help me decide

[68c15]

for sh7ts and giggles let's just say a guy lived in an area with white tail, coyotes, and most shots would be at 200-300 yds. and he had his choice between a savage 110 .270 or a Remington 700 .243 both with decent scopes and great function. which one should he keep?

edit; this guy is not afraid of recoil. he plans on getting a small (22-250 or .220 swift) for P dogs and a .300 win-mag for elk later on

[aa1911]

both, too easy! never sell a gun....

but I'd have to keep the Remington if I HAD to choose one.

[howlnmad]

Originally Posted by aa1911

both, too easy! never sell a gun....

but I'd have to keep the Remington if I HAD to choose one.

[Bindernut]

For me the choice is clear. If I was down to only keeping one rifle, I'd keep the .243.
The .243 (and/or 6mmRem) was my dual-purpose yote/deer rifle for a few years. Works great for either critter even with the same load (100gr SP).

Yeah I've hunted yotes with dad's .270 (and my .25-06) but they're not the best hide-hunting cartridges. But it's tops for whitetails and plenty good enough for elk too unless you're trying to take shots clear into the next county.

So...Keep em both and expand your ammo selection.
.243:
-75gr HP for prairie dogs
-100/105gr SP (or 90gr Barnes TSX/TTSX) for coyotes and whitetails
.270:
-130gr Barnes TSX for coyotes. (It works darn near like a FMJ...very little expansion on yotes. Two small holes in the hide, both easily stitchable.)
-130gr or 140gr for whitetails.
-140gr or 150gr for elk.
-150gr Barnes TSX or 160gr Nosler Partition if you really need a thumper for big deer (elk/moose/etc)
You can hold off on the .22-250 and .300Mag for a few years this way.

[cycloneman]

Originally Posted by Bindernut

For me the choice is clear. If I was down to only keeping one rifle, I'd keep the .243.
The .243 (and/or 6mmRem) was my dual-purpose yote/deer rifle for a few years. Works great for either critter even with the same load (100gr SP).

Yeah I've hunted yotes with dad's .270 (and my .25-06) but they're not the best hide-hunting cartridges. But it's tops for whitetails and plenty good enough for elk too unless you're trying to take shots clear into the next county.

So...Keep em both and expand your ammo selection.
.243:
-75gr HP for prairie dogs
-100/105gr SP (or 90gr Barnes TSX/TTSX) for coyotes and whitetails
.270:
-130gr Barnes TSX for coyotes. (It works darn near like a FMJ...very little expansion on yotes. Two small holes in the hide, both easily stitchable.)
-130gr or 140gr for whitetails.
-140gr or 150gr for elk.
-150gr Barnes TSX or 160gr Nosler Partition if you really need a thumper for big deer (elk/moose/etc)
You can hold off on the .22-250 and .300Mag for a few years this way.

Pretty good advise but i will disagree just a bit.

I would take the 243 now and hunt deer and yotes. I would pass on the 270 because honestly if your gona get a 300 mag then you will probably never use the 270 again. I would pass on the 22 250 also if you allready have a 243. With a 243 and a 300 mag you have all the guns you will ever need. After that it is a matter of collecting.

[oneoldsap]

I'd keep the .243 , mostly because it's a Remington !

[hstout1143]

Originally Posted by cycloneman

I would take the 243 now and hunt deer and yotes. I would pass on the 270 because honestly if your gona get a 300 mag then you will probably never use the 270 again. I would pass on the 22 250 also if you allready have a 243. With a 243 and a 300 mag you have all the guns you will ever need. After that it is a matter of collecting.

+1 Except for the part about "all the guns you'll ever need" You always need at least one more.

[cpttango30]

All three.

Thought you will burn up barrels on a 22-250 or 220 Swift shooing P dogs.

[Bindernut]

Originally Posted by cpttango30

All three.

Thought you will burn up barrels on a 22-250 or 220 Swift shooing P dogs.

