Any 243 fans left?

[Space Ghost]

The .243 has been long known for being plenty enough gun for deer sized game.
I picked up a nice gently used .243, quite some time ago and after testing to see what ammo it likes, found it to be the most accurate rifle I've ever owned.
Once I discovered it's potential for accuracy, I dropped it into a chassis and made it my "precision" rifle.
Won't likely be taking it out deer hunting now, but it's fun making teeny-tiny little groups... and should SHTF ever come... bad guys are about deer sized...

 

[WVGunman]

I owned a .243 years ago, and it is one of the few center fire rifles I have ever gotten rid of. I still have 3 rounds of it sitting in a drawer; heavens know when I'll be getting rid of that. I thought the round was relentlessly average at everything: Too big and loud for varminting at shorter ranges, without the punch needed for anything bigger and/or farther. In retrospect, I think it might've been perfect for coyotes, but that isn't something I'm into.

 

[LoonWulf]

I rarely ever buy factory ammo. I reload everything I shoot. I just dug out my stash of 243 bullets and found I have over 1200 bullets on hand. Most in the 100gr range. I was in a store a couple of weeks ago called Atwoods, a farm and ranch store with a gun counter and shelves of ammo. They had a good selection of 243 ammo. And a ton of 308 and 30-06. Plus some of the new 6.5s, Black Out, 223 and even 45-70. And not a single box of 30-30 or the new Remington 360 Buck Hammer. All of it crazy expensive. At least to me. Most was $25 and up a box. The 45-70 was $60 or better per my memory. Thats $3.00 per round.

223 non-fmj starts at $20 a box here, any larger centerfire is going to start at 45....... Honestly these days cost is the only reason I reload.

243 factory ammo has also been a hot commodity here lately. You might see one or two options on the shelf, but only if you're lucky.

 

[ThomasT]

223 non-fmj starts at $20 a box here, any larger centerfire is going to start at 45....... Honestly these days cost is the only reason I reload.

I guess I am spoiled or living in the past too much. I remember before deer season Walmart running common ammo on sale. Like 30-30 for $6 a box and 30-06 and 270 for 10-12 dollars a box. Plus I have such a large stock of brass, primers, cases and bullets there is no reason not to reload. I have had my stuff so long I don't even remember what I paid for it. So to me its like free ammo for just a little of my time. And I'm retired so I can load all during the week. When ever I want. Its way better than watching TV.

I think somewhere I have a 100ct box of nickle plated 243 Remington brass but I couldn't find it. Thats why I bought the Starline brass. Its nice looking brass too. I counted up all the bullets to load 243 I have on hand. I have 1200+ bullets. Most are 100gr from Speer, Hornady and Sierra plus some 75, 80, 85 and 90 grain bullets in the mix. It would be silly of me not to have a 243 on hand.

 

[LoonWulf]

I guess I am spoiled or living in the past too much. I remember before deer season Walmart running common ammo on sale. Like 30-30 for $6 a box and 30-06 and 270 for 10-12 dollars a box. Plus I have such a large stock of brass, primers, cases and bullets there is no reason not to reload. I have had my stuff so long I don't even remember what I paid for it. So to me its like free ammo for just a little of my time. And I'm retired so I can load all during the week. When ever I want. Its way better than watching TV.

I think somewhere I have a 100ct box of nickle plated 243 Remington brass but I couldn't find it. Thats why I bought the Starline brass. Its nice looking brass too. I counted up all the bullets to load 243 I have on hand. I have 1200+ bullets. Most are 100gr from Speer, Hornady and Sierra plus some 75, 80, 85 and 90 grain bullets in the mix. It would be silly of me not to have a 243 on hand.

Heck, when I got back into shooting in 2010-11 a box of 30-06 was 12 bux or so...... Not so much anymore lol


I just used some starline brass to make loads for my savage 99. 85gt Sierra BTHPs, over 40.5 of IMR 4350.... Thing likes that load.... It's nice that that's the same charge weight I use in the creedmoors, so I'll probably stick with it even if I'm giving up velocity.

