LJ-MosinFreak-Buck
Member
I love the caliber. I just wish it wasn't so expensive around here. I look at around a dollar per round here. Can't hand-roll yet, so. Only thing I really don't like about the round is it's a barrel burner.
thoughts on .243 Winchester
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H2oPumper
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Great caliber to learn on for kids. Shoots relatively cheap, so you can shoot more often and really develop good technique. With two kids, you know you'll have to buy another gun at some point, you can expand your caliber variety at that time, or not. Odds are though, you wouldn't let the 243 go.
I shot my first Whitetail with a 243 and my 14yr old son shot his first Whitetail, a week ago, with my 243 Savage. They are excellent deer rifles and with a 100 gr. Hornady you match the velocity of a 270 and 30-06 with 150 grs. I load 165's for my 30-06 and 100's for my 243 and the 243 carries a slight edge in velocity. Slap in a 70 gr and you can reach out and touch a Whitetail at a whopping 3500 fps!!! You will not be disappointed in their trajectory or penetration.
(data from Hornady 4th edition).
(data from Hornady 4th edition).Ridgerunner665
Member
The 243...
If only Shawnee was still around...I may be the only one who does, but I miss that guy...I, for one, enjoyed his posts on the 243, though I would agree that he held it to a higher regard than me...LOL. (couldn't help that...it brought back memories)
Nuttin wrong with a 243, I taught my son to hunt with one...he killed his first deer with it...he recently gave it to his little brother who is not quite big enough for it yet, but will be soon enough.
If only Shawnee was still around...I may be the only one who does, but I miss that guy...I, for one, enjoyed his posts on the 243, though I would agree that he held it to a higher regard than me...LOL. (couldn't help that...it brought back memories)
Nuttin wrong with a 243, I taught my son to hunt with one...he killed his first deer with it...he recently gave it to his little brother who is not quite big enough for it yet, but will be soon enough.
bigedp51
member
I have owned three .243 rifles and taken many eastern white tail deer with mine, on top of this Hogdon's has reduced youth loads.
Hodgdon® H4895® REDUCED RIFLE LOADS for
Youth Hunting, Informal Target and Plinking
IMR® TRAIL BOSS® REDUCED LOADS
FOR RIFLE AND PISTOL
http://www.hodgdon.com/
Hodgdon® H4895® REDUCED RIFLE LOADS for
Youth Hunting, Informal Target and Plinking
IMR® TRAIL BOSS® REDUCED LOADS
FOR RIFLE AND PISTOL
http://www.hodgdon.com/
Thios just doesn't reflect my experiences with the .243. I've shot one since I was 12, and just witnessed my nephew drop a doe with one last Sunday morning. One shot, one kill. He had fired his dad's .270 before as well, but found the .243 MUCH more to his liking, and had NO recoil issues. The only way I can see a .243 having anything resembling a painful recoil would be in an EXTREMELY light gun, or if the rifle wasnt properly shouldered. "Whiplash" is NOT what I think of when I hear someone mention the .243
BoilerUP
Member
Nothing at all wrong with the 243...its been killing whitetail deer dead for decades and you'll never be undergunned when using a quality bullet. Combine 243's wide availability for reasonably-priced factory ammo and very moderate recoil and its very conducive to practicing...which you can't always say for popular long-action cartridges.
243 Winchester is a "barrel burner" compared to a 30cal, but substantially less so in a hunting rifle than a long range rifle running 115 DTACs @ 2950fps or a varmint rig pushing 55gr A-Max @ 4000fps+ until the barrel is too hot to touch.
You could give a 243 to a 12 year old, and if they shoot 50 rounds per year (WAY more than the average hunter does) the barrel might be shot out & need to be replaced when they turn 50...maybe...but probably not.
That said, I'm a huge proponent of the 260 Remington.
