Choosing a new caliber: .243, ,270, or .308?

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I'm going to pick up a new T/C Icon rifle for whitetail deer hunting in Wisconsin. I want to be able to confidently take a single kill shot out to 300 yards (I understand the marksmanship is the key there). I've used several different calibers to hunt deer, but I've never used .243, .270, or .308.

My inclination is to go with .308 because it is 30-caliber, has ballistics not too much less than .30-06 with about 30% less recoil. I've heard that .270 is flatter, and I know that .243 is a good "youth/woman" round.

I like to do a lot of practice shooting, and I used to have a Tikka T3 Lite in .30-06, and after about a dozen rounds with a t-shirt I was quite sore (whereas I could do 20 rounds from .50 BMG bolt gun and not be in pain). I'd like something I can shoot all day without developing a flinch.

My criteria:

-- Has to be commonly available ammunition that is easy and cheap to buy with lots of reloading options
-- Has to be able to kill a whitetail deer at 300 yards with one shot
-- Has to shoot "flat enough" out to 300 yards
-- Has to be comfortable enough to shoot many shots in one sitting

I'm leaning hard toward .308 because it is so popular and there is such a ready supply of ammo because it is a military cartridge.

What do you recommend?
 
Both 308 or 270win. will do the job but IMO 7mm Rem. will do it better and give you the option of shooting farther if you practice and the oportunity prsents itself.
 
It is another form of the .243 but I think the 6mm Remington is a superior midwest deer cartridge. It is definitely not a womens/youth" round, has a very flat trajectory, and has good range. The problem might be in finding a new firearm chambered for it. I have a Remington 788 chambered for the 6mm Remington that I bought new in 1973 and is a great hunting weapon.
 
I do not think that 308 will show 30% less recoil than 30-06, assuming the same bullet weight in both. If recoil is the only issue, why not use the Remington reduced recoil 30-06 loads?

I think well of 270 as a do-it-all chambering; 90gr for varmints, 115gr for itty bitty deer and range work, 130gr for deer, and 150gr for bigger stuff. Then again, I use 125gr loads in 30-06 for the small stuff and range work, 150gr as my general purpose load, and 165gr-180gr for the big stuff.
 
The 308 winchester is pretty much a 30-06 minus 10%. Out of the 3 calibers you are choosing to compare, the 308 is probably going to be the least expensive when buying ammuniton. At least around here, when wallyworld puts their fall sales on ammo, its usually centered around the 30-06 and 308. The 270 is a fine cartridge too, with a bit less drop as the distance gets longer. The 243 is okay for deer, but at longer ranges youre describing, I dont know how they perform at distance.
 
308 if you hunt in the woods, 270 if you hunt in the wide open, and 243 if you are a little recoil shy or just love a good sissy kicker.
Just pick which one fits you best, I usualy prefer the 308 myself and have extensive experence with all of the above.
 
Any you listed will work fine.The 243 will have much less recoil and still do a fine job with good bullets.
 
Another .308 fan.

I am not despairing the other calibers at all. There are lots of good calibers that will get the job done. I just like the .308. Recoil is mild, ammo is anywhere that sells it, cheap surplus to shoot for fun (Well, used to be anyway), components for days, etc., etc.
 
The 308 will recoil less than a 30-06, but not 30% less. Given your criteria I'd five a close decision to the 270. Less recoil, plenty of power for deer, flat shooting.

The 243 is a distant third, especially given the 300 yard requirement.
 
My 308 is certainly not 30% less recoil then my 06 is, mabey 15-20% at best. The difference is noticable but neither one of them is painful to shoot, I have put more then a hundred rounds of 308/30-06 downrange in a day with no bruising, but I am a VERY experenced shooter so your milage may vary.
 
I'll say .270, it's really great for everything but recoil may be an issue for long shooting sessions but really no worse than the .308. Ill toss another option out though how about the 22-250? It'll lay deer down fine at 300 yds with proper shot placement .224 Ida bullets can be had in a variety of weights and ranges of design and the best part, little recoil!
 
It doesn't realy matter what caliber you pick, you just need accuracy. People often take white tail from tree stands using handguns after all.


There was a time when I was younger and thought the 243 was a kid round. I went out and bought a m70 in 7mm mag
Used it once. The deer did that exact same thing that they do with the 243.... It jumped then Stumbled afew feet then feel over and died. The only difference was the ammo costs a lot more,the gun is heavier,made my ears ring a lot longer and it kicked harder.
 
Save yourself some money and put a limbsaver pad on the 30-06. It will get recoil levels down to near 243 levels. Between 308, 30-06 and 270 there isn't a nickles worth of difference in performace on game. Since the others are so close, and you already have a 30-06 I'll suggest a 243 if you just want another gun. With todays better bullets it is a 300 yard deer killer and offers something different than what you already have.
 
I don't see any advantage to the .270 Win, then.

So the .308 has a grand history behind it and more knock-down energy for those over 300-yard shots I won't be taking. The .243 seems to be commonly available ammunition, and it actually has a flatter trajectory out to 300 yards. Hunting ammo is cheaper and reloading is probably a bit cheaper in materials. Add in the light recoil and paper performance out to 1000 yards just for kicks... I think I might get the girly gun.

BTW... does the .243 use large rifle primers?
 
.308 and .270 recoil are about identical, which isn't quite 30% less than .30-06. I don't actually notice much real difference between them all. The .243 has the best trajectory with the .270 VERY close behind. The .308 is down a ways, but within 300 yards, there is little difference between the 3. All will take whitetail in 1 shot at that distance.

Which is your priority?

1.) Recoil... Like I said, the .308 and .270 are very close to the .30-06 in recoil. If this is your priority, then .243 is the clear choice.

2.) Cost... .308 is slightly cheaper than the other two.

3.) Longer distance... I know I said the .243 has a better trajectory, but past 300 yards, it loses the energy for cleanly taking down white tail deer. If you want to try past 300, go with the .270.
 
So the .308 has a grand history behind it and more knock-down energy for those over 300-yard shots I won't be taking
Click to expand...

Actually... Without having the exact information in front of me, the .308 has more energy at the muzzle, and out to a few hundred yards. Past around 300 yards, the .270 actually passes the .308 in energy/momentum due to BC. In other words, it loses energy and velocity at a slower rate than the .308, meaning that they "cross" each other at a certain distance, basically close to 300 yards. Obviously, this is very general. A minority of rounds are probably the exception. 180-grain .308s will hold higher energy levels further than 300 yards, but the trajectory would be far less beneficial than the .270's.

Admittedly, the differences are very slim regardless.
 
Excellent. Thanks for the advice everyone! I just picked up a new T/C Icon in .243 for $550 + $25 shipping on Gunbroker. :D
 
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