.243 Winchester - Jack of All Trades...Master of none?

[cliffy]

.243 vs .30/30

This favoritism issue can go on for as long as desired. A .243 Winchester is a valid 300 yard contender for hunting. Until Hornady came out with its now famous mushy-tipped, tube-feed bullet, it was no real contest. Still, a .30/30remains no 300 yard contender, even with its new bullet in an acknowledged lead-lobber. Recoil issue aside, although a .30/30 KICKS harder than I like for performance given, flattening the stock butt and adding a real recoil pad would work wonders, yet I'd still favor a flat-shooting .243 round out to 300 yards. Yes, a .30/30 shoots a fatter, heavier bullet, but with the newer bonded bullets in .243 caliber, who still has the critical edge? A 90 grain bullet by Swift, in the designation: SCIROCCO II, can and will devastate a target outwards of 300 yards. I'm quite certain that as more bullet manufacturers learn and concentrate on 6mm bullet design, more bonded-bullet offerings will become available. And don't discount Barnes, since their offerings continually advance in hunting plausibility. I'm currently playing with TSX bullets in viable loads. The learning curve keeps growing. cliffy

 

[RugerOldArmy]

I don't think logic will win over Cliffy, but I can comment on some of his points.

...A .270 Winchester has never been noted to produce mild recoil...

.270 Win is often chosen as a boys first hunting rifle. It's recoil, in the same weight rifle, shooting comparable loads (130 Gr .277 Bullets vs. 165 Gr. .308 bullets, or 150 Gr .277 bullets vs 180 Gr .308 bullets) is less than a .30-06's recoil, but not by much. Then again, such a load is usually a hunting load, and you won't notice the recoil in the field, ask any hunter. You'll notice it from the bench, and it can wear you down a bit, but shooting 100 reloads in mine isn't that bad at all. Note that with such loads, a .270 is shooting flatter than a .30-06, with a greater MPBR, and has significantly more power than a .243.


If you pull out Ken Waters Pet loads book, or a few reloading manuals you'll find that the .270 is often referred to as a dual-purpose cartridge. With the lighter 90-110 Gr bullets the recoil is very light. Very similar to 6mm Rem or .243 recoil, those cartridges loaded with heavier 6mm bullets. It suffers the same fate in respect to seeing hits through the scope though...too much recoil to maintain the view. And like the .243 and 6mm rem, all that powder causes the barrel to heat quickly.

But unlike the baseless propaganda in thread from which I clipped the quote in the original post, wherein Shawnee said:

...nor the .270 is a particularly good varmint caliber and the .243 58-gr. V-max will embarass any .270 load in the varmint fields.

There is no reality...or comparison.

I have two standard Varmint loads for my .270 Win. One uses the 90 Gr Sierra Varminter bullett (and is a Sierra Accuracy Load in their current reloading manual.). It can push a 90 grain Varmint bullet 3700 fps.

The max 58 Gr V-Max .243 load listed in the Hornady reloading manual lists at 3800.

So the .270 can push a heavier (90 Gr) varmint bullet, with a larger (.277) diameter, and a better BC, and over 1000 additional ft/lbs of energy to 3700 fps. The .243 pushes the lighter bullet 100fps faster, (with 1000 less ft/lbs of energy), and won't carry as well, due to the lower BC. By the time you hit 100 yards, the .270 pulls away, is faster, flatter, and has more power.

The .270 Win does suffer some of the same ills as the .243 in the Varmint fields. Heat, and recoil. But the .270 Win suffers most from the lack of bullet selection.

You basically said that millions of people are wrong in their caliber choice. The 6mm Remington does offer some saving graces, but why didn't Remington, a top rifle-cartridge company, pursue this supposed "Superiority" further?

MTMilitiaman did a great and accurate summary on the history of .244/6mm Rem. It was released about the same time. Once one caught on, Remington chambered rifles in chamberings people were buying, and with the twist issue, the die was cast. What sells does not indicate merit. Is a Big Mac the best meal because Billions were sold? Is the .243 more accurate than the 6mm PPC or the 6mm BR? Come now, you're in denial.

But if you compare the .243 to the 6mm Rem (as the NRA did in last year's American Rifleman, or Ken Waters did in 'Pet Loads') it's clear:

- 6mm Rem has the velocity advantage
- 6mm Rem has a longer neck than a .243 Win cartridge.
- 6mm Rem is easier to find accurate loads for
- They shoot the same bullets, and you can get the same twist rates now.

MTMilitiaman was right when he stated that anything .243 Win does, 6mm Rem can do better....with one exception: the .243 Win can use a short action.

 

[Safwan]

I'm with Cliffy!

 

[Art Eatman]

As one who has used many cartridges ranging from .22 CB caps to a Quad .50, I gotta say that the statement used to justify the opening post was just plain silly.

So, enough silliness.

Art