243 or 25-06?

[rbernie]

A rifle that I covet is available from local stock in both 243 and 25-06. My intended use is range practice and longer range field use on Texas deer and coyote and hog. This rifle will be a partner to an identical rifle that I already own, chambered in 270.

Which chambering do I choose? I was all set to pick 243 for its better BC in the heavier weights, but it appears that I need a 1:9" barrel twist to use the 6mm VLD offerings. Once I take those off the table, the differences between the two chamberings are not nearly so clear....

 

[Gtscotty]

What kind of rifle is it, and what twist is used on the .243?

 

[rbernie]

Tikka T3 Forest, so no advantage to the shorter chambering in shorter/lighter action. Both chamberings use a 1:10" twist.

 

[MattB]

I would personally go .243 over the .25-06. I like the 6mm bullet selection and if you do not hand load you can find ammo anywhere. I would want a 1:9 or 1:9.5 twist on the .243 for the heavier bullets but a 1:10 would still work fine except for the most extreme length bullets. The .25-06 is closer to a .270 than a .243 if you were wanting something different.

 

[redneck2]

I suspect that the performance difference is so small as to be insignificant. I agree with the thing about bullet selection. I had a .25-06 and choices are limited. There are a gazillion 6mm variations.

 

[Gtscotty]

I had an M70 in .243 with a 10 twist barrel that shot really well with 70gr - 85gr bullets. The only problem was that it was very picky with the 100 gr spbt bullets i wanted to use for deer, i believe because of the marginal twist rate. With some loading trial and error, I finally got it to shoot 95gr BT's MOA, or slightly under, and those loads were pure poison on deer. I do think if I got another .243 I would lean pretty strongly towards something with a twist in the 9 - 9.5 range. I've never had a .25-06 so I can't speak much to that caliber, but it seems like you'd be edging up pretty close to the .270 you already have (not that that's necessarily a reason not to get a rifle).

 

[Don McDowell]

For a combined use rifle involving long distances, I would offer up maybe taking a look at the 6.5x55. I have a friend that recently got a Tika in that chambering and the thing shoots amazingly well shooting milsurp ammo, and his accuracy handholds are just flat scary accurate.

 

[rbernie]

I had an M70 in .243 with a 10 twist barrel that shot really well with 70gr - 85gr bullets. The only problem was that it was very picky with the 100 gr spbt bullets i wanted to use for deer, i believe because of the marginal twist rate. With some loading trial and error, I finally got it to shoot 95gr BT's MOA, or slightly under, and those loads were pure poison on deer. I do think if I got another .243 I would lean pretty strongly towards something with a twist in the 9 - 9.5 range.

And you just captured my dilemma - the 243 is picky on the heavier bullets and yet 25-06 starts to look pretty similar to the 270 if you take advantage of its heavier options. And the rifle is the key choice here, not the chambering - I must have this rifle as a Tikka T3 Forest because that's what I have managed to get to 'fit' me for field work, with the proper combination of rings and optic.

I think that I'm really going to try to stay in the 85gr range, to split the difference between my 223 (55gr-64gr) and 270 (115gr-150gr) rifles. What I don't know is how effective that bullet weight is out of a 243 - it seems that most folk want to use a 95gr+ 6mm bullet on deer these days and I don't know if that's because of fashion or because the 85gr fodder just isn't going to work as well (is too lightly constructed).

 

[ECVMatt]

When I lived in TX the 85 grn Speer SP ruled! I took everything with that bullet and being on a ranch we had a chance to shoot everyday; it was great. The 25-06 was also often used, but not as much as the 243. It was easier for me to find .243 in local stores if that is a consideration. Either way, you will have a great rifle/caliber combo for TX.

 

[FL-NC]

The 243 is my favorite round. I use a rem 700, 100 grain bullets. 243 passes my Wal Mart test, meaning I won't own a gun I can't feed with a trip to Wal Mart.

 

[1948CJ2A]

I prefer the quarter-bores over 6mm in general. I own a 243, 240 Wby Mag, 250 Savage, 25-06, & 257 Wby Mag. Where are you seeing the BC of the 6mm heavier bullets being comparable to the same/similar weigh .25s?

 

[j1]

257 Roberts.

 

[viking499]

My 243 Winchester 70 loved 100 grain bullets and it had a 1:10 twist barrel. My T3 also like the 100's. It would bullets down to around 80 grains before the groups started to open up.

A Tikka 6.5x55 would work in place of both the 243 and 25-06.......

 

[Gtscotty]

And you just captured my dilemma - the 243 is picky on the heavier bullets and yet 25-06 starts to look pretty similar to the 270 if you take advantage of its heavier options. And the rifle is the key choice here, not the chambering - I must have this rifle as a Tikka T3 Forest because that's what I have managed to get to 'fit' me for field work, with the proper combination of rings and optic.

I think that I'm really going to try to stay in the 85gr range, to split the difference between my 223 (55gr-64gr) and 270 (115gr-150gr) rifles. What I don't know is how effective that bullet weight is out of a 243 - it seems that most folk want to use a 95gr+ 6mm bullet on deer these days and I don't know if that's because of fashion or because the 85gr fodder just isn't going to work as well (is too lightly constructed).

