500 yard question

[MudRunner2005]

If you decide on the 243, then try the 105 Amax and Superformance. 500 yds will be a piece of cake. It will kill a deer too

This is true. My best friend growing up always hunted with an Rem 700 .243. and I shot my old Ruger 77 stainless/skeleton 7mm-08. We both had great experiences with both rifles/calibers. Mine shot true, and had plenty of knock-down for deer. And he always had good luck with his .243.

A .22-250 with heavies will also be deadly on deer when shooting them in the neck/spine or head. I hunted with a guy for about 5 years who only shot a .22-250 because of his shoulder problems. My uncle has hunted with him for 30 years, and says he's been shooting that same gun as long as he's known him.

Another alternative to the small & fast short-action calibers would be to handload for a .250 Savage. You could shoot 110 Nosler Accubonds or 115 Berger VLD's in the .250 savage case, which is what the .22-250 derived from.

My personal new favorite short-action caliber (and one I hope to build someday) is the .260 Ackley Improved. You can buy Lapua .260 Remington brass, and just shoot to fire-form them. It's a hot 6.5 in a small package, that would be perfect for whitetails and plains game like Lopes, speed goats, etc...

 

[skyfish25]

Shooting the 204 is just pleasant, no other way to put it. Can spot your own hits even in a sporter. Yes wind can get you, but only so much more than some of the others. I shoot my friends 22-250 a fair amount too. Very nice as well, just a hair more recoil, not bad, but sometimes I miss my hits through scope. Its a medium barreled savage. I like the small rifle primers, less powder and minimal recoil of the 204..

The 243 AI is impressive, but I would opt for the 6.5 before that. But again, personal preference. ( I also shoot a 6.5 Creedmoor).