Try and convince me the 243 is actually useful

[cash_tx]

@cash_tx —- are they “really” reintroducing the 5.7 Hemi in 2026? I hope so, otherwise I’ve got to keep my 2020 Ram (which I love) until I draw my last breath ! I’ve owned a 2004 F150 and 2014 Silverado and liked both - the 150 was lucky to get 16 mpg highway, the Silverado got 22-23 mpgs, but the Ram gets 21-22mpgs and the ride & quiet is better then any car, limo, SUV, or truck I’ve ever driven. Why Ram ever got rid of the proven Hemi???

I believe so. Ram even went so far as to film a commercial that said, "We get it. You all want the Hemi, so we're bringing it back".

PS - sorry for the bunny trail on this thread.

 

[Ragman]

Well Bob, if I have learned anything over the years is that you can’t convince anyone one of anything once they’ve made up their mind on a subject. And right off I know for a fact that you probably know far more about ballistics than I do and I don’t doubt that you’ve seen what you have.
I also know what I know from my own experiences and those of my family, friends and clients that I guided for whitetails back in the 90s. I know what I’ve seen my wife and father do to whitetails with the .243 (even though my wife has graduated to my 7mmRM since 2020). I have actually shot only one whitetail buck with a .243 but that’s mainly because I’d rather use one of my other rifles. Since my wife stopped using it in favour of my 7RM I have sold it. Still I would confidently use a .243 with 100 grain bullets out to 200 yards on our Saskatchewan whitetails and mule deer. And they are significantly larger than Aussie fallow deer and goats (which I would love to hunt one day)! Then again maybe Aussie’s are just tougher than us Canucks!
It’s the only calibre that my goddaughter hunts with, mostly Northern whitetails, but she has also killed a yearling bull moose, a spike elk and a 150 pound black bear with it. But her father is probably the best hunter that I know and nobody ever told her it was too small.
Many people will say that a .30-30 is too small for moose, but the next time I draw a tag for one that’s the rifle I plan on using. I know that if I get to where I can confidently hit where I am aiming with iron sights, the moose will die quickly. At least that’s my plan for now.
I have always preferred heavier bullets at moderate speed over lighter faster bullets and I’ve often wondered if there are heavier than 100 grain bullets for the .243? I don’t handload so don’t know about these things.
Anyhoo there we are. I would never force my opinions on anyone least of all someone with more ballistic knowledge than me!
Here is my one and only .243 deer.

 

[Flbt]

@Flbt
Did you hear the one about the American cowboy.
His boss told him to get along little Doogie
So the cowboy bought hissef a dachshund.

Some people ain't real bright.
Bob

Since you don’t like the 243
And I really am not sure if the extra 100-150 fps mater with the 6.
How about you try the 240 weatherbey it’s still a 6 but what 500 fps faster? Get a fast twist barrel and use 105-108 gr and maybe a 115gr
Lol
Or skip it and try a 257 wb mag

 

[50Gunner]

LOL, dang Bob, it's a fine little cartridge.

1960 pre-64 model 70 heavy barreled varminter,

55gr ballistic tips 4125 fps over Varget, Lapua brass, CCI-BR2 primers.

Shoot a crow with that load inside 200 yards, all you'll find are a beak and some feet, maybe a wing blown off laying over there, it simply melts coyotes, never a twitch after catching one.

Back during the slow joe bidet kung flu plandemic, with Nosler also being out of stock, plus jacking their prices higher than a giraffes vagina, I bought a chit-ton of 100gr Speer Grand Slams for 9 bucks per 50, iirc some black friday no tax free shipping sale.

Worked up a very nice load in a 1956 pre-64 Featherweight Winchester model 70.

41.5gr Staball 6.5 powder sent those little Grand slams out at 3048 fps in new Starline brass cases primed with CCI-200's, light crimp in cannelures with Lee FCD.

This last April i was invited on a Red River pig hunt on the OK-TX border, one evening I got a 120lb sow to line up with a 200+lb sow, hit sow number one in the neck at 55 yards, the little Grand Slam exited her neck to hit sow number two in the ribs tight in the shoulder crease, that bullet exited the second sow clipping the rear of the offside shoulder.

Neck shot sow dropped at the shot, sow number two made a 25 yard death crash run, anyway you want to cut it, that's some bigtime performance from a small bore with 'cheap' bullets.

I'll use that nice carrying Featherweight 243 Winchester with 100gr Grand slams on whitetails this season without concern, any buck in the woods, quartering away last rib shot going in, he's in deep trouble and will be bleeding out/cooling off down at the low water bridge in very short order.

 

[Ruraldoc]

I have had a couple of failures with a 243 on deer and hogs. I had a 100 grain hornady come apart and fail to reach the vitals on the shoulder of a 95 pound whitetail. I managed to find and finish the deer some time later.

I had a Sierra do the same thing on a large feral sow. The dogs managed to bay her and I finished her a few minutes later.

When I stepped up to a 257 Roberts with a 120 grain bullet, such problems ceased.

I now hunt a lot with a suppressed 6.5 Creedmoor with 120 grain copper bullets with good results.

My friend Earnest, guided at a large Alabama hunting lodge for more than 30 years.

He said he had more long and difficult tracking jobs with 243s than with bigger cartridges. He personally carried and recommended a 308.

A 243 works with good bullets, precise bullet placement and a good tracking dog if you’re in thick cover.

In open country, where an animal that travels 100-200 yards after being hit is easy to find, a 243 is probably fine. Same if you have snow for tracking.

Funny how I live halfway around the world from Bob in Australia and having seen the same situation, have come to the same conclusion.