I'm looking to buy a affordable but not cheap rifle in 243 and was wondering what the great shooters of AR would recommend. I'm not really looking to go hunting with it but will and not looking for a target rifle but wanting good accuracy. Mostly looking for something to go to the range with and blast off a couple of rounds.thanks for your feed back.

Question:
Which rifle would you choose? And why?

Choices:
Winchester model 70 feather weight
Tikka t3 Hunter
Remington 700
Other

 

I went Tikka. Have 2, both trouble free and accurate right out of the box. In fact my
tikka 243 & 308 is the only guns saving me from thinking I lost my mojo, because my loads are working in them but not some of my other guns. The Tikkas continue to print small groups.

You have to go with whichever tickles your fancy. I'm impressed with the accuracy the Tikkas exhibit, however I am a Mod 70 fan thru and thru and I know people who swear by there Rem M700's so basically just pick the one you like. All quality weapons for sure.
If it were my choice a .243 in Super Grade or Featherweight would be THE one.

The Winchester M-70 fwt is one of the great factory rifles. Mine, a 270, was perfect out of the box. Clean breaking 3# trigger and 1" groups with my loads.

Ruger Hawkeye from CDNN sports on sale for $499

quote:

Originally posted by mlfguns:
Ruger Hawkeye from CDNN sports on sale for $499

A Ruger at this price is a good buy I have more Rugers in the house then any others

The only reason for choosing the 700 was they are very easy to customize as your intentions with the rifle change. Hard to beat the timeless elegance of a classic Featherweight though. Any 243 is a good pick.

I recommend finding a Mannlicher Shoenauer 1961MCA Rifle not the carbine! Mount a good quality 3-9X40 scope on it and use nothing but quality 100 gr bullets for everything from jack rabbit to elk, from muzzle to 300 yds +. Just put a bullet through the heart/lung compartment and start quartering!

The rifle will be at least 30 yrs old but if it has been cared for there in nothing on the market today that will match it's quality!

..................................................................

Some interesting additions to the poll. Thanks for the comments but was hoping to keep it to the 3 firearms within the poll.

If you want a good target rifle, buy a Savage. Not necessarily pretty, but accurate.

I own a Winchester Model 70 featherweight in .243 and I like it very much.I have killed a deer with it and a pronghorn antelope. It is a very attractive looking rifle. It is everything I would want a .243 to be. I scoped mine with a Leopold VariX-III 3.5-10x 40 mm objective lens scope. It has a nice walnut stock. I haven't shot it in quite awhile (I have given over deer hunting in favor of elk hunting), but my recollection was that with the right ammo it was very accurate. My featherweight has that Schnaebel fore end that is pretty attractive in my view. Some day when I'm too old to climb the mountains and hunt elk at 11,500 feet as I do now I'm going to switch over to hunting pronghorn antelope, and then this gun is going to be used more.

I went Remington but what I'd really suggest is go to a big box store and have them lay out several. See how each "feels". One of them will say "take me home".

I love and have the featherweight but would still choose the Tikka for out of the box accuracy. My featherweights take some work to get to shoot well.

quote:

Originally posted by rodell:
I love and have the featherweight but would still choose the Tikka for out of the box accuracy. My featherweights take some work to get to shoot well.

This. I like the Winchester better, (probably because they always had an ad when I was a kid), but my Tikkas out shoot my Winchesters new until they get a lot of gunsmithing. I've not had a new Winchester that shot as good right out of the box, Tikkas, 1/2" 5 shot groups.

The Tikka is a very accurate rifle out of the box. However I do like the Winchester featherweight. The barrel contour is going heat more as a result of the contour but it is a pleasure to carry and shoot.

If you are not interested in saving money look at a Kimber.

Truth tell all those rifles are fine and the .243 is a good caliber.

Joe

Another vote for the Tikka. Accurate right out of the box.

If you are considering a "range" rifle the Varmint weight Savage is,IMHO, the way to go. Mine is a 12fv. Iam not sure that is the current model but have a look at savagearms.com

Thanks guys looks like I'm leaning towards the tikka. I like the look and already have a Remington and Winchester soo think I'm going to try something new.

You going to let us know how it works out?

I don't think you'll be disappointed. I bought mine after buying my son a 30-06 Tikka. Of the 3 of them the only thing they needed was a scope. No after market work on any of them. I remember asking my gunsmith about them before I bought one. He said: never seen one. Must be good, because if a gun doesn't work I end up with it". Seemed reasonable.

I'll do a follow up when I get one. It may take a while. Need to get the funds first. Thanks again everyone who responded.

I have 16 243s. The 3 that I shoot the most are a Remington 700 CDL-SF in a McMillan McM Hunter stock, a Ruger American Rifle Predator, and a stainless Weatherby Vanguard. Out of the box, the Ruger and Weatherby have shot better groups than the Remington. If I was going to shoot a straight "stock" 243 and weight wasn't a critical issue, I'd buy the Ruger. If I was going to restock the rifle, I'd probably by the Weatherby and bed it in a McMillan stock.

My Ruger AR-P shoots MOA with Federal 80 grain Blue Box and 95 grain Fusion/GameThug. A lot of accuracy for under $400 retail.

My son shoots the M70 Featherweight. It is light, accurate and is fun to shoot. He has killed deer, antelope, kudu, impala, springbok, monkeys, baboons, and a host of other stuff.

I voted other, but it isn't that much different than the M70 you're looking at. I just bought this rifle and it is a tad over $1200 when all is said and done, but it has a lot of things going for it that you can't get in other factory rifles.



- Montana Rifle Company Extreme X2 (stainless/synthetic)
- 243 Winchester
- 22" barrel, #2 MRC Contour (.600 @ muzzle)
- 1:8" twist (stamped on barrel)
- MRC X2 standard gray stock

The 1:8 twist lets it run just about any bullet made for the .243 caliber. Plus it has a 3.10" mag box so I won't be worried too much about those long 105 grain bullets. It starts out just 2 oz heavier than the M70 FWT so the end result should be about the same.

Dicks Sporting Goods has Tikka rifles with a 3-9 Burris on them for about $600.

This would be a great buy.

Not sure if you have a Dicks near you or not, but it is worth a look.

There is nothing ugly about the Savage model 14 classic. Accuracy is a given.

quote:

Originally posted by wymple:
There is nothing ugly about the Savage model 14 classic. Accuracy is a given.

When's the last time you visited your optometrist? :-)

Naturally I voted for the Mod 70,, but I had and hunted with a Sako Forrester in 243 that was probably 1 of the finest rifles I ever owned. I took 3 Dall rams , a 60" moose, and god only knows how many caribou with it, all with Hornady 100gr SPT.
I let a gal borrow it for a Kodiak deer hunt and upon her return she came over and (talked) me out of it.
It sure would be a fine wolf hunting rifle here at the Lake!!

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Dr. Lou:

quote:

Originally posted by wymple:
There is nothing ugly about the Savage model 14 classic. Accuracy is a given.

When's the last time you visited your optometrist? :-)

This morning, as a matter of fact. You should see a proctologist, to help pull your head out.

nice!