Mannlicher Schoenauer model 1961 full stocked carbine which I put a Zeiss HD5 3-15x42 Conquest on in the factory mounts instead of the 4x old Redfield it came with. It is perfect and I won't sell it, I'll bet I can still handle it at 90 !

The only .243 I currently in the safe is a remington 700, which is my wifes gun.
Of the .243s ive used, my favorite is my mother inlaws Sako 579 Forester.

Got Browning/Sako 243 but like shooting 243AI.

I’m not really a 243 type but I have had a few. My favorite was a Winchester 88 in terms of it just being neat. That was followed closely by a Remington 7600. The 7600 could have been a nice ranch rifle.

My one and only .243-

Savage M99. Not cheap, or easy to find, but mine is silly accurate with moderate recoil.

Ruger M77 VT it’s a tank. To heavy to carry around but a good shooter. I’ve had it for at least 25+ years. I must like something about it because it’s still around.

Friend of a friend had a Ruger #1 for sale a dozen years ago. I wanted a #1, but wasn't looking for a .243, the price was just too good to pass up. I am so happy I releaved myself of my ignorance of the cartridge every time I shoot it. Definitely one of my top 5 keeper rifles.

I have a 700 in 243 I have dropped many deer with. If I were to get a new one today, I would opt for a Ruger American or Savage with a better trigger than my 700.

I loaned my first 243, a Model 10 Savage, to my SIL for his first ever deer hunt. Put him on a stand and he shot 2 deer with it. I gave it to him and found a cheap Remington 700 ADL synthetic. That little rifle shoots very well and has taken over a dozen deer and plenty of armadillos. A 90 gr BallisticTip blows chunks out of dillos and 95 gr Ballistic SilverTips are death on whitetails.

My favorite is my first, a Rem 700 BDL Varmint. Shot my first two deer with it. Pops has a matching Win model 70.

My favorite is the one my wife is set to inherit from her grandma it’s a model 70 fwt and it is very accurate!

My hands-down favorite was the family's Remington 760 in .243.

I was responsible for dispersing the guns after the afters and foolishly (to a tiny degree) kept the .30-06 while the .243 went to a brother. Could never get it outa his hands now.

Strangely accurate, light, slick as a Krag and beautifully built & finished.

What a rifle!


Todd.

I wouldn't give 8 bills for that one.
I don't like the stock, the muzzle break is silly on a .243, and it basically does not come with a scope.

For $800 I would expect more.

Arkansas Paul said:

I wouldn't give 8 bills for that one.
I don't like the stock, the muzzle break is silly on a .243, and it basically does not come with a scope.

For $800 I would expect more.

Click to expand...

Same here.
I particularly dislike the engraving and the muzzle device.
Then, too, it always seems like Mannelicher stocks should have back-up iron sights and sling swivels to me. The front sight in particular really punctuates the stock at the tip.

There's something almost *perverse* to me in this rifle's presentation. Might be a better word for it but that's what come to mind.

Todd.

upptick said:

If you were looking for a .243, would you go for one of these? or would you keep looking and get a different .243?

Click to expand...

No, and yes.
My first choice would be a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight. Generally seen for around $899. But if you wanted to spend way more for a classic, the Model 70 Super Grade is a great rifle.

But, for down to earth prices, the Tikka T3 Lite or the CZ 557 American (both a little over 800 bucks) are pretty good rifles in their own right.

Armalite w Swarovski, my only 243

Barnfixer said:

Ruger M77 VT it’s a tank. To heavy to carry around but a good shooter. I’ve had it for at least 25+ years. I must like something about it because it’s still around.View attachment 975457

Click to expand...

Holy Moly!! That thing needs a vehicle mount!

Hi...
I had a Sako L579 in .243 many years ago that was extremely accurate. Unfortunately I had to sell it due to a divorce.

Replaced it a couple years ago with another very nice Sako L579 in .243. Still need to find the perfect load for this rifle...it certainly has potential that is yet to be exploited. Mostly my fault...I have been concentrating on a couple of other new to me rifles and a lot of handgun shooting that has limited my rifle and shotgun shooting in general and time with this particular .243 specifically.
Once spring arrives and the current mini Ice Age fades into memory, I hope to get more time behind some of my rifles including my .243 Sako.