Try and convince me the 243 is actually useful

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

As everyone knows is absolutely hate the 243 because if have seen to much game wounded with it by people using the wrong projectiles for the game hunted. Also seen a lot of game just wounded by good shots with projectiles that were supposed to be ideal for the game hunted. Eg a 100gn Remington core lockt factory round put into the ribcage of a fallow deer. One deer died quickly the other with the same shot placement and same factory load run off never to be seen again.
I have reloaded this cartridge for people and have never attained the book velocities.
80gn max load 2,900-3100 fps
95gn SST max load 2,800fps
100grainer max load 2,700-2,800 fps
To me this round fails to live up to all the hype. To big for small game and not really big enough for medium big game.
I know there are people out there that love the 243 but I'm not one of them.
There's also people that say they use it for culling and it works well with head shots for that. Well a baseball bat to the he'd will do the same job.
This could be quite interesting to see some of the reasons why I should stop bagging out the prissy little 243 and see if I can refute some of the so called claims.
Let's keep it respectful but still have some fun and good humoured bantering.
Bob

 

[Zinz]

I’m with you, Bob. I started out with a Win Model 70 in .243, shooting tiny Hill Country Texas deer. I quickly graduated to a .308. I’m not a fan of the .243 for anything bigger than a jack rabbit.

I do still have a custom .243. Put together by Pennsylvania ‘smith, Paul Jaeger, it’s a heavy barrel on a Sako L579 action and Canjar set trigger. I had done nothing but shoot paper with it till last Spring where I shot prairie dogs near Lubbock. It worked very well in that scenario.

My guess is Jaeger built it as a Rock Chuck gun.

Ed Z

 

[Flbt]

As everyone knows is absolutely hate the 243 because if have seen to much game wounded with it by people using the wrong projectiles for the game hunted. Also seen a lot of game just wounded by good shots with projectiles that were supposed to be ideal for the game hunted. Eg a 100gn Remington core lockt factory round put into the ribcage of a fallow deer. One deer died quickly the other with the same shot placement and same factory load run off never to be seen again.
I have reloaded this cartridge for people and have never attained the book velocities.
80gn max load 2,900-3100 fps
95gn SST max load 2,800fps
100grainer max load 2,700-2,800 fps
To me this round fails to live up to all the hype. To big for small game and not really big enough for medium big game.
I know there are people out there that love the 243 but I'm not one of them.
There's also people that say they use it for culling and it works well with head shots for that. Well a baseball bat to the he'd will do the same job.
This could be quite interesting to see some of the reasons why I should stop bagging out the prissy little 243 and see if I can refute some of the so called claims.
Let's keep it respectful but still have some fun and good humoured bantering.
Bob

I am not a 243 fan I was looking at buying one when I was 13.
I remember the load a Winchester yellow box it was 55gr silver tip.
I shot at a quart canning jar nothing. I shot again nothing. The seller said I had to be missing the rifle was sighted in so he shot and nothing
So we walked down range there was 3 holes in it the jar was spider web cracked and there was powder lead in the jar.
Crazy I know but there is still a living witness.
The only thing o can come up with is the bullets just came apart. Idk
Needless to say I did not buy the rifle
Kinda wish I did now it was a model 70.

 

[Red Leg]

Not you. obviously.

On the other hand, my son shot his first half dozen deer with one. Worked perfectly. Hoping for a grandchild and he will start out on that .243.

I personally currently prefer either the .270 or the 7x65R for North American Deer. But I could switch to a .243 and with the right bullet do just as well.

 

[Red Leg]

I am not a 243 fan I was looking at buying one when I was 13.
I remember the load a Winchester yellow box it was 55gr silver tip.
I shot at a quart canning jar nothing. I shot again nothing. The seller said I had to be missing the rifle was sighted in so he shot and nothing
So we walked down range there was 3 holes in it the jar was spider web cracked and there was powder lead in the jar.
Crazy I know but there is still a living witness.
The only thing o can come up with is the bullets just came apart. Idk
Needless to say I did not buy the rifle
Kinda wish I did now it was a model 70.

Probably not.

The 55 gr. .243 load was sold as a violently expanding varmint round. It typically would have detonated a quart canning jar. But then, I have not lived in every parallel universe.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

It’s well liked around here as a coyote rifle.