243 Winchester is a "barrel burner" compared to a 30cal, but substantially less so in a hunting rifle than a long range rifle running 115 DTACs @ 2950fps or a varmint rig pushing 55gr A-Max @ 4000fps+ until the barrel is too hot to touch.
You could give a 243 to a 12 year old, and if they shoot 50 rounds per year (WAY more than the average hunter does) the barrel might be shot out & need to be replaced when they turn 50...maybe...but probably not.
That said, I'm a huge proponent of the 260 Remington.
lobo9er
Member
never shot one but I also have never heard anything like that before.
ThomasT
Member
Freedom Fighter I hate to be picky but Charlotte was the spider. Wilber was the pig.
The 243 should make an excellent choice for the OPs needs. And the 6mm that was recommended is only about 3% better than the 243. Not enough for the aggrevation of just finding factory ammo.
That being said if I had ever shot a 270 with 130gr bullets instead of 150gr bullets I would have never bought a 243 to begin with. And now that the 6.8 is out and there are 110gr bullets for the .270 bore thats what I would load for a light recoiling round.
BridgeTooFar
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I've extensively used 2 rifles in .243. One was my dad's that I used to use when I was a kid. The other was one that had to go because of budgetary reasons a couple years ago. I've always been a big guy, but relatively recoil sensitive (a little flinch if I shoot much more than 10 rounds in one sitting with a rifle). That being said, neither of those .243's didn't gave me much more of a push than a .223 (and one was a Tikka T3 Lite).
Always casually looking for a good, inexpensive LH .243 to give a good home to...especially if I can sneak it past the wife...
Always casually looking for a good, inexpensive LH .243 to give a good home to...especially if I can sneak it past the wife...
Legionnaire
Contributing Member
The .243 Win is an excellent cartridge. My kids who hunt took their first deer with a Remington Model Seven in .243. It is an excellent gun and cartridge combo.
That said, I'm thinking of having that same gun rebarreled in .260 Remington because I think it better splits the difference between .223 and .308, my other two basic hunting cartridges. And for a reloader, it would equally if not more versatile.
That said, I'm thinking of having that same gun rebarreled in .260 Remington because I think it better splits the difference between .223 and .308, my other two basic hunting cartridges. And for a reloader, it would equally if not more versatile.
sixgunner455
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Really enjoy my .243. I can shoot it all day, and not be worn out from it. You have a good plan.
I share this opinion.
The .243 would be the minimum I would recommend for deer (just to be fair I've never hunted with one), but there are a lot of cartridges that I would pick over the .243 even with young shooters in mind.
.25-06, .25 WSSM, .257 Roberts +P, .260 Rem, 6.5 Creedmore, 6.5x55 Swede, 6.5 Rem Mag, 6.5-284, 7mm-08.
All would be perfect for your out-west antelope hunt, however the immense popularity of the .243 speaks for itself.
Kingcreek
Member
The .243 is great for deer or antelope on down to groundhogs. In the field, it seems to perform better than it should if you only read internet or balistic charts.
Gunnerboy
Member
243 is a good caliber except the fact that it ruins alot of meat all the winchester and rem loads i used tumbled and disentagrated causing all sorts of head aches that evening while cleaning and hanging the deer, and these were normal ol heart and lung shots the bullets richoced off shoulders and ribs and ended up all over in the 3 deer.
well I'm a HUGE fan of 243. I actually have a lot of much larger calibers than my 243's but I never use them cause my dpms and my savage will kill anything the midwest and probably north america will offer. I hear a lot of guys with little to no hunting experience bag on 243, but I will say bullet choice has much more to do with cartridge effectiveness, than caliber does. there is a story in the front of the barnes manual about a guy shooting a moose 7-8 time in the vitals with an -06 and the critter didn't die. had he been using a quality bullet that -06 would have killed it. but some old core-lokt, may or may not perform. having said tha,t even big boddied MO deer(and we have the real deal here) drop dead with an 85 gr tsx and a 243. I gave my 11 yr old cousin a savage 110 this weekend for youth season and he dropped a nice buck at 140 it ran about 70 yrds dragging it's head on the ground before face planting in the dirt, and that was the furthest we have ever had one run. the two bucks I shot last year moved about 4 ft as they rolled over where they were standing. I am an adult and I don't really like shooting a 7mm mag, I love them, but my 243's do the job. I sold my mk V weatherby ss in 300 wby mag, cause an 1800.00 rifle just didn't shoot as good as a 300.00 savage 243..
