.243 - Just Enough, Not Enough or Perfect

Silverado said:
In my experience, fierce muzzle blast is more of a flinch maker than recoil. A braked AR with that old hot Norc ammo comes to mind, or my lone 243. The more overbore the more ignorant in that regard, to me.

ETA: this would be for inexperienced shooters. I have no doubt that silhouette champs have a different experience...
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Brakes are not allowed in metallic silhouette rimfire or center fire competition and a section on prohibited ammunition that will damage the targets, so there is that as well.
I do know that when shooting at 200 and 300 meters offhand these days I can shoot my .223 match rifle better than I can my .308 and it's not because of noise or muzzle blast but purely because of the recoil.
Both rifles weigh very close to the same , with 30" barrels.:)
Cat
 
Rman said:
That is, unfortunately, hogwash.
Recoil is the the physical effect the rifle imparts on the shooter. It is physics. Specifically Newtons Law.
Recoil is measurable, calculated, and predictable.
What is not, is the shooters reaction to that recoil, via reflex. Reflex is an involuntary reaction. That is to say, a flinch. An eye blink. Or many other involuntary reactions to the rifle and its physical recoil, plus muzzle blast.
Everyone flinches. Everyone. Unless they do posses reflex.
As mentioned, flinches can be controlled, tamed, dealt with, etc. What they can’t be, is eliminated.
So recoil is far from a mental issue. It’s the cause of an involuntary reaction to the imparted stimulus.
The logic is extremely flawed in your posts, and certainly reflects a lack of knowledge of how shooting disciplines and shooting itself actually works.
Again, most will find that they will indeed shoot a lower recoiling rifle better than a higher one due to the physics involved.
Recoil, and the reflex reaction it causes, is a problem for most that pull a trigger.

R.
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Not sure I can shoot my wife's 243 winchester more accurate than my 458 cal rifle I find unpleasant to target shoot with.
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Wow nice to see there are others out there that can/do shoot bigger guns….. accurately . It’s just a matter of conditioning, if you subject yourself to more recoil you will get use to it. No sense having big guns if you are scared of them. My main deer gun for the last 25 years is an 8 1/4 lb .338. Believe me when I say I snap it up and shoot like it was a .243. Recoil never enters into the equation. Now a light hold for an accurate shot at distance with an unbraked 338/378 Is a different thing. Block it out and let it go. Certainly not for everyone but with some mental control it’s doable. If you like smaller guns and shoot them well beauty just realize it can also be do with bigger and more effective 🙂 rounds.
 
Maybe a better way to put it is that it is easier to shoot a light recoiling firearm well than a heavy recoiling one.
Sure, Both can be shot well, but one definitely takes more practice/technique/concentration.
I wouldn't start a new shooter out with a 458 win mag....
 
MTM said:
Wow nice to see there are others out there that can/do shoot bigger guns….. accurately . It’s just a matter of conditioning, if you subject yourself to more recoil you will get use to it. No sense having big guns if you are scared of them. My main deer gun for the last 25 years is an 8 1/4 lb .338. Believe me when I say I snap it up and shoot like it was a .243. Recoil never enters into the equation. Now a light hold for an accurate shot at distance with an unbraked 338/378 Is a different thing. Block it out and let it go. Certainly not for everyone but with some mental control it’s doable. If you like smaller guns and shoot them well beauty just realize it can also be do with bigger and more effective 🙂 rounds.
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In my case I have nerve damage in my neck and shoulder and although I love shooting them I cannot physically handle more than one or two rounds of the big guns anymore.
shot lots of unbraked 338 Lapua and 450 Ackley in the past though as well as 375 H&H.
However, for one or two shots MAYBE, but for a five or ten shot string prone or even offhand, anybody who says they can shoot a magnum better than say, a 243? yeah, go ahead and sell that somewhere else because I ain't buying .
Cat
 
hoytcanon said:
You have to extend that thought to see the fallacy... if that were really the case, everyone would be shooting .22 Cals or a hybrid .17 cal or maybe .14 cal... no, recoil is not an accuracy issue, it is a mental issue, with some obvious exceptions. Nobody is shooting 6mm better than 6.5mm solely due to the recoil
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They would not be shooting 22 cal because it is not allowed, 6mm is minimum, and yes they are shooting 6mm over 6.5 solely due to the recoil despite its spotty performance on the farthest and heaviest targets
 
Licensed to kill said:
I have read every post and did not see any that suggested that anyone can SHOOT a big calibre better than a small one. Please share just one that you are referring to because I either missed the post or missed the point of a post I read.
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You may have read them but I don't beleive you got the gist of many of them.
Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New year!
Cat
 
porpoise said:
They would not be shooting 22 cal because it is not allowed, 6mm is minimum, and yes they are shooting 6mm over 6.5 solely due to the recoil despite its spotty performance on the farthest and heaviest targets
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I was not referring to specific shooting disciplines, only to the effect of recoil on the mental state of shooters.
 
Enough for a girls
Dorian Gray said:
A .243 will work fine for the applications you've listed. But so will a .223. Pick the right bullet for the job and you'll be fine, regardless of the headstamp.

My two main Deer/Elk/Moose cartridges that I carried this year were predominantly .223 Remington, and 6.5 Creedmoor being a distant second. I never connected with either of them. Mostly because of constraints I put on myself for the type of hunting I was doing. I didn't end up with a shot i could take on any game for various reasons. But I never did think for a minute that I was undergunned for my intended quarry.
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You should try 22mag, way better than 223
 
iron cat said:
Brakes are not allowed in metallic silhouette rimfire or center fire competition and a section on prohibited ammunition that will damage the targets, so there is that as well.
I do know that when shooting at 200 and 300 meters offhand these days I can shoot my .223 match rifle better than I can my .308 and it's not because of noise or muzzle blast but purely because of the recoil.
Both rifles weigh very close to the same , with 30" barrels.:)
Cat
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I respect your experience, Cat... and physical injuries are another conversation. However, I suspect that you would be equally accurate with both your .223 AND your .308 on the "first" shot (assuming your rifles are equally accurate), but after your shoulder injury gets jarred, the second shot might be a different story. That is unless, the looming and anticipated pain, affects your ability to perform with the heavier recoiling rifle... but then, that is exactly what we are talking about here.
 
Suther said:
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.
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Just use common sense for once
 
Well, the initial recoil is not the problem for me, it is afterwards, much like a sprain.
As far as first round hits go offhand, I am accurate with both in a hunting situation.
Biggest issue these days is the fatigue from trying to hold the danged rifles offhand for ten shot string on a targetLol
Cat
 
hoytcanon said:
I was not referring to specific shooting disciplines, only to the effect of recoil on the mental state of shooters.
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Firearms with recoil energies above 35 ft-lbs create enough head acceleration to potentially cause subconcussive brain injury. Typical symptoms include gradual transition to crazy, right-winged redneck yahoos who frequent gun forums. Currently there is no known cure.;)
 
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