 

[ThomasT]

Heck, when I got back into shooting in 2010-11 a box of 30-06 was 12 bux or so...... Not so much anymore lol


I just used some starline brass to make loads for my savage 99. 85gt Sierra BTHPs, over 40.5 of IMR 4350.... Thing likes that load.... It's nice that that's the same charge weight I use in the creedmoors, so I'll probably stick with it even if I'm giving up velocity.

I don't mind losing a little speed. The bullets stay together better and at less than 2900fps they still shoot flat enough for my needs. Remember I'm the guy that likes hunting with a 30-30, 44 mag and black powder rifles. So a 243 is a laser beam to me.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I’d get a .243 but my wife doesn’t hunt

When my wife hunted she used a 270...

 

[ThomasT]

When my wife hunted she used a 270...

If I wasn't so set up to run a 243 I would have bought a 270 instead. I like the 270 round. If you reload its even more versatile not because you can make barrel bursting loads but because you can down load it a little with a 130gr bullet or now some of the 100-110gr bullets and have a rifle that recoils like a 243 with a little bigger bullet. A 270 shooting a 130gr bullet isn't bad at all in the recoil dept. The rifle would be the same size as my new 243 and be a little more versatile for the end user.

But I can do the same thing more or less with the 30-06 rifles I own. I could buy some Speer 130gr flat nosed bullets made for a 30-30 and shoot those at 2600fps and have a nice, easy on the shoulder round.

I just went a couple of weeks ago and sighted in two 30-30s, a 44 mag and checked my 7-08. None of those are hard kickers but after shooting around 80 rounds total I had a sore shoulder for a couple of days. Its nice to have a shoulder friendly gun.

 

[godale]

I got a model 7 and i use it for coyotes.thats the only hunting i do . Its got 2 kills with 95 grain and 2 kills ground hogs with 85 grain. It was my first centerfire . Its going no where matter what caliber comes out.

 

[Chuck R.]

If you reload its even more versatile not because you can make barrel bursting loads but because you can down load it a little with a 130gr bullet or now some of the 100-110gr bullets and have a rifle that recoils like a 243 with a little bigger bullet.

Please don't.. friends don't let friends download .270s!

Every time it happens Jack O'Conner's ghost weeps!

Then some guy posts chit about how a 6.5 C catches it at 200+ yards and then I have to post actual ballistic data refuting that nonsense. It's a vicious cycle..

So please, please, load the .270W as it was intended and how it earned it's reputation. 3100+ with 130s and 3000+ with 150s! What's a few more ft. pounds of recoil going to hurt? There's not much meat in a front shoulder anyway.

Everybody needs a new barrel eventually.. that way you can get a fast twist barrel and show the 6.5PRC guys a thing or two with 160-170 grain .277 bullets.

 

[DM~]

I’d get a .243 but my wife doesn’t hunt

Sounds like you need a new wife AND a .243.

DM

 

[ThomasT]

So please, please, load the .270W as it was intended and how it earned it's reputation. 3100+ with 130s and 3000+ with 150s! What's a few more ft. pounds of recoil going to hurt? There's not much meat in a front shoulder anyway.

There is nothing wrong with using a reduced load. Why do you need 3100fps to shoot a deer 100-150 yards away. As much as I like Jack O I like Finn Aagaard better, He wrote about giving his 12YO son a 30-06 with reduced 150gr loads loaded to 2600fps and the kid killed his first deer with those loads at 150 yards away. John Wooters wrote about going to Africa with his wife and she used a 280 Remington with starter loads because he didn't have time to work up hotter loads. He said she killed everything she shot at with one shot.

The 7x57 WMD Bell used to kill most of his 1000 elephants had a start speed of around 2400fps with a 175gr bullet. And the bullet would shoot completely through an elephants skull. Sorry but I don't buy into the idea that speed is the only answer.

One more thing is I have no interest in the new fad cartridges. They don't do anything the older rounds didn't already do. It reminds of the hoopla over the short and super short magnums from a few years ago. I wonder how many rifles are at the back of the safe no longer used because ammo for them is nearly impossible to find. The people shooting the new 6.5 rounds don't seem to know the history of the 6.5 rounds that worked so well in Africa because of the long, heavy for caliber bullet those rounds used that dug so deep in large game and gave such reliable kills. Now its all about speed and super long range. I guess there are no real hunters left who know how to stalk and close the gap on game. Except for bow hunters and guys who use traditional muzzle loaders with round balls where they are limited to a 100 yards or less.

