Is .243 Win useful for anything besides hunting?

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Last weekend I was breaking 9" balloons with an open-sighted .308 at 300 yards from a very improvised rest.
A good scoped .243 with a bipod at that distance would make that kind of shooting too easy. I'd be surprised if a half-decent shooter couldn't break clay pigeons with that set-up at that distance.
Sad to hear that your seller backed out, but the good news is that there are plenty of used bolt-action .243's out there. Lots of .308's too. Keep shopping.
 
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TonyDedo said:
Thanks for the feedback guys. Negotiating with the seller now, I'll let you know if the deal goes through.

Anyone have a good source for target bullets? Gun has a 9.25 twist in a 22" barrel. I'd imagine I'd want something like a 100 grain boat tail?

Anything else I should know about reloading .243? I've only ever reloaded handgun cartridges.
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One extremely accurate bullet for .243's with slower twist is the 92gr. Lapua Scenar. Delivers about the same BC as the classic 168gr MatchKing in .308, but with half the recoil. See the Sierra manual for load data for their similar 90gr, or the downloadable data from Lapua. I found IMR 4320 gives great results? For your shooting out to 300yrd it should do the job. You can get these at ECBrown online, also they are a source for 1/8 twist barrels in .243, when you feel the need to move up to the 105 and 107gr heavyweights.

Don't let the hardware junkies sell you their line of KoolAid that you can't hit anything unless you have a $700 barrel on a custom action with a $300 trigger in a $500 stock with a $2,000 scope. The best hardware will only make a significant difference for the very top marksmen, for the rest of us a decent gun will shoot better than we can, which means your target scores are a measure of the shooting skills you have developed. Invest your money in ammunition, shoot a lot and have fun.
 
The turret press will work just fine. I used one for years before I got my Co-Ax press.

Just get a separate turret to set your dies up in, get a set of Redding deluxe dies (it has neck size, full length size, and bullet seating dies all in the box), and don't worry about it. Just don't flare your case mouths and over crimp:D.
 
I've also used an old Lyman turret press for years. It was my Dad's. He kind of forgot about it, but I dug it out of an old shed and cleaned it up about 12 years ago. It's got a little pitting here and there, but it smoothed out and works fine. That press has loaded a lot of rounds!

After 40 rounds of .308 from the bench today through a lightly used Mossberg 4x4 I traded for, even with the good recoil pad that comes on them, my shoulder knows I shot a real rifle today. If you wanted to shoot more, a .243 and its lighter recoil might be a pretty good choice.
I used to think that anything less than a .30 caliber or a .270 was too light, but anymore, I think the .243 is an excellent balance of power, economy, and efficiency for a lot of general purpose rifle stuff.
 
.243 is good for long distance target shooting. For knock down power, I wouldn't sell it short. My friend killed a 300lb hog with it from about 150 yds out. Lung shot. And yes this was really a 300lb hog.
 
Almost any hunting weight barrel is going to get hot. In a dozen shots the barrel on my Marlin XT-MR is starting to get hot. The barrel isn't much thicker on many centerfire rifles. Hunting rifles are meant to be shot three or four times. Then you get in the truck and drive 300 yards to go see if you hit anything. Lots of times I would walk to look at my target so the barrel has time to cool. It's not often in your life you are going to take a shot at a game animal with a warm barrel.
 
Deer Freak's advice was borne out by my experience today. I get two different groups on a target - one from cold barrel shots and one when the barrel warms up.
And the barrel gets hotter than I'd realized. Even with what I thought was a reasonable pace, the barrel on my rifle got too hot to comfortably lay my hand on.
Been awhile since I've shot rifles much... I'm relearning some old lessons.

Meanwhile, I wonder what the OP has gotten around to deciding.
I seriously have been looking at smaller rounds than the .308. I love it for its commonality and popularity (meaning its huge selection of components), but smaller bullets don't need a much powder to get there and they don't have as much lead in them either. I'm looking hard at the .260 for an eventual precision fun rifle and at the .243 for a lightweight medium game rifle. The smaller bores have a lot going for them, and now that I think with a little more brains and a little less testosterone, I realize that.
 
goon said:
Deer Freak's advice was borne out by my experience today. I get two different groups on a target - one from cold barrel shots and one when the barrel warms up.
And the barrel gets hotter than I'd realized. Even with what I thought was a reasonable pace, the barrel on my rifle got too hot to comfortably lay my hand on.
Been awhile since I've shot rifles much... I'm relearning some old lessons.

