243 Winchester in the real world.

I've been toying with the idea of getting a 243 for several months as of late. I have looked at bullet charts in my reloading manuals, reading several forums about barrel life and such. This is going to be a good general purpose rifle for varmint and deer. I am not talking it to Camp Perry or Palma! As Dirty Harry said, a man's got to know his limitations. So what do you monkey's think?

 

I think the .243 is one of the best calibers for deer in the south. For close to 45 years that’s all I have shot. Killed deer every year and never lost one. Two years I had to get a dog to find my game but it was my fault not the rifles. Deer in the south are not hard to kill,they are really small animals. Back when I was a outlaw I shot five times and killed four deer that were running together,I was shooting a rem 742 auto. When I started out we could run dogs and a lot of times we could kill more than one at a time. I have since changed my ways,about two weeks ago there were two six points and four does at my feeder. I have this year killed one old spike and saved the rest for my grandson. You cain’t go wrong with the .243. By the way get a Ruger,you cannot beat a Ruger, they are tough believe me.You can load these from 55grains all the way to 100grains and maybe higher.

 

It's a good calibre for folks who have a plentiful source of pre loved 7.62mmNato cases: after neck resizing, as I understand it.

 

Very versatile cartridge and will take game larger than most think since the recoil is low and easier to place the bullet where you want it. There is a reason it's been one of the most popular cartridges for a very long time. As mentioned above you can turn 308 brass into 243 cases without much effort in the event brass becomes scarce.

 

Get one, You won't be sorry!

 

Still my second favorite all around hunting chambering (6.5X55 Swede being #1) the .243 is extremely capable in the right rifle and the right hands. I have personally taken elk with mine, no problem! The key is shot placement!!! My Wife loved the round so much she picked out a very sweet TIKKA T-3 stainless and has been taking deer and varmints the last 5 Years she has had it! .243 is also very easy to reload, and bullets can be had from 55gr all the way up to 135gr! Speed is king in this round, the faster you can drive it, the better it runs, speeds in the high 3800 fps are pretty easy to load to, and with the 90 gr and heavier, range is very good with great wind bucking abilities! For a lot of hunting, the Swift Scirocco is THE bullet to have on board, try them out, you will see, they are about the best hunting bullet out there, they fly very strait, hit hard, and buck the wind better then just about all the others combined. Barns XXTs do a pretty good job as well for light game, and Hornady SSTs for general uses!
Give the TIKKA a look, you will forget all the others after you see how good a rifle these are!

 

BTW, the Ruger American IS a copy of the Tikka T-3 with a little Sig Sauer in the trigger and bottom metal/mag area. It's a great shooting rifle with a well proven and growing reputation! While it lacks the Stunning SAKO barrel, it does have the advantage of being offered in more calibers with faster twist rates favored by American hunters who like heavier bullets! AND, its a Ruger, so it's going to last! IF cost were the prime concern, I would highly recommend the Ruger! Even better, surf the local shops and on line and find a ruger M-77 HawkEye or a super nice Winchester Featherweight M-70, you will then have the joys and benefits of Controlled Round Feeding!

 

Thanks for the response guys. Yesterday at an LGS I got to fondle a Savage 110 AX in ,243. Action was a bit stiff but it's NIB. Comes with a scope with a price tag of $349! When my fun money comes in I'll be doing some serious shopping!

 

I have two of them. One is an old lever action, other is a newer bolt action youth for the old lady. We hunt with them when we can. I shot a few deer with .243 and never had to track them far. For where I live, I thinks it’s one of the best deer cartridges you can have. Not to mention other varmints you can hunt with it.

 

Great cartridge and around here if they sell '06 and 30-30 the .243 is right there on the shelf with them.

 

All with one shot 100 gr bullet the two deer we're neck and head shot the hog and deer head and neck shots my son first hog head shot

 

Nice shooting,when's the BBQ?

 

I read it is the number one caliber sales wise for ammunition. If I were shooting at only a hundred yards or so,I would consider a 30-30. much ammo selection and cheap! A lever action rifle could be a good home defense weapon. From what I have read most.243 use around 85 or 90-grain bullets. This is a touch light for me. The next step up would be a 6.5 cm or 7mm-08. not much recoil and a lot more bullet selection. I did watch a video on Youtube where a lady shot an elk at 800 yards and it just falls over dead, with a.243. Many are calling the 6.5cm the replacement for the .308. Such choices to make! yes, shot placement really counts.

 

Got a 30/30 already,an old Savage bolt rifle. As far as home defense goes I think it's covered by my 12 GA!

 

My brother-in-law made a 400 yd shot at a young doe with a .243 in a new company cutover. I told him it was a good thing I were there to be a witness. No one would have believed him as it was a small doe and at that distance a hard shot. By the way the doe dropped in its tracks and did not move. I don’t remember what grain bullet but back then we were shooting a lot of Frontier brand 75 grain ammo. Like I said before you cannot go wrong with a .243. A 6mm Rem is a lot like the .243.but hard to find ammo for it now.

 

Looks like you can use the same projectile for the .243 in the 6mm if you reload?

 

.243 is 6mm, a lot of bullets out there if you reload. Really high velocity will be hard on barrels. As I understand it target shooters will replace their barrels after 1000-1500 rounds. Not that they are shooting .243's, but the 6mm guns at high velocity. After reading this thread, I may have to dust off my Ruger M77 and play with it a bit.

 

The 243 is harder on barrels than many other cartridges, but you would have to shoot a lot to wear it out of hunting accuracy. If you are worried about that get a rifle that uses a Savage style barrel nut (you can do this on Remingtons using the Remage system) and you can rebarrel on your kitchen table with a set of go/no go gauges.