Any fans of the .243 Winchester?

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

I've decided to give the .243 to my son for his birthday later this month. I only paid $250.00 for the new in the box Remington 700 short action with all weather stock so I went ahead and splurged on a Leupold 2-7x scope and rings to mount on it.

We're going on a hog hunt in south Arkansas in May so he'll get to take it a long for a pre-deer season test.
 
I like the .243 caliber and it is one of those rounds that is almost always very accurate no matter what rifle you buy and some of the most successful deer hunters I know use it. I don't like 30-06 recoil any more especially firing a box or so of ammo from the bench, and I thought many times about getting a .243 but just decided not to at the last second. I always worried I might see the huge, "buck of a lifetime" that was at longish range and was quartering away and the round might be a bit too small so I decided on a 6.5 Creedmore.
 
For completeness (since there are quite a number of .243 fans in this thread - including me) I thought I'd mention a somewhat-common complaint about it:

.243 barrels tend to get shot out relatively quickly. I presume for most hunting situations this shouldn't be a big deal since the total round count isn't that high. But for someone putting higher volumes of rounds through it (competition, pinging steel/plinking, etc.) I hear barrels tend to get shot out after 1,600+ rounds or so.

OR
 
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I had a .243 and didn't like it sold it years ago. But others seem to like it and I am sure it can be accurate.
My beef was that it is on the very light end for deer, even though I shot some with it. And its overkill for coyotes and way over kill for prairie dogs etc.
It is a pretty popular cartridge so I am in the minority.
 
I've found the 243 Win a great all around cartridge for my area. It kills deer dead, works great for coyotes as well as groundhogs. I've yet to shoot one of any brand that wasn't amazingly accurate. The ammo is available anywhere that sells ammo, and for the reloader, there exists a great selection of 6mm bullets from which to choose.
 
My wife bought me a Kimber Classic Select in 243. it is accurate... and a very pretty rifle. I load my own and use 95 gr Partitions. Mainly cause they shoot well and have never failed on a critter. I use other bullets on varmints and the rifle is extremely accurate with 75 grainers. And yeah..if necessary I'd shoot an elk with it.
 
Mine is an old Model 600 Rem. Great little rifle with mild recoil even in this little rifle and it hits where you aim it. Most of my deer hunting has been in Georgia and South Carolina and the deer there are normally not that large although there are some taken over 200 lbs every year. The ones I have taken with the .243 have always dropped either in their tracks or very close by. It's a great round and I love it and really good in the little Model 600. Wish they still made it. Got another one in .308 and it will rattle your bones all the way to your feet, a bit much for the little gun but it is accurate as well.
 
Not To Worry

otisrush said:
For completeness (since there are quite a number of .243 fans in this thread - including me) I thought I'd mention a somewhat-common complaint about it:

.243 barrels tend to get shot out relatively quickly. I presume for most hunting situations this shouldn't be a big deal since the total round count isn't that high. But for someone putting higher volumes of rounds through it (competition, pinging steel/plinking, etc.) I hear barrels tend to get shot out after 1,600+ rounds or so.

OR
Click to expand...

I have a heavy barrel Rem 700 in 243 Win. that has been used for rock chuck hunting since 1962. I quit keeping track of shot number at 3k. It is close to 4k now. Yes, the accuracy has dropped off from about 1/2 moa to near 1 moa. But, it is still 'good enough'. There have been far more high power rifle barrels worn out by improper cleaning techniques than by shooting.

I built myself a 'walking around' prairie dog rifle on a Rem 722 action. I used a short Hart 6 mm barrel that had been a bench rest rifle barrel. I tapered and fluted the barrel. It shoots most any light bullet handload into the 1/2 to 3/4 moa. for three shots. It is in a lightened but glas bedded Rem wood stock. With scope it weighs under 6 lbs.

I built a matching rifle in 250-3000 Ackley Improved that weighs about one lb. more. It is good in windy conditions out about another 100 yds. Darned if I don't like the 243 Win. better for most shots. And I can always buy off the shelf very accurate ammo for it. ....

Most factory Rem 700s in 243 Win will shoot the heavier weight bullets very well with the standard 1 in 10 rifling twist. For the hogs, I would go with the heaviest weight bullet available. Nozlers always have performed for me.

The only 'triple' on prairie dogs I have ever seen (I was spotting for him using really good binocs.) made was with a Rem 700 standard weight hunting rifle shooting the 243 Win. cartridge. The range was right at 180 yds. measured. The bullet was an 80 gr. WW factory load. The shooter was a WW II vet and survivor of the Battle of the Bulge. While there and surrounded by the German Army he shot a Red Deer with his Browning BAR because they were starving. He was more proud of that shot on the P. Dogs than that one on the Red Deer. .......
 
