Any 243 fans left?

[357smallbore]

For serious hunting I'm a two rifle guy. My Savage 110 in 30-06 for elk, moose, caribou and that possible bison or brown bear hunt. The rest of the critters being varmint to mule deer I use my Stevens 243. Load it with 80 gr for the varmint and 100 gr for hog, deer, antelope and sheep. Never had an issue hunting game like this with my 243. Most shots are 250 and in. I have on rare occasion shot the 375 yard mark on coyotes and badger. But 95% of the game I bag is around 200 yards. Most are 1 shot and don't go to far. A couple of large mulies took a follow up to anchor.
Does anyone still own and shoot the fine 243? See lots of folks talk up the creedmoor, 300 blackout or the 25-06. I find the mild recoil and quality bullets get the job done.

 

[LoonWulf]

My wife! All she shoots these days is a .243 (mostly all she ever shot). Shes taken game upto 800-1000 feral cattle with her rifle...havent seen her miss, haven't seen her fire twice.
I generally prefer more bullet weight, but I also have done some of my best field shooting with a .243

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I loved shooting my M99 in .243, but never got to take it in the field and it just languished in the safe until I found it a good home where it will actually get to hunt. Hope Loonwulf scores plenty of meat with it.

When it came to disposing of my remaining 80 rounds of ammo, nobody at the local gun shops or show wanted it. I ended up giving it to my pawnshop buddy. Its still sitting on his shelf.

I think the Creedmore cartridges have really displaced the .243 as the go-to flat trajectory hunting rounds. Maybe it will retain some populariy in the flatter, wide-open states, but down here its pretty much unknown anymore.

 

[LoonWulf]

Loonwulf scores plenty of meat with it.

Looking at taking it out this weekend actually!

 

[mavracer]

My daughter still has one. I switched to 6mm Creedmoor, since I mainly target shoot any more it's a bit easier to load for. But for any hunting it's a toss up.

 

[45/30-06OKIE]

For serious hunting I'm a two rifle guy. My Savage 110 in 30-06 for elk, moose, caribou and that possible bison or brown bear hunt. The rest of the critters being varmint to mule deer I use my Stevens 243. Load it with 80 gr for the varmint and 100 gr for hog, deer, antelope and sheep. Never had an issue hunting game like this with my 243. Most shots are 250 and in. I have on rare occasion shot the 375 yard mark on coyotes and badger. But 95% of the game I bag is around 200 yards. Most are 1 shot and don't go to far. A couple of large mulies took a follow up to anchor.
Does anyone still own and shoot the fine 243? See lots of folks talk up the creedmoor, 300 blackout or the 25-06. I find the mild recoil and quality bullets get the job done.

+1 on the 25-06... 90gr Hornady CX bullets at 3300fps are no slouch. I would like to get a 243 someday to test out weird stuff like 55gr 24 cal bullets at stupid velocity lol.

 

[ECVMatt]

I love the .243/6mm Remington! I used them for years on a ranch and took everything from squirrels to ostriches with them. When you shoot a lot, everyday, it is a bonus to have a flat trajectory, little recoil, and good case life. Loaded ammo and components are easy to obtain as well. I still shoot mine often at varmints and have a .243 rifle set up for each one of my kids when they are ready. I will never get rid of my 30/06, but will also never get rid of my .243's or my 6mm Rem.

 

[troy fairweather]

Don't own a 243win at the moment some how, but I've killed a mess of deer with them and 6mm rem's. Will be hunting with a 6mm arc, won't have the power as the 243 but I fell comfortable out to 200-250 yards were I've shot deer out to a bit over 400 with bigger 6mms.

 

[Barnfixer]

I like everything that is sent out of a 308 case but the 243 is my favorite along with the 7-08. Last fall I was happy the find a new Kimber Hunter in .243 as I see kimber doesn’t offer that caliber anymore. I’ve also been saving brass for decades so maybe I should start reloading one of these days. I’ll always have one.

 

[dfish1247]

Many fond memories of the Remington 600 and 660 .243 doing their jobs.

The 243 was and still is somewhat the equivalent of a 3/4 ton 4x4 truck, it’s a round that can do just about anything a normal person would need done.

If the 243 had been offered with a long throat 1:8 twist barrel early on, I don’t feel all this creedmore stuff would be as popular.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have a 243 Win barrel for my T/C Encore frame and would bring it out in a heart beat for an application that is useful for.

