Try and convince me the 243 is actually useful

[mdwest]

@rookhawk
The problems I see with the 243 are mainly caused by people not using the right projectiles for the game hunted resulting in a lot of wounded game.

I think that is the absolute core of the problem...

its not the cartridge.. its the monkey shooting it..

no different than guys now trying to convince others that the 22 ARC is suitable for elk.. because someone happened to kill one with it..

you just have to know the limitations and capabilities of the rifle and ammo combination you are carrying.. if Ive got a 243 with me with a 100gr soft point load, its just fine for a SW Texas whitetail.. it will absolutely kill it effectively if the bullet is put where it belongs..

but.. when a big blue nilgai bull walks out on you and you really wished you brought your 30-06 with you instead (which many would claim is still marginal for a nilgai).. you have to know to pass and not try the shot..

many years ago I killed a 588lb feral hog in texas with a 243... I intended on "meat" hunting that day and was purposely targeting 100lb pigs and smaller, so all I brought with me was the "kids" 243.. and as murphy would have it, right at the break of daylight, the biggest pig I'd ever seen in the wild stepped out on me..

the key to that story is I 100000% knew the 243 with the 100gr load I was shooting was absolutely inappropriate for a broadside on this pig.. so I made the conscious decision to head shoot him (I didnt want to pass on the biggest pig I had ever seen)... it was a close shot (75 +/- yards) from a stable position (inside a blind, from a rest).. and I was able to literally drop the bullet right between his eyes.. while he faced me head on... he lurched forward maybe 2-3' when he was hit and rolled over.. he might have kicked for 3-4 seconds tops..

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

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?

@CBH Australia
I respect your opinion Chris but a lot of pigs and goats are just wounded by the 223 as well.
I have seen coyote nd they aren't as big as some of our old cross breed dogs. The last two dogs I shot were with my little K Hornet and 40gn VMax just behind the shoulder t around 150 yards. They never moved off the spot.
To me the 243 makes a fine and dandy small to medium pest control round where pelt damage is of little concern. For smaller medium game such as goats and smaller pigs I can see a use when loaded with the CORRECT PROJECTILES. A big fallow buck in the rut can get Big very big and to me when hunting them they deserve bigger than a 243 for when Murphy steps in.
For a new shooter there's better cartridges around that will work better. The 243 is a noisy little SOB in a 20-22" tube that can put some people off despite it's mild recoil. Noise is a bigger factor than recoil to younger shooters.
It's a pity the old 250 Savage isn't more popular. Does everything and more than the 243 without all the NOISE. Dang even the old big stant 25-303 still working well on game without the fanfare.
The ily thing I'll give the 243 is ammo is available anywhere.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The point is I didnt use it, and I dont have it! All done without it!

@mark-hunter
Maybe someone could lend you a 243 for your next buffalo hunt and you can do a report on it when you get out of hospital after being stomped and gored.
Just saying but seriously I wouldn't like to see you hurt.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I think that is the absolute core of the problem...

its not the cartridge.. its the monkey shooting it..

no different than guys now trying to convince others that the 22 ARC is suitable for elk.. because someone happened to kill one with it..

you just have to know the limitations and capabilities of the rifle and ammo combination you are carrying.. if Ive got a 243 with me with a 100gr soft point load, its just fine for a SW Texas whitetail.. it will absolutely kill it effectively if the bullet is put where it belongs..

but.. when a big blue nilgai bull walks out on you and you really wished you brought your 30-06 with you instead (which many would claim is still marginal for a nilgai).. you have to know to pass and not try the shot..

many years ago I killed a 588lb feral hog in texas with a 243... I intended on "meat" hunting that day and was purposely targeting 100lb pigs and smaller, so all I brought with me was the "kids" 243.. and as murphy would have it, right at the break of daylight, the biggest pig I'd ever seen in the wild stepped out on me..

the key to that story is I 100000% knew the 243 with the 100gr load I was shooting was absolutely inappropriate for a broadside on this pig.. so I made the conscious decision to head shoot him (I didnt want to pass on the biggest pig I had ever seen)... it was a close shot (75 +/- yards) from a stable position (inside a blind, from a rest).. and I was able to literally drop the bullet right between his eyes.. while he faced me head on... he lurched forward maybe 2-3' when he was hit and rolled over.. he might have kicked for 3-4 seconds tops..

@mdwest
Sage advice
Match bullet to game
Knowledge and shot placement will usually work well.
Know your limits and your rifles limit.
This is important regardless of calibre be it 22lr thru to 500+ cals
Bob

 

[Rem280]

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 have seen deer gut shot with 300 win mag, hogs with 30/30, etc that got lost. Just buy a 50 bmg to prevent any game from getting away.

