It's an adequate cartridge for most things and enjoys some benefits important to more niche groups like women and kids. I don't like it though, something based of a .308 case barely putting out 2/3s the energy. Might as well take the hit and step down to a 6mm ARC. Gun will likely be much lighter and handier at the expense of not much velocity.
.243 - Just Enough, Not Enough or Perfect
- Thread starter -Doug-
- Start date
It'll do just fine for your purposes as long as you can shoot it well. Which brings me to your second question about "ideal" shots - "Ideal" shots are rare, but all ethical hunting requires a clear shot at the vitals, doesn't matter what cartridge you're using.
Hard to argue with those results.
I just checked gun post for used rifles to compare. 118ct for 243 vs 300ct for 6.5CM
For new ammo the gun dealer lists 13ct for 243 vs 33ct for the 6.5CM
I totally agree that used rifles are the way to go. The Gun Dealer only had one selection of 257Roberts ammo for mine.
I reload.Nothing bullet choice can't mitigate. Use a TSX if you think you'll need to get to the vitals from a less-than-ideal angle.
I just checked gun post for used rifles to compare. 118ct for 243 vs 300ct for 6.5CM
For new ammo the gun dealer lists 13ct for 243 vs 33ct for the 6.5CM
I totally agree that used rifles are the way to go. The Gun Dealer only had one selection of 257Roberts ammo for mine.
Its so nice to have so much variety that 13 options is considered a small number of options.
- Location
- West Central Alberta
I never was a fan of the .243 and that could be because I hunt in the foothills where you never know when you could bump into a grizzly so I like packing something bigger.
I suppose a .243 would be ok if you are hunting deer on a farm in southern Ontario but not around here.
I suppose a .243 would be ok if you are hunting deer on a farm in southern Ontario but not around here.
Up here in Ft. McMurray there sure is, I would have to check , but at first glance, probably three bullet choices and brands of 6.5 Creedmoor for every 243 Winchester .
I will take a look this afternoon to be certain.
Cat
I just checked gun post for used rifles to compare. 118ct for 243 vs 300ct for 6.5CM
For new ammo the gun dealer lists 13ct for 243 vs 33ct for the 6.5CM
I totally agree that used rifles are the way to go. The Gun Dealer only had one selection of 257Roberts ammo for mine.
That's wild... despite all the talk about that cartridge, I've only ever known 2 guys who owned one, and one of those fellas is the Cat above. I should get out more.
That is a reasonable take. I too would feel undergunned in grizz country carrying my 243win. Especially because its a single shot lol
Same old litany: pick your shots, double lung broadsides, my-granpappy-back-in-the-depression, more than adequate. Blah blah blah...gets tiresome...
Of course it's "adequate" with good bullets and carefully chosen shot angles. It's especially adequate if you are walking out the door with the "meat hunter" mentality. I have carried a .243 a few times when my goal was a nice fat doe for the freezer, and it has absolutely been adequate. But it's easy to wait for the perfect shot on days like that. In most places, deer are not scarce. There are very few days during deer season that I come home at night without having seen some does or small bucks that day.
But what about those days when you head out with a big buck in mind? Maybe one you've seen a couple times, or caught on camera. So you sit in the cold all day, for days or weeks, passing on deer after deer, and then finally at dusk The Deer steps out at 350 yards, and stands quartering towards you as the last few seconds of shooting light tick away. You can tell he's suspicious, maybe caught a whiff of wind or otherwise mysteriously senses that something's up. He might easily just turn and melt back into the trees; he's not some young dummy spike buck and this hunting season is not his first rodeo. Your self-imposed 150-yard limit will start to feel a lot more like a guideline than a hard-and-fast rule. Are you going to grab up your .243 and heave a sigh of relief as you set up for the shot, thankful that you chose it that morning instead of your .30-06 or .300WinMag?
Yeah...I wouldn't either...
