.243 Winchester

[Elkmagnet]

Just telling you what I did but might not be everyone's cup of tea. I went with a 7-08 and a .308 as my kids first guns. Then I had them shoot reduced recoil loads to equal .243 recoil with a bigger bellet. I much prefer handloads with a ballistic tip or hornadys reduced ammo. I tried Remington but had terrible luck with a Corlock bullet and low velocities. I'm sure someone will take exception with the Corlock comment but again just my experience.

Then as the kids got older I just changed the loads. I also once tried full strength ammo and it shot with the reduced loads. I never did it but I have friends who would exchange the shells when they were hunting and practicing. Just a thought.

If reloading h4895 reduce loads may be a great idea.

 

[howl]

I was joking but if you insist.
If on a custom 700 the maker finds the extractor to be loose in the bolt do you not think the maker would first try another extractor from the box in front of him or do you think he will just throw the bolt in the scrap bin?
Everything is basically a box of parts put together. Due to tolerance stacking some combinations of parts are out of spec when put together and need either machined or the combination needs rejected. The individual parts can both be within spec and may mate perfectly with another part. It's the combination of the two tolerances that is the problem.
Savage choosing to try and assemble parts who's tolerances compliment each other does not mean that they don't reject or machine parts that are out of spec.

Can you explain to me why you feel machining two parts down to fit a tolerance spec is different than having 5 of each part and putting the two that fall within spec together?
The design along with the range of specifications and the adherence to them is what makes a safe, accurate and reliable machining.

Straw man arguments with false equivalencies.to boot.

 

[Elkmagnet]

Straw man arguments with false equivalencies.to boot.

Thanks for the informative conversation.

 

[Two7D]

I traveled a similar thought process as you when I started looking for a rifle for my sons. I originally wanted a savage 110 action in 243 or 6.5 creedmoor. I ultimately ended up with a ruger american predator in 6mm creedmoor. I went with the ruger because it was threaded and the 6mm with a silencer is an absolute dream for a kid to shoot. I had an awesome HT member send me a compact stock he had laying around and it now wears a leupold vx3 and a silencer. I have killed a bunch of coyotes with it also my wife has a few big game animals with it.
The ruger is 1/2 moa accurate. I don't like the performance we got with 95 lrx on a nice mule deer buck so next year it will be shooting hammers or accubonds.

What was the performance of the 95 lrx?

 

[Two7D]

Define, "can also be picky"...

I've had a certain bullet prove to be picky. Much as i really wanted it to shoot well.
Went from touching the lands to 0.120" off and couldn't get them to group in 3 different rifle manufacturers.

I don't reload. Some factory ammo shoots better than others as far as accuracy goes. I have a couple savages.

 

[Elkmagnet]

What was the performance of the 95 lrx?

First of all it was a very accurate bullet in my 6cm.
Unfortunately it didn't kill fast. I have been a barnes shooter for the last 15years or so and have had great success with them but the two slowest kills I have had from a barnes both happened this year with this combo. My wite shot a deer 2 times at 400 and 1 time at 40yds all in the lungs and also shot an antilope twice before it went down. Both took a long time before they actually stopped trying to breathe.
Yes we recovered both animals and verified shot placement. IMO They should pass quicker then they did. Im positive it will kill and its a small sample but I am going to change regardless.
Here is a pic of the only recovered bullet.
it looks to have expanded fine. This bullet is probably from 400yds and hitting at 2200fps.

 

[WildWill]

I think I bought this rifle when my boy was 2 maybe. He's just got big enough to start shooting it in the last year. I prefer 100gr Partitions in the 243. but I'm running low and having a hard time finding more. So I've made up some reduced recoil loads with 80gr ttsx bt that he's been shooting and I've been testing. So far one javelina and one doe both exited with decent expansion. I've killed deer, antelope, hogs, and more with a 243. love that round. I think the Ruger American in 243. would be the perfect starter rifle for your kids.

 

[Hillbilly delux]

I have shot a few of the standard Ruger Americans. They all shot good or better. The have the go wild with 16” barrels. You may be able to put a standard American youth stock on them and go back to the original stock latter on. I’m not sure that will work,check with Ruger customer service they are very helpful. For deer and pronghorn a 243 is hard to beat.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

If you really love your kids...