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I don't have one....

But it has been in my sights for a long time. 6mm is the minimum I can do everything around here with and it's a common round and easy to reload for without having to load .22 bullets for AR 15 or an elephant gun. I have a 30-06 (which is plenty for me) so my next logical choice would be smaller. The 243 has a great reputation.
 
Great round giving much utility for critters ranging in size from coyote to deer. I know it has worked great for smaller and larger critters, but these are critters I've taken with it.
 
I've had a Remington 700 in .243 since about 1975/80. It shoots better than I can hold, since I've got old and shaky. Always good results with IMR4350 or 4895. It's just a good rifle.

Took me 7 shots to knock these five shotshell hulls over at 50 yards, last summer, shooting some 35 year old reloads. Told you I was getting old. This is not nearly as impressive as Muleygils grandson's photo though.

 
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700 BDL Varmnit Master

Have had a .243 in the stable for 50 years. Also known as "The Killer of Many". Truck loads of coyotes & couple of deer. Started with plain 700 BDL and have had a Varmint Master for last 30 years. My favorite rifle caliber.
 
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If the price is right on the Remington; buy it.

I've been shooting a Ruger M77 .243 since 1975. It has take plenty of mule deer (none near as nice as Mule Packer's Grandson...the kid could be ruined for life. it could be a life time before he gets another that nice). All the deer were one shot kills and none took more than a few steps after being hit. Ranges have been as close as 40 or 40 yards to out past 300 yards. The Nosler 100 bullets have always been great performers in my .243 and I wouldn't hesitate to shoot and elk with them; as long as it was under 300 yards or so.

I've always shot 100 grain Nosler Partitions through my Ruger. Here is a recent group shot over the hood of my Toyota FJ.

163068282.RLHxVSmb.group243.jpg
 
Faulkner Glad you bought it.

And nice choice of scopes. That will be a great combination. I am a huge fan of the .243. It will shoot a large range of bullet weights usually very accurately.
My Tikka deer/varmint rifle is a .243 and is everything I need to hunt both with either 100 grain soft points or 75 grain V-maxs.
My stock class competition rifle is a Rem 700 VLS in .243 and loves 68 grain Eubers and Varget powder. JA
 
My first and only deer rifle is a Remington 788 in .243 Winchester that I bought new in 1978. Very pleasant to shoot and plenty power for deer size game. Texas deer anyway.
 
Not being much of a deer hunter I've never had a 243 but used to work and hunt with a guy that had one. He carried it everywhere when we worked in N. AZ. in the 70's. We were surveying in some pretty remote areas. He never passed up a coyote even at 300 yds. That was the only rifle he owned and he shot it very well. We bagged three bucks one morning near Jarome in about two hours of hunting. He shot two (one with his wife's tag) and I shot the third. You could get away with that back in those days as long as the person with the tag was with you.

I've known several hunters from WY and MT that used a 243 or 6mm exclusively for deer.

The 7mm mag and 300 mag seem to be the choice of western deer hunters these days but I think they are mostly buying into the marketing hype. I had a 7mm mag and gave it to my brother who hunted elk in WY. Never was a fan of the mags, too much recoil, and because a 6mm is plenty for deer, even in the west. I don't have to read about it, I've seen it with my own eyes.

That's one big muley.
 
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Forty-plus years ago I had a Remington 700ADL in .243 that I absolutely loved. Used it mostly for groundhogs out to 400+ yards. Took one eight-point whitetail with it, very quick kill, before I foolishly sold it while drunk.

It was a nice rifle, mild-recoiling and very accurate. With handloads pushing an 85 grain boat-tail hollowpoint it was sure as poison on varmoints.
 
Faulkner said:
Thanks for all the feedback guys!

I've decided to give the .243 to my son for his birthday later this month. I only paid $250.00 for the new in the box Remington 700 short action with all weather stock so I went ahead and splurged on a Leupold 2-7x scope and rings to mount on it.

We're going on a hog hunt in south Arkansas in May so he'll get to take it a long for a pre-deer season test.
Click to expand...

Bought my wife a Savage Axis .243 on Black Friday when I got a Axis .308. The $240 pricetag was too low to pass up. Out of the box her .243 shot a .86in group using an old Tasco scope I had. I've had rifles 2-3X as expensive that didn't shoot that well.
 
Had my second Ruger 77* in .243 since the early 80s...18" barrel and weighting in at 6.5lbs ..... it's has an International/Mannlicher stock...........with 100gr bullets good for Pa white tails ........ and a good varmint round with 80 gr loads.


*first was a used 77; .243 heavy barrel varmint
 
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