Assuming you don’t reload I would say 243 is your best bet for finding lead free factory ammo. 6.5 cm is still a bit stout for recoil and 223 with lead free isn’t going to be ideal. The 223 really seems to shine with frangible lead bullets. All the other great options like 22 cm 6arc 22arc are...
Don’t want to add to your confusion but these would be worth a look
https://www.sierra.com/kenetrek-hunting-gaiters-pair~p~3pfwr/?filterString=hunting~d~14346%2F&merch=prod-rec-prod-prod3PFWR
I’d take what you have now and not worry about it. Make sure you treat them with a good leather treatment and use the money you were going to spend on other boots to buy more ammo and practice with your rifle.
What boots do you have now? My advice is for uninsulated full leather boots and a good pair of gaiters. If your feet do get cold you have multiple options of warming them up. Moving around, starting a fire, switching to a pair of dry socks, or simply loosening laces while stationary to increase...
I know nothing about giraffes other than I saw one at the zoo as a kid. Is there something special about them that leads you to believe they can survive with a 5 inch wide by 16 inch deep hole in their chest cavity?
Buy the 3-9 credo and learn how to shoot out to 400 first. No offense but if this is your first hunting rifle it’s going to take some serious time and training before you should be looking at shooting something at 600 yards.
That may be true I know very little about suppressor laws. I just know that in Colorado a cpw officer is no different than any other officer in regards to beeing able to ticket or arrest for anything.
If you want durable then a leupold vx is not where I’d look. Look at something from trijicon like this
https://www.eurooptic.com/trijicon-accupoint-25-125x42-riflescope-moa-dot-crosshair-w-green-dot-200104.aspx
Buy 2k worth of this and shoot the crap out of the rifle you already have
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1016934715?pid=644515
I promise the confidence from a summers worth of practice will do many times more than that of a new rifle.
Sorry for your frustration and mixup. The website does now say 25-27oz so hopefully that solves future issues. Edit to add that the description says 23 but the specs section says 25-27 so I completely understand your issue.