the .30-30 is a far better match for the rifle. Basically it comes down to the maximum effective range of this rig being 125 yards so with virtually the same recoil between the two cartridges and the limited range capabilities of the rifle making ballistics irrelivant.. why would you not choose the one that can put 170grainer through an elk? .30-30 seems like a no brainer to me
30/30 vs 243
- Thread starter Geof
- Start date
+1. Most of the M96 sporters have iron sights and short LOP stocks as they come. The 6.5x55 is a great cartridge and can be handloaded down to popgun levels and still be very effective on medium game. With premium bullets I would be fine with hunting elk with it as well. Much more versatile than either a .243 or 30-30.
Mark
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With the quality of the bullet construction ,you have to go with the 243 very potent round like Hornady Superformance with 95 gr SST, my wife shot her moose at 175 yards with it, very impressive round... 10 paces and drop very dead, and accuracy is excellent... JP.
I would hope,that she would pick a 243.It is a flat shooting caliber,and all round better is my thought.I remeber being 15 years old on my first hunt.I had bought a model 94 in 30-30 for 79.00 new.Five came out of a bush,I shot at the first one and hit the last one in the ass.Your lead is so difficult to gauge as you need to shoot where they will be tomorow..The next year I used a 243 and was on my way.Mind you I still hit them in the ass 35 years later.Some exaggeration of course..Start her out right..
I'd say 6.5x55 if it is an option, nice swede sporters can really shoot well and keep the price down. I also have a .243 BLR and It is also very good. You can't go wrong with ethier caliber, but for the price the 6.5mm is best.
X3 I agree.
I have both and in my opinion the .243 has less recoil. I would go with the .243 as she will have a great deer/coyote gun that is very capable of some longer range target shooting when she gets even more comfortable and wants to try something different.
I own a dandy little rifle. It is a Weatherby Vanguard "youth" in 308. It came with Williams sights and I know the store has two in .223 and one more in 308, all with sights.
The barrel is 20" and it weighs about .5 lbs less than the H&R in 243. I know that the Weatherby youth comes in 243, but not sure about the sights. As an aside, I love the 243 as a caliber and chose this rifle in 308 simply because it has more jam than the 223. My preference would have been in 243, but now it allows me to use it for more than just deer. It cost me $500 or so.
I used to have a 30-30 Marlin 336 and the Weatherby has a little less kick, likely due to the recoil pad.
The barrel is 20" and it weighs about .5 lbs less than the H&R in 243. I know that the Weatherby youth comes in 243, but not sure about the sights. As an aside, I love the 243 as a caliber and chose this rifle in 308 simply because it has more jam than the 223. My preference would have been in 243, but now it allows me to use it for more than just deer. It cost me $500 or so.
I used to have a 30-30 Marlin 336 and the Weatherby has a little less kick, likely due to the recoil pad.
Everyone loves 243 for paper punching, varmints and medium game
I would get the 243 rather than 30-30 because:
I would get the 243 rather than 30-30 because:
- 20% less recoil (243 9fp-lbs vs 30-30 11ft-lbs for a 7.5lbs rifle),
- More than twice the effective range (250-300 yards vs 125 yards),
- Better accuracy,
- Much better 6mm bullet choice, from 58gr varmint up to 105gr LR match
I would go with 6.5x55, then 30/30, and avoid 243 in general. These are my reasons:
Tradex has very nice sporter swedish mauser, come with irons, or scope, or both, for between $250 and $500. Tradex is very conservative in their estimations of guns... if it says good condition, it'll be Very good. If it says very good, it'll be brand new.
I shot 303 and 30/30 primarily until I got a 6.5x55 M96. Recoil is far lighter than the 303 and probably about the same as 30/30, but far flatter shooting cartridge with greater range. I still shoot my win 94 in 30/30 and use it when hunting in very dense brush, but am switching over to 6.5x55 for anything more open.
I have very limited experience with 243. The one advantage I can see is that it might be a better "introductory" cartridge, but for someone who will be using and owning a single gun that was fitted for her it comes up a bit short in all of the other categories.
Most importantly, whatever she gets, make sure the stock is shortened sufficiently for her to properly shoulder the gun. Add a good butt pad that absorbs recoil properly and whatever gun she gets will be easy to shoot. (I shoot with steel butt plates, and the 6.5x55 and 30/30 both are fine to shoot even with the sharp steel plates).
The 6.5 will shoot way out, and is generally loaded a bit lighter in pressure/lower recoil because of some of the older, weaker guns that it might be fired out of. The scandinavians use it on polar bears and moose, so it has a proven track record.
30/30 generally has larger bullets, but has a max accurate and effective reliable range of around 200 yards or so. It's a shorter range cartridge, but a darn good one. Has probably taken all of the species in North America at one point or another.
