Caliber Choice i'm stuck?

Thank you in advance for any help you may give me i'm looking for a new rifle i have a marlin 30-30
and i love it but i'm looking for a rifle that i can take to the range and accurately town shoot targets 300-400 yards, coyote hunt, and take a deer nothing bigger then deer i don't care about saving the pelts of the coyotes but i don't want to completely destroy the pelts either so i'm looking at.243 or.308 i already have a.30 cal in the 30-30 so i haven't looked into the.308 that much… But as far as i know both the 243 and 308 are very flat shooting which is what i'm looking for any help would be appreciated… And if you could give me advice on a good scope in the $150 range i've been looking at nikon or bushnell scopes… O and the occasional hog but i figured i would use the 30-30 on them

In my humble opinion, the.308 will give you a much greater choice in bullet weights and design, so it would have more overall utility.

My preference would also be for the Nikon as opposed to the Bushnell. I've not owned either, but the reviews for those two brands in that price range seem to favor Nikon.

Might also want to consider.270 or 30-06. There's a reason the 06 was a sniper round for over 50 yrs.of the two u mentioned i would go with the.308 because it doesn't seem like a.243 would keep much of its already limited ammnt of power over 300 yrds

For nothing larger than deer, either the.243 or.270 would be satisfactory and still reach the ranges you want to shoot.
Both are "flatter" shooting than the.308.

At 300+ yards you want a "target" or "varmint" scope with variable, high magnification available and the GOOD ones will cost more than the rifle.

The.308 is a good choice for what you want it for.
Also a.30-06 is good. That's is the only caliber I hunt deer & coyotes with.

For a scope in that price range, a Nikon Prostaff or a Leupold VX 1. 3x9x40 should do it.
Both scopes have crystal clear optics and a lifetime warranty.
I prefer Leupold because they are Made In The USA. That was the deciding factor when I bought my Leupold, American made.

Go with a 308. I would recommend the Remington 700 sps. Also look at the Nikon prostaff. You can find the gun for 550, and the scope for 160

Also the 270 Winchester, 6.5 mm Remington Mag, You will fine that some states will not let you hunt deer with the 243 so make sure your state is not one of them. The 257 Roberts is well worth a look as well. My personal choice would be the 30/06 but this mite be more than you can handle.

Try the Hornady 30-30 rounds… If that doesn't do it for you, then get a 30-06. You won't be disappointed

The.243 was designed specifically for coyotes and deer. I'm a big fan of the.243.It probably does not have enough energy at 400 yds to kill a deer properly. I have shot deer to 287 yds with a.243. My son has shot deer out to 310 yds with a.308.

I would suggest going with the 270. The 243 in my opinion is a little small for deer, while yes any1 can properly take a deer using a larger grain 243 bullet, shot placement is a lot more important with the 243 than witht the 270. The 270 also has a very large range of grains, so you can reduce the grain of your bullet for the cyote, and then increase it a little for a deer. 270 is a very good flat shooting rifle. I have it in the rem 700, and absolutly love it.can't recommend it more.