help picking a Rifle

[Savage99]

The 243 will be good for the kid to hunt varmints with also. That's a lot of fun and all year around.

The 7-08 is good too.

 

[JO JO]

one thing I have noticed is I see more 243 brass on
the shelf then the others I asked about

 

[Txhillbilly]

The absolute most accurate rifle/caliber that I own is the 6.5 Creedmoor,and then the 260 Remington. Anything in the 6.5mm calibers will do what you want with great accuracy,low recoil,and a good selection of bullets to load with.
My 7mm-08 is a great rifle,but doesn't hold a candle to the accuracy of the 6.5mm's.

 

[AABEN]

The 243 is a very good round and accurate round and very little KICK. The 243 is easy to reload and there is also ammo out there ready to buy.

 

[CB900F]

Jo Jo;

Your poll passes up the best of the batch in my opinion. That would be a gun in 6.5 x 55mm Swedish Mauser. Outstanding accuracy, mild recoil, and kills all out of proportion to it's caliber due to excellent S/D and B/C numbers. I gave one to my then young son as his first centerfire rifle and he'd fight you like a wildcat if you tried to get it from him today.

There are several modern bolt action guns that have that as an available caliber, Tikka, CZ, and more. The CZ550 fullstock is one I've never heard a bad word about in either real life or online. Both the Tikka and CZ have well-earned reputations for accuracy also.

If I am limited to your poll however, it'd be the 6mm. My daughter took her antelope with one this year. It's a cartridge I'm thoroughly familiar with and like a very great deal. As the saying goes: The 6mm Remington is everything the .243 wants to be when it grows up.

Still, when game animals are included, the Swede is my first choice by a wide margin. I hunt elk with mine, sometimes out my back door, and don't feel under-gunned in the least.

900F

 

[dubbleA]

Your choices in the polls are all good ones for stated need.

The 243 Win is the far and away the leader when choosing availability in rifles, factory ammo and reloading related things.

 

[JO JO]

Is the barrel life really short on the 243 or will it last if I don't load hot
loads

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Two pages of posts and I still don't know what you are going to hunt with the rifle?

I would pick the 6.5mm but you specified the Creedmoor while I would want a 6.5X55mm instead. I guess the .243 would probably be best of the ones you listed, especially for an 11 year old.

 

[FiveInADime]

The absolute most accurate rifle/caliber that I own is the 6.5 Creedmoor,and then the 260 Remington. Anything in the 6.5mm calibers will do what you want with great accuracy,low recoil,and a good selection of bullets to load with.
My 7mm-08 is a great rifle,but doesn't hold a candle to the accuracy of the 6.5mm's.

Calibers aren't the cause of accuracy, nor cartridge. The .308 vs 7mm-08 vs 6.5CM vs .260 Rem is trivial if you're talking accuracy. The only slight advantage might be recoil and it's effect on accuracy if the 7mm-08 were loaded with heavy match bullets pushed hard. You can shoot high BC bullets faster out of a .308Win size case with a 6.5mm projectile but the rifle and the quality of the ammo are what matters for "accuracy" (as in how close the bullets land to each other).

 

[FiveInADime]

Two pages of posts and I still don't know what you are going to hunt with the rifle?

I would pick the 6.5mm but you specified the Creedmoor while I would want a 6.5X55mm instead. I guess the .243 would probably be best of the ones you listed, especially for an 11 year old.

I love the 6.5x55 but (at least in my neck of the woods) brass and loaded ammo is more available in the CM. I see 6.5 CM 140 A-Max match ammo on the shelf all the time at various retailers. If you're reloading, I'd choose to burn less powder in a more efficient case with the CM.

For "classiness" 60% off the time I'd choose the Swede every time.

 

[hatt]

Sounds like a .223 would work.