The 243... meh. Not my fave. Lower recoil based on lighter bullet.
Tradex has very nice sporter swedish mauser, come with irons, or scope, or both, for between $250 and $500. Tradex is very conservative in their estimations of guns... if it says good condition, it'll be Very good. If it says very good, it'll be brand new.
I shot 303 and 30/30 primarily until I got a 6.5x55 M96. Recoil is far lighter than the 303 and probably about the same as 30/30, but far flatter shooting cartridge with greater range. I still shoot my win 94 in 30/30 and use it when hunting in very dense brush, but am switching over to 6.5x55 for anything more open.
I have very limited experience with 243. The one advantage I can see is that it might be a better "introductory" cartridge, but for someone who will be using and owning a single gun that was fitted for her it comes up a bit short in all of the other categories.
Most importantly, whatever she gets, make sure the stock is shortened sufficiently for her to properly shoulder the gun. Add a good butt pad that absorbs recoil properly and whatever gun she gets will be easy to shoot. (I shoot with steel butt plates, and the 6.5x55 and 30/30 both are fine to shoot even with the sharp steel plates).
The 6.5 will shoot way out, and is generally loaded a bit lighter in pressure/lower recoil because of some of the older, weaker guns that it might be fired out of. The scandinavians use it on polar bears and moose, so it has a proven track record.
30/30 generally has larger bullets, but has a max accurate and effective reliable range of around 200 yards or so. It's a shorter range cartridge, but a darn good one. Has probably taken all of the species in North America at one point or another.
The 243... meh. Not my fave. Lower recoil based on lighter bullet.
ginseng503
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- N. Ontario
Hello,
I have a Savage bolt action 30/30 for sale on the EE. It has a detachable magazine. It is small and light and one of my go to rifles when younger people or ladies want to shoot. I tried it right now with some factory ammo and iron sights and it shot perfectly straight with a light trigger pull.
However, 30/30 does kick a bit and you don't want a young person to pick up a flinch. The other thing about it is styling, it wouldn't win any styling awards, just my opinion.
So, for a 12 year old to own, and learn to shoot with, and keep for many years, maybe a 223 would be more fun? For a 5 day deer hunt there are a lot of 30/30's around you can borrow. That is the life history of the gun I am selling, it is extremely popular as a "loaner".
My logic is this but may be flawed. If the gun isn't kicking and not that loud, the person will fire hundreds of shots per year and have more fun. That same person can learn to deal with recoil and noise before and during the deer hunt - like one or two weeks. Just another idea you can think about.
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=603500
I have a Savage bolt action 30/30 for sale on the EE. It has a detachable magazine. It is small and light and one of my go to rifles when younger people or ladies want to shoot. I tried it right now with some factory ammo and iron sights and it shot perfectly straight with a light trigger pull.
However, 30/30 does kick a bit and you don't want a young person to pick up a flinch. The other thing about it is styling, it wouldn't win any styling awards, just my opinion.
So, for a 12 year old to own, and learn to shoot with, and keep for many years, maybe a 223 would be more fun? For a 5 day deer hunt there are a lot of 30/30's around you can borrow. That is the life history of the gun I am selling, it is extremely popular as a "loaner".
My logic is this but may be flawed. If the gun isn't kicking and not that loud, the person will fire hundreds of shots per year and have more fun. That same person can learn to deal with recoil and noise before and during the deer hunt - like one or two weeks. Just another idea you can think about.
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=603500
.243 is a great calibre with low recoil and, as has been mentioned, reaches out much farther than the 30.30. Ammo availability isn't too bad and you can shoot it all day at the range comfortably. Don't get me wrong, I love my Winchester 94 in 30.30 but it's steel buttplate kicks a little harder than my 243 (model 88). I might be a little biased though because my 30.30 has a steel buttplate. Maybe with a good quality Limbsaver she won't know the difference. Like has been mentioned, many assume girls just can't handle recoil but there's no reason she can't handle either. In any case, good to see some girls and fellow youth getting into hunting and shooting!
Afraid of scope bite
She got a scope bite at camp. She'll eventually grow out of that fear, but to not discourage her, I'd like her to feel comfortable without a scope and then she can always move up.
G.
She got a scope bite at camp. She'll eventually grow out of that fear, but to not discourage her, I'd like her to feel comfortable without a scope and then she can always move up.
G.
Get her a Limbsaver shoulder cushion. I have a 45/70 with a very old fashioned deeply curved buttplate so no pad for that but I have a Limbsaver I can wear with a shoulder strap. Only one I found that was good left or right and it is open so you can add some thinsulate or such to suck up some of the thump.
