What would you chose? .308 or .243?

Question

I am an Avid hunter. I own a remington .270. i am looking to purchase a new rifle. Looking over the ballistics of both the .243 and .308 they are very similar.

I am leaning more toward the .243. I only hunt whitetail deer.
My shots range from 30 yards out to about 150...I could shoot alot farther but I know I am not good enuff to shoot out pass 200 yards. I owe that to the animal.

So what caliber would you chose and why?

Thanks

Jon:
I am looking at the Savage model...How is that accu-trigger?

As for the people saying: I have a .270 you are correct. With a Leopold scope. It is a fine weapon. Just been shooting it for 6 years now and looking to branch out. I believe I will look at the .308 closer as it maybe the better caliber.

Answer 1

Bound's hubby here:

I would suggest you look at the .308 Winchester. I have shot that in competition (to six hundred yards) for over 15 years, and know it is a capable cartridge. I also have a Remington 700 Varmint Special I have built into a 1000 yard gun, and know it to be a capable round. I think you may find more versatility with the .308 ... a broader variety of bullets.

I would also suggest that you consider the Remington 700 VLS and head for the range and practice ... you will find that your 200 yard limitation may grow to 300 or more yards, and further justifying the purchase of the .308! The heavier barrel of the varmint rifle (VLS) will make you a better shot if you are willing to heft an extra pound or two through the deer fields!

Good luck!

Answer 2

Both are fine Deer cartridges. People that say the .243 Win. is marginal are ignorant. All you need to properly kill a whitetail is a well placed shot with a round that has a minimum of 1000 ft lbs of energy. There are .243 Win. loads that will do that at over 400 yds. I would never advocate shooting over 300. The .308 is also a great round, it is my dads favorite. The .308 and .30-06 are so close that it is ridiculous to even discuss. It is not that much better, accuracy is the more important consideration, the .308 is superior in that regard. Any short action is more accurate from the start. My personal choice is the .243 Win. The recoil is light, you can find ammo anywhere and it will put the smackdown on any whitetail that walks. The only reason people feel like they need more is because their skills are lacking. Whatever you decide to buy, make sure you find the rounds that your rifle likes. The ones that you chose may not perform like another choice you are not aware of yet. It is a costly endeavor, but worth the investment. I do agree with the one poster that said most shots will be within 100 yds., especially if you do your homework. I do not think that you need a custom stock either, unless you just have to have one. I would invest in better optics. Consider the Nikon Monarch line, they are very good. Good luck on your choice, do not get sucked into magnumania.

Answer 3

It's all in what your looking for.....but quite honestly, the Remington .270 you allready own will eaisly do the job. With alot of practice and a quality scope you should eaisly be able to hit targets beyond 500 yards with your .270....wether the targets are alive or not is solely your decision. The .243 is a good caliber for plinking, deer hunting and predator hunting. It's only down fall is it's lack of knockdown power. It does bring plenty on punch to the table, but when talking pure shock ability....it in no way compares to the .308. The .308 was designed for one reason: killing men. Through out the Vietnam war and in many conflicts since, the .308 has been proven an effective killing machine. The addition of a .308 would slightly broaden your big game capabilities, but at the same time the .243 would be a more acceptable caliber for varmit hunting than your .270. Again, it's all in what you want...

My personal opinion: Take the money you were going to buy the new rifle with and purchase a high quality scope for your .270. Also add quality rings and bases to mount your scope. You stated you only hunt whitetail deer, you allready have an exellent tool for the job.

Answer 4

I have used both the .243 and the .308 deer hunting. If you have yourself squared away(skill wise) The 243 with a 90-100grain bullet will do the job out to 300+yards if you do your part. The 308 provides you with a greater selection of bullet weights so you could load your own with a 110 gr bullet for varmints or go upto a 200 gr bullet for larger game. A .270 is a great deer rifle especially with 130 grain bullets. I would suggest practice and a good scope(if you don't already have one) For the ranges your hunting I would go with the .243. If you are where the shots are longersay 350+ I would probably go with the .308 and a 150-165 grain bullet. Just be sure you can make the shot first before you try it.

