Originally Posted By: FrankmI believe Rem has a threaded 18 or 20" rifle as well as Weatherby in the Vanguard. Might be a couple other options to check out.
Friend got a 243 youth in the Marlin, believe it was a X7 model, and it was a nice gun. Helped him set it up for his grandson and it shot submoa right off the bat. His did NOT have a threaded barrel so might throw it out of contention for you.
Originally Posted By: Terry LightleI am looking at the Tikka T 3X compact in 243,serious enough that I bought a barrel last week for when it will be needed in the future,I know how buying the barrel sounds silly but it was so cheap I had to buy it.It will fit my 22-250 anyway.
Its refreshing to see a couple of posters looking at quality over just getting something that goes bang every time that the operator pulls the trigger. There is a reason that both of the OP's suggestions are being sold cheaply. If you buy cheap you typically get cheap with almost zilch resale value if you decide to peddle it (read as poor sustainable quality - much like a BIC lighter).
I'll toss in a totally unreasonable option. Look for a used Kimber Montana in 243 or buy a current model one which, IIRC, is threaded. I know that some like to complain loudly on the internet about "literally spending a fortune" and its not accurate out of the box. After over a dozen purchases, that has not been my experience at all with rifles with the name "Kimber" on them. I have tweeked a couple of them to get them to shoot well (much better and to my satisfaction), but none have required any major surgery of any kind. A screw driver and a bit of judicious light sanding on a few high spots and 30-60 minutes of my time and all of them have become very accurate dependable rifles. And for the record, they too are factory rifles, but they are built with far better overall quality parts and hence they retain their value much better. Being a factory rifle does not guarantee instant success or miracles with any of them just because someone got out a credit card and then opened the box.
JMO............. And fire at will if you have to. I'll be Will.....