grim,,,,,, in my opinion to the uninitiated , i think the differance between the two rounds is significant, especialy to a begginer ,,,the 243 just kicks more, hands down,,,, first timers can be very recoil sensitive , dont turn off a potential new shooter with to much recoil,,,,also,,, dont forget goooood hearing protection,,, i was in my late teens in the early 70s and had been around everything from a B B gun,,, to 222 mag, 30-06 , 243, weatherby 340 , 25-06 , 458 and a lot inbetween,,,,,, before i ever used hearing protection,,, the first time i shot my dads 30-06 with hearing protection i swear it felt like it reduced the recoil perception in half,,,,,,,, so to speak,,,, point being gooood hearing protection makes the whole event better,,,,,, im nooooooo 223 fan ,,, but yock is dead right,,,, and ammo is sooo cheap,,,, good luck