 

[Chuck R.]

It was a joke directed at Shanghai.. I've chrono'd his .270 loads

IF I know I'm shooting "close" I just pick a different rifle.

 

[troy fairweather]

There is nothing wrong with using a reduced load. Why do you need 3100fps to shoot a deer 100-150 yards away. As much as I like Jack O I like Finn Aagaard better, He wrote about giving his 12YO son a 30-06 with reduced 150gr loads loaded to 2600fps and the kid killed his first deer with those loads at 150 yards away. John Wooters wrote about going to Africa with his wife and she used a 280 Remington with starter loads because he didn't have time to work up hotter loads. He said she killed everything she shot at with one shot.

The 7x57 WMD Bell used to kill most of his 1000 elephants had a start speed of around 2400fps with a 175gr bullet. And the bullet would shoot completely through an elephants skull. Sorry but I don't buy into the idea that speed is the only answer.

One more thing is I have no interest in the new fad cartridges. They don't do anything the older rounds didn't already do. It reminds of the hoopla over the short and super short magnums from a few years ago. I wonder how many rifles are at the back of the safe no longer used because ammo for them is nearly impossible to find. The people shooting the new 6.5 rounds don't seem to know the history of the 6.5 rounds that worked so well in Africa because of the long, heavy for caliber bullet those rounds used that dug so deep in large game and gave such reliable kills. Now its all about speed and super long range. I guess there are no real hunters left who know how to stalk and close the gap on game. Except for bow hunters and guys who use traditional muzzle loaders with round balls where they are limited to a 100 yards or less.

Jack's wife used the 7x57 alot and loved it, think Jack in later years said it was the most well rounded deer cartridge or something like that, I've yet to read his books.

 

[mshootnit]

the real question is are there any 6mm Remington fans left.

 

[LoonWulf]

There is nothing wrong with using a reduced load. Why do you need 3100fps to shoot a deer 100-150 yards away. As much as I like Jack O I like Finn Aagaard better, He wrote about giving his 12YO son a 30-06 with reduced 150gr loads loaded to 2600fps and the kid killed his first deer with those loads at 150 yards away. John Wooters wrote about going to Africa with his wife and she used a 280 Remington with starter loads because he didn't have time to work up hotter loads. He said she killed everything she shot at with one shot.

The 7x57 WMD Bell used to kill most of his 1000 elephants had a start speed of around 2400fps with a 175gr bullet. And the bullet would shoot completely through an elephants skull. Sorry but I don't buy into the idea that speed is the only answer.

One more thing is I have no interest in the new fad cartridges. They don't do anything the older rounds didn't already do. It reminds of the hoopla over the short and super short magnums from a few years ago. I wonder how many rifles are at the back of the safe no longer used because ammo for them is nearly impossible to find. The people shooting the new 6.5 rounds don't seem to know the history of the 6.5 rounds that worked so well in Africa because of the long, heavy for caliber bullet those rounds used that dug so deep in large game and gave such reliable kills. Now its all about speed and super long range. I guess there are no real hunters left who know how to stalk and close the gap on game. Except for bow hunters and guys who use traditional muzzle loaders with round balls where they are limited to a 100 yards or less.

Just want to point out that most of the freshly introduced cartridges that have really taken off are the same speed or slower than what was already available.

 

[Risky buisness]

the real question is are there any 6mm Remington fans left.

Yep. Still am a fan, just short of barrel money.....kinda like really rocking a 22-250

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

It was a joke directed at Shanghai.. I've chrono'd his .270 loads

Yes, and I promise to apologize to the ghost of Jack O'Conner every time I shoot them until they are gone.

 

[Chuck R.]

Yes, and I promise to apologize to the ghost of Jack O'Conner every time I shoot them until they are gone.

Hey, the "practice" hunting range is set up if you want to come out and see why I like the extra FPS (normal .270 FPS). It helps deal with the
KS wind..