anyway here is my baby in 243 win
anyway here is my baby in 243 win
PowerG
Member
I like the round also, but for deer hunting would much prefer the .260 or 7mm-08.
Maverick223
Member
While the .243Win. is a good cartridge, I have to agree the 6mmRem. (with the proper twist) is a bit more versatile for the handloader...as is the .260Rem. or 6.5mmCreedmoor. The 7mm-08Rem. isn't a bad choice either, and is reasonably popular so cartrdges are available most places, but it gives up a bit of versatility to the others (though this isn't an issue for someone looking for a primary lg. game rifle). The latter three would certainly be a big improvement for larger species (like elk and such), but come equipped with a bit more recoil.
I might as well get in on this dogpile.
A .243 or even the nearly forgotten 6mm are both very good chamberings for deer sized game.
I just so happen to own two .243's,one was the Father of the original posters model Seven,namely the 600 Remington, and the Finnish made and imported by Ithaca in the early 1970's called the Ithaca LSA-55.
Both are incredibly accurate rifles capable of tiny groups with over the counter factory ammo.
The 600 being an 18.5 inch barreled carbine and the LSA a full sized 22 inch barrel sporter.
Contrary to what one poster said recoil is very minimal.
While I dont necessarily recommend the 243/6mm to the novice hunter unless they are supervised or have gotten past that buck fever stage of their hunting part of life.
The reason I say this is because a bad shot with a small caliber is pretty much the same as it is with a large caliber but the little bullets coming out of the 243/6mm with bad placement makes for many times a hard blood trail to follow.
Get it right and it's quick death on deer sized game.
I killed my biggest deer in nearly 50 years of hunting with a 6mm Remington 600.
But I have to be honest even though the Winchester 100 grain Power Point bullet fired from a distance of 120 yards totally took out both lungs and exited on his right shoulder that big buck covered right near 100 yards before piling up in a huge Prickly Pear cactus flat deep in Zavala county Texas and never dripped a drop of blood on the ground.
That right there is many times my experience with these small rounds vs a 30 caliber round that more times than not does leave a good blood trail if it is necessary and of course if the deer actually runs far enough to need a blood trail to find it.
But also understand I have killed deer that dropped at the shot or ran maybe 10 yards with the 243 or 6mm.
And I have shot at least two deer with a 30-06,one taking out his complete heart and another both lungs,but both actually covered 75-100 yards before figuring out they were dead.
That's just deer hunting.
A well placed shot with a .243 will definitely get the job done.
A .243 or even the nearly forgotten 6mm are both very good chamberings for deer sized game.
I just so happen to own two .243's,one was the Father of the original posters model Seven,namely the 600 Remington, and the Finnish made and imported by Ithaca in the early 1970's called the Ithaca LSA-55.
Both are incredibly accurate rifles capable of tiny groups with over the counter factory ammo.
The 600 being an 18.5 inch barreled carbine and the LSA a full sized 22 inch barrel sporter.
Contrary to what one poster said recoil is very minimal.
While I dont necessarily recommend the 243/6mm to the novice hunter unless they are supervised or have gotten past that buck fever stage of their hunting part of life.
The reason I say this is because a bad shot with a small caliber is pretty much the same as it is with a large caliber but the little bullets coming out of the 243/6mm with bad placement makes for many times a hard blood trail to follow.
Get it right and it's quick death on deer sized game.
