if you would be trading for the same rifle in 243 so stock length isn't going to change I would just give her the 308 , never have problems finding ammo , probably never manage to wear out the barrel , and can take any game animal in North America with proper ammo selection

maybe use reduced recoil ammo for a couple of years if she is smaller.

Great photos! Looks like you've got a real hunting family. Nice to see such happy kids doing what they love!

Thanks. We have a good time. There is always deer, elk, antelope, and mountain lion in the freezer compliments of those two.

Probably no wrong choice, but I really have zero problem finding ammo for my 6mm. Even Walmart has it. However, no one ever has the same selection for 6mm as they do .243 if you're buying in a store. Online, it's simple.

Just got a call back from the dealer. If I wanted to trade the 308 within the next few days what she had available was a Remington identical to the one I won only in 243. i didn't like the Remington because it had a no-name scope on it. Or, the other choice was a Savage Axis 11 with a 3X9 Bushnell. I would have preferred a Tikka, but it would have taken too long to get and would be past her birthday. I'm taking the Savage. I have two Savages and they are both tack drivers.

Thank you all for your great comments. It helped me decide what to do.

O K I'm gonna be the crazy one. If she has no trouble with the 243 or the 6mm why wouldn't she be able to handle the 308. I'b take a 30 cal over a 6mm cartridge any day for a youngster. 150's or 165's would be a whole lot more forgiving as far as killing power than a 90 grain. I started all of mine out on 308's and they all are very proficient deer hunters in their 20's and 30's. Not knocking the 6mm cartridges but i would look to the future with something like the 308 or 7mm-08 not to mention the bullet selection is much greater. Recoil is not an issue with either.

How did this go from giving her a rifle you won to "buying" her a rifle?

That question aside, the 6mm has a very slight performance edge over the .243, but Remington blew the marketing when the 6mm and .243 were introduced and Winchester's offering is what became the commercial success. I think she would feel more confident with the .243 having used one successfully already, instead of having to buy in to the history of the two and their relative technical merits. I love my 6mm and do not own a .243 but think it (the .243) is the wise choice for many of the reasons others have pointed out. The counter arguments are valid also, but this is a young woman's confidence as a new hunter at stake.

She hunted with a borrowed 243 last fall. The 308 I won in the raffle is a much heavier rifle for starters, I'm talking weight-wise. I've shot my wife's 6MM many times and I've shot 308s and 30-06s. There's quite a bit of difference in recoil, IMO. My granddaughter isn't that big.

The other thing is I don't want to scare her off from shooting and hunting. Here's a little background on her. When she was 12, her mother told her she had to take firearms training. She didn't want to, said she had no intention of ever owning any guns, much less go hunting. When her class did live firing, she seemed to enjoy the shooting. For taking the class I gave her a Henry Golden Boy in .22 caliber. She started shooting at her uncle's range with it.

The next thing I know she's telling me she might go along with her dad while he deer hunts and sit in stand with him. She did. He shot a deer. That was 2 seasons ago. After that, she says she's going to hunt with a gun next year. Her dad borrowed a friend's 243 and the second day of the season, she shot a 6 point buck.

I doubt she will ever hunt anything larger than deer. In that case, a 243 is a decent choice. I have loaded 100 grain Barnes X bullets in my wife's 6MM. Every one was a shoulder hit with exit wounds. Most of the deer she's shot have dropped in their tracks.

given that she likes 243 , yes go 243 as close to what she has already used.

Ed, my first choice was a Tikka T3 with a scope for her. If I got that, I would have to put some extra cash out. As it is, I only have to put out about $40 to get the Savage Axis 11 with scope. That's the difference in the Remington I won versus the Savage.

If I were to hunt with either caliber, it would be the 6mm too.

As I recall having heard, Remington entered the market with it as the 244. It didn't take long for buyers of the rifle to realize it had an accuracy problem caused by the twists in the rifling. They sold them for quite some time. When they finally corrected the error, it was too late, the damage had been done. To try to gain back a share of the market, Remington renamed the round the 6mm. Still too late, the 243 Winchester had already cornered the market.

I have been loading the 85 TSX for the kids rifles. Impressive little bullet. Light recoil and decent velocity. Pretty simple shooting for inside 300 yards and stuff just dies. In the right situation I would let them poke holes in elk with that bullet.

My wife shoots a Savage Axis in 7-08. She wanted it because it was pink camo. Turns out it shoots great. Hers did not have the accutrigger and it was horrible. After a trigger job it is great. I believe the Axis II has the accutrigger????

From a ballistic standpoint, there is not enough difference between them to even start an argument. If you want off the shelf ammo . The 243 has the nose in front for sure. Hand load for both and again there is not going to be enough difference in accuracy to start said argument. Yes you can tickle more out of the 6mm with a bench rest rifle. But as a hunting round in a hunting rifle, The critter at the wrong end of the tube is not going to argue the point either. Just for getting looks on the range, the 6mm has more curb appeal. But you will have to get into the 6.5 Creemor mode and just go and tell folks that you shoot a 6mm or they will never know. Factory ammo for the 243 is cheaper and more readily available and has more bullet choices for sure.

its a gift from Grandpa should be grandpa's choice mean more than if it was somebody elses idea

My gun guy told me years ago that you could shoot .243's in the 6MM, or visa versa. The smaller case would fire form to chamber, but accuracy should be the same.

The .243 is much tamer than the .308. I had a Remington 600 carbine in .308, the old styleneither the rib on the barrel. You could see a 12" flame when you touched that thing off. Sold it when they got collectible.

There is basically no difference in the 2.
The 6 has a very slight speed adnvantage.
Ain't a deer in the world gonna know the difference.

.243

WHOA THERE!!!!'

I now remember it wasn't a .243 in a 6MM, he said you could shoot the 6MM in a .244 Remington that I owned for a while. Heck, I'm forgetting way too much now. Can't even remember what I had for supper last night........ And I MADE IT!

Glad you clarifyed that!

I have been shooting a .243 Ackley Improved for about 22 years now. I got my nephew a standard .243 when he was old enough. The Ackley only sees Nosler Partions. Although I would not hesitate to shoot Speer Grand Slams through it for hunting. The nephew has used some of the standard type whitetail loads on the market, some with not good results. Too much early expansion.
That said, any 6mm works well if used in conjunction with a PREMIUM bullet, factory loaded or handloaded.

Trapper7- just curious, what offerings were you able to find in a 6mm? It seems most manufacturers have quit offering them.

Trapper
Have never shot a Tikka but have heard good things about them. I have set up a earlier savage edge in 223 and later on a Axis in 243 even though I not a fan of the look of a black plastic stock rifles they flat out shoot. The 243 right out of the box was printing less than 3/4 inch at 100yards with 3 different brands of factory ammo.I see no reason that you couldn't fine tune a scary accurate hand load.
I'm a fan of the old rem 700 got a whole safe of them but my last 2 rifles have been savage. One is a xp hunter 22 250 the other is a rimfire 17 hmr. Both are ugly as sin but they are tack drivers