Meanwhile, I wonder what the OP has gotten around to deciding.
I seriously have been looking at smaller rounds than the .308. I love it for its commonality and popularity (meaning its huge selection of components), but smaller bullets don't need a much powder to get there and they don't have as much lead in them either. I'm looking hard at the .260 for an eventual precision fun rifle and at the .243 for a lightweight medium game rifle. The smaller bores have a lot going for them, and now that I think with a little more brains and a little less testosterone, I realize that.
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The .260 and .243 use nominally the same amount of powder as the .308 because they are both basically necked down .308 cases.
 
I looked at some loads that seem suitable for a decent sized whitetail. This is just a quick comparison from my Speer #13 manual to get a ballpark idea of powder use. I chose RE 19 to compare because all three rounds because all have data listed for this powder, so it's as close as I can get to an apples-to-apples comparison.

.243 Winchester
- 100 grain BTSP with a max load of 39.0 grains = 179 rounds to a pound of powder

.260 Remington
- 145 grain SP with a max load of 45.5 = 153 rounds per a pound of powder

.308 Winchester
- 150 grain BTSP with a max load of 49.0 grains = 142 rounds per pound of powder


I can't say how this will translate with bullets. Logic would suggest that a lighter bullet using less lead and copper will cost less to buy and less to have shipped to you. This may or may not be borne out at the counter of your favorite gun store. But at least with the .243, you're getting about two extra boxes of loaded ammo per pound of powder over the .308. For the seven pounds of powder you need to load 1,000 rounds of .308, you'll shoot 1,256 rounds of .243.
It's not a perfect comparison, but if you're shooting a lot, that could add up. Especially when you consider that you have less recoil from the lighter round (meaning more enjoyable shooting) and end up with just as much venison on the table and maybe even more accurate shooting from the extra practice and lighter recoil.

You're right that the .260 seems close enough that it probably doesn't matter though. You'd have to shoot about 2,000 rounds with the above charges to use a pound more of powder with the .308 than with the .260. The .243 will also probably be harder on barrels. You might wear a competition rifle barrel out sooner with it, so that's a cost to add in.
But it does use less powder.
 
goon said:
I looked at some loads that seem suitable for a decent sized whitetail. This is just a quick comparison from my Speer #13 manual to get a ballpark idea of powder use. I chose RE 19 to compare because all three rounds because all have data listed for this powder, so it's as close as I can get to an apples-to-apples comparison.

.243 Winchester
- 100 grain BTSP with a max load of 39.0 grains = 179 rounds to a pound of powder

.260 Remington
- 145 grain SP with a max load of 45.5 = 153 rounds per a pound of powder

.308 Winchester
- 150 grain BTSP with a max load of 49.0 grains = 142 rounds per pound of powder


I can't say how this will translate with bullets. Logic would suggest that a lighter bullet using less lead and copper will cost less to buy and less to have shipped to you. This may or may not be borne out at the counter of your favorite gun store. But at least with the .243, you're getting about two extra boxes of loaded ammo per pound of powder over the .308. For the seven pounds of powder you need to load 1,000 rounds of .308, you'll shoot 1,256 rounds of .243.
It's not a perfect comparison, but if you're shooting a lot, that could add up. Especially when you consider that you have less recoil from the lighter round (meaning more enjoyable shooting) and end up with just as much venison on the table and maybe even more accurate shooting from the extra practice and lighter recoil.

You're right that the .260 seems close enough that it probably doesn't matter though. You'd have to shoot about 2,000 rounds with the above charges to use a pound more of powder with the .308 than with the .260. The .243 will also probably be harder on barrels. You might wear a competition rifle barrel out sooner with it, so that's a cost to add in.
But it does use less powder.
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Because of the differences in bullet weights you can't compare one powder with those three cartridges because that one powder isn't optimal in every one. For instance I use 47 grains of H4350 in .243 with a 70gr Nosler BT. With my 7mm-08 Rem. I use 44.6 grains of Reloader 17 under a 150 grain Sierra Match King. In a friends .308 load we use 44.5 grains of Varget under a 168smk.
 
So... Is this to say that the .243 is primarily useful as a hunting round and not as a competition/target round?

Have to admit, this is an academic inquiry for me. I've only considered it as a hunting cartridge - where it does seem to make sense over its larger cousins in some ways. But if you're changing your barrel every 2K rounds, that sounds counter-productive. I'd imagine that's at least once a year...?
How's the 7mm-08 treat barrels?
 
I have a .243 1957 Featherweight Model 70 and this 1959 std. weight 70 in National Match form. Whitefeather prolly would have dug the later for shots under 800 yards.
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goon, maybe a better question might be, what cartridges which have been successful in match competition have had what number of rounds fired before replacement of a barrel is needed in order to be competitive?

Some sort of generalization for each oughta be a known item.
 
