First Rifle Recommendation

[coyotekilla]

6mm creed is all but identical to 243, just all the 6 cm are fast twist, and only some of the 243 are.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

OP you've come to the right place and I like how you're approaching the purchase rather than a knee jerk so many of us end up with. I turn 50 this year and raised three sons, youngest is almost your age. We've run the gamut of big magnums to midrange and everything in between. Myself and two sons now shoot 6.5 CM, and oldest shoots 308 because he's the big brother and has to be the baddest of them all haha. You're on track with a Tikka 243 but them SWFA scopes are UGLY I just can't do it! We like Trijicon and Nightforce. One thing I like about the 6.5 CM is I've never seen one that doesn't shoot reasonably well from dirt cheap to Tikka. Our first one was a Thompson Center Compass and the only reason I bought it was BassPro had a promo with my card I could get it for $175. I slapped a spare scope on it and shot a 5 shot group at 100 you could cover with a quarter when sighting it in with whatever cheap factory cup and core ammo I picked up off the shelf. Since then we've had lower end Weatherby, Bergara, Tikka, and another Weatherby. All of them shot great out of the box with factory ammo. I've not seen this type of boring no drama accuracy in any of the other cartridges I've owned which have been many. In addition to those my wife shoots a 6 ARC and my AR "Texas gun" is also 6 ARC. You'll notice we tend to enjoy the slower moving less explosive cartridges. For the first time in my life I don't want for more guns/calibers/cartridges. We get tons of 223 play with the ARs otherwise I'd definitely also want a bolt 223 for play. Good luck on your journey and have fun and be safe. As others stated don't let the Fudds discourage you beating on the big cartridge wallup drum, it's all in their heads.

 

[Booper Scooper]

Definitely worth looking at availability of a) good factory hunting ammo and b) cheap practice ammo for the range. Even if you plan on reloading, it's nice to have those options.

Do some research on which of each type you'd use for each cartridge. Hard to beat .223 for practice, and seems like there are some solid factory hunting loads available if you search this forum. I can't hunt with .223 in my state, so I don't know for sure but I believe people speak highly of the 75 gr HPBT and 62 gr Gold Dot. Getting a .223 and shooting the piss out of it for a year or two is pretty solid move. Then you'll have learned a lot before buying your next rifle (if you even need to).

6 Creed is a good option, though Tikka doesn't offer a rifle chambered in it yet.. soon they will. 6.5 Creed is extremely popular and will have great ammo options. 243 Win has more legacy sort of ammo, not the latest greatest bullets you hear a lot of guys here talking about. You can reload those new bullets in an 8 twist 243, but no factory offerings yet I think. What it does have for factory ammo should be fine for you though.

When you lay it all out, it's really hard to beat 223 assuming it's legal for you to use. Cheap, effective, and the light recoil is really really nice for being accurate and practicing a lot. You also don't NEED anything extra that you get with the 6 CM, 6.5 CM, or 243 Win, but you pay for that extra stuff in money and recoil.

Yeah we can hunt with .223 in Alabama.

I was leaning towards the .243, and of course the 6.5CM. From what I've seen, 6.5CM ammo is very stocked up usually, I've not, not seen it (not counting covid). The .243 also has a lot of factory options, but I see them out usually which leans me even more to the 6.5CM.

For recoil, I'd be adding a suppressor eventually and getting a good recoil pad (prob a limbsaver for now) as I've read a lot of bad stuff on Tikka's recoil pads.

So far my options are the .223, .243, and 6.5CM. If Tikka did offer a 20" 6mm, I'd probably go with that.

I do like light recoiling rounds a lot, so all 3 options will fit me fine. Also I appreciate the ammo recommendation as I was confused on some options with the .223. I haven't done much reading about the .223 for deer, not like it wouldn't do the job perfectly, but that wasn't my first choice although it's definitely in my top 3 choices now as I've said.

Thanks for your reply, @ckt3

 

[MTlan66]

Our first one was a Thompson Center Compass and the only reason I bought it was BassPro had a promo with my card I could get it for $175. I slapped a spare scope on it and shot a 5 shot group at 100 you could cover with a quarter when sighting it in

This describes what I did perfectly, except I had enough points on my card that I got it for free. Still my primary rifle, though I plan to pull the trigger on a Tikka here soon.

 

[Booper Scooper]

OP you've come to the right place and I like how you're approaching the purchase rather than a knee jerk so many of us end up with. I turn 50 this year and raised three sons, youngest is almost your age. We've run the gamut of big magnums to midrange and everything in between. Myself and two sons now shoot 6.5 CM, and oldest shoots 308 because he's the big brother and has to be the baddest of them all haha. You're on track with a Tikka 243 but them SWFA scopes are UGLY I just can't do it! We like Trijicon and Nightforce. One thing I like about the 6.5 CM is I've never seen one that doesn't shoot reasonably well from dirt cheap to Tikka. Our first one was a Thompson Center Compass and the only reason I bought it was BassPro had a promo with my card I could get it for $175. I slapped a spare scope on it and shot a 5 shot group at 100 you could cover with a quarter when sighting it in with whatever cheap factory cup and core ammo I picked up off the shelf. Since then we've had lower end Weatherby, Bergara, Tikka, and another Weatherby. All of them shot great out of the box with factory ammo. I've not seen this type of boring no drama accuracy in any of the other cartridges I've owned which have been many. In addition to those my wife shoots a 6 ARC and my AR "Texas gun" is also 6 ARC. You'll notice we tend to enjoy the slower moving less explosive cartridges. For the first time in my life I don't want for more guns/calibers/cartridges. We get tons of 223 play with the ARs otherwise I'd definitely also want a bolt 223 for play. Good luck on your journey and have fun and be safe. As others stated don't let the Fudds discourage you beating on the big cartridge wallup drum, it's all in their heads.