Of course it's "adequate" with good bullets and carefully chosen shot angles. It's especially adequate if you are walking out the door with the "meat hunter" mentality. I have carried a .243 a few times when my goal was a nice fat doe for the freezer, and it has absolutely been adequate. But it's easy to wait for the perfect shot on days like that. In most places, deer are not scarce. There are very few days during deer season that I come home at night without having seen some does or small bucks that day.
But what about those days when you head out with a big buck in mind? Maybe one you've seen a couple times, or caught on camera. So you sit in the cold all day, for days or weeks, passing on deer after deer, and then finally at dusk The Deer steps out at 350 yards, and stands quartering towards you as the last few seconds of shooting light tick away. You can tell he's suspicious, maybe caught a whiff of wind or otherwise mysteriously senses that something's up. He might easily just turn and melt back into the trees; he's not some young dummy spike buck and this hunting season is not his first rodeo. Your self-imposed 150-yard limit will start to feel a lot more like a guideline than a hard-and-fast rule. Are you going to grab up your .243 and heave a sigh of relief as you set up for the shot, thankful that you chose it that morning instead of your .30-06 or .300WinMag?
Yeah...I wouldn't either...
I don't know. If you've seen a study on wound loss by caliber I'd love to see it, all I can find is internet discussions with lots of opinions but little data. The only comparative studies I could find discuss archery vs rifle, they don't compare one rifle cartridge to another.
Looking at forum discussions I see a lot of people bringing up 12ga shotguns and 30-30 a lot... But the consensus there seems to be the majority of wound loss is a skill issue - lack of skill on the shooters part - rather than a caliber issue. And to me that makes sense, I bet we've all met someone who has a 300win mag but can't shoot worth ####...
Never used a 243 on deer but should be fine in the hands of a hunter with a cool head. Having said that my cousin wacked a bunch of whitetails with his some at 300 plus yards. He did lose a couple large deer owing to no blood trail/ no exit hole/ poor angling shots. Switched to a 308 in identical rifle.
I would not think that the .243 would have sufficient energy to down a large 200 pound deer at 500 meters. An Antelope or 2 year old deer sure, but a big bruiser? Nope, especially if you have to take a quartering shot.
My wife has shot 4 white-tailed deer & a bear, all with her 243 loaded with 100grain Remington Core-Lokt ammunition. When we were bear hunting, she was teased by the guys who said she should borrow her husband's 7mm Rem Mag... You know what, her bear took like 5 steps after being shot & mine ran about 40 yards!
She also lent her rifle to a friend one year & the doe that was harvested dropped in its tracks.
The 243 is a very effective cartridge! I honestly think we have a case of magnum-itis where folks have been conditioned to think they need a 300WM to kill Bambi. The reality is, folks with magnum-itis would shoot the 243 better than the 300WM that they're afraid of & require a lead sled to shoot...
Cheers
Jay
She also lent her rifle to a friend one year & the doe that was harvested dropped in its tracks.
The 243 is a very effective cartridge! I honestly think we have a case of magnum-itis where folks have been conditioned to think they need a 300WM to kill Bambi. The reality is, folks with magnum-itis would shoot the 243 better than the 300WM that they're afraid of & require a lead sled to shoot...
Cheers
Jay
I just got back from.our only store that sells ammo.
They had 20 different brands/ types of 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, and about 17 different types/ brands of 243 Winchester.
However, speaking with one of the counter guys, he said that they sell almost double the ammo and guns in 6.5 Creedmoor than 243 Winchester .
Cat
Given the "talent" of the average hunter, both would be equal...
Not much other than a bear thread gets the opinions as facts factory fired up to full capacity.
A 243AI is the second dirtiest trick a feller can play for shooting deer, at pretty much any distance the skill would allow for.
Plus, it's the best way to neck the suck out of a 308...
200 pound deer at 500M? How about plenty of 300 pound plus deer at a lot further?
Under gunned for Griz in Alberta? Not a chance, if that's what a feller had in his hands....
150 yards max? Nope, add a zero and then maybe, but not always.
Experience and fact trump opinion and pretend every time.
R.
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