[family first]

Hey folks, just finished a book on the Benoit hunting traditions. Found it very insightful as an outdoorsman. Anyone have one of the model 760's he uses and what caliber? I'm deciding on buying one of these guns but still trying to figure out which caliber. Any feedback would be helpful, especially on the .243.

[arctichomesteader]

What are you planning on hunting with it? That would decide what sort of calibers would be good choices.

[harry chickpea]

Larry and his family hunted deer. Went to school with him.

[ex-springfielder]

I've hunted deer for many years with a .243 and had good luck with it but if I were to purchase another rifle I would probably go with a .308 which has more punch especially if you run into larger deer or bear. The .243 with it's 80 to 100 grain bullets is more suitable to smaller game.

[arctichomesteader]

I think 30-06 and similar rounds are good ones. With different loads they can be used for deer, moose, bears...I like having something that can take a bear or moose when I'm hunting deer, as small as the odds may be that I'll need to shoot one in self-defense...

[family first]

Mostly used for deer, but thought the .243 would offer a lot less recoil when I start my kids off hunting? I do like the versatility of the -06 though! Thanks for the responses. Would the .243 fold bear in a pinch?

[M3 Mitch]

A .243 can kill a bear if the hunter is both an excellent marksman and knows his bear anatomy cold; speaking of cold this hunter had better be immune to "buck fever" too. So this guy would be more like a very experienced elderly guy, who has traded down to the 243 to manage recoil.

Do they make the 760 in .260 Remington? Speaking of managed recoil, assuming you can find it, Remington makes "managed recoil" ammo in .308 IIRC, they have done a pretty good job of reducing recoil without giving up too much bullet velocity.

Of course if you handload, you can download the .308 to about 30-30 levels for kids, advantage being that you can load whatever you want, they can go to a full-power load when they are adults.

.243 is a good deer caliber, particularly for someone who wants to limit recoil for whatever reason. Nosler makes the partition bullet in 6mm size, also the ballistic tip, in any case I would go with a premium bullet when using such a small bore rifle on deer.

[ex-springfielder]

I've found that the recoil on my .243 isn't much softer than that of the .308. The case is basically a .308 necked down to .243. The .270 is another good caliber, it packs a good punch but also has some recoil. I've never had a problem with dropping a deer with my .243 but never had an opportunity to see what it would do on a bear which is much more muscular.

[family first]

Anyone have experience with the 300 savage cartridge for the 760? I know of a shop trying to unload one at probably a very good price. Is this a common cartridge easily found in towns around the states? What kind of performance would on expect from the 300?