To address the Fudds—earlier I was just holding a .270 (not even planning to buy it), and one of them chimed in saying a .30-06 would be better. It never ends. I can only imagine what he would’ve said if I had been looking at a 6.5 Creedmoor.

For what it’s worth, I shoot a Marlin Model 60 .22 semi-auto for squirrels and the occasional rabbit, so I definitely respect the classics. At the end of the day, though, I know all of these cartridges are more than capable of taking the game I’m after, so I’m not going to let that kind of commentary get to me.

One thing I’ve realized is that I’d prefer my .223 to be on an AR-style platform. My brother has one that’s suppressed, and I really enjoy shooting it. Something like that would be perfect for night hunting coyotes or hogs, which is something I’m really excited about.

At the same time, I can’t get over how smooth the bolt was on the Tikka I handled. Because of that, I’m still considering a Tikka in either .243 or 6.5 Creedmoor. Honestly, it feels like a coin flip between those two at this point.

I’m also planning to look more into Trijicon and Nightforce optics. I’m not very familiar with them yet—I’ve mostly heard about Vortex and Leupold. I’ve been running iron sights on my Marlin, so scopes are still pretty new territory for me.

I’m not going to make a purchase just yet—I want to make sure I have everything sorted out first. But I really appreciate all the advice so far. It’s given me a lot to think about.

Also, thanks again to for sharing your experience with the 6.5 Creedmoor—I appreciate it.

6mm creed is all but identical to 243, just all the 6 cm are fast twist, and only some of the 243 are.

Oh alright. I knew they were both 6mm but was just confused on the name moreso. Thanks.

 

[ckt3]

I do like light recoiling rounds a lot, so all 3 options will fit me fine. Also I appreciate the ammo recommendation as I was confused on some options with the .223. I haven't done much reading about the .223 for deer, not like it wouldn't do the job perfectly, but that wasn't my first choice although it's definitely in my top 3 choices now as I've said.

Thanks for your reply, @ckt3

No problem. You will be happy with any of the choices you listed above, but regardless, it's helpful to learn more about the general topic of how bullets kill and the variables that actually matter.

If you haven't yet, read through this thread, ideally in it's entirety.

P

Thread '.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose.'

Jun 3, 2019

DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ 176 PAGES? HERE'S THE CHEAT SHEET.

---

“Bullets matter more than headstamps.”

“Spent primers offer the supreme tutorial”.

I’ve read it here and elsewhere online. It got my attention. I started digging and asking questions and listened.

The 77gr TMK delivered by a .223 is where I ended up after many discussions and objective data regarding bullet performance and numerous pics of field results.

Now for the delivery system. Accurate. Repeatable. Reliable. Reasonable weight to afford steady shot placement and the ability to spot my own impacts...

• PNWGATOR
• Replies: 13,383
• Forum: Firearms

• 
• 
• 

It is a major learning experience. I was a skeptic like 8 months ago (more out of ignorance than disagreement), but the evidence there and the logic presented in how bullets kill is very sound and persuasive. It's a very long thread but well worth reading to see the evolution and growing body of evidence over the years, and is arguably *the* thing that Rokslide is known for.

The podcast episodes on small calibers in this post are the best I've ever heard on the topic. https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/compilation-of-formidilosus-posts.260643/post-2558313

 

[Booper Scooper]

No problem. You will be happy with any of the choices you listed above, but regardless, it's helpful to learn more about the general topic of how bullets kill and the variables that actually matter.

If you haven't yet, read through this thread, ideally in it's entirety.

P

Thread '.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose.'

Jun 3, 2019

DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ 176 PAGES? HERE'S THE CHEAT SHEET.

---

“Bullets matter more than headstamps.”

“Spent primers offer the supreme tutorial”.

I’ve read it here and elsewhere online. It got my attention. I started digging and asking questions and listened.

The 77gr TMK delivered by a .223 is where I ended up after many discussions and objective data regarding bullet performance and numerous pics of field results.

Now for the delivery system. Accurate. Repeatable. Reliable. Reasonable weight to afford steady shot placement and the ability to spot my own impacts...

• PNWGATOR
• Replies: 13,383
• Forum: Firearms

• 
• 
• 

It is a major learning experience. I was a skeptic like 8 months ago (more out of ignorance than disagreement), but the evidence there and the logic presented in how bullets kill is very sound and persuasive. It's a very long thread but well worth reading to see the evolution and growing body of evidence over the years, and is arguably *the* thing that Rokslide is known for.

The podcast episodes on small calibers in this post are the best I've ever heard on the topic. https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/compilation-of-formidilosus-posts.260643/post-2558313

Alright you've got me interested. I'm gonna read through this when I'm not super tired. Thanks!

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Also, I wanna preface that I'm more ignorant than anything. I don't wanna offend anyone's choice in caliber, so when I said that the .223 wasn't my first choice it wasn't because it's not capable, but just because it hardly gets mentioned from where I'm at. Then again, there are outliers like that guy I saw in the gunstore who has dozens of deer with his .223, so there you go.

More commonly I'm always met with people like "30-06 or nuthin'" lmao. Again, thanks for the thread, Imma do some reading.

PS: More than likely will get a .223 later anyway (like the 30-30 lever action) cause it'd be a nice gun to setup at night with a suppressor and hunting fat hogs and coyotes. I just like the feel of the Tikka which is why I wanted that too lmao.