Try and convince me the 243 is actually useful

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

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

@Flbt
At least Remington didn't advertise the crap out of the 6mm even tho they renamed it a few times to compete with the 243.
Loaded properly it is what the 243 tried to be but never was or will be. It's a pity you couldn't get a 257 Roberts at the time your wife would have fallen in love with it and it's a far better cartridge than any of the 6mills.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

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.

View attachment 699454

Ed Z

@Zinz
That's a very petty ground hog gun, with a nice 70 grainer it would really reach out and smack them but chew up a barrel pretty quickly.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

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

@Jaegerstu
In that short barrel mod 7 velocity would suffer badly. Glad it works for you
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

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

@CoElkHunter
You don't need no silly 270 when you have a 25-06.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

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.

@375Fox
Them's fightin words.
If you own a Whelen the only reason to have a 375 is if'n you is huntin DG. That's only cause the mighty Whelen ain't quite legal. For 98% of game the Whelen will do just fine and dandy. It will do everything the mighty 350 Rigby magnum will do and you know how highly regarded that was.
Nah I'll stick with my Whelen thanks.
Bob

 

[Deepfork]

@CoElkHunter
You don't need no silly 270 when you have a 25-06.
Bob

You should have started a new thread for this one Bob!

I disagree 100%. I own and reload for both. How is a 130 gr Nosler Partition at 3200fps (.270) silly when compared to a 120gr Nosler Partition at 3000fps (25-06). The .270 is a more versatile and simply better med game cartridge than the 25-06.

 

[Wyfox]

They do work, one of my best friends hunts everything with his 243. He's taken 20+ elk with it and countless deer using a 105gr A-Max. My youngest daughter has been very successful with a 6mm creedmoor on mule deer and antelope too with a 105gr A-max.

I'm in the boat of using a 300winmag for most everything, but do find their results interesting.

Here is a podcast on hunting with 6mm Creedmoor on large game, its worth taking the time to listen to "Form's" experience and the last video discusses the EXO Mtn guys killing large Alaskan moose with 6mm's.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I liked my little Remington Model 660 .243. Then again the only critters I killed with it were ground hogs.

It was one of my first rifles that I purchased and started reloading for. IIRC, I reloaded using 100 grain Sierra SP bullets. Every groundhog I killed had pencil pass throughs. The first groundhog I killed I shot it 3 times and about to put a fourth bullet in it when a light puff of wind caused the standing groundhog to fall over. It was dead on the first shot. All bullets went through the groundhog so fast there wasn’t any knock down.

I prefer the 6.8 SPC, or other better calibers, over the .243 (with better bullets) and the .243, 22 Hornet, and 22 mag over a 223/5.56.

 

[Rafiki]

I bought and still have a Browning A-Bolt 243, sweet little rifle. I bought it for South Dakota turkey and Whitetails; great for turkey (head/neck) not so much for Whitetails. Beautiful rifle though.

 

[Jaegerstu]

All good points.

The right tool for the right job. The same hunter who provided the Model 7 preferred a 25-06 for varmit hunting. One should also factor one’s proficiency with the tool for its need. I have known many hunters have hunted any and every species pursued with a single caliber.

I vaguely recall a gentleman named Conner who was very successful with a wide variety of various sized game with a 270(?). (The particulars escape me without during more research. Any clarification would be welcomed)

Proficiency and Preparation maybe the key to applying such a unique tool in question here.

Good times

 

[CoElkHunter]

Well, I hunted with a guy once who told me he had shot six elk over the years with his 6mm Remington using 100gr Core Lokts. I have no reason to doubt him. I hunted once with the brother of a friend who shot his trotting 4x5 elk once at 100yds with a .270 WINCHESTER using a 150gr Core Lokt. Ran 10yds and died. I carried the head out for him. Smaller stuff works with a well placed shot, but I still prefer my .338 WINCHESTER MAGNUM when hunting elk because I just feel more confident and I have Murphy following me all the time when hunting. Of course, a well placed shot is still necessary but the larger caliber and heavier bullet seems to anchor the elk I’ve shot decisively. Just my personal experience.

 

[Scott4030]

My daughter, who is 5’3”, 98lbs on a good day likes her Wby Camilla in .243 shooting 85gr TSX at 3200ft per second and has killed several pigs and deer, all with one shot. In Africa next year she will be shooting a Tikka T3x Compact in 7mm-08.

 

[Jaegerstu]

I liked my little Remington Model 660 .243. Then again the only critters I killed with it were ground hogs.

