If you were wanting to get your legal limit .

And you saw six of them sitting on a fence,
What bolt action rifle would you run in and purchase to go get them ?
.243 winchester

Under $1,400.00 for gun
Under $900.00 for scope.

Tikka T3x lite stainless or superlight (or whatever the stainless fluted model is called)
Nikon Monarch

Pretty much my setup but in you r required 243 instead of 270.

My boss has a T3 in 243 with a Nikon Prostaff. His daughter took 2 doe on King Ranch this season.

Agree with the T3X. There is simply not a more accurate bolt rifle out there for the money. Sure, most rifles produced now are quite capable, Tikka’s quality and accuracy are hard to beat. Mine in 6.5cm loves Hornady Precision Hunter.

150 gr Winchester Silvertip in 270Win here.
First time out with it, put 5 shots in 3 holes at 100yds.

I would get an older model Remington 700 Sendero chambered in 25-06.

I have always wanted one since I first saw one back in 1997 in Rawlins Wyoming.

I am not sure about the scope though
I have not kept up with scopes beyond ACOG and Red Dot.

I have been looking at the Christensen Mesa in 7mm-08. $1200. 6.5 pounds and sub MOA warranty.
Scope would be Swarovski Z3 3-10x42. $730.
But.... Ruger American and Vortex would cheaper and probably just as fun!

8" target at 175 yards can be hit reliably by every rifle on the shelf today. So I'd get a pretty one.

Winchester M70 Super Grade in 30-06. Zeiss Conquest scope.

I think my Weatherby Mark V LaserMark in 257 Weatherby Magnum with the Steiner 3-18 scope would take those deadly cantalopes down in short order.
My only worry would be that the splatter would come back 175 yards and get on the Weatherbys gorgeous wood stock.

I already have a Rem700 in 243...

A cantaloupe might be 5-6" in diameter. At 175 yards, this equates to a 3-ish MOA target. Pretty generous target for a modern centerfire rifle, with respectable ammo, shot from a stable position. Even a decent AR15 with mid-grade 223 ammo can hammer on such targets until the shooter is tired of pulling the trigger. Thus, it doesn't take a super expensive bolt action rifle to become a sledge-o-matic at 175 yards.

I don't have the best knowledge of rifles at this price point, but the Tikka has to be on the shot list. The are other options, too.

I prefer scopes with First Focal Plane reticles. Some people prefer scopes with Second Focal plane reticles. There have been ongoing discussions on this website as to why shooters choose one way or the other. For FFP scopes, with exposed turrets, in the price range -- Burris XTR-II and Vortex Viper PST II should be on the short list. I suggest 3-15x, or maybe higher magnification, depending on personal preference. These scopes can be purchased for less than list price from distributors such as Sport Optics -- one only has to ask for what's their best deal.

It doesn't take an uber-powerful cartridge to smack targets at 175 yards. Now if hunting larger animals is a prime consideration, then caliber selection based on kinetic energy on target is a big factor. But cantaloupes aren't African plains predators. Nor are paper targets or steel plates. Your thoughts on a 243 Win is reasonable. It's not an overly powerful cartridge, it shoots quite accurately with the right bullets, it has a flat trajectory, and its recoil is reasonable. Outside of panic times, factory ammo is generally available.

A 223 bolt action rifle is also an option, especially for only 175 yards. If an AR15 will work, than the almost certainly more accurate bolt action will too.

Some factory rifle makers may not offer a 243. If so, a 6mm Creedmoor is effectively the same thing. Stepping up in kinetic energy and recoil is 260 and 6.5 Creedmoor. The next step up is 7mm-08, then 308. For target shooting at such short distances, there's no need to consider any cartridge with "magnum" in its name. Nor anything built from a long action such as 30-06, 270, 25-06. These heavier cartridges just impart heavier recoil on the shooter, which makes the game of learning precision shooting more difficult.

An old Savage 110 in any caliber at the pawn shop and a cheap Bushnell scope from Mao Mart

Now you have to find ammo

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
An old Savage 110 in any caliber at the pawn shop and a cheap Bushnell scope from Mao Mart

Now you have to find ammo

And there in lies the challenge ...

I've been trying to learn about rifle accuracy on the www.,
Both on Y.T. and more than a few web pages .