Tomorrow I'm going to get some hunting in, but I'll be around MON PM.

 

[ThomasT]

It was a joke directed at Shanghai.. I've chrono'd his .270 loads

Ah, OK. But you quoted me.

My bud has used a 270 for the last 40+ years and all his loads are the fastest ones he feels he can get away with. I ended up with a couple of boxes of Remington 130gr loads and gave those to him. They are all he has used for deer the last few years because they are more pleasant to shoot than his barn burner 150gr loads. The Remington loads seem to kill deer at 100 yards just as dead as his hot handloads.

And I try to get all the meat off a deer I can get. And that includes the shoulder and even the neck meat. That meat makes good stew and chili meat. If I'm going to kill an animal I owe it to the deer to use as much of the animal as I can.

 

[Chuck R.]

Ah, OK. But you quoted me.

My bud has used a 270 for the last 40+ years and all his loads are the fastest ones he feels he can get away with. I ended up with a couple of boxes of Remington 130gr loads and gave those to him. They are all he has used for deer the last few years because they are more pleasant to shoot than his barn burner 150gr loads. The Remington loads seem to kill deer at 100 yards just as dead as his hot handloads.

And I try to get all the meat off a deer I can get. And that includes the shoulder and even the neck meat. That meat makes good stew and chili meat. If I'm going to kill an animal I owe it to the deer to use as much of the animal as I can.

Unless elk is on the menu I prefer to use 130s in my .270, the 150s really aren't needed for deer, unless trying to slow down the impact velocity.

My issue is, every time I buy a rifle thinking to myself I can 'download' it to be "X", I don't. My 300WM, that could be a 30-06 or a .308win is loaded like a 300WM, my 350RM which could be a 35Rem or a 358 Winchester stays loaded like a 350RM.

Really the only rifles I have two hunting loads for are the 300 and the 350RM, both have deer and elk loads. The others have practice loads just so I'm not putting $1+ bullets into steel plates.

Rather than download something or try to put together an "all around" rifle, I've just ended up buying another rifle. Also a lot of it has to do with how I set the rifles up, longer tubes and higher magnification VS carbines with low power variables. I don't like 22-24" barrels in blinds/stands and I dread dragging them through the woods. I also don't like over-watching row crop fields with something that has the trajectory of a catapult, and the KS wind puts it into the next county. And, you're right, I don't need a 3000+ FPS cartridge to kill a deer at <100 yds, so I use a shorter barreled rifle in a mid-bore caliber with a lower impact velocity. I've got a ready rack of deer rifles tailored to the conditions and expected distances:

Open country/LR 300WM & .270, 24" barrels 2-12x42 ad 3x18x56
Mixed mid range 20" .260Rem & .350RM, (soon to add .308) 2.5-8x36s on both
Woods, still hunting & drives 358Win & 350RM, 19" and 20" 1.25-4X and 2.5-8x36

And the shoulder meat comment was also tongue "N" cheek, I normally double lung everything, unless I'm jumping them, the it's "anything goes"*

* Note: also tongue "N" cheek comment

 

[IWAC]

Rio, I have, I should say older son, has the same rifle only in .308. Wonderful rifle Ruger built.

If I can't have a 257 Roberts, the 243 or 6mm Remington will do very well, when used within reasonable distances, with adequate loads, as you seem to be doing.

 

[benEzra]

Back when Remington was selling the R25 (Gen II), I really wanted one, and would have gotten it in .243. Unfortunately, they stopped making them before I could scrape together enough pennies for it.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Hey, the "practice" hunting range is set up if you want to come out and see why I like the extra FPS (normal .270 FPS). It helps deal with the
KS wind..

Tomorrow I'm going to get some hunting in, but I'll be around MON PM.

Thanks for the invite Chuck. I'll send ya an e-mail.
And good luck tomorrow.

 

[LoonWulf]

includes the shoulder and even the neck meat.

Is it uncommon to strip the neck and shoulder? Ill admit having never hunted the mainland im not real familiar with what one takes in terms of meat.

Edit...... nevermind re-read the other posts and get it now, im captain oblivious today