243 vs 257

[denton]

Thank you all for the many excellent ideas.

I did some trading, and ended up with a 243. When I got it, I had visions of hunting deer and pronghorn with it. Friends have suggested that it may not be the best choice, and I figured that if I could understand why the 257 is usually accepted in this role, and the 243 gets mixed reviews, maybe I could make a reasonably well informed decision.

The 243 I have is about a 1 MOA gun, which is kind of marginal for small varmints, but ideal for 'yotes, foxes, raccoons and skunks. And, from what I'm reading, it's OK for deer and pronghorn, especially with the right bullets, but there are better choices.

In the big game department, I'm a lot more interested in pronghorn than deer.

I'm really just trying to figure out what the role of my 243 is going to be. Comparison with the 257 is one way to try to understand.

In the end, I'm trying to complete this sentence: A 243 is the ideal gun for....