I've done some prairie dog shooting in the past. If I go on another South Dakota shoot, I may take the .243 Win Encore. My usually PD rifle is a 240 Ruger AR-15 but it has some range limitations.

 

[Riomouse911]

I like the .243. I haven’t killed anything yet with mine, a Ruger M77 RSI, but it fills the same niche as my Remington 722 .257 Roberts.

The Roberts has killed an awful lot of hill country white tails and predatory critters over the decades it was used on the family ranch, a .243 would have performed the same duty had my Grandfather ever owned a rifle in that caliber.



Stay safe.

 

[CraigC]

Nope, wouldn't take a free one.

 

[Lo-Profile]

I have one I shoot.
Nice guns

 

[Chuck R.]

I was a 6mm Rem guy for a long time, but mostly for woodchucks.

I wish there were more of you .243 guys, and the subsequent once fired brass as I can easily turn them into these:

Kind of a 6mm C +P with cheap brass (much cheaper with a bunch of .243Win fans around that don't reload)

6mm SLR Article

 

[Remington1911]

I like the cartridge, it is the 6.5 creed for people that don't like trendy new names....us Fudd types.

I maintain there is not much the 6.5 brings to the table if you put the right bullet and twist in your 243. I also think that is not done because why there is the creed.

I just like older things and shy away from what marketing tells me I should buy.

 

[MacAR]

I'm a fairly recent convert to the 243, only getting mine a couple years ago after doing most all my hunting with a 30-06. My Weatherby shoots 60gr Sierras into boringly accurate groups, and it only takes one of them to put the brakes on critters from woodchuck to whitetail. It and a Winchester 62 22lr are pretty much my go-to rifles these days, with the occasional use of a 30-30 or 303 Savage.

Mac

 

[Legionnaire]

Used to be. Both my remaining .243s have been Ackley-ized.

 

[Risky buisness]

Having used the .243 for many years, I find it unnecessary for me to adopt any other cartridge near its capability. I'm no gun gamer, swayed by advertising or prone to pay much attention to pundits funded by ammunition companies. In that respect, I'm an atypical user, focusing on the mastery of a particular rifle, not buying dozens to keep up with anyone, current trends or appearance. That said, the .243 is by far, plenty of rifle for whatever application it's used for, be it varmints, deer, hogs or other medium game. And as the progression of bullet technology has spawned other cartridges, it certainly hasn't been lost on the .243 allowing a greater variety of superior projectiles for use.
Much as the often maligned 30-06, the .243 is that cartridge, mild to wild, just in a smaller package.

 

[red rick]

I recently bought one . I mainly was looking for something for predator hunting . I live in a shotgun only county for deer . My thinking was get a caliber that I can predator hunt with and deer hunt with just in case I get invited to hunt in a rifle county , .223 isn’t lawfully for deer in Virginia , so I went with the .243 . I can tell you that 80gr bullets sure mess up a bobcat and a fox . I would have no problem using them on deer . I think that I am going to try and find some lighter ammo, or varmint ammo . I really don’t notice anymore recoil than a .223 . I remember I use to see .243 ammo in all of the stores , but since I bought one I don’t see a lot of it now . It looks like the popularity might have dropped . I see 6.5 more than anything .

 

[Hookeye]

700 in an HS stock is my current yote rifle
Had others in the past for groundhogs. Only had one set up for deer, a Ruger #1 RSI. It worked.

Didn't care for that bullet performance, got other good shooting ammo to try and never had a deer big enough show up for the test.

Dunno how the .243 works on deer, 1 kill isnt a valid evaluation.

Hear folks talk about dropping everything in its tracks. Guess my deer dont read the script. I am cool with DRT, or DROT.

 

[epags]

I have a firearm 'for every season'. 7mm Mag, 30-06 and .243. All on the Rem 700 platform.

 

[Armored farmer]

Nope, wouldn't take a free one.

Sometimes we need a DISlike button.
Put me in the YES column.
The only centerfire rifle on the farm while I was growing up. .243 700 Remington with a Weaver 6x fixed.
Many groundhogs and coyotes fell to it too!

 

[small town life]

My brother shot and killed his 1st deer with a 243win. I have an AR in 243win, but haven't shot it much.

 

[VoodooMountain]

243 is a sweet little cartridge. That said, if I was buying a new 6mm I would lean towards the creedmoor. Similar to how the 243 fixed some of the 6mm remington issues, the creemoor has a couple of benefits over the 243 for some shooters. Not a huge difference for most shooters by any means, though.