 

[Longwalker]

I had a .243 for years, first a nice little Savage 99 lever action that was fun to shoot but not very accurate, and later a well made and very accurate Sako Forester L579.
I shot a lot of targets very properly with a variety of loads in that wonderful Sako. But while hunting deer I didn't like to carry it in thick bush where a rear-angling shot might be necessary with our rather large northern Whitetail and Mule deer. I did shoot a few deer with it and found it adequate, just barely. But my matching twin Sako Forester L579 .308 was better at odd-angle lethal hits and gave me more confidence.
And I carried the .243 for coyotes, which at the time were valuable fur bearers, not just pests. It tore coyotes in half while killing them much too enthusiastically. Wasting valuable pelts in the process.
So I sold the rifle, and now prefer to hunt deer with a .25-06 (or bigger cartridge) which I have full confidence in. And I like a .222 or .223 for fur harvesting. Quick kills and seldom get craters or exit holes in the hides if I use the appropriate bullets.

 

[Uncharted_NT]

Totally agree. Too small for big stuff and too big for small stuff. Never been a fan.

 

[Doug3006]

I’m puzzled by the negative opinions about the .243 as a deer cartridge. I’ve killed many deer with the several I’ve owned using near any 100 grain bullet. The only negative view I have regarding this cartridge is when using it on varmints and fur bearers. Just too much poop for critters that size, even with the 85 grainers.

Where are these Goliath-sized deer y’all are hunting that are impervious to 6mm bullets at 2,900 fps? I’ll have to hunt them someday.

 

[Flbt]

As everyone knows is absolutely hate the 243 because if have seen to much game wounded with it by people using the wrong projectiles for the game hunted. Also seen a lot of game just wounded by good shots with projectiles that were supposed to be ideal for the game hunted. Eg a 100gn Remington core lockt factory round put into the ribcage of a fallow deer. One deer died quickly the other with the same shot placement and same factory load run off never to be seen again.
I have reloaded this cartridge for people and have never attained the book velocities.
80gn max load 2,900-3100 fps
95gn SST max load 2,800fps
100grainer max load 2,700-2,800 fps
To me this round fails to live up to all the hype. To big for small game and not really big enough for medium big game.
I know there are people out there that love the 243 but I'm not one of them.
There's also people that say they use it for culling and it works well with head shots for that. Well a baseball bat to the he'd will do the same job.
This could be quite interesting to see some of the reasons why I should stop bagging out the prissy little 243 and see if I can refute some of the so called claims.
Let's keep it respectful but still have some fun and good humoured bantering.
Bob

Now you know I like the 6mm rem
And really it’s just a little faster than the 243 I really don’t know if it’s enough to make any difference.
The first one I got was for my wife because the 7x57 I had as a small rifle kicked to much for her. At that time I was mostly using a 45-70 or 338.
Any way a year or so went buy. I had a few health issues and tore up my shoulder.
Well I used her rifle. And one of the biggest deer that’s been taken on the farm came out.
He dropped just as fast as any hit with the 338.
Well I used it when she was not killed a few deer with it no problem.
Turkey season came I didn’t want to use a 12 so used it ( legal here)
It worked.
My wife and kids then got me a m2 in 6 mm for Father’s Day.
My wife had been using 80gr corlock out of the old green and white box.
I used hornday 90 or 95 gr superfoance. Then the 80gr federal blue box load.
I had a run of 29 one shot drops on deer and hogs turkey and a few coyotes.
I used it for crop depredation use
I know it’s counted for over 200 deer and probably close to 300 hogs unknown coyotes and somewhere near 20 turkeys
All most all with one shot.
But I take high shoulder shots on deer and try hart shots on the hogs that I hunt like that

Lisa has had a good run with hers to.

So we have had luck with the 243 bigger brother.
Is it the size of most of our deer that plays apart it very well could be. Especially the depredation there were a lot of does and young in that. Also shot placement.
Hogs are hogs and I had one bullet start to open in the fat but it center punched the heart.

Now I don’t regret the 6mm at all.
But if I would have had the same chance when I got her rifle to have gotten a 257 Robert I would have got it instead.
But that’s not what was available
She loves her 6 and doesn’t want anything else

If the bear season does come about. As much as I like the 6 and believe it would work with a good 100gr
More than likely it will be the 358 Winchester in my hand

 

[Jaegerstu]

I harvested a Pronghorn Antelope with a Remington Model 7 chambered in 243. The rounds were hand loaded and the rifle was sighted in at two hundred yards. The Antelope dropped where it was standing. The gun belonged to a friend who lived in Montana at the time an invited to hunt north of Great Falls. The weapon belonged to my friend. The gun and ammunition had a track record of killing prairie dogs and antelope long before my success. Good Times

 

[375Ruger416]

I had a Tikka compact in 243 and sold it. It had a 20” barrel and was intended to be a first rifle for my kids. However, my step-daughter lost interest in hunting and my boys are both L eye dominant so it went down the road.