I thought for sure someone would respond back with,

Buy a $1000.00 gun
Spend more $
On barrel crowning,
Then cryo dip it
Then,
Get a $350.00 trigger set up.
Then have a guy re- bed it
Then
Get a $300.00 bi pod.

You folks are making it sound way less complex

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
I've been trying to learn about rifle accuracy on the www.,
Both on Y.T. and more than a few web pages .

I thought for sure someone would respond back with,

Buy a $1000.00 gun
Spend more $
On barrel crowning,
Then cryo dip it
Then,
Get a $350.00 trigger set up.
Then have a guy re- bed it
Then
Get a $300.00 bi pod.

You folks are making it sound way less complex

Well, as fritz pointed out, a cantaloupe at 175 yards just isn't a very challenging target for a modern scoped hunting rifle.

Going to extra expense for cryo treatments, custom bedding, barrel crowning, blueprinted actions, aftermarket triggers, purpose-made handloads, etc. is for when you really want to wring every last drop of accuracy out of the rifle.

And all that's just not needed for a 3-5 MOA target at a relatively short range. Just about any off-the-shelf hunting rifle with a no-frills scope and commercial ammo can manage that nowadays with even a halfway decent shooter behind the trigger.

Whereas if you were wanting to shoot matchbooks at 175 yards, you might need to get fancy with the custom rifle treatments and specific ammo, plus really work on honing your rifle shooting skills.

Or if you wanted to shoot cantaloupes at 1075 yards...

Well that's very encouraging , thanks to those choosing to clear up all the information, bouncing around in my noggin

Most splatter would probably be from the highest velocity .22 centerfire you can find.

At the price points you list, many rifles could easily get the job done.

A Tikka T3 or Ruger Precision Rifle would do the trick well and at speed for all 6. A Vortex scope would be a good choice for the price.

mrapteam666's Sendero with a varmint weight bullet would certainly do the trick -- I know it works quite well on post-Halloween pumpkins.

I have no experience with any, but step down to 22lr & something like the T1x or other precision rimfires could fit the bill. Though, I'm not sure you'll save much, if any, on the initial costs. You'd likely break even relatively quickly with the lower cost of ammo.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
8" target at 175 yards can be hit reliably by every rifle on the shelf today. So I'd get a pretty one.

Winchester M70 Super Grade in 30-06. Zeiss Conquest scope.

That's a heckuva combo.

I second the Winchester recommendation. Very well-made guns, traditional recoil lugs, just really good builds over all.

In the $900 price range, there are some hella-good scopes. There are hella-good scopes for less.

I'm a huge Burris fan. In that price range I might buy the Burris Veracity 2.5-10x42. It has a relatively uncomplicated ballistic reticle and is a first focal plane scope. The reticle scales up and down was you change magnification. That's useful for ballistic reticles because all the little marks have the same scale at any magnification. And this scope's reticle isn't too complicated for hunting (though there is a more complicated reticle available in this scope for target shooting).

https://www.burrisoptics.com/s...riflescope-2-10x42mm

If you want a hunting scope without a ballistic reticle, first focal plane feature isn't necessary, since there is nothing to scale up or down. In fact, with heavy plex or German reticles, first focal plane feature can make the reticle overwhelm the view at higher magnifications. Traditional second focal plane scopes are fine. For $900 and traditional second focal plane, you will be able to pick from some very fine scopes. In fact, you can spend a lot less and get a very fine scope. Leupold VX3i, less expensive Burris Fullfield E1, even Burris Fullfield II, and lots of others. Way less than $900.

So what do you really want this rifle for? I know cantaloupes are plentiful and without limit. But will you eventually use this for something with 4 legs, maybe not yet determined? The .243 is a fine round for game up to deer, and people have used it on game larger than that. But I think the .308 would be a more versatile round. The .308 is known for accuracy, can be used for varmints, and is probably a better choice for deer, and certainly for game larger than deer. The .308 is adequate for anything in the lower 48, and adequate for anything in North America with proper shot placement and reasonable ranges. And the recoil isn't much more than from a .243. But if deer is the upper limit, .243 is just fine.

Winchester 70 Featherweight. Street price around $900. Pay a bit more for fancier wood, the birdseye maple is particularly nice if you can find it.

Then pick a scope in your range from Leupold, Zeiss or Vortex.

.243 is a particularly nice round to shoot.

So what do you really want this rifle for?

Targets, of cantalope size,
That's pretty much it.

No farther, no smaller