Do I need a .243?

Been a huge .30/30 fan since I was big enough to reach the top shelf of the closet and read the headstamp on dads' cases.

The .243 is far more versatile than it or the 7.62x39.

Get it.

I was thinking about the 243 but then some posters pointed out that it is a seriously overbored caliber which ruins barrels much faster than, say, the 308. I'm not even sure what the heck that means, but it sounds significant.

I love mine. Great caliber for deer and coyotes (and anything smaller of course) and also enjoyable to shoot at the range. There is no recoil to speak of. My rifle has been going strong for 30+ years and the barrel isn't "burned out." Also if you don't reload, factory offerings for the 243 are both numerous and relatively inexpensive. I say get one and have fun.

What you need is a 30-06 if you looking for versatility.

The .243 is probably harder on barrels than a .308, but not particularly so. I've had great luck with one for years. Use it for deer with well-placed shots with confidence. Antelope fall to it with ease. Reach out and touch coyotes like there's no tomorrow. Make varmints "pop." You can buy affordable ammo. Shoot all day without a damaged shoulder. If you want to hunt bigger game, get a .308. If you're only shooting varmints, get a .223, but the .243 is very popular for a reason, and critics will point out the downside to any cartrige in existance. Buy one if you want to.

I own a .243 Winchester featherweight that is stored in an outbuilding and used primarily as a hunting and pest control weapon.

One of the most versatile medium caliber weapons especially if you reload.

Shoot nothing but maximum loads and you can burn a barrel out in 10,000 rounds.
That is TWENTY 500 round cases of ammunition or 500 20 round boxes.

Reload/handload and keep you ammunition in the middle of the load charts, use gas checked lead bullets and the barrel will go three times that amount.

The .243 was never designed as a target rifle, it was designed as a hunting rifle and is capable of taking game animals up to Elk.
It is also capable of quite good accuracy on the target range.

If you think you might need a .243, you probably do.

243 is a great cartridge. & very good round for reaching way out there. & the kick is lil at best IMO

The .243 is one of the best cartridges ever developed. Very versatile for game thru deer. With new bullet technology you can even bump it higher. By the time you shoot out a barrel you will be a very old man.
If you are only looking to punch paper you may consider a smaller cal. to save recoil and powder. Unless you handload, a .223 or .22-250 is cheaper to shoot, has less recoil, and is just as accurate (except at long ranges where the heavier 6mm bullet has less drift).
If you have any idea you may end up hunting anyting from coyotes to deer the .243 is ideal.

While I loved the .243's I've shot, isn't the barrel life short? I thought I'd read several times that the barrel only lasted about 1500 rounds. That's something imo that's not at all good.

.243 is a good caliber.

Now I will give my opinion. Skip it, and go with a .25-06. If you need reasons I have those too.

I had a choice between a .243 and a .25-06. I went with .25-06. It is a laser beam, and is the best deer caliber I have used in my 20 years of deer hunting.

Here is something to consider.

I can load my 30-30 to be a 300 yard gun easy. I can shoot spire point bullets. It is a two shooter. One in the mag, and one loaded. I can load my 30-30 down with Trail Boss powder and a 110 grain HP from Speer to become a 30 caliber with the recoil of a bb gun that will pop the heads of rabbits or squacks.
I can take that same 110 grain HP and load it to 2600 fps, and it becomes a 200+ yard varmint rifle.
My main load for the 30-30 is a 125 grain HP from Sierra over 34.3 grains of IMR 3031 for right at 2500 fps. It will bust up a deer at 250 yards, and go plumb through it. Take that 30-30 with the same bullet over an unpublished load of VV-N120 @ 2150 fps for a 100 yard woods load that has the recoil for a .38 SPC out of a rifle. My wife loves that load. I shot a deer @ 60 yards in the chest with that load, and it was over for him.

So do you need a .243.. I don't know. Do you have guns that you have not utilized to all that they can be? Yes.

Beware of the man with one rifle..

.243 is a great round. Maybe it is overbore, and I guess someone could shoot the barrel out in time ... but I've never done so, and when I do, I'll simply have it rebarreled. My kids all started out deer hunting with a .243. It is a great intermediate cartridge.

243 is a little overbore and a bit of a barrel burner, but who cares? few people shoot enough to shoot one out, so what's it matter...? if you blow out a barrel you should wear it as a badge of honor! i have a 7 rem mag that is on its 3rd barrel... i am proud of that. i have an ar-15 that should be shot out by this time next year... proud of that, too (is currently on barrel 4).

i am most definitely not a fan of the 243 for anything except long range target shooting. i think anything a 243 can do, a 25-06 or 257 roberts can do better - and that includes low recoil shooting, varminting, or big game hunting.

as far as the 1-gun man... yes, definitely beware of him because he is likely so disinterested in guns, shooting, ballistics, and general marksmanship that he is likely a poor shot at best, downright wild and dangerous at worst.

As indicated above stay with middle of the road loads, clean it about every 12 rounds on the range and as soon as you get through before putting it in vehicle.

Stay away from the heavy bullets as they can present problems. 75 to 90 grains should give you longer barrel life.