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I am not answering the question specifically but here's my thought anyway
I would not go for a single shot when a decent used lighweight bolt gun will be a much better choice as she grows older. Assuming you do reload?, then a 260 can be downloaded to pussycat standards for a few years till she gets more comfortable shooting & perhaps grows larger in frame. It will even make a decent varmint or target round! The 260 also has much better killing potential down the road if she chooses to put an Elk in the picture, it may not be a perfect Elk round but is far more capable than either the 243 or 30wcf
MHO of course
I would not go for a single shot when a decent used lighweight bolt gun will be a much better choice as she grows older. Assuming you do reload?, then a 260 can be downloaded to pussycat standards for a few years till she gets more comfortable shooting & perhaps grows larger in frame. It will even make a decent varmint or target round! The 260 also has much better killing potential down the road if she chooses to put an Elk in the picture, it may not be a perfect Elk round but is far more capable than either the 243 or 30wcf
MHO of course
I personally don't care about recoil at the non-African levels, and I do care a lot about noise. At the economical end I would go Handirifle in 30-30. Skinner has peep sights for them now, though they are a tad spendy, but still not an expensive set-up.
http://www.skinnersights.com/page_16.html
The 22 inch barrel and large bore, small capacity round mean low noise. I would chuck her up in my 4 jaw and do a deep rebate to channel the blast even more away from a shooter. If you have a 24 inch barrel it is about 1/3rd as noisy at the shooter's ears as a 16 (336Y).
Speaking of recoil, small frame shooters get less of a hit from it since then tend to rock more. For me, for my 3 girls, that means teach them to shoot away from the bench and prone. Get them shooting from their hind legs, kneeling, squating, sitting. That means a rifle they can physically handle. It needs to be light, well ballanced and easy to carry in the field. For smaller people that is not the average 243 scoped bolt rifle.
I would also go 30-30 lever with Skinner sights, if I was open to a lever.
I would also consider Tasco redpoint, they don't need to be so close they will bite. They can also be mounted on an H&R. That said, I love shooting aperature sights on a rifle, so if that suits your pupose, cool. The first half of this clip shows a Scout like 700 redpoint. Second clip shows an HR with a redpoint, it's a shotgun in this case.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNG2w2TADus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p0ekR6Zk20
And if money is no object, what about a scout rifle? No scope bite. Try here at 3:30. Cooper had daughters and they all learned to shoot the scout. My only reservation is shooting the thing with such a short barrel and the noise factor. You can heal from any recoil wound, but hering loss is permanent. To loose hearing should be a personal choice, not something a minor takes on board just to be like dad or mom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFhM0NHsYLk&NR=1
P.S. Here is a video of Clint running a Handi shotgun (1:40). It's defensive, but the point here is they can be run simply and with some speed. One can work out a single shot doctrine than will get you running and gunning, and yet you can start with a simple little safe gun, where it is obvious when it is broken, or when the hammer is back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhgwHQCJwWw
http://www.skinnersights.com/page_16.html
The 22 inch barrel and large bore, small capacity round mean low noise. I would chuck her up in my 4 jaw and do a deep rebate to channel the blast even more away from a shooter. If you have a 24 inch barrel it is about 1/3rd as noisy at the shooter's ears as a 16 (336Y).
Speaking of recoil, small frame shooters get less of a hit from it since then tend to rock more. For me, for my 3 girls, that means teach them to shoot away from the bench and prone. Get them shooting from their hind legs, kneeling, squating, sitting. That means a rifle they can physically handle. It needs to be light, well ballanced and easy to carry in the field. For smaller people that is not the average 243 scoped bolt rifle.
I would also go 30-30 lever with Skinner sights, if I was open to a lever.
I would also consider Tasco redpoint, they don't need to be so close they will bite. They can also be mounted on an H&R. That said, I love shooting aperature sights on a rifle, so if that suits your pupose, cool. The first half of this clip shows a Scout like 700 redpoint. Second clip shows an HR with a redpoint, it's a shotgun in this case.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNG2w2TADus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p0ekR6Zk20
And if money is no object, what about a scout rifle? No scope bite. Try here at 3:30. Cooper had daughters and they all learned to shoot the scout. My only reservation is shooting the thing with such a short barrel and the noise factor. You can heal from any recoil wound, but hering loss is permanent. To loose hearing should be a personal choice, not something a minor takes on board just to be like dad or mom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFhM0NHsYLk&NR=1
P.S. Here is a video of Clint running a Handi shotgun (1:40). It's defensive, but the point here is they can be run simply and with some speed. One can work out a single shot doctrine than will get you running and gunning, and yet you can start with a simple little safe gun, where it is obvious when it is broken, or when the hammer is back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhgwHQCJwWw
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As far as loading down you can do that just as easily with a 308 and have her later accustomed to the gun when you decide to run a hunting load thru it. Factory Winchester ammo is medium push too but a Limbsaver on a 308 loaded down to 110 or 125 should be really comfy. And available all over the place in whatever combo either ammo or guns. Much more practical gun IMHO.
