.243 build

banger

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
143   0   0
Location
GTA
I'm considering putting together a bolt rifle in.243.
Probably start with one of the Rem 700 heavy barrels. Put it on a AICS stock. Considering a Falcon or Leupold scope.

I'll be using this rifle for some target shooting and hunting chucks and deer....

How does the .243 calibre compare to other calibres in respect to trajectory, cost of reloading components, barrel life, etc,etc ???
 
Banger...243 is great round. If you decide on a custom bbl I have .243 bbls in stock. If you reload I would consider a 6.5MM in .260 rem. Both have tons of good bullets available.

Cheers
 
I love my old parker hale .243 its a good fast flat shooting gun. On Vancouver Island ive used it for 5 seasons now and knocked each deer down with 1 shot.

Ive always placed my shots through the upper neck and had no problems taking down our Island Blacktail. Although I wouldnt advise headshots... had a bad experience with that. Ended up having to follow up with a neck shot to take the animal down.
 
I have shot coyotes, deer, antelope, black bear and moose with a .243. It's flay shooting and light in recoil. Use a bullet suitable for the job. As with any high velocity round there can be a fair amount of bloodshot damage.

This probably should be in the hunting rifle forum...
 
Last edited:
i have killed wolves coyotes, deer and elk with 243s over the years... Built one on an old turk mauser action with a no taper tube. Owned a few others... now shooting an sps that sits in a hs prec stock... its an easy .5moa gun... only into it for $600...
I like the idea of what you are doing, good choices so far i think... you can shoot long and slow with 105s or you can hit aweful close to 4000fps with 55s
I believe a major 1000yd match or two have been won with it as well. Brass is easy to get and easy to make if you ever needed. I have wondered why the military has not used it... seems just right for almost anything under 400lbs and can still drop the biggest with good shot placement
have fun
 
See Banger I told you the .243 is a kick ass round.

It's not that i doubted you. Just wanted to get some more input.


i have killed wolves coyotes, deer and elk with 243s over the years... Built one on an old turk mauser action with a no taper tube. Owned a few others... now shooting an sps that sits in a hs prec stock... its an easy .5moa gun... only into it for $600...
I like the idea of what you are doing, good choices so far i think... you can shoot long and slow with 105s or you can hit aweful close to 4000fps with 55s
I believe a major 1000yd match or two have been won with it as well. Brass is easy to get and easy to make if you ever needed. I have wondered why the military has not used it... seems just right for almost anything under 400lbs and can still drop the biggest with good shot placement
have fun

Thanks for the input. I'll definitely be going forward with this project.
 
"...you can hit awful close to 4000fps with 55s..." You can get over 3,000 with a 90 grain bullet too. Thanks to the benchrest guys, there are far more bullet types available these days. Including match grade bullets.
You will want a fast rifling twist for heavy bullets. 1 in 9.5 or faster. Barrels with those twists aren't hard to find.
Juanvaldez has already tempted you. snicker.
 
I have built a number of 243s for myself and pro bono cases over the years.
I am going to build more of them for myself.

The biggest bull elk I ever saw was shot by a little woman with a baby and a 243.

I find that the 243 will shoot all over the place with a long skinny barrel, but is a tack driver with a short fat expensive barrel.
 
Back
Top Bottom