...gunzonedeals.com (seems scammy but is legit) has some blowout pricing on Tikkas. I just ordered a stainless T3X in 243 with 1:8 twist for $665 shipped (with the Tikka $75 rebate). The blued versions are about $100 cheaper, and they might even have a compact version. Make sure to look up the model number though to confirm twist rate, since the older versions had 1:10 twist.

Edit - kind of a PITA to order, you have to click the email for best price and they send you a one-time link. Probably best to just check out as a guest, or register for an account and log in before submitting the request for quote.

This. Don’t have much useful info on picking between a ruger or savage but if a guy can get a tikka for near same $, that’s a good answer.

 

[Two7D]

A difference between 243 and 223 is grown men with little 223 experiences have more confidence in bigger numbers.

I added the s because it's funny.

That is funny! We've also had great success with a 223, a few years ago I would have thought it was too small but we have had great success on deer, pronghorn, and bigger, with surprising lethality. We've been shooting heavier well constructed bullets, get close, and put the bullet where it needs to go. We have exercised great patience and waited for the right shot opportunities and it has always worked with one shot. Dead is dead.

 

[Sheltowee]

First of all it was a very accurate bullet in my 6cm.
Unfortunately it didn't kill fast. I have been a barnes shooter for the last 15years or so and have had great success with them but the two slowest kills I have had from a barnes both happened this year with this combo. My wite shot a deer 2 times at 400 and 1 time at 40yds all in the lungs and also shot an antilope twice before it went down. Both took a long time before they actually stopped trying to breathe.
Yes we recovered both animals and verified shot placement. IMO They should pass quicker then they did. Im positive it will kill and its a small sample but I am going to change regardless.
Here is a pic of the only recovered bullet.
it looks to have expanded fine. This bullet is probably from 400yds and hitting at 2200fps.

I'm hoping to test 100 grain .257 TTSXs on Alabama whitetails in a couple of weeks. I typically go for the tight behind the shoulder shot placement but, given the opportunity, think I'm going to try to bust one directly through the shoulder to see if that puts a deer down faster. Thick, nasty brush hunting in the swamps and tracking can be a chore.

 

[Elkmagnet]

I'm hoping to test 100 grain .257 TTSXs on Alabama whitetails in a couple of weeks. I typically go for the tight behind the shoulder shot placement but, given the opportunity, think I'm going to try to bust one directly through the shoulder to see if that puts a deer down faster. Thick, nasty brush hunting in the swamps and tracking can be a chore.

Good luck! Let us know if you get a shot.

 

[wolfpup]

Purchased the .243 Ruger Go-Wild for my wife 2 years ago and have been a great gun. Will introduce my kids once they are older. Love it!

 

[Two7D]

Purchased the .243 Ruger Go-Wild for my wife 2 years ago and have been a great gun. Will introduce my kids once they are older. Love it!

That's what I ended up ordering.

 

[Lilly Mae]

I'm trying to decide on a new rifle for the kids. I'm currently thinking of getting a Ruger American Go Wild or the Savage 110 Trail Hunter. I have more experience with Savage vs. Ruger and know that Savage is typically accurate but can also be picky. Seems like the vast majority of reviews on the Ruger Americans rave about how accurate they are with just about anything they are fed. What do you all think?
On a side note do you know what the barrel length is on the Ruger American Go Wild not including the muzzle break?

Thanks in advance

Tikka better than both mentioned. Action like butter and best factory trigger. Sub moa accuracy

 

[Forkyfinder]

Savage, Tikka, Ruger, Howa, all make quality good shooting rifles.

Savage's weak extractor issues are easy to fix and non existent on newer models.

Congrats on your purchase, 243 is a good cartridge.

 

[T.R.]

Stevens 334 is a handsome tack driver featuring Turkish walnut stock. Priced under $500.

 

[Wh1tebison17]

A quick google search turned up this on the Ruger. I looked it up mostly because I wanted to see what the Go Wild series looked like but I figured I'd share what I found. View attachment 308487

Can’t go wrong with that!