.243 or .257
hey guys and gals,,,,,my daughter will be able to hunt next year
{2005},,,,she is very petite,,,,4'6" tall,
and about 65 lbs.she has already shot a 20
guage the biggest.she shows interests in
hunting,fishing,hiking,and yes baby dolls.
do you think a .257 roberts is to large of
a caliber to start out with,or stick with the
.243 caliber.she has neither shot either.i
had a .243 many moons ago and dropped many
deer up to 250 yards away in there tracks.
i feel the .243 is an exellent caliber,
however the .257 roberts seems to be the
ultimate deer rifle.can anyone give me some
insight on my thoughts.
jogun
take a kid hunting,,,you'll have the best time of your life.
{2005},,,,she is very petite,,,,4'6" tall,
and about 65 lbs.she has already shot a 20
guage the biggest.she shows interests in
hunting,fishing,hiking,and yes baby dolls.
do you think a .257 roberts is to large of
a caliber to start out with,or stick with the
.243 caliber.she has neither shot either.i
had a .243 many moons ago and dropped many
deer up to 250 yards away in there tracks.
i feel the .243 is an exellent caliber,
however the .257 roberts seems to be the
ultimate deer rifle.can anyone give me some
insight on my thoughts.
jogun
take a kid hunting,,,you'll have the best time of your life.
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Start her out on a 22 to teach her the basics. AFter that I would find a nice .223 for her to use. Then step up to the 243 or 6mm, both great little cartridges for deer. Then and only then move on up to either 257 Roberts, my favorite the 25-06, or even a 7mm-08.
John
The original point and click interface was made by Smith & Wesson0 -
i like the idea of starting on a 22 but if she already mastered the 22 like i have (im 14) and you want to get her a hi powered rifle, 243 or 257, i would say go with the 243 because it is alot easier to get ahold of and pricewise is cheaper. but its your choice. i would go with the 243.
one shot, one kill0 -
I think I would got with a 25-06,mine don't have much more recoil than my 22-250........However,the .243 is a nice caliber,I would sta away from the Roberts........Oro 0 -
ONe of my all-time favorite deer rifles is a M70 257 Roberts. I do not own a 243, however it is one of the guns supplied by Dept of Fish & Game for use in their hunter education course, which I have taught since 1989. Given the choice of a 243 or a 257 I would pick the 257 and be able to show in black & white why it is better for deer size game. But... due to marketing of the 243, it has become more popular, as a result there are more reasonably priced youth rifles chambered for it and ammunition is 1- much more available & 2- loaded closer to it's performance potential. So I would say if you're a traditionalist, purist, or want what's absolutely best, go with the 257; otherwise go with the 243. 0 -
I wacked my first buck when I was 12 with a 25-06 but would generally recommend the 243 for ease of shooting and finding ammo. 0 -
My boy was 13 and flinched so bad with a 25-06 that he could not hit a 2'X 2' board at 25 yards. I switched to a .243 and he shot a 1'moa at 100 yards. HUGE IMPROVEMENT!!!
I suggest going with the .243 and you can always go bigger later.
Mad Dog0 -
I vote .243 or a 6mm.
mike0 -
I've used a 257 Roberts in the past and it didn't have much recoil. I hunt with several guys that swear by them. According to the recoil table I found on Chuck Hawks website, the recoil difference is pretty much nil, so I wouldn't consider it too large. However, unless you reload, 257 Roberts ammo may be harder to come by. Plus, nobody but Ruger even chambers the 257 Roberts anymore. I believe the max range on a 257 Roberts for deer is around 275 yards, somewhere around 300 for the 243, and 400 for the 25-06. I'm personally going with a 25-06 for my wife, managable recoil and excellent range.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm0 -
Agree with Salvage 33 on .22RF training. Especially one shot at a time.
Since you asked about .243 vs .257, I'll error on the .257 side.
Recoil with same weight bullet is about the same in the same-same-same rifle/stock.
It's CPU (pressure) is lower, but for the future...the chamber can be reamed out to a 257 Improved which will be even better, and yet can shoot standard 257 ammo.
Can also try the Hornady Light Magnum. It works!
However, the 257 has more bullet weights available that the 243, and covers alot more potential game from varmit to whitetail sized.
Personally started using a 7mm-08 long time ago, and it's become my choice but it does have a little more bite than the 257.
25-06 has the most bite of them all, so it's not a young daughter cartridge based on your info.
Can't error on felt recoil! She will develop bad habits, and perhaps lose interest. This is an investment not only in your daughter, but also the sport.
Another rifle can be gotten, but it's hard to recover lost interest.
PS: Good warm boots (not always fashionable0 are another major & wise investment.
Happy Bullet Holes!0 -
I own rifles in both calibers. Even though the recoil is about the same, I'd go with the .257 or better yet a .250 Savage because both of them have less muzzle blast than the .243. 0 -
The .243 always tore up too much meat for me. Settled on the Roberts Improved, but then I handaload. Will shoot with factory 25-06. This is my cent and a half on a 2cent panel. GW. 0 -
Failed to mention, J Black made an excellent suggestion, with the 250 Savage. GW. 0 -
Either should not be to much for your daughter because as mentioned by others above the recoil is close enought to be "nil".
I think the more important factor is that the rifle be appropriate to her frame. If she can not properly "tuck it in" then she's going to have problems, and potentially a bad experience.
Lastly you mentioned that your daughter has fired a 20 ga. but made no mention of rifle training, so as also mentioned above, if she has no rifle training start her on a 22 and again make sure that it fits her frame.
If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!0
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