Nah...you just need to slow down and enjoy the scenery.
If you get into a good town then it does help to have an extra rifle (or three ), but otherwise just pace your shooting.
All the better reason to load up 60gr or 75gr HPs for the .243...there's your second rifle while the other one is cooling down.
Besides...it keeps the little pasture poodles less skittish if they're only losing one neighbor per minute too.

Yeah, I did burn out a couple 22-250s, a Swift, and a .22-6mm when I was still in my hot-rod phase. 4000+fps was at the time.
I'm older and slower now...I bide my time and I'm not pushing max loads downrange too often anymore.

[76Highboy]

Remington. You know me 68. That 243 is a sweetheart to shoot.

[old semperfi]

i think 300 yard shots with a factory 243 is on the outside realm,to me athe 270 cures all ills with just a little more recoil.i would always feel better over gunned than under. old semperfi

[68c15]

Originally Posted by Bindernut

So...Keep em both and expand your ammo selection.
.243:
-75gr HP for prairie dogs
-100/105gr SP (or 90gr Barnes TSX/TTSX) for coyotes and whitetails
.270:
-130gr Barnes TSX for coyotes. (It works darn near like a FMJ...very little expansion on yotes. Two small holes in the hide, both easily stitchable.)
-130gr or 140gr for whitetails.
-140gr or 150gr for elk.
-150gr Barnes TSX or 160gr Nosler Partition if you really need a thumper for big deer (elk/moose/etc)
You can hold off on the .22-250 and .300Mag for a few years this way.

ok, fine. I'll keep both and scrape up the cash to buy an SP10 (geese)

[Zane71464]

If it was/is a question of which one to keep, I'd go with the Remigton in .243.
With what you explained you wanted one to do, .243!

[Old Grump]

Keep the Savage 110 .270 and get a Savage Model 12 BVSS 22-250 and all his bases are covered unless he wants to go hunting for Grizzled Bears with huge man eating teeth and a hankering for 2 legged hunters. Savage model 320 pump shotgun in 12 gauge and some 3" slugs would fill that need.

[68c15]

took the 243 to the range saturday along with the 270 and some different hand loads. the .243 after sitting unused and trigger locked for almost 40 years it was nothing short of amazing. light recoil and first shot from cold barrel was dead center and 1.5" high (100 yds). next 2 were dead center and 1/2" low. moved to 200yds range and shot good kill shots with 2" grouping. brought out the .270 and bolt-out boresighted good at 100. fired 3 with a blank target. tried moving POA all around and still blank paper.

any one want to buy a savage 110 .270 fence post?

[68c15]

oh, I should add the 200 yd grouping on the .243 would be better with a decent scope. I had trouble seeing the target with very fine cross hairs (2.5-6 weaver K4)

[montezumaz]

Keep the .270!

[Bindernut]

Originally Posted by 68c15

took the 243 to the range saturday along with the 270 and some different hand loads. the .243 after sitting unused and trigger locked for almost 40 years it was nothing short of amazing. light recoil and first shot from cold barrel was dead center and 1.5" high (100 yds). next 2 were dead center and 1/2" low. moved to 200yds range and shot good kill shots with 2" grouping. brought out the .270 and bolt-out boresighted good at 100. fired 3 with a blank target. tried moving POA all around and still blank paper.

any one want to buy a savage 110 .270 fence post?

Sounds like that .270 might have a bum scope. The point of aim is shifting with each shot or it just isn't adjusting at all. If you've got a spare scope laying around, mount it up and give it another chance.
Not very often will you find a Savage that won't group...regardless of age.

Also check out if the forearm has warped and is pushing really hard against the barrel. I've bought quite a few cheap rifles that "just wouldn't shoot straight" because the forearm was pushing the barrel around real funny.


That .243 sounds like a definite keeper though!

[68c15]

forearm is free floated and I have tried 3 different scopes on it. I even loctited the bases and lapped the rings