Try and convince me the 243 is actually useful

[TOBY458]

If you don’t like huge blood trails and dead deer, DO NOT USE a 243! It’s all about the bullet mate!

Having been raised by a confirmed small caliber man, the 243 and 22/250 were used extensively on our whitetail deer and pigs. As my dad would say, just put it in the boiler room son!

Just think… it could be your destiny Bob. Your name in lights…Bob Nelson 243Whelen.

 

[MS 9x56]

Ow Bob you know as well as I that the 243 is a good caliber for keeping rodents and rabbits out of your garden. Then it makes a serviceable tomoatoe stake

 

[Boone66]

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

The 6mm rem seems to be the sweet spot, as well as the 240 way, for deer and goats. My dad had a 6mm Mohawk, that he killed a lot of deer with and I had a 240wby that I used for Pd, coyotes and antelope. The 243 just doesn't seem to have the gas for every situation on deer.

 

[rookhawk]

@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. Unfortunately this has tainted my view of the 243 and I now regard it as the best wounding calibre ever invented.
I know a lot of cartridges could fall into the same category when not used correctly but unfortunately my experience with the 243 and the people that use it hasn't been favourable.
Loaded with a projectile to match the game I probably works quite well but I don't know because I refused to acknowledge it as useful because of my experience of others using it
Bob

@Bob Nelson 35Whelen My opinion of the 243 is "pretty good" but its certainly not how I prefer a rifle to kill.

There are two concepts of how a weapon delivers lethality:

1.) Heavy for caliber bullets operating at moderate speed, dumping all its energy in the animal while maximizing "hang time" to encourage more trauma. Examples of this concept include: 6.5x55SE, 7x57, 257 Bob, 35 Whelen, 300HH, 450-400, 404J, and 470NE.

2.) The Roy Weatherby philosophy that "speed kills". You move any bullet fast enough, you're killing with a gas bubble (hydrostatic shock and sheer), even more if the bullet has insane mass and energy, you may kill an animal from major vessels reversing flow from that hydro effect causing an instant stroke. 460Wby, 458 Lott, 450 Rigby, 300 Weatherby are very good examples of this effect.

The challenge with the 243 is it is much closer in kind to a 257 weatherby than it is to a 6.5x54MS. If it runs out of energy you're going to have problems. In addition to maintaining its energy, it absolutely is essential that the bullet efficiently opens and maintains integrity so that you're killing with hydrostatic effects, not with grain weight.

IF I was ever to give any nod to Roy Weatherby's concept for any calibers, it would be the 243 and the 257Wby. At least they have manageable recoil for the work that they do. As you scale up the size of the caliber beyond these I believe you enter an area of diminishing returns. An example: would you rather have a 340Wby or a 375HH since they have similar energy and recoil? The annals of hunting history suggest the slower, heavier bullet from the 375HH does better.

Obviously I'm very biased to "category 1" ballistics even though I've guided a lot of kids effectively with a .243.

 

[DillonG]

.243 has been a favorite round for coyote tournaments on the AR-10 platform.

 

[BonUm16]

For the .243 advocates, would you consider a 100gr Nosler Partition a good choice for a 120lb Whitetail?

 

[deewayne2003]

Obviously I'm very biased to "category 1" ballistics even though I've guided a lot of kids effectively with a .243.

I agree with @rookhawk statement.

I've guided many kids during the Oklahoma dedicated youth weekend and 90% of them showed up for their very first deer hunt with a .243 and I am yet to have lost a deer with that round.... on youth hunts.

Where things get dicey is in ammo selection and this is where I developed my hatred for Core-lokts that have lead to some lengthy tracking jobs and even with bonded ammo we didn't get passthroughs even on 150lbs doe.

I much prefer a first time hunter having a .257Rob or 7mm-08.

If the kid didn't have their own rifle then I have a dedicated pair of Ruger 77MKII stainless with one in .22lr to get them to squared away with fundamentals and once they can break a clay pigeon @50yds with that I moved them up to the .30-06 with the now discontinued Federal LITE 170gr Fusion.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

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

Its killed a lot of deer in SC, NC and Georgia. It's also a good Antelope round.

 

[TOBY458]

For the .243 advocates, would you consider a 100gr Nosler Partition a good choice for a 120lb Whitetail?

Absolutely.

 

[TOBY458]

I agree with @rookhawk statement.

