243 or 6mm

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grubbylabs

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I am thinking about getting a 243 or a 6mm for use as a deer rifle for my son when he is old enough and for use as a varmint gun for me. Is there enough difference between the two to worry about or are they pretty much the same gun?
 
Difference? I dunno...but a 243 is avail on every gun store shelf on the planet. 6mm not so much.

Do yourself a favor and get the 243.
 
They are very close to the same ballistics. The 6 is about 100 fps faster than the 243. No big deal. The 243 ammo is more available in the outback and is usually cheaper because of supply and demand. Ammo price needs to be met head-on when a younster is involved.
 
Well I am leaning towards the 243 but I have a brother in law that thinks he is a Elk and Deer hunting. So I can only imagine how much better he is going to say the 6mm is over the 243. But I did not want to get a 243 just because it is the opposite of what he thinks.
 
From what i understand, most .243s come with a 1:10 or 1:9 twist, so they stabilize bullets between 55 and 105 grains. The 6mms, at least the earlier versions, had a slower twist and didn't group all that tightly with "deer sized" bullets. More of a varmint gun...

I've killed a few over twenty bucks with my .243, plus some culling way back when. I've been quite happy with it.
 
get the .243
if price of ammo isnt much concern take a look at .260 remington.
most people seem to think a smaller cartridge is good for kiddies but they require better shot placement which most kids dont have until they are a bit older.
so the hottest cartridge he can handle is good.
 
Better do your homework before you start using .308 brass to reload for the .243.
 
Art Eatman said:
From what i understand, most .243s come with a 1:10 or 1:9 twist, so they stabilize bullets between 55 and 105 grains. The 6mms, at least the earlier versions, had a slower twist and didn't group all that tightly with "deer sized" bullets. More of a varmint gun...
Click to expand...

They called them .244 back then. They sped up the twist rate and changed the name to 6mm
 
It would step in the way of your varmint hunting dual-purpose, but a .30-30 is only a hair worse in recoil and would probably be a little bit more generous on shot placement, especially if elk are involved. I believe Remington makes managed recoil ammunition for it as well if it takes him a little time to grow into it. Just an idea.
 
I would just buy him a .308, I have witnessed a lot of deer that keep going after getting shot with the .243. I know when I shoot them I want them to die. Two deer this year were shot with a .243 that we had to shoot again because they were not going to die. One was shot right through the neck that caused basically no damage, the next was a shot right through the boiler room that looked like a pin went in and back out. and I almost forgot but one girl had a doe tag and it took three shots just to bring a doe down. Not a very favorable cartridge if you ask me from what I have seen this past year.
 
Ive got no issues with either the .243 or the 6mm rem as deer rifles. They do the job when the right bullets are put in the right place, personaly that means 95-100grn fast expansion bullets. As others have stated the .243 is more popular, but the 6mm is available. If you reload then popularity dosent matter in the slightest. Making .243 rounds out of .308 is a pain in the ass, ive done it.
 
In reality a 6mm shoots more like a 25-06 than a 243. Its just the flat truth. Take a 100gr. max load 6mm round out there and actually compare drop on paper to a 25-06 and a 243. You will see what I mean. The heavier the bullet the more the 6mm pulls away from the 243. The main disadvantage to 6mm is that it is just long enough to cause magazine issues if you try to seat the bullets out to the lands. Big Green has all but abandoned its own fine cartridge. If I was going to do another 6mm I would order a Shilen barrel and install on a Savage long action. I would shoot one of the newer solid type bullets and seat close to or into the lands. If you do a custom barreled 6mm you want a 1 turn in 9.5 inches or maybe 1/9. I had a one turn in 10 inches that wouldn't stabilize the Swift Scirocco.
 
My M700 Varmint handloaded with 95 grain Nosler Partitions gave 3,371 FPS. That's a bit more than 100 FPS fatser than the .243 Win. However, given the lack of readily available ammo for the 6mm Rem, I would now select the .243 Win. But, I do agree that the 6mm Rem, AKA .244 Rem, is more like a .25-06 Rem than a .243 Win.

Geno
 
For me it would come down to the action I used. I have a problem with "cross-dressing" my bolt action rifle. This is the term I've given to putting Remington cartridges in Winchester or other CRF/Mauser actions or Winchester cartridges in Remington or other push-feed actions. I know it is silly, but given the practical differences between the cartridges, I think it is as good a reason as any to choose between the two, especially if you handload. If not, it might be a good reason to start. I'd find a rifle that met my needs, then choose the cartridge.
 
I have both and like both,but honestly I suggest the .243 simply because the ammo will be located at practically any place that sells ammo.
As far as the .260 goes I think it is heading the way of the .250 Savage,257 Roberts,and unfortunately the 6mm.
The 243 has pretty much buried three of the above.
 
I had a 6MM remington--It was a great deer rifle until it started to fire when I
pushed off the safety.
I would get a .243---I don't think any Co mfrs. a 6MM rem rifle anymore.
I sold mine to a gunsmith---I now wish I had kept it & repaired it///////////:(
 
I was just about to say I'm in the middle here - .257 Roberts. Seems that calibers around this size do work well for either flat fast varmints, or deer with the heaviest bullets they'll accept. I like my "Bob", but ammo is scarce :( If I didn't have what I have and wanted something bigger than 22-250 (which I also have), I'd go for the 243 or step all the way up to 6.5mm. The 243 is not going to fade away soon, so it can be fed from any Mom & Pop store out there :)
 
srkavanagh6621, you need to hang out with folks who can shoot. :D I cannot recall one single time that I had to track a deer I'd shot with my .243, and only a couple which needed a coup de grace. Basically, bang/whop/plop.
 
:) well I am glad to hear you have had good experiences with the .243, but I was just giving a couple of instances that happened this year that did not impress me. I know my brother got a bunch of extra tags a couple of years ago and didnt have a problem with one.
 
I have numerous rifles in 243 Win and one in 6mm Rem. Both cartridges kill deer reliably.

Your choices of rifles will be very limited if you go with the 6mm, probably only used rifles as well, which is neither good nor bad unless you have the hots for something new and shiny.

Store bought ammo will be twice as much or more with the 6mm, and harder to find, which is meaningless to me because I reload, but may be important in your life.

Both are excellent. Neither kicks much.

6 of one, half dozen the other

For casual users the 243 is probably easier to live with due to ammo availability and price
 
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