best deal??

[old fart]

In my area they are some goods deals on some rifles and I have saved enough to get one and just want your opinions on what is the best deal. I already have a good setup but figured that i couldn't pass one of these up. One deal is a brand new Ruger American Gen 1 243, it is priced at $399. One is a Ruger American Gen 2 243 at $519 and the third is a Savage 110 with black stock and blued barrel in 308 with Vortex Crossfire scope with drop reticle for $459. Now I have shoulder trouble that has cut me back to 243 when hunting coyote's and groundhogs as well as deer. But I thought that I might deer hunt with a 308 as not too much shooting on them at once and use my 243 for smaller stuff even tho it dropped me a deer last year. What would y'alll get? Thanks

[stagpanther]

6 of one; half dozen of the other--could go either way but for overall utility I'd go with the savage 110 in .308 (unless you hate the accutrigger, there are some weirdos out there that do ). Others would argue the ruger 243 and that would be fine too.

[1972RedNeck]

Of the 3, I would go with the Savage 110

[bobn]

gen i 243 ruger. i hate protruding mags on a bolt gun. package scope usually lowest, crossfires are not clear to me.

[Pumpkin]

Very hard to go wrong with a 110.
My only reservation would be the weight of the rifle.
I have a M70 Lightweight in 308 that kicks pretty hard.
As you mentioned though, deer hunting should require less frequent shooting.

[Ricklin]

While I don't know from experience, I hear the deer down Texas way are none too large. Since you mentioned shoulder troubles, I'd not choose .308.
.243 is a great caliber for deer. While you might not make many shots while deer hunting getting a new gun ready for the hunt means shooting it.

[jmr40]

308 sounds like too much recoil for you.

I'd choose the Gen-2 Ruger. The flush fit mags in the originals are problematic. The 3 round mags that come with the Gen-2's are very reliable and don't protrude far enough to be an issue.

[bobn]

gen i mags work fine in my 243. gen ii guns gag me on looks alone.
... that is purely opinionated.

[NHSHOOTER]

get a 308 with a muzzle break, no more recoil than the 243

[Paul B.]

Well, I'll be upfront about this but I'm not a fan of the ,243 for deer. That 's just me. I have never used the cartridge on deer but I have seen a friend drop a deer with is with one shot. I have on occasion back when I lived in Nevada allowed neighborhood kids use my .243 for their first deer hunts with me acting more or less and their guide. They all took their deer with one shot. So why the prejudice? Damned if I know I've manly used a 30-06 for most of my hunts early one, then dropped to a .308 to have a lighter rifle to carry in the mountains when I hunted. I have no reason for the prejudice against the cartridge and used it a lot when hunting coyotes.

I haven't done any hunting or shooting for that matter since the opening days of 2020 due to a bad accident. I can't walk without the assistance of a walker which just about means using a guide and sitting on a stand. I think I could probably still use the .308 but have gained a lot of interest in the 7x57 which has a reasonably mild recoil I have handloaded it up using 7-08 data which make a very decent hunting load and if the recoil proved to be a bit much I can drop down to the factory level load for a reduction in kick.

I mentioned that for a reason. If the OP reloads his ammo, he might also look at a 7-08 and he could load that to 7x57 factory levels or go all the way with the cartridge. I've shot a friend's Remington M7 with factory ammo and it's quite mild. That gives the OP three options. The .243, 7-08 orr .308 which can be loaded down a bit.
Paul B.

[m&p45acp10+1]

If going with the .308 I would advise finding one with a threaded barrel. Then add a muzzle brake. I put on on my Savage 110 the recoil impulse was greatly reduced. The brake cost me less than $30 on Ebay. Later on you can upgrade the stock to a heavier one with a better recoil pad.

[tango1niner]

..

[tango1niner]

If recoil is an issue it isn't going to help your shoulder shooting the .308, even a little. Don't have any idea about the Ruger American as I've never held one let alone shot one. Perhaps you should wait until a rifle in a lighter recoiling caliber comes along since you already have a good set up.

Sorry if I wasn't much help...

[Ricklin]

Smaller calibers work fine on small deer. .308 is a lot of gun for Texas deer.

[georgehwbush]

i prefer the cal.243 over the 308 but the savage over the ruger so probably the gen1 just because of cal.

[GeauxTide]

If recoil is in your thought process, go with the 243.

[eastbank]

hit them tru the lungs and it will not matter what caliber you use.