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I'm leaning towards the .308 since i now have everything but the bullets. I'm another fan of the XTR II . Have one on the AR and IF i can wheel & dealOriginally Posted by MarkCO
will have one lined up for the RPR. Now to sell more "treasures" to fund another project
The Great Kazoo's Feedback
"when you're happy you enjoy the melody but, when you're broken you understand the lyrics".
If you have everything but the bullets, you are also set-up for .243Win.There are a lot of advantages to the .243Win worth considering. If you look at the performance, you will see that the .243, at least to 600 yards, is performing as good if not better than the 6.5CM and way ahead of the .308. True, the bigger bullets have more energy at range and if you are looking past 1000 yards, the 6.5CM is likely a better choice.
26" fast twist barrel is some of the benefit of course. But lower cost and recoil is a plus with the .243. If you look at cost per round fired and factoring in 3 barrels for the .243, the total cost is actually a tad less for the .243, and barrel prices will likely drop as the competition and aftermarket catches up.
I've heard the .243 vs .308 debate a lot.
Is .243 as available as .308?
Will .243 be "enough" for North America hunting?
Why is it considered "better"? (Flatter shooting?)
I've never really looked into .243
As cheap bulk ammo, no the .243 is not as available as .308 ammo. But then who is going to buy a precision rig and shoot mil-surp in it? As for the actual rifle, I got 10% off on the .243 because it had been sitting. The shop told me the requests have almost all been for .308. The .243 is not a .308 when it comes to game. While I have hunted with my LR .260Rem rig, it was for Pronghorn and Deer sitting in a spot or walking on flat ground. The .243 to me is marginal for elk, but if you are skilled and patient, yes, it is sufficient. Not what I would recommend for sure. Faster and flatter means your error in range and wind estimation has less effect, slightly less, but still enough to consider. For some, flatter also lets them cheap out on glass and worry less about the edge and dialing affects.
Is it better? No. Better for some, maybe, but that depends on the shooter, the skill, the budget, the target and the round count even. I will admit my first rifle was a .243 and I have a lot of rounds downrange with .243Win. I have probably shot 50 head of big game with the .243Win as well, but this will largely be for target shooting. I have shot similar groups with my .243Win sporter weight rifle to my LR precision rig in .260 and .308. We will see what this one does. If it sucks, I can easily rebarrel it. That is one beauty of the RPR...if you have a set of gauges and an AR15 wrench, you can rebarrel at home.
I am kind of glad I don't have the funds for one yet as I cannot decide on a caliber.
That is one of the benefits of the RPR. There are going to be TO barrels a plenty soon. I have seen 1 for $200 and one for $250. Also there are 3 companies in process for aftermarket barrels and at least one is already selling them. Much less to rebarrel than most of the options on the market.
Concise, thanks MarkCO.
And that's for me the issue. Knowing there are TO bbls, having the tools on hand makes a solid choice somewhat muddy. I'm still leaning .308, but that could change if like you a deal comes along on a .243. A good deal puts a TO, or aftermarket, bbl still within budget.
The Great Kazoo's Feedback
"when you're happy you enjoy the melody but, when you're broken you understand the lyrics".
I am leaning towards 6.5 Creedmoore.
I'm torn on handguard length, the .308 one which I have ordered is shorter. Wondering if that'll suck if/when I swap barrels to 6.5 or any other caliber. (Or even a longer .308 someday)
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