Barrels are not that expensive and on the first rebarrel if you spring for a custom reamer with short throat and min chamber dimensions (for longer case life) and you get it in the right contour you can have the barrel set back about every 2500 rounds and keep a somewhat new throat in it for many years of shooting.

I order 28" barrels that are turned full size for five inches in front of action and then straight taper to .750" at muzzle. You can take off the reads four times and still have a 24" barrel and shoot it till it drops.

Active highpower shooters take out a barrel in a season so they rebarrel every winter.

There is a variant of the 243 to a 240 NMC which is a 22-250 case blown out to the 243 shoulder. The case is shorter thusly you can load the heavy bullets out further and further as the barrel wears to chase the rifling. Also since the case is smaller less propellant is packed in thusly the wear is reduced.

I hunt every year with a Remington 700 in .243. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Jan

The .243 Win is a great caliber, but I'm on a 6.5mm kick, and think you might be better off with a .260 Rem. 6.5mm offers quite a bit of versatility in terms of bullet weight, and also range potential because of the excellent BCs on many of the bullets.

Yes, you definitely need to acquire a good .243! You wont be sorry!

The .243 is a great round for varmints and deer. This is a caliber that is light recoil and can drop pronghorn at 400 yards. If you like to do long distance shooting at targets or silhouettes it can and will out perform the 308 at 1000 yds.

Need a .243?

Yesss, you do. Anna .25/06, anna .270, anna .35 Whelen. But, first things first.
Is a .243 Winchester overbore? Probably.....with IMR 3031. With 4350 or 4831(there are several "models") the cartridge is just fine.(You're going to be a reloader, right?)
If someone is telling you that a .243 is overbore, they MAY be talking about a different cartridge, a .243 Rockchucker, or Super Rockchucker, maybe. Not ALL .243s are the same. Since you're probably NOT a reloader, the .243 Winchester is what we're discussing. It will last about 5000rounds, unless you shoot 'em all at once as a Prairie Dog shooter might if they bring enough ammo with them on a Safari. Shooting 2000+ in a week will burn a barrel, but figure the time shooting versus the time available and that's hard to do in a week. The targets are there, but your partner wants you to spot for him/her, too.
A .243 will last two lifetimes, unless you do a LOT of shooting, which you COULD end up doing, once you get one.
My personal choice is a .25 caliber that I've carried for over 20 years, and USED it, too. Look at the headstamp on my shells and you will see ".243 Win" written so there can't be a lot of difference.
The .243 is common enough to be easy to find ammo. It's light-recoiled enough to be easy to shoot, even in a Featherweight. It's accurate enough to make you shoot more, so you start reloading. It's just fun...Yes, you NEED one.
Have fun,
Gene

The .243 is a decent cartridge. Not special by any means. It is capable in the right hands to take out deer sized game, however, I disagree with the guy above who stated it is a good elk cartridge also. I have hunted all over the west for 26 years. DO NOT use a .243 on elk sized game.

For an all around gun, I would suggest a 25-06.

I'm currently having my .22-250 rebarreled to .243 Win for a couple of reasons.

First, I don't hunt woodchucks and crows much anymore, but have lots of coyotes around and can have some pretty long shots.

Second, I have four grandsons who may want to hunt deer, etc., at some point.

This rifle is a Rem 700 ADL that has great sentimental value, having won many turkey shoots and other games with it. It was made in 1983 and the action and stock are nicely finished. Checkering is machine-cut. The trigger is really good and the action is true.

The new barrel is a PAC-NOR Super-Match in the original Rem sporter contour, but stainless, bead-blasted and polished. Twist is 1-7, to stabilize heavier bullets, as recommended by the company.

I've got two, a Browning BAR and a Remington Mohawk 660. Both are capable on sub MOA when I do my part. It is a great caliber, but there's nothing magic about it. I've killed 4 deer with mine, and had to blood trail all 4 of them, from 20 yards to close to 1/2 mile. I've never seen a deer fall over DRT(dead right there) like in the hunting shows.

Here's a little video of a hog being taken with my Browning. It was my son-in-laws first ever hunt. Sadly, I was focused on the front hog and he was aiming at the second hog, so I didn't get a good video, but you can see the bullet kick dust off the hog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-rQ7_kp4zo

While the hog looks DRT, it's not. He ended up having to shoot it again. The load was a 95 grain Nosler Partition.

Shiftyer1;

Ah, if you want something in that caliber, IMHO you don't really want a .243, you want a 6mm Remington. It's everything the .243 wants to be when it grows up.

Hmmm, is it getting warm in here?

Snrk! 900F

Shiftyer, everybody needs a .243 caliber rifle. Low recoil, inherently accurate, and don't worry about wearing out a barrel. Kills deer, fun to shoot, and ammunition is relatively inexpensive.

But- if you are interested in an upgrade to your .30-.30 and SKS, then I would consider other calibers as well.

You presently use the 30-30 and SKS, so I surmise you are a 7.62 caliber guy.

The 243 will be a departure from that.

For a hunter who is a good marksman, 243 is a great deer gun, but you have to hit the game in the right spot to put it down quick.

So I prefer 7mm or 7.62 calibers for big game. My deer hunting calibers are 7mm-08 and .30-06. Both are relatively flat shooters.