Feel Like Buying a Shotgun Rather than Rifle??

[Maverick223]

I'm not to worried about ammo prices

That said, the 7mm-08 would be perfect. I worry more about a poor shot loosing game due to smaller caliber cartridges than I do cost of ammo or recoil (none of the ones mentioned have unmanageable recoil), so I am not the biggest proponent of the .243Win for deer (though it is great for varmint). Honestly I think you would be surprised by the lack of recoil of all of your choices. The least is the .243Win., having about half the recoil of your 20Ga. with birdshot, the other two having about 3/4 the recoil of the 20Ga. If you were worried about ammunition cost you would be better off looking at cartridges with more recoil, namely the .308Win. or .30-06.

 

[The_Pretender]

The first deer I ever killed was with a 20 gauge. Rifled slugs.

Get what you really want, but know you have what works. If you can't get closer than 50 yards, I'd go rifle.

 

[Art Eatman]

Well, I'll stand by my earlier comment about my gunshow trade-ins working well.

No flies on the 7mm08; I like mine. I've tagged over 20 bucks with my .243, and I never had to do any trailing. Mostly neck shots, though.

Scopes make life easier. Once dialled in, it's simply a matter of putting the crosshairs in the right place.

 

[Maverick223]

Mostly neck shots, though.

That's my problem with the .243Win., head and neck shots are the only reliable way to anchor a deer. If you can do that every time, then it is a great choice that you can rely upon to get the job done just as well as anything else. Larger caliber cartridges tend to be a bit more forgiving (especially if a good neck shot doesn't present itself), but shot placement still counts.

 

[Badlander]

If I bought A new rifle I would want to shoot it A lot. A nice 30-30 for around $300. Ammo $11 to $16. per box. Cheap hunting to around 200yds.

 

[Al LaVodka]

In that case, the .243 is the obvious choice. Common, popular, friggin' VERSATILE necked-down .308.
Al

 

[faster4whl]

Yeah, ammo isn't to big of a concern. I live 10 minutes from a gun shop and want shot but probably 3-4 boxes a year. I called around today to get some prices and Dicks Sporting Goods wants $330, while another gun shop want $299. The gun shop has a couple in but its about an 1hr away. I probably will go their in a couple weeks when I have close to enough money to handle it and everything. He said that everybody that has bought them has come back and gave great reviews on them. I'm still in debate about the right cartridge. I'd like to get the 243, but the 7mm-08 is in the back of my mind. One of the questions I was wondering was with the twist rate 1 to 9 1/4, if later I get a bigger rifle will the 243 shoot some lighter 55-70 grain bullets accurately? If so after a year or two I could get a bigger caliber rifle and step the 243 down to my varmint rifle. With my luck, I'd get the 243 and go hunting and a big 10-12 pointer steps out and I shoot at him, but the 243 doesn't leave a good blood trail or nothing and I'll just be out of luck. Once I get some money and am dead set on getting a rifle, I'm going to try and shoot my buddies 243 and maybe my uncles 270. Then I'll know where am at as far as recoil and what I can handle.

 

[Maverick223]

and [won't shoot] but probably 3-4 boxes a year.

Keep in mind that you will want to shoot more than 3-4 boxes of ammo to gain proficiency with most any gun, particularly a rifle.

One of the questions I was wondering was with the twist rate 1 to 9 1/4, if later I get a bigger rifle will the 243 shoot some lighter 55-70 grain bullets accurately?

Even with a 1:10 twist 70gr. projectiles are questionable, but you could be alright; anything lighter is doubtful. A 1:9.25 would fare even worse.

Once I get some money and am dead set on getting a rifle, I'm going to try and shoot my buddies 243 and maybe my uncles 270. Then I'll know where am at as far as recoil and what I can handle.

A splendid idea.

 

[fireside44]

That's my problem with the .243Win., head and neck shots are the only reliable way to anchor a deer

I shot three or four with a Remington 700. Wasn't exactly the pinnacle of magnum power or anything but with lung/heart shots they didn't make any further than about 25 yards. A couple were bedded down when I shot them and got up to run which made me think a second shot was in order. Not really a fan of the cartridge but I won't say it doesn't work just fine on whitetail.

If I had lost an animal I would be pretty angry and never use one again, but it reliably took them out in an ethical manner. Not much more to it.

 

[Maverick223]

Wasn't exactly the pinnacle of magnum power or anything but with lung/heart shots they didn't make any further than about 25 yards. A couple were bedded down when I shot them and got up to run which made me think a second shot was in order. Not really a fan of the cartridge but I won't say it doesn't work just fine on whitetail.

I didn't say it wouldn't work, just that it isn't reliable enough IMO, especially for larger deer (in my experience NC deer is moderate in size). It is just too small of a bullet for my taste. No doubt that many a deer have been killed with a .243Win.