.243 vs .308 again... in Savage 11 VT

[LoonWulf]

.308 users get out of the shower to take a whiz, use shoe trees in their topsiders and enjoy sitting on the drain when they empty the bath water from the tub.

The last part, that sounds fun........guess i nees an 08

 

[cdb1]

If you try it please let me know how you liked it.

 

[Dr T]

If the price is really, really good, you could get one of each...

 

[2ndtimer]

The 243 CAN be a great target round. If the barrels are twisted correctly for target bullets. Most 243's are not unless set up for target shooting. The Savages in 308 are.

If you handload having a 308 means only one caliber of bullets to buy. A 308 will almost always be more accurate than a 30-06 and do it with 20% less recoil.

If you want something smaller than 308 get a 223.

Depends on what you're doing. .243 for varmints, up to deer sized game and black bears. .308 for any game in North America. So will your .30-06.
"...1-9.25, any may or may not work with 105+ grain match bullets..." 1 in 9 1/8 rifling works just fine with 105 grain bullets. Been doing it for 40 years with a gussied up rifle of a brand only made in Canada and is definitely not a high end rifle. Anyway, most, if not all, commercial hunting rifles in .243 have a twist for heavy deer bullet weights. Even the assorted heavy barreled varmint rifles.

My experience with a Stevens in .243 is that it handles conventional 100 and 105 gr bullets fine (the old Speer Hot Core) but not the newer, longer VLD boattail competition types. But then, most guys have to go with a custom 1 in 8 twist or faster to stabilize those guys. The .308 barrel will definitely last longer, but if you are shooting Varmint's at long range, the .243 will give some impressive aerial performances with 55 gr bullets at 3900 fps or the 70 gr Tipped bullets at 3500 fps.

 

[FL-NC]

I would go 308. So much off-the-shelf ammo available for so many uses, not to mention reloading data. As I understand, the 243 has a fairly low barrel life on rifles with high round counts. I have one I hunt with, but its lucky if it sees 1 box a year.

 

[Bartojc]

With all the talk about barrel life of the .243 is that a real life concern for most people ? I ask because I can't imagine the life being much under 2000 rounds for off the shelf ammo. Again off the shelf ammo would be ~$20/box, I know it could be more or less, but say $20. So, @ $1/round you would shoot $2000 worth of ammo though the rifle before it would be close to needing a barrel. For A hunter and occasion range shooter it would take a long time to notice barrel wear enough to warrant a replacement. For most others the cost of a barrel would seem insignificant compared to ammo, etc.

All that talk aside I really like my .243. I got it because I already have an -06. Sound familiar ? I'm thinking now I'd like a .308 myself, but that is another discussion.

-Jeff

 

[cdb1]

With all the talk about barrel life of the .243 is that a real life concern for most people ? I ask because I can't imagine the life being much under 2000 rounds for off the shelf ammo. Again off the shelf ammo would be ~$20/box, I know it could be more or less, but say $20. So, @ $1/round you would shoot $2000 worth of ammo though the rifle before it would be close to needing a barrel. For A hunter and occasion range shooter it would take a long time to notice barrel wear enough to warrant a replacement. For most others the cost of a barrel would seem insignificant compared to ammo, etc.

All that talk aside I really like my .243. I got it because I already have an -06. Sound familiar ? I'm thinking now I'd like a .308 myself, but that is another discussion.

-Jeff

I'm with you. I've never shot the barrel out on any of my rifles. Hope that doesn't make me a bad person.

 

[gotboostvr]

I'd get the 308, pull the barrel off and sell it. 308 barrels seem to sell a little better on the second hand market. Then I'd screw in a barrel in something like 260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmore or whatever tickles your fancy.

 

[Sav .250]

243 ammo is almost every where.

Can`t tell you what to consider as that`s your choice but the 243 cal is really a nice round.
Been using one for over 50 years........

 

[someguy2800]

With all the talk about barrel life of the .243 is that a real life concern for most people ?

I have a Tikka 25-06 that I have shot a good bit which is in the same "barrel burner" class as a 243. I believe I have around 2000 rounds through it which is probably more than most people will shoot a hunting type rifle in a lifetime. I was warned that 25-06 was a barrel burner and that it would be junk in 1000-1500 rounds. Well I have been measuring the throat length on it since shortly after I bought it and the start of the rifling is now a good 1/4" farther down the tube than when it was new. But it still shoots the same 1" 200 yard groups as when new. When that changes significantly I will re barrel it. Of course the nice thing about a savage is you can order a top quality barrel on the internet and rebarrel it in your garage.

 

[midland man]

I have a Tikka 25-06 that I have shot a good bit which is in the same "barrel burner" class as a 243. I believe I have around 2000 rounds through it which is probably more than most people will shoot a hunting type rifle in a lifetime. I was warned that 25-06 was a barrel burner and that it would be junk in 1000-1500 rounds. Well I have been measuring the throat length on it since shortly after I bought it and the start of the rifling is now a good 1/4" farther down the tube than when it was new. But it still shoots the same 1" 200 yard groups as when new. When that changes significantly I will re barrel it. Of course the nice thing about a savage is you can order a top quality barrel on the internet and rebarrel it in your garage.

headspace gauge are not that high to buy and like my savage axis in 243 I love it and if I wear the barrel out I would put another 243 barrel back on and keep going!!