Does the 243 win have a place in Africa?

[Norwegianwoods]

I would have zero reservations taking my 243 with 80 gr Barnes TTSX bullets running about 3415 fps. This combination is my go-to load for whitetails and antelope.

Good luck!!!

The 80 grain TTSX and the 85 grain TSX are by far my favorite bullets in a 243.

 

[Double D]

Nothing wrong with the 243 I have friends who hunt biltong with them all the time. But they live there and they pick their shots, on bigger animals they take head shots whither you or I agree its business to them and they are good at it.
Now for you or I to go there with a .243 may not make much sense unless you were just going to go after smaller game trophies. Of course you can take two rifles and most of us do. If you are going to hunt dangerous game then it means hunting your bigger plains game with your heavy where a .270, 06 or a 300 would be a smarter choice. Kudu aren't all that tuff but wildebeest, zebra and eland can be tuff as hell with anything unless the shot is perfect. Just remember you are a trophy hunter and sometimes there is pressure that can affect the situation and shots aren't as perfect as we would like. I am a big 257 rbts fan which is in the same class maybe even a slight advantage with heavier bullets but I have never taken it along as much as I would love to.

 

[bassasdaindia]

IMHO :

pro's : great for kids to use,accurate when no wind,cheap bullets , little recoil.

con's : terrible in windy conditions,best for open shooting and not bush use .

there are better calibers like 6.5x55

 

[PeteG]

agree with bassasdaindia, not the best in wind and through brush.
I do think a lot of people underestimate the calibre though. it is a fantastic round for young shooters, low recoil, lots of oomph for small game. I say go for it.
a good quality 100gr will take down a large variety of game here without too much difficulty, and I think that is the key, find a good strong bullet. at close range the traditional softs break up quickly on bone.

this is a recent pic of a croc I had to shoot, unfortunately it was getting a bit too close to our fish farm and the local fishermen. When I say too close, it had taken up residence in our jetty and was in amongst the fishermen in their dugout canoes!!

this was shot with Sellier & Bellot 100gr soft nose, it was at short range, probably 50m or so. did not pick its brains to find any bullet/fragments though.

 

[drew416]

Hunting for meat is very different for hunting for trophies.
A small accurate rifle will take a head clean off. There is someone in South Australia who shoots Feral Camel's with a .22-250. In his words he "cleans there ears out" with it.

I have shot Sika and Red Deer in Australia with ,222 Rem and 6x45( 6mm-223) but have been shooting for the freezer. Now sometimes a feral pig has interrupted my stalk and he is quickly taken with a head shot.

Africa is a different situation. Whilst a .243 win is capable of doing the job, it needs proper bullet selection and some one who really knows how to put the bullet in the right place at a heartbeats notice. Let alone the fact that there is a very good chance of coming across something that has big teeth and goes GRRR, whilst stalking a "Bambi" type animal.

 

[ActionBob]

Come on guys;
He is talking about 8 and 11 year old kids... I don't think they are going to be trying to stop a charging Elephant with that 243..... Being realistic, how much more gun do you expect an 8 year old to handle? Here is a chance to initiate a couple youngsters into Africa hunting with a gun their dad is very confident in, one that is accurate enough and the kids can shoot without suffering phychological or physical damage. And one he allready owns!

Why not take it along and get the kids within a decent range of a couple soft skinned smaller plains game and just about any animal will be a trophy to them as long as they can have fun and not be terrified to pull the trigger. And maybe dad can shoot a duiker or something with it just because it is a favorite gun.

A Plains Game hunt can be such great fun if you relax and enjoy the expieriance. Take the pressure off and have fun! Enjoy the family time, enjoy the new people, surroundings and sceinery. Expierinace the wildlife, the pursuit, the accomplishment, the satisfaction andthe thrill of those kids getting their first African game... Heck maybe take them out to get a Hyrax just to build their confidence and get some practice..... That little 243 sounds to me like the perfect compromise of shootability for the kids with enough power to get the job done on what they will likely be shooting.

And 115, you are going to be way ahead to invest in taking the kids with and getting them even a couple animals vs. spending money on another gun.

Can't wait to see the pictures!

 

[Norwegianwoods]

I agree with ActionBob.
It is all about getting our kids out there and enjoy hunting with us.
They don't need to shoot the biggest animals.
The 243 might not be the best cartridge for all sorts of PG, but it is for sure plenty good enough for some of them with a high quality bullet.
Even a 223 is good enough for some of them.

 

[bluey]

Hunting for meat is very different for hunting for trophies.
A small accurate rifle will take a head clean off. There is someone in South Australia who shoots Feral Camel's with a .22-250. In his words he "cleans there ears out" with it.

I have shot Sika and Red Deer in Australia with ,222 Rem and 6x45( 6mm-223) but have been shooting for the freezer. Now sometimes a feral pig has interrupted my stalk and he is quickly taken with a head shot.

