I am going to buy a new rifle and have narrowed it down to the Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker or Remington 700 SPS Stainless in .243 calibur. Which rifle do you recommend and why? Thank you for your time and help!

Can't tell you anything about the Browning, but I bought a SPS Stainless in .243 earlier this year and I couldn't be happier. Stuck a Leupy 3.5-10x40 on top after bedding it and a trigger adjustment. It will launch 87gr Hornadies into .7 MOA at 3100 fps at 100 yds on a regular basis. I bought it to throw on the ATV to use as my coyote bomber and I hope to use it in that capacity this coming weekend

take a hard look at the tikka lite stainless. i bought one in 25-06; it is still in break-in, but the worst it will shoot in 3 shot gps is 7/8". i havn't even tried to sort out an accuracy load. everything i have read in other posts seems to say the tikka's are very accurate. at 6 1/2 lbs it will be a joy to hunt with./ chaz

Both are great guns and if you can get a better deal on one or the other, it might be the deciding factor. I would go with the Remmy as there are sooooooo many accessories and add ons for the Remmy.

What do you want to use it for? I don't have either in .243 because it would be light for whitetail and overkill for eastern woodchucks - always under 400 yards. I have an A-Bolt Stainless Stalker in 30 '06 which I love for it's accuracy, light weight and easy handling - heavy recoil in that caliber though. The Browning's stainless finish is more sensitive to banging agianst my tree stands than I might have hoped. My guns are almost all stainless and I cover them during the season with tape so it's not a problem for me. I also have 700 VS with a carbon composite barrel in .223 which is also very accurate and light for a rifle with a bull barrel. I prefer the safety on the 700. The A-Bolt had a better trigger out of the box but I had both factory triggers lightened so that was a wash. It's a happy sort of a problem. I don't think you can lose either way.

chazgreen says correctly. But with choices offered the Browning is my choice.

Here are a couple of things to think about.

The Remington you can really "tune up." There are more aftermarket parts for the Remington 700's than about any other bolt gun out there. It is easier to buy a stock, trigger, bolt or barrel for these. If you get tired of the .243 you can buy a .308 barrel (factory) for around $40 or a 22-250 Varmint (factory) barrel for around $100, or if you don't like the stock, you can normally get a HS or McMillan pretty easy. I have normally found that Remingtons are a little more accurate out of the box.

Now this will throw a loop in your thinking. If you are going to use the gun for say deer hunting or something along those lines, BUY THE BROWNING. The bolt is low profile with a short throw. The safety locks the bolt (the remington's can still open with the safety on). Also the box magazine on the Browing is great.

I own Remingtons in .243 Win, .243AI, 6mm-286 and 6.5x284. All of these guns are for shooting small groups and not for hunting except pdogs and an occasional coyote.

I own browings in the .25WSSM, '06, 7mm and a few more. These are my HUNTING GUNS...

I use Brownings for most of my hunting guns, but I use Remingtons for all of my Varmint Guns.....

If I was using the .243 for Deer Hunting and other animals in this range, I would buy the Browning. If I was buying a .243 for varmints or for target and plinking, I would buy the Remington.

Blackwater?

I've owned quite a few browning and remington rifles and the afore mentioned things are all good advice. If it were me though, I would buy the 700 and take the diference and add that to what I had planed to pay for a scope and have the trigger pull reduced. Granted for a beat around gun you may not want to sink a lot in a scope....just leaves more money for ammo!