Hey Gordon (or others),

What's that "spring thing" on your scope. I'd never seen that before and today I saw it on two different posts on this forum. I'd Google it but I'm not optimistic about results from "Spring thing on scope".

Sorry for the thread hi-jack but hopefully the OP has had his questions answered by now and we can get this out of the way without more drift.

Thanks.

Dan
 
From my experience:

.243 - 1500-2000 rounds
.260 - 3000-4500 rounds
.308 - 6000-12000 rounds

There is dependence on the particular barrel and loads used.
 
A good friend of mine who is a professional hunting guide, can't use high recoiling cartridges for reasons relative to a physical problem. Anyway, he decided to go with the .243 win. some 35 or so years ago, and has since taken bear, elk, and all other big game with excellent results. It has plenty for the job with proper shot placement.

As for reaching out and touching something, it is an excellent long distance cartridge. No issue there as long as the right bullets, or rate of twist is proper for the intended application.

GS
 
The round count that a barrel is good for depends greatly on how the rifle is used and of course what the desired accuracy level is. I and a friend shoot .243s in highpower competition. We get on average 2800+ rounds out of a good barrel before it no longer shoots well enough. Well enough starts when the X-count at 600 yards falls off to single digits.

I believe that we get higher barrel life because of two things: moly coating and moderate loads at the short lines (200 and 300 yards). Any bullet under 100 grains works 300 yards and closer running around 2850fps and light bullets get there without a bunch of powder. There is no need to push short line loads. 600 yard loads with a 105 or 107 grain bullet at around 3050fps gets the mid range job done nicely.

This has held true for between the two of us over 6 barrels of various manufacturers, typically Bartlein or Broughton.

It is possible to get decent barrel life out of a .243.

YMMV
 
The "spring thing" is a return to battery spring. The scopes without it move in the mounts under recoil to lessen the damage to the spider silk cross hairs (which are actually quite strong) and are manually returned to battery after each shot. This is certainly old school stuff but the gun does 1 moa with a good load out to 400 yards and the optics are quite clear during the day.
 
Barrels are consumables...just like bullets, brass, powder, primers, and gas to/from the range.

243s can push 105gr Hybrids between north of 3100fps depending on length, but the price you pay for that ballistic performance is barrel life. You can use slower burning H1000 and eek a little more barrel life in exchange for a little slower velocity...but there is no free lunch.

Hot 6s (6 Creedmoor, 6SLR, etc.) seem to be all the rage these days in precision rifle shooting, but Zak would likely know more about that than I would
 
Gordon said:
The "spring thing" is a return to battery spring. The scopes without it move in the mounts under recoil to lessen the damage to the spider silk cross hairs (which are actually quite strong) and are manually returned to battery after each shot. This is certainly old school stuff but the gun does 1 moa with a good load out to 400 yards and the optics are quite clear during the day.
Click to expand...
Not meaning to veer off course but is that a Unertl or J.W Fecker scope. I have restrung the crosshairs on a few and I always admire those. Nice rig!
 
Howard Roark said:
The round count that a barrel is good for depends greatly on how the rifle is used and of course what the desired accuracy level is. I and a friend shoot .243s in highpower competition. We get on average 2800+ rounds out of a good barrel before it no longer shoots well enough. Well enough starts when the X-count at 600 yards falls off to single digits.

I believe that we get higher barrel life because of two things: moly coating and moderate loads at the short lines (200 and 300 yards). Any bullet under 100 grains works 300 yards and closer running around 2850fps and light bullets get there without a bunch of powder. There is no need to push short line loads. 600 yard loads with a 105 or 107 grain bullet at around 3050fps gets the mid range job done nicely.

This has held true for between the two of us over 6 barrels of various manufacturers, typically Bartlein or Broughton.

It is possible to get decent barrel life out of a .243.

YMMV
Click to expand...

Thanks for the rare injection of sanity in this discussion. The "barrel-burner" charge against 6mm rounds always ducks the obvious point that you don't need to use flat-out 65,000psi loads for every range to get very competitive ballistics compared with the big bores. In my competition days with an M1A at 200 yds my load pushed a 168gr MK at 2300fps, and the bullets never bounced off the targets once. Online several years ago there was a meme that only a .300 WinMag was adequate for competition at 600 yds and beyond, and yet nobody was concerned about barrel life.

I fear some of our .30 caliber fans have had their brains addled by recoil, to the extent that they can't conceive of of an alternative that gets the job done with less fuss.
 
In reference to the .243 being a barrel burner, I am new to the cartridge. Can anyone explain what this means? Is the .243 a hotter round than others? Is is harder on a barrel that a .223 round or a 7.62 round?

Thanks for the explanation.

Cal in TX
 
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