To the best of my knowledge you are correct. But I hope to see some eld-x type bullets come along over 100 grains. I've unfortunately not had much luck with the 100 grain offerings. I've had the best success with 70-87 grain pills in my Tikka 243 which is 1 in 10. I used to have a Remington vls with a 1 in 9 1/8" twist that did ok with 100 grain spitzer style bullets but unfortunately it's throat is no longer with us. ��. It saw it's day and then some.
Is the 243 Winchester dying?
- Thread starter jonyork
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To the best of my knowledge you are correct. But I hope to see some eld-x type bullets come along over 100 grains. I've unfortunately not had much luck with the 100 grain offerings. I've had the best success with 70-87 grain pills in my Tikka 243 which is 1 in 10. I used to have a Remington vls with a 1 in 9 1/8" twist that did ok with 100 grain spitzer style bullets but unfortunately it's throat is no longer with us. ��. It saw it's day and then some.
My last 243 did well with the Hornady 100gr btsp (mossberg ATR100), I haven't tried my current one yet but that's what I'll be feeding it (Henry Single Shot, both rifles are 1:10 I think?)
what difference in Ballistics? With a 200 yard zero, At 300 yards the Grendel drops about 1.5” more than a 243 and has the same energy.
When it comes to killing deer the Grendel will do everything the 243 will, and will do it with less recoil. Which is why it’s a better low recoil deer cartridge.
Fortunately we have the internet.
Definitely will be here awhile. Rebarreled my Tikka to a 1:8 and it shoots sub moa with Sako 100 gr. Gamehead ammo. I do not reload so to get that with off the shelf ammo...
Love the cartridge and so does my son.
First target is mine, second is his and it was his first time shooting the rifle. He was sold.
Love the cartridge and so does my son.
First target is mine, second is his and it was his first time shooting the rifle. He was sold.
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Mine guy...you are ruining the narrative with such posts. This one seems to celebrate the latest 6.5mm offerings that shall undeniably vanquish the tired old 243 Winchester.
Get with the program...sheesh
I don't have one of those archaic things...dad had a Rem 700 with good wood and a bull...but those thousands of dollars of coyotes he shot with it were luck...nothing but luck. Same with the deer he harvested... just luck.
Had he only known that the 6.5 Greta only lost 1.5" at 300 to it...he'd surely have gone that route, lol
Get with the program...sheesh
I don't have one of those archaic things...dad had a Rem 700 with good wood and a bull...but those thousands of dollars of coyotes he shot with it were luck...nothing but luck. Same with the deer he harvested... just luck.
Had he only known that the 6.5 Greta only lost 1.5" at 300 to it...he'd surely have gone that route, lol
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CGN frequent flyer
I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon. I've been hearing people swear by it for decades yet, I never owned or shot one until recently when I came across an excellent condition Browning A-Bolt. Have to admit, it's a keeper for sure. Accurate and a pleasure to shoot.
Mine guy...you are ruining the narrative with such posts. This one seems to celebrate the latest 6.5mm offerings that shall undeniably vanquish the tired old 243 Winchester.
Get with the program...sheesh
I don't have one of those archaic things...dad had a Rem 700 with good wood and a bull...but those thousands of dollars of coyotes he shot with it were luck...nothing but luck. Same with the deer he harvested... just luck.
Had he only known that the 6.5 Greta only lost 1.5" at 300 to it...he'd surely have gone that route, lol
Important fact that everyone should know: the introduction of a new rifle cartridge increases hunting firearms sales by 20%!
That's the reason why we have 300 H&H Mag, 300 Weatherby Mag, 300 Win Mag, 300 WSM , 300 RCM, 300 PRC, 300 Rem Ultramag, 300 Norma Mag, etc.
There was never anything wrong with 30-06 when these cartridges were introduced and only 300 Win Mag is really "useful".
Mine guy...you are ruining the narrative with such posts. This one seems to celebrate the latest 6.5mm offerings that shall undeniably vanquish the tired old 243 Winchester.
Get with the program...sheesh
I don't have one of those archaic things...dad had a Rem 700 with good wood and a bull...but those thousands of dollars of coyotes he shot with it were luck...nothing but luck. Same with the deer he harvested... just luck.