Africa is a different situation. Whilst a .243 win is capable of doing the job, it needs proper bullet selection and some one who really knows how to put the bullet in the right place at a heartbeats notice. Let alone the fact that there is a very good chance of coming across something that has big teeth and goes GRRR, whilst stalking a "Bambi" type animal.

bloody oath drew ive seen and caused some big animals to keel over with the .22-250. love that accuracy.
when l first joined up here at AH , I was in a debate with the outfitter we are going to hunt with this july about not being able to take my -250 over with us for the smaller , plains game .
ended up buying a .243 and now l love it ,still havnt done much with it .in fact its in a mates safe down in Tassie ,been there since janurary ,hoping to get two headed fallow deer this last march ,but as always another set of tags unused .
but id let a young bloke shoot some of the smaller plains game with it any day of the week .as long as it had good bullets and he / she knew where to put them .


bloko, id love hear about sika deer in Australia , ive been told its a myth ..........

 

[enysse]

On my last trip to Africa, I was planning on bringing one for Vaal rhebok hunting and other small antelope but then plans changed and I never brought it. I would feel super confident in using it on a impala or blesbok , even a kudu if it was broadside.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

ended up buying a .243 and now l love it ,still havnt done much with it .in fact its in a mates safe down in Tassie ,been there since janurary ,hoping to get two headed fallow deer this last march

Good grief, they 2 headed deer in Oz?!

 

[graybird]

I've shot my above load at 100 yards trying to catch a bullet. I placed four half gallon milk jugs filled with water in front and two one gallon jugs at the rear. The bullet slipped thru all six jugs, which was roughly 26 inches of water. That is more than enough penetration for any plains game animal.

 

[bluey]

Good grief, they 2 headed deer in Oz?!

ha ha ha aussie joke towards all Tasmanians , phill

 

[Velo Dog]

IMHO :

pro's : great for kids to use,accurate when no wind,cheap bullets , little recoil.

con's : terrible in windy conditions,best for open shooting and not bush use .

there are better calibers like 6.5x55

Bassasdaindia,

I could not have said that better.

Velo Dog.

 

[Sable123]

I cut my teeth on a .243! A brilliant rifle that never failed. Now I use a Marlin .270 which is fast and equally as good. I'd give my thumbs up to any one looking to bring a .243 to Africa....depending on species ofcourse.

 

[lcq]

Next trip I'm bringing mine for Jackal and Baboon. 87gr Berger with a stiff charge of IMR-4350

 

[Velo Dog]

Next trip I'm bringing mine for Jackal and Baboon. 87gr Berger with a stiff charge of IMR-4350

The .243 may as well have been tailor made for jackals and baboons.
Where I live it is probably the most popular cartridge for hunting wolf, by means of wearing snow camouflage and tooting on a varmint call.
Seems like it'd be excellent for things like klipspringer, vaal rebok, and similar animals at long range (provided the wind is not too lively).
Can't think of a better caliber for those and similar hunting activities.

 

[lcq]

The .243 may as well have been tailor made for jackals and baboons.
Where I live it is probably the most popular cartridge for hunting wolf, by means of wearing snow camouflage and tooting on a varmint call.
Seems like it'd be excellent for things like klipspringer, vaal rebok, and similar animals at long range (provided the wind is not too lively).
Can't think of a better caliber for those and similar hunting activities.

That is what I thought. Thanks for confirming. Stainless 700 SPS, cheap reliable prints repeatably 0.6".

 

[enysse]

I honestly love my Ruger M77 with a bull barrel 26 inches long...it shoots 1" inch groups. Great small antelope gun!

 

[Velo Dog]

I honestly love my Ruger M77 with a bull barrel 26 inches long...it shoots 1" inch groups. Great small antelope gun!

The .243 is a perfect fit for certain game/hunting scenarios.
However, I am too lazy to bring a specialized, extra rifle/caliber to Africa for only a narrow corridor of animals in size.
Some folks like it for impala and I will not try to argue it is too light for them but, I will in fact that it is too light for them when I am the paying client.
So far, the lightest rifle I have used in Africa has been the .30-06 and 220 grain RNSP which is a bit much for some, including impala but my vote is that it is not very much too much, so to speak (if I was a rich as Barry Obama, I'd have a SxS .303 for hunting small antelopes in the thick foliage).
Of the very few pygmy antelope species I have shot, it always happened while just hunting whatever size PG species we could find and hopefully outsmart, not necessarily setting out just to hunt the little ones.
This has resulted in myself being able to promise you here that, a .375 diameter JSP bullet, weighing 300 grains and leaving the muzzle at 2400 fps does very very little meat and skin damage to the tiny ones.
Some folks use a "solid" for this but I have never been that organized so, I have just shot them with the same heavy soft that I used on the larger antelopes as well.
If I lived where there were large herds of America pronghorn or African springbok, I might consider owning a .243 again (best .243 I used to have was a Pre-64 Model 70 in .243).
However, something like the 6.5x55 or 7x57 or 7x64 or my personal favorite long range caliber - the .300 H&H - would be more to my taste for such as pronghorn or springbok hunting.

 

[dsmerrills]

To be dead straight with you, for me a 243 is a great calibre and is deadly accurate due to low recoil thats if you even call it recoil lol, but personally for Namibia, I would recommend something bigger with a bit more knock down power i.e. 6.5 x 55, 270, 7mm, 300 winmag etc.

Take something bigger and not limit yourself to what you can hunt especially after traveling so far.