Well, given your preference for that particular rifle (can't say I blame you, I've had great luck with Tikkas) I'd say just go ahead and get the .243. Just because I wanted to use heavy, long, boat tail bullets for deer doesn't mean it was really, truly necessary. I also had a screaming load for the 85gr SGK hpbt, and there are a lot of folks that swear by that bullet for deer. Other options that would probably work fine in a 10 twist would be lighter bonded bullets like the 90gr Accubond, and traditional flat base 100 gr bullets. I wouldn't be afraid to take a shot on smaller southern deer with any of those options.

A Tikka 6.5x55 would work in place of both the 243 and 25-06.......

But that would truly be a duplication of his .270, minus a couple hundred fps.

 

[BigBore45]

seem about the same in the load book at a 85 grain bullet. 25-06 is 150-250 FPS faster. I guess the best question is how much you are going to shoot.

im sure once you break that 3k FPS mark barrel life suffers.
so will a deer out to 300-400 yards notice the velocity difference? dont think so.
will you notice the barrel life? depends how much you shoot.

do you reload? if not .243 has more available ammo?

i love the 25-06 but in your case i would pick the 243 as it will cover more of the gap between the .223 and .270

 

[X-Rap]

Given you have the 270 I'd probably go for the 243 simply because of variety. I personally have the 25-06 instead of the 270 and really favor it as my favorite deer, antelope gun and will use it on sheep if ever drawn.
243 or 6mm are excellent long range varmint calibers and fill the void between smaller 223 and similar calibers.

 

[Art Eatman]

I go along with X-Rap, since I've tagged some two dozen bucks with my .243 carbine. All with the Sierra 85-grain HPBT; neck shots and cross-body heart/lung shots. That load is ruinacious on coyotes. 55-grain bullets for prairie dogs.

 

[CraigC]

Had a .243 and was completely unimpressed with it. I don't care for bullets that penetrate 6" and completely come apart and that's what I got out of various 100gr .243 loads. Of course, I got the same thing with the .250 until I went to the Barnes TSX. So between the two, I would be all over the .25-06 with 100-120gr bullets like the Barnes, Partition, Swift, etc. and never look back. The posts stating that the .25's lack in bullet selection baffle me.

 

[OldBrownDog]

.243 and load or buy factory ammo with 85gr Partition or TSX bullets.

 

[sage5907]

I use my 270 Winchester's with the Berger 130 grain classic bullet and 52 grains of R17 and I couldn't ask for a better combination. A 25-06 is just a mild mannered 270 with less recoil and less muzzle blast. I use my 25-06 rifles with the 115 grain Berger and 48 grains of R17 and that works good also. Berger recommends a 1:10 twist for their bullet and most 25-06 rifles have a 1:10 twist. Now for the 243 Winchester. Berger recommends a 1:8 twist for their 105 grain VLD. I have a good friend who uses 6 mm rifles and he uses the 105 Berger and he really likes them. Mostly he uses Varget with the 105 grain bullet. I have shot the rifles and although they really shoot good I couldn't get very interested in them as a deer, hog and coyote rifle. I think that if you are going for a really expensive precision long range rifle the 6 mm may be the way to go especally if you are wanting something with less recoil. On the other hand if you are wanting a hunting rifle for shots out to 300 or 400 yards the 25-06 is the way to go. I have always liked the heavier bullets in the 25-06 and the 115 Berger VLD, the Sierra Gameking 117 grain boattail and the Speer 120 Hotcor are all good choices.

 

[243winxb]

243 winchester

My 1 -10 twist will handle 85 gr Sierra hpbt & Berger 90 gr hpbt. Groups get bigger witn longer/heavier bullets.

 

[horsemen61]

I say 243

 

[CB900F]

Rbernie;

Don't overlook the Speer #1217 6mm 90 grain spitzer. It was originally created to allow the people with 244 Remingtons to have a bullet that was able to be stabilized by the slow twist barrels of that caliber, and be tough enough to reliably take deer. I've used it on both mulies and whitetail & it performs as advertised. The great advantage in your case is that the lower weight allows higher velocity, up to 3000 fps in the .243 according to the Speer manual.

900F

 

[sage5907]

I have heard the argument that there are not many bullet choices for 25 caliber rifles. Graf & Sons lists 56 different bullets for sale. It shouldn't be too hard to find a good bullet with that selection. On the other hand, Graf & Sons lists 126 different bullets for sale for 243 caliber rifles. Berger dedicates 126 pages in their loading manual for 243 caliber rifles but only 14 pages for 257 caliber rifles so you can see that the 243 is really popular with target shooters. The one downside to owning a 25-06 rifle now is the lack of availability of brass. You almost have to buy factory loaded ammunition and save the brass for reloading. I will say that one downside to loading the 243 Winchester is that you have to use extra care when lubeing your cases properly before sizing. I have loaded this ammunition in the past and sometimes instead of the expander ball pushing into the case neck the case neck will actually be pushed back into the shoulder ruining the case. I never had this problem with 25-06 sizing and with any other cartridge for that matter. If you're wanting to shoot light fast bullets the 243 is a good choice but when you get into heavier bullets for large deer sized game where you want to knock the animal to the ground where it stands with a shoulder shot the 25-06 is a better choice.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Tikka T3 Forest, so no advantage to the shorter chambering in shorter/lighter action.

In that case, I'd have to say .25-06. Other than fitting in a short action rifle, anything the .243 can do, the .25-06 can do better. .430 B.C. 117 gr. boat tails at 3,100-3,200 FPS is excellent long range deer and pronghorn medicine.