'Round about 2014, I rebuilt a Rem 700 in 243win as a lightweight, up-to-no-good, truck/quad/bike bound hunting rifle. I bought a Walmart ADL for $350, sold the barrel, stock, and trigger for $150, cut a Shilen short chambered sporter weight barrel to 16.2", threaded for a linear compensator, dropped it into a Richard's microfit stock with a timney trigger and PTG bottom metal. I put a Bushnell Elite 4200 4-16x40mm AO on top in Leupold Dual Dovetail rings and mount.
It was a beautifully wicked, light weight, fast handling dealer of song-dog death. A friend decided he wanted it more than I did, so a deal was struck.
"Efficient" only matters if you're trying to reach super long ranges. "Loud" is really only relevant if you're not wearing ear pro like you should (the linear compensator helps a LOT).
I also have a 243win Savage Striker, which is quite possibly my second favorite Specialty Pistol I've ever fired. It's a 14" with a radial port brake, it barks pretty loud, but any specialty pistol is going to bark loudly. My first 300 WSM pistol had a 15" barrel - THAT was loud, and the ball of fire swarming out of the end was remarkable, even in daylight.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR WITH A SHORT 243WIN is the barrel twist. A guy can't feed 115 Dtac's to a bobbed factory barrel with a 1:9.25" or 1:10" and expect good results. I typically run 85-90's in mine, and I'm quite happy, clear out to 1,000yrds.