Had he only known that the 6.5 Greta only lost 1.5" at 300 to it...he'd surely have gone that route, lol
LOL Too funny.
Loved the other comment about the 6mm-08 So true. Not to diminish the capabilities of the new offerings just that sometimes it pays to work with what one has.
That said new cartridges give us excuses to purchase other toys. Will continue with the boring cartridges I can get ammo for (243, 270, 308). They just plain work and can work well. Making them work well.....that is our hobby no?
Nailed it.
Alternatively, if you run the numbers for MPBR on both, you will see the 243 has a clear advantage. I feel that MPBR is the best way to sight in a scope for a new user, because then as long as the shot is within your MPBR you just point and shoot, no need to consider things like drop. The fact that the MPBR on the 243 with a 6" target is damn near 300yds is almost perfect IMO, because if you need a rifle with such low recoil you probably don't have the experience/skillset to shoot beyond 300yds anyways.
95gr 243cal Ballistic Tip, 3050 FPS MV (which is 110fps lower than the max load in Nosler's data), target size=4": MPBR= 253 yds. Target size=6": 293 yds.
120cal 264cal BT, 2520fps MV (max load from Nosler), target size=4": MPBR=215 yds. Target size=6": MPBR=250yds.
So we're talking about 40yds farther MPBR for the 243, a bit more if you're loading it to the max of Noslers data (3160fps, MPBR=303yds on a 6" target, or a solid 50+yd advantage)
At the end of the day both will kill deer just fine and we're splitting hairs though.
edit: For ####s and giggles, I checked Chuck Hawks' recoil table for both, and as you can see below they are very close with the same weight rifle:
load - gun weight - recoil energy - recoil velocity
.243 Win. (75 at 3400) 8.5 7.2 7.4
.243 Win. (95 at 3100) 7.25 11.0 9.9
.243 Win. (100 at 2960) 7.5 8.8 8.7
6.5mm Grendel (120 at 2600) 7.5 8.9 8.8
6.5mm Grendel (123 at 2590) 8.0 7.9 8.0
Now, that 243 load is a tad slow for reloads (although bang on for factory ammo) and that Grendel load a tad fast compared to the numbers I ran above, but clearly you can see that the difference is not big - in fact, with the 7.5lb rifle the Grendel has ever so slightly MORE recoil, although not enough of a difference that anyone would notice. Looking at the numbers, I agree that by and large they'll do the same thing. I'm not so sure about the recoil difference being enough to be a factor though.
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They are both SAAMI spec cartridges, so I see no reason why they wouldn't be standardized by now. Sometimes there are issues when one thing is popular among wildcats and then the Ammo manufacturer makes changes (280 AI has two different specs I do believe, one from its PO Ackley days, and another slightly different one from when it got standardized by a manufacturer?) but I haven't heard anything about that sort of issue with either of these.
Your 95gr 243 load is going 3050 fps. A 100gr Grendel load will go about 2700 fps. 350 FPS more with a similar bullet weight is going to produce more recoil and muzzle blast, there is just no getting around it.
If your kid is competent to shoot a deer at 300 yards then he is competent enough to understand to hold a little higher on the deer or use the BDC reticle and aim dead on with the corresponding crosshair. The 40 yard MPBR difference is really a moot point. Using MPBR is fine if you have to because you already have a spare scope, but if starting from scratch some form of BDC reticle is going to be far easier for a new shooter to make accurate hits.
There's 20 gr more powder in a .243 than a Grendel with corresponding larger recoil and muzzle blast and all of that adds up to a less enjoyable shooting experience for a new shooter or a recoil shy kid.
Maybe walk away from Chuck Hawkes and the ballistic masturbation for a bit, hand a small kid a 6.5 Grendel rifle and a .243 and see which one he/she likes to shoot more.
What is the recommended entry rifle for the 243?
Never owned one (rifle), want to get into it, not a hunter but target shooter, simple reliable and accurate is what I would like. Will be reloading.
Not seeing many options out their, Ruger for $700, want to stay under a grand.
Thanks!
Never owned one (rifle), want to get into it, not a hunter but target shooter, simple reliable and accurate is what I would like. Will be reloading.
Not seeing many options out their, Ruger for $700, want to stay under a grand.
Thanks!