 

[rdog]

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

My first new center fire rifle in 1964 was a 243 win M98, i was 17 bought it at lunch break from work & took it home on a bus rapped in brown paper no body turned a hair , must have been before guns turned evil
to day the SWAT team would turn up. my Father had a Win 94 30/30 we shot lots of pigs together in those days Dad called the 243 the cannon , shot every thing with that rifle with 80 grain bullets i did not realize the 243 was marginal, untill i fell in love with a 6.5x55 M98 FN i often wish i still had those rifles.

 

[meigsbucks]

I haven’t shot much with a .243, with the exception of groundhogs and coyotes. I took an exotic goat at 70yds with a 100gr Hornady (DRT), a whitetail at 125 yds (DRT) and an antelope (ran about 40yds) at 300 yds, both with 100gr Sierra SBT. Even with those successes, I prefer the .257 Roberts on up.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I won't try to convince you that a .243 is a great round because it isn't a caliber that I care much about one way or the other.

However, why do so many people ascribe mythical abilities to animals to escape death to support their dislike for certain calibers? You will hear people say things like, "I have seen many great (or perfect, or good) shots on animals with X caliber and they didn't die!" No you didn't. We are all aware that you can kill deer with bow and arrow, right?

A double lung shot deer or a heart shot deer is going to die 99.9%+ of the time no matter what you shot it with. So, if you saw a deer that someone made a "great shot" on with a .243 and it didn't die, you didn't see a "great shot". You saw a marginal shot (at best), or your buddy told you it was a "great shot", and your confirmation bias helped you blame the caliber.

@Sabre
When you see wounds caused by bullets blowing up before penetration or drilling holes thru an animal like a solid instead of a soft points, that tells me something is wrong somewhere. To me that is not matching the hatch to the catch.
Yes it can happen with any high velocity calibre but to me it just seems more prevalent in the 243 for some reason. As you said may not be a cartridge issue but more a shooter issue.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I've had great success on animals up to caribou in the 257 WM using 100 grain Nosler partitions & Barnes coppers out to 400 yards.

But in my opinion the .257 will never be a .277 with a 140 grain bullet.

@ftrovato
I would never want my 25 to be a 270.
If'n I want to go bigger than the 25 I just go to the 35 Whelen. I own nothing in between.
Tried the 270, didn't like it. Sure it killed game but it did nothing for me so it became my Whelen.
If'n I need to shoot a long ways out and still have enough punch for deer or pigs or goats there's no flies in a 100gn TTSX at over 3,600fps.dead in hold to 400 and a backline hold will take me out to over 450 when and if I ever need to.
As you have realised what's not to love about a fast 25 with a good bullet.
A mate uses my case design for the 25 and loves the 80 outer edge mono at just a shade under 3,900 fps. He loves long range shooting and that combination gives one hole 100yd groups and gets way out there there before you can blink.
Bob

 

[375er]

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

This is a trap!! Do not answer this!!!!

 

[ftrovato]

@ftrovato
I would never want my 25 to be a 270.
If'n I want to go bigger than the 25 I just go to the 35 Whelen. I own nothing in between.
Tried the 270, didn't like it. Sure it killed game but it did nothing for me so it became my Whelen.
If'n I need to shoot a long ways out and still have enough punch for deer or pigs or goats there's no flies in a 100gn TTSX at over 3,600fps.dead in hold to 400 and a backline hold will take me out to over 450 when and if I ever need to.
As you have realised what's not to love about a fast 25 with a good bullet.
A mate uses my case design for the 25 and loves the 80 outer edge mono at just a shade under 3,900 fps. He loves long range shooting and that combination gives one hole 100yd groups and gets way out there there before you can blink.
Bob

There are no flies on the 257 & it gets it done near and far with little hold over & little recoil!

In the hands of a shooter that understands the ballistic it's like touching an animal with a lightning bolt!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

This is a trap!! Do not answer this!!!!

@375er
No mate just trying to figure out what the attraction is with the 243.
Seems almost as many people don't like as those that like it.
Personally as you know I fall into the don't like camp.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

There are no flies on the 257 & it gets it done near and far with little hold over & little recoil!

In the hands of a shooter that understands the ballistic it's like touching an animal with a lightning bolt!

@ftrovato
As Nathan from ballistic studies says
The 25s seem to kill way out of proportion to there size and seem to result in quicker kills.
He has no answer to this phenomenon.
Bob

 

[Ridge Runner]

@Bob Nelson 35Whelen, and @CBH Australia...

Well it looks like that was cleared up before I could post my comment.

So here's a new one. Regardless of one's preference for any caliber the rules ought to be simple:

1. Intended game, other game available in the given area.
2. Location, terrain, type of vegetation
3. Shooting distances
4. Best caliber choice
5. Best bullet choice
6. Practice, Practice, Practice, and Practice more. Know your and your choice of firearm limitations.
7. Always use and choose common sense and ethics over the tape measure/record book.

But then again What's wrong with a little debate.