[MacD37]

All good choices, some better than others, however! I have three sons, and a daughter, and I started them all on single shot rifles,(Ruger No1s) chambered for 243Win, with a 2-7X40 Weaver scope. We lived in extreme West Texas, where the deer are the mule type, and shots average 200 yds. I handload, and I never allowed them to shoot anything but 100 gr Hornady's in front of 44.0 grs of H-4831 with LR primers, for right at 3000fps, with the scope zeroed 2" high at 100 yds, which puts it dead on at 225 yds, and no more that 2'' high at any point. So the sight picture is dead on from the muzzle to 250 yds! This load/bullet combination drops those big 250lb muledeer in their tracks with a tight behind the shoulder shot way out there, or at 30 ft! The kid simply holds dead on where he wants the bullet to hit, and squeese! When they started hunting Elk, they moved to bolt action 7mm mags, and now shoot 375 H&Hs for the big stuff, from elk on up.

If I were going to pick a cartridge that they could use for most of North America, and I wanted somthing bigger than a 243Win, it would be a 280 Rem in a CRF bolt rifle like a Mod 70 win, or Mauser actioned custom! It carries more bullet weight, than the 25-06, or 270 Win, which are both on the 30-06 case, as is the 280 Rem, but shoots flatter than the 30-06!

There is no bad choice as long as you don't go below .243 for anything, almost, up to elk, the 243 being light for elk, and up! But there has never been a deer born that the 243Win, properly loaded, will not take cleanly!