.243 or .308 for my 1st deer rifle

keep your triple for fox and munty ,roe up north and get a 308 gr8 round, not dissing the 243 it just dont do it for me .
 
In my opinion, ditch the .222 and get a .243. It does everything you need. I have a .223 and .243 and to be honest the .223 doesn't get a look in.
 
im think of up grading my .222 for a rifle for fox and deer

Had a similar dilema at the start of the year. I have a 22250 and wanted a dear cal. Decided on a 6.5 x 55 which is a great round. Any reason why your only considering 243 or 308? What deer are you planning to stalk? Keep the 222...I like to keep guns not sell them on. If you don't need the cash to get your deer cal, keep it.
 
I'd either keep the .222 and buy a .308 or sell the .222 and get a 6.5x55. I wouldn't have another .243 for Deer. It's a damn fine Fox round but for Deer there are better options in my opinion.
 
I posted this elsewhere, but there is a simple answer to this:

When faced with this boy which would you rather be holding?

sikastagsmall.jpg
 
as you have a .222 I would without a doubt say go for the .308 (or 30/06, 7mm, .270 etc). They will all kill foxes if you encounter one whilst stalking and will give you a far greater margin of error with large bodied animals or with less than ideal angle shots. 6.5mm would be the smallest calibre I would consider.

S
 
When you say 'upgrade' I assume you will only have one rifle. Then I would opt for a 25-06. Great for deer and no problem getting fox put on as some forces are reluctant to do so with 308.
I actually shoot 243ai and 308 so am unbiased.

Atb Steve
 
depends where and what you are shooting.Some places in Scotland i have shot will not let you shoot deer with anything less than 308.
 
Hello ,I had the same dilemma a few months ago when deciding to apply for my 1st deer calibre ( i only shot rimmies & shotgun before ),so i applied for a .243 & .308 but after shooting these calibres on the range plus various others I really liked the 6.5 x 55,it just shoots smoothly with very little recoil ( its more like a push than a kick ! ) so you keep youre sight picture when firing,then i did a stalk with john robson and used his Sako in 6.5 and got my 1st deer.
By the time I had my feo home visit i just wanted the 6.5 and asked her if i could change my variation and she said yes but you can only have one calibre as its my 1st centrefire,this suited me fine and when you think about it in terms of bullet size and weights the 6.5 is in between .243 & .308 and is legal for all deer species,goat & even boar ! BUT
if i was shooting boar i would prefer to use something in the 30 cal range.
I hope this has helped or has it just muddied the waters further,lee
 
Yep 6.5 everytime, I have always said If I could only have one it would be the 6.5x55.
I have owned and used almost everything from .243 to .375H&H on an open certificate. I have just sold my .243 and still have my faithfull little Tikka 6.5 and my Mauser M03 .30-06 though I am thinking of a 257 Roberts or 7x57 to replace the .243
 
I have shot 100+ with .243 and 30-40 with the .308 I am going down the 30.06 route now but of the two you asked about for me it has to be the .308 every time. The deer tend to be dead quicker and ther is less meat damage.

Dave
 
Between those two, the 308. But, the 260, 6.5x55, 7x57 or 7-08 would be my choice. The latter is probably the best. capt david
 
I've scrapped my 223 and put in for a .243 which will leave me with a .243 and .308 in my cabinet. With that, I can shoot anything from a 50 grain to a 180 grain bullet.
 
I went for a .308 to match my .223 which i think im going to sell to fund a semi custom .22-250

Get the .308!!!
 
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