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Which 243 deer rifle....

phade

By phade,
in Rifle and Gun Hunting

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phade Mentor

phade

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I really want a .243 for a dedicated deer rifle...and I want to have a thumbhole stock of some sort...I'm not particular if it is a CVA/TC type of single barrel/swappable stock deal or a dediacted nice wood stock. Open to suggestions...

I am looking and not finding much to my liking.

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eagle rider Newbie

eagle rider

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Encore Prohunter all the way. The 243 Win for deer has been blogged to death. Put a well constructed 243 bullet into a whitetails boiler room and you're eating backstraps. Put a crappy shot on him and you're in a hot mess. IMO the same is true if you're using a 270 or 30-06. Hit one in the hinds, paunch or the Texas Heart and you'll be out looking for sure. There's been a lot of BS back and forth about no exit wound and poor blood trails. I've seen hunters miss 30 cal blood trails as well. Back to your question, in a single shot you're goona have to wait for the right shot so I think you'll be less inclined to take a marginal one. With a good bullet you're gonna be aces on this. I hand load and I was talking to the guys at Sierra Bullets about the 243 Gameking 100's. A couple of them use them for Mule Deer and Black Bear in Idaho and Missouri. One hog hunts in Texas and dropped a 440 pound boar with a 243 Win and a Gameking 100. He said the boar took two steps and face planted. Neither of them ever took more than one shot. They are used far across Europe for Red Stag which run about 400 or 500 pounds. Its a wonder round. Good velocity and the right sectional density does it everytime. If you don't handload invest in a quality commercial round. Federal Premium has a commercial loading with the 100 gr Sierra Gameking. Remington makes a 90 gr Swift Sirocco Bonded. Either of those and a set of cross hairs on lungs and heart and you're gonna be in fat city. But back to your original question, the TC Encore is the way to go.

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Gthphtm Newbie

Gthphtm

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If you insist on having a 243 caliber,Do not cheap out,buy the best you can afford.If it was going to be a rifle to be used for more then one type of game and a once in a lifetime rifle.I would save my pennies and by a good quality rifle like a Sako.You would never regret it.

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Dinsdale Community Regular

Dinsdale

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I brought this into its own thread for you phade.

Guys, lets not debate the effectiveness of 243 for deer, lets try to stick to the subject here.

I'm holding back...............<grin>

How about the merits of a thumbhole stock on a deer gun instead? :gamer:

Personally I would look at a Tikka T3....same barrel as a Sako and thats the part that counts if cost is an issue.

Or a friend has a TC Icon thats a tack driver, does well with several bullet weights (yotes and deer), but the Hogue overmolded is a bit heavy for a field gun for my taste.

Good luck; looking is part of the fun.

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eagle rider Newbie

eagle rider

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if it's not a 700 remington you will not be happy!!!!

That's not true at all. There's lots of other great rifles. I don;t drink the Remington Kool-aid. Remington has cheaped out on their stocks beyound belief. They have potential trigger issues that have come to light in two longtime models including the 700.Their customer service has become a horror show. I used to have an R25 that had headspacing issues. I was getting blwn primers and brass flow. Their initial response to me was "try different ammo." Imagine how bad that could have been had I not insisted that they service the rifle.

The company was once great but after they created the Freedom Group and are now being ran by a NYC Hedge Fund called Cerebus they have changed how they operate quite a bit. The only reason why I would ever buy a 700 would be to send it to a custom shop. The Action and barrels are solid in that regard. In fact my only 700 is at Red Hawk Rifles right now being customized.

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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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Larry....I admire your restraint....hehehehe...

You are a GOOD Doobie...LOL..

Eagle...All of my experiences with the Remmy 700 series have been positive, but the last one I bought was my Mt. Rifle in the early 90s..

Your post is not the first one that indicated that Remington quality and customer service has gone downhill in the last few years.

All of my experience with them has been positive, but it's been 20 years since I bought my last one.

Edited by Pygmy
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phade Mentor

phade

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How about the merits of a thumbhole stock on a deer gun instead? :gamer:

Personally I would look at a Tikka T3....same barrel as a Sako and thats the part that counts if cost is an issue.

Or a friend has a TC Icon thats a tack driver, does well with several bullet weights (yotes and deer), but the Hogue overmolded is a bit heavy for a field gun for my taste.

Good luck; looking is part of the fun.

I love Tikkas, but having a thumbhole stock is part of the requirement for me.

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