Pick my caliber PLZ!!

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jogar80

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I had a remington 700P in .308 that was incredibly accurate. Loved everything about it except for the parkerized finish and the trigger. I was using it for fun matches ranging 200 to 600yds and was very comfortable with it. Because of a medical emergency, I had to sell all my guns earlier this year. Now I'm looking to get myself another rifle. I have pretty much settled on the Remington 700VLS, which is exactly the same as the 700P except it has a nicer finish and the laminate stock, which I find more attractive. My only problem is that I have this bug to try .243win since I've never had one. This will be my only rifle for a while, so it will have to serve dual purpose as a target/whitetail rifle. I have read all I can, flipped coins and paper/rock/scissored myself to the edge of insanity over this relatively small issue and I just CAN'T decide!!! So PLEASE..... someone give me some convincing to go either .308win or .243 ???
 
We all have different reasons for selecting which firearms we pick up. If i have to pick one of the two you're suggesting, I would go with the .308. If only for the fact that there's cheap ammo available for plinking. Also theres lots of different factory stuff where the 243 would be somewhat limited. Both would be fine for taking deer. And if you ever wanted to build an AR with the same cartridge you could do so with the 308.
 
Unless you don't have very far to lug the rifle before setting up, that will be pretty heavy.

If you really think you want to try .243, there isn't really much reason not to.
 
Either a 6.5 or 7mm. Does Remington use a rifling rate on their .243 that's appropriate for low drag match bullets?
 
allaroundhunter said:
If you go with a .243, make sure you have a faster twist so you can take advantage of the longer and heavier bullets for long range shooting.
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The Remington VLS .243 uses a 1:9.125" twist. Not the fastest, but fairly fast. Looking at Berger's website, that should stabilize up to 95 gr. VLDs
 
jogar80 said:
Do you think being limited to 95gr would be a hindrance?
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that twist rate should be fine for heavier hunting bullets, just not the VLD match bullets. Those 100+grain VLD bullets require something like a 1:7" twist, which I don't think you will find on a factory barrel.
 
jogar80 - my 700 BDL is in .243 and, once I got my reloads set up, I have a 200 yard zero with a 3-9x scope.
It doesn't kick much (less than my AK) and easy to carry.

However, I would limit it to deer-sized animals at ~150 yds. and groundhog/prairie dog at ~250 yds. After that, it drops too much to be reliable.

And, if there is a possiblity that you might go after some of those wild hogs (not javelinas) OR one of those "exotics" at some of those ranches there in Texas, go with the .308. The range won't differ all that much but the .308 has more "kinetic energy" due to heavier bullets for the larger or tougher game.

Good shooting! :D
 
Of the two - I gotta go .308.

So versatile. It's like the .38/.357 of the rifle world. Load it up - load it down.

The only significant reason that I can see to choose a .243 over it is fear (unreasonable maybe) of a military caliber ban in our future or in a country you may take it to for hunting.
 
Dang, I really thought I had found a magic dual purpose .243 rifle in that VLS. If I can't stabilize heavy match bullets, I guess I just might end up sticking with .308.
 
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Buddy got a nice bull elk 5X5 up in Colorado a few weeks ago with a .243. Shot placement. He was using 95 gr. Hornady SST bullets, handloaded.
 
jogar80 said:
Dang, I really thought I had found a magic dual purpose .243 rifle in that VLS. If I can't stabilize heavy match bullets, I guess I just might end up sticking with .308.
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You could always build from the ground up and use a 1:7" twist barrel. Then you will know the rifle is exactly what you want it to be and you haven't "settled".
 
Jogar...if you haven't shouldered and shot a 243... do it!....You'll be amazed how much fun it is and how accurate they can be.
 
A .243 is plenty good for Bambi; I've tagged a couple of dozen bucks with mine.

A faster twist than 1:10 is--IMO--needed for the heavier bullets. FWIW, my 1:10 doesn't group worth a hoot with 100-grain Noslers.
 
I have had both a custom 243 and 308 that were built for other people. Both very similar in that they were built with k98 actions, heavy barrels, incredible triggers etc...my 308 turned into a motorcycle when I traded it, and my 243 became a nearly perfect smith 27 no dash. Of the two I can't say I preferred one over the other except that the 308 was better in wind and was awesome past 500 where the 243 would be blown around a lot more. On calm days the 243 would out shoot the 308 but by a thin margin, and zero wind days are few and far between.

I'm kinda in the same realm at the moment looking for a custom build for myself. I'm thinking 6.5 grendel or 257 Weatherby but I'm not set yet. I'm trying to wring out the best of the best of the best for what I want. I am thinking long range pest gun sounds like a lot of fun.
 
You would enjoy shooting a .243. The 1:9 twist is the designed spin and it works quite well with 100- 110 gr bullets, which is pretty much the industry standard for factory loads. It's a flat, low recoil shooter.
I load 80gr Speer Varminter for 'yote hunting and Speer 100gr spbt for mule deer.
 
I'd say go .243 if that's what you're interested in, my 10 twist .243 will stabilize the excellent 95gr BT (which is actually constructed pretty stoutly) but I had to work a little to find a load that shot as well as I wanted. With a 9.125 twist you should be able to stabilize all of the good hunting bullets, and at least some of the longer range 6mm match bullets.

A 150 yd max range for deer with the .243 is very conservative. I shot two with my .243 at 110 and 130 last year. The performance on both deer was quite impressive, and from examining the wounds I got the impression that that load would have plenty of spunk for 270 - 300 yds shots... which is about as far as I care to shoot on meat anyway.
 
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