It was one of my first rifles that I purchased and started reloading for. IIRC, I reloaded using 100 grain Sierra SP bullets. Every groundhog I killed had pencil pass throughs. The first groundhog I killed I shot it 3 times and about to put a fourth bullet in it when a light puff of wind caused the standing groundhog to fall over. It was dead on the first shot. All bullets went through the groundhog so fast there wasn’t any knock down.

I prefer the 6.8 SPC, or other better calibers, over the .243 (with better bullets) and the .243, 22 Hornet, and 22 mag over a 223/5.56.

I have 660 chambered in 308, retired in the Gun Safe. This was my primary Whitetail gun for several years.

Good Times

 

[RedTag]

My simple way of conceptualizing this:
Hunting coyotes with the .243 Winchester is kind of like hunting deer and elk with the .338 Winchester Magnum. It may be a bit more than you really need. But who cares?
Hunting deer and elk with the .243 Winchester is kind of like hunting dangerous game with the .338 Winchester Magnum. You can do it. But should you?
Better options exist with more substantial bullet mass and only modest increases in recoil, in either of the latter scenarios.
I’ve seen numerous deer killed with the .243 Winchester, but I wouldn’t choose it. There may be some people who, due to their diminutive stature or disability, are physically unable to tolerate any greater recoil. In these limited circumstances, the .243 Winchester utilized with careful consideration for bullet selection and accuracy may be considered acceptable.

 

[roklok]

I have two .243s, and greatly admire the cartridge. One is a Remington 700 ADL made in the late 80s, I bought brand new in 1992. I have killed turkeys, deer, and hundreds (500+) of woodchucks with that rifle. Its favorite woodchuck load is a 70 grain ballistic tip at 3400 FPS. My second is a rare 700 Mountain rifle .243 also made in the late 80s. It has racked up quite a pile (20+) of blacktail deer here in Alaska, it simply works, and works very well. It is a lithe quick handling little rifle with a Leupold compact 2-7 on top. The 243 with good loads is a very effective tool for eastern whitetails and blacktails. I have never lost a deer shot with a .243, all have been shot with 100 grain Nosler Partition handloads or 100 grain Hornady Light Magnum factory ammo. In fact generally the deer kills have been more dramatic than a 30-06 with 180 grain bullets.

 

[CZDiesel]

It’s one hell of a Whitetail Deer cartridge! Countless of them have met their maker from a 243 Win! Great cartridge for light and medium big game…

 

[rdog]

I own 3 6mm rifles a 6mm ARC a 243 Ackley improved & a 240 Weatherby used with 100 grain bullets the 243 AI & the 240 WM will kill any medium game, easy to shoot low recoil, the 6MM ARC is an outstanding varmint rifle with 70 to 80 grain bullets. For big pigs i mostly use a bigger caliber rifle.

 

[CBH Australia]

No, I am not going to try and convince Bob.

I do honestly believe that the .243win is a good chambering for Australia.

In many areas the pigs aren’t that big so it has taken plenty of of pigs by numerous people.

I do like the 7mm-08 and think it should have a better following in Australia.

I believe the .243 is adequate for Fallow deer and these might be the most prevalent of our deer species or most widespread variety.

I expect it would go fine on Chital. It would have taken many goats over many years before some other newer cartridges became more mainstream.

We have a few isolated populations of Hog deer and the .243 would be a serious contender pursuing Hog deer.

I think our Dingoes and Wild Dog hybrids are smaller than Coyotes so it will take dogs without question.

No one is shooting foxes for skins now but Victoria take scalps. So damaging fur bearers isn’t a concern.

Cats, feral cats are fair game for any ethical kill so tearing them up is fine as long as they are dead. Smaller cartridges are fine in the right place and cats can be killed with a .22lr . As long as they are dead.

No reason it can’t be a Varmint cartridge. There are maybe more .223’s, .22-250s and .308s in the mix than .243’s

I think it’s a good option for a youth or female shooter who wants to shoot accurately with a bit more ooomph than a .223.

The .223 takes pigs, goats and deer everyday all over Australia so there is no reason to dismiss the .243

Oh, not to mention it’s one of those cartridges that you can find everywhere.

What’s not to like?

 

[Sideshow]

@Bob Nelson 35Whelen I learnt long ago never argue with the anti’s your just wasting your breath. Our as my good wife says “ I don’t have the time nor the crayons to explain it to you”! But I’m here to wind em up

 

[Sideshow]

You will be pleased to hear that the UK has effectively banned them from 2029 with the upcoming lead ammo ban. So might be able to export a few towards your shores.

Edit: it has to do with bullet weight on game. The copper stuff you need to drop down in weight.
In all seriousness I never had issues with it. Took plenty of reds. All close range stuff in thick bush. If I was to go back to NZ I have the BLR waiting for me. But I’d be inclined to re barrel that to 358. Just because it’s different.