Recommendations please

[Syriis]

I'm looking to round out my firearm collection. I'm wanting a caliber that will be relatively inexpensive to target shoot, good for varmints along the line of Coyote, and perhaps step in on Whitetail hunting.

I'm leaning toward Weatherby rifle since my others are, just unsure of caliber.

Currently own a Weatherby Vanguard 300 Win. Mag. And a S2 Vanguard in 257 Weatherby Mag.

300 Win. Mag is harsh at the bench and the 257 is too pricey to shoot all day.

Suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

[SBruce]

How bout a Vangaurd in 243.?

[submoa]

it looks like you need a varmint rifle since you got deer coverd with the 257 and every thing bigger with the 300

ok so we round down to 17 20 22 the 17 Rim is a nice flat shooting round good for eveny thing varmint, next the 204 is a great round too

ok now yis where we get into troble ;-} the .224s
the 223 is the cheapest to shoot and the fastet would be the 22-250 or the 220swift and the 223 WSSM

so to keep things cheap i would go with the 223 as you can shoot the heck out of it and not brake the bank and it well kill yotes dead.

[Syriis]

Is the 243 Winchester reliable to drop a Whitetail with a decent shot? I only use Barnes ammo, I prefer all copper or lead-free ammo when hunting. A buddy of mine suggested a 270 but I'm not sure which is better for what I want. Punching paper, Yotes, and maybe Whitetail.

[submoa]

yes the 243 will drop deer just fine and is cheaper to shoot than the 270

it almost the same thing as your 257 just a little smaller bullet and a lot cheaper

[Syriis]

Thank you very much, I know what I'm going to buy.

[SBruce]

Originally Posted by Syriis

Is the 243 Winchester reliable to drop a Whitetail with a decent shot? I only use Barnes ammo, I prefer all copper or lead-free ammo when hunting. A buddy of mine suggested a 270 but I'm not sure which is better for what I want. Punching paper, Yotes, and maybe Whitetail.

Abolutely big enough to drop any whitetail on the planet within reasonable distance with a bullet in the vitals. Nothin wrong with the 270, but not my pick for coyotes and varmints and paper. Dads' 270 is a lightweight with a steel butt plate and 3 shots in a row just plain hurts!

A friends son used a 243 this year with the Ted Nugent Barnes ammo to drop a huge bodied muley at nearly 300 yds. Here's a pic of my sons whitetail that he shot with his 243, using Federal loads with Barnes bullet. Another pic of a big muley that fell to the 243. This fall, the guys' wife killed an antelope at 710 yds with one shot out of the little 6BR. Hell, I know folks that have killed elk with the 243.
These deer are going about 300 lbs live weight. That's a fully mature muley doe next to the whitetail.