Answer 5

I own a savage 243 and love it! I actually downed a 7 point with it yesterday with 1 shot at about 75 yards, dropped in his tracks. I have successfully harvested a wild boar that was about 350 lbs at over 100 yards with it so the there is no question on knock down as long as you have good shot placement. If you can at least consistently hit a 2 to 3 inch circle at 150 yards than a 243 is all the gun you will need for whitetail at those ranges. On the other hand I have never fired a 308 so I cannot compare the two but I hope my assessment of the 243 helps.

Sorry cant help you there my rifle was purchased 1 year before accutrigger came out, although the trigger on my gun was easily adjusted with an allen screw down to about three pounds, and if the accu trigger breaks over as smooth as mine I would definately reccomend it. PS although I would never shoot anything other than prairie dogs at this range my gun is capable of 6 inch groups at 500 yards with factory ammo.

Answer 6

The .308 is somewhat handicapped due to it's design, but still an excellent caliber, especially for deer. A .243 allows you to use it for deer or pronghorn and yet for coyote or other predator shooting, if you ever get into that. A .308 is OK, but you're limited to some degree for longer shooting as the ballistics are far better for .270 and even .30-06 than for .308 Win. and because of that and it's downrange energy I wouldn't take any real long deer shots with it either, that's just me.
Plus, my brother dropped a nice buck in his tracks with his .243 this year from 80 yards. Plenty of energy.

Answer 7

Whats wrong with the 270? I recommend staying with the 270,thats the best deer caliber made.If you must have a 243 or 308 go with the 308.The 243 is a fast round but has little surface area and may actually be to fast for closer shots,not allowing the bullet to fully expand on impact.The 308 has spped ,range and accuracy with plenty of knock down power,however I recommend shooting a heavier bullet if you are going to keep your shots under 200yds

Answer 8

I would choose a .308 simply because of the knock down power. I killed my biggest buck with a .243 at about 70 yards, but a .308 will push a bigger bullet stronger than a .243
At 150 yards a .243 will still do the job, but a .308 would give me more confidence in a long range shot.

Answer 9

Hmmm...Both good choices.

Personally I like the .308 BUT I've also been hankerin' to get my hands on a .243 for a while.I's say if all you're going to do is deer hunt,go with the .308.Better bullet weight choices.I've always thought the .270 was over rated(it's still a killer round,I just don't care for it),myself having just bought a Ruger Mk77 in .280.

30-150 yards?You'll have it in the bag no problem with a .308,from coydogs to black bears.

Answer 10

FIRST LET ME SAY THAT I AM IMPRESSED WITH THE QUALITY OF ANSWERS FROM THE TRUE GUN AND HUNTING PEOPLE OUT HERE.
LESS AND LESS OF ANSWERS FROM ANTI'S AND WANNA BE'S.
NOT HAVING UNLIMITED FUNDING TO PURCHASE ONE OF EVERYTHING I WANT, IT HAS BEEN MY POLICY TO MAKE MY FIREARMS MULTI-TASK AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
YOU ALREADY HAVE THE PERFECT DEER GUN IN YOUR 270

IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT A 243 WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO WITH IT IN YOUR AREA ?
PRARIE DOGS, COYOTES, ETC .... GREAT GUN FOR THAT.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 308 AND 270 IN EFFECT ON A DEER REALLY ISNT MUCH
FACT IS THEY BOTH WILL KILL A DEER JUST FINE.
SO WHAT WILL YOU USE THE 308 FOR THAT YOU WONT USE THE 270 FOR ?
MY THOUGHT IS THAT IF I HAVE SOMETHING THAT DOES A GOOD JOB ALREADY I MIGHT LEAVE IT AT THAT AND SPEND MY $ ON SOMETHING TOTALLY IN A DIFFERENT REALM. LIKE A BIRD BLASTING SHOTGUN OR A REALLY BIG CALIBER RIFLE.
YOU KNOW, OPEN UP MY PLAYING FIELD TO NEW THINGS, RIGHT ?
JUST MY THOUGHTS
ENJOY WHATEVER YOU BUY