I killed my biggest deer in nearly 50 years of hunting with a 6mm Remington 600.
But I have to be honest even though the Winchester 100 grain Power Point bullet fired from a distance of 120 yards totally took out both lungs and exited on his right shoulder that big buck covered right near 100 yards before piling up in a huge Prickly Pear cactus flat deep in Zavala county Texas and never dripped a drop of blood on the ground.
That right there is many times my experience with these small rounds vs a 30 caliber round that more times than not does leave a good blood trail if it is necessary and of course if the deer actually runs far enough to need a blood trail to find it.
But also understand I have killed deer that dropped at the shot or ran maybe 10 yards with the 243 or 6mm.
And I have shot at least two deer with a 30-06,one taking out his complete heart and another both lungs,but both actually covered 75-100 yards before figuring out they were dead.
That's just deer hunting.
A well placed shot with a .243 will definitely get the job done.
If you'd asked me 5 years ago, I thought the .243 was too small for deer. Then a few buddies got them and started killing deer with them. I really was impressed by the cartridge. Then after getting to shoot one and a couple dear with one last year, I fell in love. IMO it's a great cartridge. It's light recoiling, flat shooting, and has plenty of knock down power. After actually using it I don't have anything bad to say about it at all.
A buddy has a Model 7 in .223 with the wood stock and it's one nice feeling rifle. To me it just feels perfect in my hands. One of these in .243 would be an amazing choice imo. I'd love to have one if I ran across a decent deal on an older one. I wouldn't touch the new ones after seeing how far Remingtons quality has gone downhill. That said, I think the Savage Model 10's are also another great choice if you decide against the Model 7 for some reason.
A buddy has a Model 7 in .223 with the wood stock and it's one nice feeling rifle. To me it just feels perfect in my hands. One of these in .243 would be an amazing choice imo. I'd love to have one if I ran across a decent deal on an older one. I wouldn't touch the new ones after seeing how far Remingtons quality has gone downhill. That said, I think the Savage Model 10's are also another great choice if you decide against the Model 7 for some reason.
Maverick223
Member
Speaking of other rifle suggestions, I believe the new Savage Model 11 LtWt. Hunter would be a perfect match for such a cartridge (to include any low recoil short action cartridge).
sugarmaker
Member
I found it to be a bit of a barrel eater - around 2K rounds (700 ADL)
markV .257 was a 500 round barrel, half of that finding the best load
.308's need help around 5K, '06 same
Others I don't have enough volume to report on - .223 is probably next.
markV .257 was a 500 round barrel, half of that finding the best load
.308's need help around 5K, '06 same
Others I don't have enough volume to report on - .223 is probably next.
Exactly- I agree, a lot of 'experts' dog on the .243. Some of the best hunters I know praise the thing. My father-in-law is an anti-.243 guy, but his daughter and I don't have any problems gettin it done with the little .243. The only time I have ever seen meat ruined by nasty bullet fragging was when my wife accidentally used varmint rounds. I've been putting Wisconsin deer down with the .243 for 14 years running. I am not a super hunter, I am not an expert, I am not a sniper. I am just a real world, kill a deer and eat it kind of guy.
Just for a point of information, I use 95grain Silver ballistic tips, and my wife uses 100 grain Nosler partitions.
Yes, it is a good cartridge. But why add another caliber? You already reload a couple of .30 caliber cartridges, keep component selection simple. True, you can make .243 brass from .308 brass, but you must still buy a different diameter bullet. You can also buy surplus/military/cheap ammo for .308, but not for the .243. I have used Trail Boss powder with 110 grain bullets to load .308 very light to educate young shooters, so I can see no reason to get a .243.
Maverick223
Member
...because there are a great number of cartridges better suited to varmint hunting (which is one of the stated purposes in the OP) than the .308Win....or most any other .30cal. for that matter. Additionally, Trailboss isn't suitable for hunting if the kids decide to take up hunting.
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