When I lost my .243 Ruger M77 to another family member who thought he should have gotten my father-in-law's .243 when he died, I was extremely disappointed. However, my shooting buddy had pity on me and gave me one of the new Marlin bolt action rifles in .243 caliber. I was very appreciative, but I didn't think it could possibly shoot as good as the Ruger. I couldn't have been more wrong.

This Marling .243 shoots (very well) every bullet I have tried in it (58, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, and 90 grain bullets). It shoots Hornady, Sierra, Nosler, and Speer bullets with boat tails, flat bases, or any configuration of tips. It just isn't picky, at all! I did have to develop the loads, and try some different powders for the various weights of the projectiles, but it's not hard to find a combination of bullets and powders for any weight or brand & type of bullet.

I have no other gun that is this easy to load for. Do you have a rifle that is like this? Tell us about it.

I guess that if your FIL had wanted you to have his Ruger 77 in 243, he should, or would, have specifically bequeathed it to you in his will.

Having probated more than a couple wills and trusts, I have found that many people make promises in life that they fail to make arrangements for being fulfilled upon their death. These failures frequently lead to fist-fights and hard feelings among family members.

The good news is that somebody gave you a rifle and you're happy with it. I have a few Marlin XL/XS-7s and think that they are a great value.

Jeff

I had a m700 in 22-250 that was like this, it shot well no matter what I fed it, factory loads and reloads, lots of different weights and brands of bullets. Most of my other rifles tend to be quite picky.

I have a 270 Marlin XL 7 and it is a tack driver and I paid $259.00 for it.

I have multiple Ruger 243s, a couple of Winchesters and a couple of Remingtons.

Shoot them all more for varmint and range use.
Simple charge of 30 grains of RL 7.

not top velocity, but more than adequate.
I probably burn more Hornady 75 grain HPs, than all other 6mm bullets combined..

If I could find one, I'd snag it in a heart beat... they are darn good rifles.

I intend to pick up a Laminate Grey stock from Boyd's for my 270. I also have plans of putting a 220 Swift barrel on it.

I had a remington 788 in 22-250 that was like that. Most any load would shoot better than 3/4 inch all day long. With any load tinkering it would shoot to less than 1/2 . Most to 1/4.
What was really strange it shot most to the same point of impact at 100 yds. I could shoot one of every load into one group and about double the group size.
I shot mostly Hornady 60 gr hp's or thier 55 gr sx.

I have a couple too. I have a 270 that shot 130 corelokt's under an inch out of the box. I'm shooting 130 accubonds over RL 17 for my hunting round. I want to try TSX's next. Paid too much though I guess, $269!

I have a short action that's been rebarreled to 250 Savage AI. It's my current favorite rifle.

I have a heavy barrel Howa .308 that does not care if it is Mil-surp 7.62x51, 150, 165 or 168gr factory, Sierra, Barnes, Nosler.... bullets. I load w/ IMR4064, works great.