RugerOldArmy
Member
There was another thread posted, wherein the OP stated, and I quote:
There is nothing inherently wrong with the .243. It does have versatility going for it. You can use it for hunting antlered critters, or varmints. It is somewhat efficient, based off of the .308 Win.
However, the thought occurred to me that the other poster may not be objective, owining a .243 and all. My reasoning follows.
- .243 Win benefits from having little recoil. This is one of the reasons why women and kids use it to hunt deer with. However, when it comes to varmint hunting, it has more recoil than many other suitable cartridges. Why is this significant? I feel it is significant due to the fact that it has ENOUGH recoil to spoil your view of the hit through the scope. .223 Rem and .204 Ruger on the otherhand benefit by allowing the user to see the hit through the scope. A significant benefit for Varminting? You be the judge.
- .243 Win is an adequate rifle for deer. As an all around hunting round, for common US game (as stated in the other thread), it is marginal at best for Elk or Moose. No?
- Given the points above, a case could be made that the 6mm Remington, which serves pretty much the same niche as .243 Win, is a better cartridge than .243 Rem. The longer case neck allows for greater accuracy and more flexible seating/reloading. It is easier to reload for (See last year's American Rifleman article on that point.) It is capable of greater velocity. It is also said (but I'm not convinced) that the longer neck leads to greater barrel life. About the only drawback to the 6mm Rem would be action length and a very, very slight edge would go to .243 in efficiency.
- Other, similar cartridges based off of the same parent cartridge are better for larger game. .260, 7mm-08, and .308 Win as examples.
- Many other 6mm cartridges are more efficient. 6mm BR, 6mm-250, 6 PPC, 6XC etc.
- There are other higher velocity 6mm cartridges: 6mm Rem, 6mm-06, 6mm-284 etc.
I contend that, had the 6mm Rem not initially been offered with a dedicated Varmint twist, and had the same twist initially offered with .243 Win, .243 Win would have died on the vine.
That said, if those points are true, the best .243 Win has going for it is versatility and availability.
Jack of All Trades...Master of none? What say you all?
THE #1 - hands-down, guaranteed, All-Time Best Champion centerfire rifle caliber for the typical U.S. hunter is unquestionably - as everyone knows - the .243 Winchester.
There is nothing inherently wrong with the .243. It does have versatility going for it. You can use it for hunting antlered critters, or varmints. It is somewhat efficient, based off of the .308 Win.
However, the thought occurred to me that the other poster may not be objective, owining a .243 and all. My reasoning follows.
- .243 Win benefits from having little recoil. This is one of the reasons why women and kids use it to hunt deer with. However, when it comes to varmint hunting, it has more recoil than many other suitable cartridges. Why is this significant? I feel it is significant due to the fact that it has ENOUGH recoil to spoil your view of the hit through the scope. .223 Rem and .204 Ruger on the otherhand benefit by allowing the user to see the hit through the scope. A significant benefit for Varminting? You be the judge.
- .243 Win is an adequate rifle for deer. As an all around hunting round, for common US game (as stated in the other thread), it is marginal at best for Elk or Moose. No?
- Given the points above, a case could be made that the 6mm Remington, which serves pretty much the same niche as .243 Win, is a better cartridge than .243 Rem. The longer case neck allows for greater accuracy and more flexible seating/reloading. It is easier to reload for (See last year's American Rifleman article on that point.) It is capable of greater velocity. It is also said (but I'm not convinced) that the longer neck leads to greater barrel life. About the only drawback to the 6mm Rem would be action length and a very, very slight edge would go to .243 in efficiency.
- Other, similar cartridges based off of the same parent cartridge are better for larger game. .260, 7mm-08, and .308 Win as examples.
- Many other 6mm cartridges are more efficient. 6mm BR, 6mm-250, 6 PPC, 6XC etc.
- There are other higher velocity 6mm cartridges: 6mm Rem, 6mm-06, 6mm-284 etc.
I contend that, had the 6mm Rem not initially been offered with a dedicated Varmint twist, and had the same twist initially offered with .243 Win, .243 Win would have died on the vine.
That said, if those points are true, the best .243 Win has going for it is versatility and availability.
Jack of All Trades...Master of none? What say you all?