It was a fantastic shooting rifle and very handy to carry. However, I have come to be a heavy for caliber fan at modest (2600 to 3000 fps) muzzle velocity and have a Tikka 6.5 CM for my boys first hunting rifle. The 243 did cleanly kill the one deer I shot with it using 95gr SST.

A few observations - a 20” barrel is suboptimum for a 243 IMO. A 24 or 26” barrel is better. A 243 depends upon high velocity to be effective with those lightweight bullets. I agree with Bob - it does too much fur damage for predator hunting and is inadequate for game larger than deer IMO. For my money, I’d rather have a 25-06 for a varmint/deer rifle or a 7mm-08, 6.5 CM, 270 or similar for a first big game rifle. YMMV.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Not you. obviously.

On the other hand, my son shot his first half dozen deer with one. Worked perfectly. Hoping for a grandchild and he will start out on that .243.

I personally currently prefer either the .270 or the 7x65R for North American Deer. But I could switch to a .243 and with the right bullet do just as well.

No, stay with the .270 WINCHESTER or a .25-06 REMINGTON. Just my humble opinion.

 

[wesheltonj]

I’ve shot and killed a lot of white tail with one. But I do use a 308 for about the last 20 years. My daughter has killed 1 white tail with a 243. I purchased a 7-08 for her to have a little more horsepower. But of course, she does not hunt anymore so the 7-08 sits new in box in my closet. My father shot an even more white tail then I have with one, but he used a 270 for the last 40 years of hunting. He swore that the 243 was the best pronghorn round.

 

[Flbt]

Probably not.

The 55 gr. .243 load was sold as a violently expanding varmint round. It typically would have detonated a quart canning jar. But then, I have not lived in every parallel universe.

That’s why I said there is a live witness.
Don’t really expect you or really any one else to believe it.
I was there and still have no explanation on why it didn’t leave the jar in a shower of glass.
It happened and it is what gave me the out look on some times strange things happen with guns.
It is unbelievable.

 

[Longwalker]

Doug3006, An average mature Saskatchewan whitetail buck weighs about 180 lbs field dressed with hide and head on. ( approx. 230 lbs live) The biggest I ever shot and also weighed was 260 lbs field dressed, (approx. 330 lbs live) but I've seen several bigger. None of them are impervious to .243 bullets, but Saskatchewan bucks do appear to be near the upper limit of the capabilities of the .243 in my experience.

 

[Doug3006]

Doug3006, An average mature Saskatchewan whitetail buck weighs about 180 lbs field dressed with hide and head on. ( approx. 230 lbs live) The biggest I ever shot and also weighed was 260 lbs field dressed, (approx. 330 lbs live) but I've seen several bigger. None of them are impervious to .243 bullets, but Saskatchewan bucks do appear to be near the upper limit of the capabilities of the .243 in my experience.

I’ve seen, but not hunted, several of those Saskatchewan and Manitoba bruisers. Three hundred pounds is a lot of deer for sure! I’d definitely bring a 30-06 or my much loved 300 H&H if I were hunting one. But, if my rifle got stuck in transit and the guide had a .243, I’d go hunting. It’s marginal, but on the right side of the margin.

 

[Deepfork]

I own a Winchester M70 in .243 I have owned for over 40 years. I killed a lot of deer with it back in the day and never had a issue with it when my shot was properly placed.

These days I don't use it for anything larger than coyotes. I load a 70 gr Speer HP to a tick over 3700fps from a 22 in barrel. Great varmint medicine!

 

[BJH65]

With the right bullet it’ll work fine on medium to small size deer with proper shot placement, however my Ruger 243 is pretty much regulated to varmint control duty using Winchester 58 grain bullets at 3850 FPS, pretty explosive on rock chucks. Since we moved to Oklahoma, it’s been my coyote rifle. If I were forced to use a 243 on one of those huge Canadian whitetail bucks, I’d beg to use factory Federal 100 grain Nosler Partitions and a perfect broadside shot into the heart/lung area.

 

[375Fox]

Using a 243 is kind of like using a 35 Whelen instead of a 375 H&H . . .

I like my 243 at the range. It’s a nice little model 70 featherweight, but I always find myself going for the 270 instead of the 243 for deer. I’ve never killed anything with it, but it holds some sentimental value because I remember my grandpa hunting with the rifle. The right bullets a reasonable ranges I can’t see anything wrong with the caliber for deer if I do decide to use it.