Buying a .243

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Deadeyejedi

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Looking at buying a nice .243 for next hunting season. since i handload that caliber for my sons rifle i thought it would be a good choice for me .what a bad time to but a rifle ! Ive looked at dozens of all the top retailers and everything is sold out .Am i to believe there isn't one box of bullets or rifle for sale in the entire country?? I get it that the demand is up but this is ridiculous.i guess ill put off my search for the next 4 years !
 
Yaaaaa, I have one or two boxes that I picked up after I bought my rifle this past fall. Haven't shot it yet, and I'm hesitant to just because whats the point right now if I can't find more.

I look for some every time I go somewhere that sells ammo, but haven't seen any on the shelf anywhere for awhile. 243 and 270 were among the last of what I consider "common" centerfire calibers to disappear. I have seen a couple boxes of 25-06 on a pretty regular basis, but thats the most notable I've seen with any consistency. My father-in-law saw some at the local farm store the other day but it was gone quick.

Unfortunately, 243 probably won't be a priority for ramped up production so it might come back slower than others. 223, 308, 6.5 Creed among others will probably take priority on the production line. On the other hand, once it comes back to the shelves it probably won't fly off as fast either, so I guess it's kind of a tradeoff.
 
I don’t want to break the bank so I thought an axis or maybe ruger I hear they both shoot well . The gun broker stuff seems to be way over priced at the moment.

Gunbroker prices can vary widely. Just last week I bought a practically new Savage 110 for $600 to my door, everyone's "out of stock" prices were around $640-660 before shipping. So I'd call that a win.

Seems like the "Budget rifle" stuff is getting bid up to the mid range prices almost. I was thinking about a Ruger American Predator or Ranch, but they've been getting bid out of the "Budget rifle" category into the low-mid $500 range so I decided to just bite the bullet and spend an extra $50-$100 and go with a legacy product.
 
Looking at buying a nice .243 for next hunting season. since i handload that caliber for my sons rifle i thought it would be a good choice for me .what a bad time to but a rifle ! Ive looked at dozens of all the top retailers and everything is sold out .Am i to believe there isn't one box of bullets or rifle for sale in the entire country?? I get it that the demand is up but this is ridiculous.i guess ill put off my search for the next 4 years !
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/886236271
 
My 243 is an old 700 of the wally world variety. It came with the craptastic plastic stock, but I replaced it with Boyd's laminated. I have killed dozens of deer with it, even with the horrible factory trigger. Which I need to change one of these years. My best hunting rifle is my Ruger American, in 6.5 CM. What a great value for $400(ish). If I wasn't attached to that 700, I would liquidate it in a second and get another RAR in 243.
 
I ran a 700 ADL for years (stiffened forend). Bought new.
Was a half incher w handloads (not kidding).
Went bye bye in divorce.

Got another newer one used like new. Did the stock on it too, and it did .75" w factory ammo.
Good enough.

It has since gotten a steel trigger guard, a Gre-Tan firing pin and shroud, and an HS Precision stock.
Not cheap gun anymore (compared to some). But it's how I want it.

Was entirely usable w stock stiffening and steel trigger guard (orig plastic cracked). That stuff then was $50 and my time.
 
There are still rifles available on GunBroker and a few other sites. Ammo, however, is very hard to find and getting harder. Most people in the ammo business are predicting a very bad year and possibly longer. We are living in dark times. I've bought .243 bullets for reloading and have powder and some primers, but I'll avoid target shooting altogether for awhile and keep the ammo I have for deer. My bro-in-law went looking for .243 ammo a month ago and snagged the last box at a local Academy store. They told him they did not expect to get any more in for the foreseeable future.
 
Ammoseek showing 243 going for $4.00 per round or more. I can find Wby mag ammo for regular pre-stupid prices. Interesting.
 
I've been kicking around getting a 243 myself. After this last big inventory I did in the loading room, I found some 65 VMax and a few cases. These were for a good friend I used to hunt yotes with years ago. He passed a while back, dunno what became of that featherweight he used to shoot.
Looking like I won't be using those anytime soon, if at all
 
I do like the ruger and thanks for posting suggestions . Fortunately for me I’ve been hand loading 243 for a while so I’m pretty well stocked .I’m going to give my local gun shop another try before I go any further . I’m glad hunting season is 8 months off
 
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