Posted about wanting this rifle awhile back, and today I got it. Did some swapping with something I have about 1300 in. Also swapped some optics I have listed here and got a VX5 2-10 -42 w 30mm tube.

1. Is anyone in the know with this rifle ? What does it like to eat , etc.

2. I have VX5 big bell scopes, but what about the little model ?

Little 6mm is a killer...

If it shoots anything like the Sako I had. Just pick the load you want and it will shoot it well.

Objective size only matters in low light and there isn't a lot of difference in 42mm vs 50mm. In low light you will just have to turn the magnification down 2x to get the same exit pupil. Whether that matters or not is situational but has little to do with the optical quality of the scope.

As for the rifle I would sell it. I don't like .243. Trailed too many deer shot with one. Bad shot agle or something?... maybe. Maybe likely. If we could all shoot every deer at 20 yards broadside there would likely never be an issue. It just don't have the horsepower. It's a 4 cylinder. No turbo. Good gas mileage. Not much of a family car.

Best caliber for a varmint rifle made IMO though.

Sako rifles are awesome. Pick the load you want to shoot, and dial your scope to match.

If I knew I would never take a shot over 200 yards again, .243 Win would be right behind .257 Roberts for my main stick.

Hubbell scopes rule!!!!

Congrats! I've owned lots of rifles but have only lusted after a Sako.

I would shoot an 85 grain Barnes and kill elk barn yard dead.

No flies on a 243. Just use a good bullet for the ranges you plan to shoot and make a good hit. Sometimes it ain't the caliber's fault.

I think I'll keep the rifle. Probably get some 95 grain federal fusions and those 85 grain Barne's and see how they group. If a deer that's shot with a bonded or solid copper bullet runs, then it's not the fault of the round..

If you can shoot worth a s### and you stay away from too light or fragile type bullets like ballistic tips a 243 will consistently kill any deer in Alabama. I killed quite a few with a 243 and a 100 grain corlokt in my younger days. Never noticed that they ran any further on average than they do now with a 25-06, 7mm-08, 35 rem, or 45-70.

I have 2 sons that use the 243. My oldest has claimed my dad’s old 243 when he was 9 and he’s now 21 and won’t shoot anything else. We’ve never lost a deer in 11 years using this caliber. We’ve used 2 different loads with the best success on deer being the 90 grain Swift Scirocco and the 100 grain Nosler Partition (this being our favorite). Stay away from the Ballistic tips and the Hornady SSTs!

Exactly. You just don't want rapidly expanding bullets in this caliber at this weight when shooting short range. A Barnes at short range would go end to end through about any deer more often than not ,I would think..

Great round for a 9 year old. Not sure why a grown man would shoot it on purpose.

There is no good argument as to why a .243 is better than _____. That's anything larger with tolerable recoil within ALDeer standards. 6.5 Creed, 7-08, etc.

NONE.

Even .25-06 will crest the hill in terms of killing power while not shooting a much larger bullet maybe 10 more grains. Recoil pretty mild.

Start getting into .308 or larger and of course people's shoulders start getting blown off round here so I'm not even going there.

That's like arguing that a car that will run 200 mph is more powerful than one that will run 120. It don't matter one hoot if I don't drive over 65, and I'll burn less powder and have less recoil, I mean burn less gas and have a more comfortable ride,with the less powerful car.

These are Alabama whitetail deer , not Grizzly Bears.

Not really, the comparison at this level is like arguing you can ride a moped instead or drive a car to Orange Beach to eat.

You can get there on a moped I'm just not sure why anyone would want to drive one that far. You can kill a deer with a .22lr so, this isn't a "can't" argument. .243 will certainly kill a deer.

It's a question of why would you pick that?

No good reason. Unless you are a 9 year old.

With the right bullets a 243 will reliably put deer down on out there, and the deer will go down within a respectable distance. Just like any of the other 308 based cartridges will, assuming the shooter does their part. Anyone that argues this doesn't understand physics.

Because it has plenty of energy for a pine goat, and soft recoil. I've been married for 31 years. As I am not allowed variety in my women, I will find it numerous interesting calibers.

I don't hunt with it often, but a .243 will drop them quick if you do your part. My chosen ammo has 2139 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle, and still has over 1200 ft/lbs at 300 yards. We hear all the time how a 6.5 creed is a 1000 yard deer rifle (I don't believe it, BTW), and the .243 has more energy at 400 yards than some creed loads at 500.

Is it an ideal round for elk? No, but that ain't the question here.

No reason for a grown man to step away from a rifle that he likes just because it's a .243.

And there is nothing wrong with the Hornady SST. I dropped a mule deer at over 300 yards using that bullet in my .25-06, and I saw a whitetail drop in it's tracks at about 100 yards this year with the mighty .......



.243 Win, using the Hornady Superformance 95 grain SST.

I take it you don't reload or understand much about bullet BC or there would be reasons.

Oh I don't know. Maybe because they aren't one of these magnumitis goobers that buy a 300 win mag to take 40 yard shots at 150 pound Alabama deer. Seen plenty of them. Always bragging about how little their whiz bang super mag drops at 600 yards when the sad truth is that they couldn't hit a tanker truck at that distance. I'd way rather take a guest hunting on our land that showed up with a 243 they could shoot accurately than some yahoo that thinks the cartridge they use to hunt deer is a direct reflection of their pecker size. LOL!