I've guided many kids during the Oklahoma dedicated youth weekend and 90% of them showed up for their very first deer hunt with a .243 and I am yet to have lost a deer with that round.... on youth hunts.

Where things get dicey is in ammo selection and this is where I developed my hatred for Core-lokts that have lead to some lengthy tracking jobs and even with bonded ammo we didn't get passthroughs even on 150lbs doe.

I much prefer a first time hunter having a .257Rob or 7mm-08.

If the kid didn't have their own rifle then I have a dedicated pair of Ruger 77MKII stainless with one in .22lr to get them to squared away with fundamentals and once they can break a clay pigeon @50yds with that I moved them up to the .30-06 with the now discontinued Federal LITE 170gr Fusion.

I agree. Remington Core Lokt isn’t what it used to be. They’re extremely soft these days. I’ve had them blow up on the shoulder of a deer with a 30/06 and a 270. The only damage done was a big crater in the meat. Both deer required a second shot.
I’ve actually had similar results with Federal Fushion. It seems to me that a good bonded or solid copper bullet eliminates this problem, but don’t do as much internal damage, so tracking can take a little longer. I’m ok with that.

 

[KCSafari]

243 is a great cartridge for young or beginner hunters. I hunted about 300 animals between ages 6-12 with it. Most kudu, bwb, impala, warthog….
It teaches you shot placement and discipline. Teaches you to pass up on monster animals when you do not have a “good” shot and that is a lesson ever good hunter should know. Now that I’m older I don’t hunt with an 243 anymore but I still practice the same type of safe shot placement even with larger calibers. Was a great introduction rifle for me and many others.

 

[Flbt]

For the .243 advocates, would you consider a 100gr Nosler Partition a good choice for a 120lb Whitetail?

I am not a 243 but a 6mm Remington
And yea I would say it’s ok.
Seining as we been using 80gr bullets for years

 

[Don458]

I am not a 243 but a 6mm Remington
And yea I would say it’s ok.
Seining as we been using 80gr bullets for years

The 6mm Rem originally was a 1-12” twist. They tried to get the best of both worlds (varmit /Deer) . If they produced it with a 1-10” or Faster and promoted it, the 243 may not have been introduced or invented. Both came out in 55 I believe. May not stabilize bullets over 90 gr

 

[Flbt]

The 6mm Rem originally was a 1-12” twist. They tried to get the best of both worlds (varmit /Deer) . If they produced it with a 1-10” or Faster and promoted it, the 243 may not have been introduced or invented. Both came out in 55 I believe. May not stabilize bullets over 90 gr

The 244 rem is the one with the fast twist
When they renamed it the 6mm rem they came out with a 1-9 twist If i remember right

From old guns and ammo mags they said the 243 was a deer rifle that could be used as a varmit rifle
And that the 244 was a varmit rifle that could be used on deer

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I’ve shot many impala & reedbuck (amongst other smaller African species) with the .243 Winchester and 100Gr Winchester Super X Power Points. My friend retired Rhodesian game ranger, Ken Worseley has shot over 300 impala for stations rations with an issued BRNO ZKK601 chambered in .243 Winchester (loaded with the 100Gr Norma Oryx soft point).

I’ve never had a problem. Neither has he. Ken’s tally is rather impressive. In over 300 head of impala shot between 1976 until his retirement in 1984, only two have required a second bullet.

 

[BGGMKLR]

I had a LH Tikka in 243 some years ago...never an issue. A handful of Colombia Blacktails, two Mule Deer, (none shot twice) and 39 Coyotes to it's credit.
Never sent a single pill downrange that wasn't named 100 gr Nosler Partition.
Cheers
Spike

 

[Flewis]

Bob: stop making fun of the little 243. I know your mama told you to not pick on the handicapped.

 

[Sketchy1973]

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?

 

[Sketchy1973]

30 years ago I bought my mother a .243 to replace he 30-30. She is maybe 5 ft tall and 125lbs at best. No one, will out shoot her on opening day of Wisconsin deer hunting. Anything within 250 yards of her deer stand is dead. 100gn Nosler Partitions will knock a whitetail on its ass. I'm fairly sure she wants to be buried with that rifle for the after life. Anyone who thinks a 243 is good for anything is smoking crack.

 

[thriller]

" Anyone who thinks a 243 is good for anything is smoking crack."

Well thanks for the no vote for the 243. I just think that there are at least 100 better mouse traps. you can kill a deer with a 22lr it doesn't make it the best choice.