Oh no! I was so looking forward to your explanation as to how the weight and bullet diameter makes it incapable of killing past 250! And yet in the same breath you claim a 257cal with a 100gr bullet - something that will have worse sectional density, and worse ballistics - is somehow capable of 300 yds... Hilarious!
243 vs 6.5 Creedmoor
- Thread starter St Pauli
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Oh no! I was so looking forward to your explanation as to how the weight and bullet diameter makes it incapable of killing past 250! And yet in the same breath you claim a 257cal with a 100gr bullet - something that will have worse sectional density, and worse ballistics - is somehow capable of 300 yds... Hilarious!
Another one of these threads, this has been asked so many times. It comes down to preference essentially. 6.5 has an edge with bullet length, which transfers to retained velocity down range. At competent hunting ranges, they are pretty close. Personally, I prefer the 243 win as I'm already set up for that since the 80s. 6.5 Creedmoor is an awesome cartridge, but if I went 6.5 I'd go 6.5x55. Too bad Americans never picked up on that offering.
North
North
Are you custom throating the Swede to push that 160 out of the case to actually USE any of the extra capacity?
At what velocity?
prairie lover
CGN Regular
- Location
- southern MB
I have a soft spot for the 243. shot my first deer with it and thats all dad has ever used. I have shot and seen deer shot with the 243, and some just seem the run farther double lunged than my bigger rounds. MY sis in law just shot her first deer a whitetail doe this fall with my tikka t3 lite in 243 pushing a 90 gr speer deep curl(think fed fusion), 3100 fps. 100 yards. she thought she missed cause it ran 60 yards to the bush and gone. I found good blood and we found the doe 100 yards from where it was shot. Could walk along the blood trail at a decent pace. massive holes in top rear of lungs. seen 1 other deer, 320 yards quartering away go about 120 yards with that same combo. definite expansion, bullet went in last rib and came to rest offside shoulder. beautiful mushroom, 60% weight retention. all other 243 deer didnt make it past 50.
As to barrel life i have personally shot out a 243 i bought new in 1300 rounds. heavy barrel savage used it as a long range fun rig for years. Barrel cleaned every 50 rounds. Wipeout so no brushes. Still held half moa at 800 yards at the 1000 round mark. at 1300 it shot 6 feet groups at 800, 2 feet at 600, however 400 was still moa. throat was gone, no rifling for the first .75 inch and very faint for the next .75. got it warm on occasion, 10 shot strings, then cool off. it got replaced with a 6.5 creed. barrel life on them is about 2500-3000 as a long range rig.
i am looking for a short stocked rifle for my wife, 243 and 6.5 creed are my first pick, cause i have dies, 7mm08 also in there.
As to barrel life i have personally shot out a 243 i bought new in 1300 rounds. heavy barrel savage used it as a long range fun rig for years. Barrel cleaned every 50 rounds. Wipeout so no brushes. Still held half moa at 800 yards at the 1000 round mark. at 1300 it shot 6 feet groups at 800, 2 feet at 600, however 400 was still moa. throat was gone, no rifling for the first .75 inch and very faint for the next .75. got it warm on occasion, 10 shot strings, then cool off. it got replaced with a 6.5 creed. barrel life on them is about 2500-3000 as a long range rig.
i am looking for a short stocked rifle for my wife, 243 and 6.5 creed are my first pick, cause i have dies, 7mm08 also in there.
It will have shorter throat life ! RJ
Which is part of the barrel Jim.
Mauser length action, which is what they originally came in. - dan
For hunting I would go with the 6.5, of whichever flavor you like, simply due to the availability of heavier bullets. I've owned and hunted with 243, 243 AI, 6mm Rem, 6mm Rem AI, 240 Gibbs, 260 Rem and 6.5x55 and 6.5x57. Heavier bullets just gives you more game options. The none improved cartridges are all easy to get brass for, and components are the same after that, respective of caliber. There is little to no advantage between short, intermediate or long actions in the real world. Just choose the cartridge, then pick the gun you like it comes in, or build one. - dan
I have loaded the .243 for decades. IMHO, the 100 grain Nosler Partition or the 100 grain Speer Grand Slams are the only bullets worth buying and then load them over something like H1000 which will launch them right at about 3000 fps - or even a tad quicker. These will shoot through both sides of a broadside moose if necessary. They kill deer from just about any angle. Next to no recoil. More accurate than me. Your mileage probably won't vary.
7mm08 and 6.5CM are pretty damn close ballistically - in fact, Nosler lists notably higher velocity from the 7mm08, 2900+ w/140gr bullet vs 2730 in the 6.5cm. Having a 7mm08 myself is a major reason I have little need for a 6.5. Sure, the 6.5 has better BC's but it's not like 7mm bullets have crap BC's - 140gr accubond is listed as 0.509 vs 0.485.
