The .243 is a great choice if you want to hunt deer and coyotes with the same gun, the 7-08 will allow you to hunt bear and moose, not that you can't with the .243 but the 7-08 is just better suited for it, i wouldn't say it makes the .223 or .308 obsolete, it is just able to do what they do with one gun, that being said i would buy the 7-08 if i were going to do more deer hunting than coyote so if you get into the big game hunting, and want to go after elk/moose/bear. . . ect. you have enough gun to do so without feeling under gunned.
243 renders 223 & 308 obsolete?
- Thread starter vpsalin
- Start date
Sort of... The planning for a flat-shooting, high pressure round started before WW1, and was the reason for the design of what would become the Pattern-14 Enfield.
The Post-WW2 design was an "assault" type chambering, with a reduced capacity case and (IIRC) a 7mm bore.
.243 is a great caliber and is underappreciated and underestimated, but it is not a .308 in performance on large game and it will never be. I am not saying that it cannot be used effectively on large game, but it just doesn't have the horsepower of a .308. The .243 is an excellent varmint caliber, but it doesn't hold a candle to a .223 when the shooting is high volume like gophers, etc.
Jordan Smith
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
Yes, the .243 is a good compromise between the .223 and the .308. It will still be relatively cheap to feed, recoil is minimal, and a faster-twist barrel can still handle the nice LR bullets like the VLD and the A-Max, as well as the deer/BG bullets like the 85gr TSX or 80gr TTSX, and yet still shoot the light varmint bullets really well.
It falls behind the .223 as far as cost, recoil, and availability goes. It falls behind the .308 as far as the ability to handle larger bullets with more momentum goes. The .243 is, however, a nice compromise between the two.
It falls behind the .223 as far as cost, recoil, and availability goes. It falls behind the .308 as far as the ability to handle larger bullets with more momentum goes. The .243 is, however, a nice compromise between the two.
Jordan Smith
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
Range has very little to do with anything, as long as the bullet is still travelling fast enough to expand. The .243 will certainly kill elk with good bullets.
I'm sorry but this makes no sense............
The three are great calibers and one does not negate the others.
.243 is a compromise gun. It's not as good for varmints as .223 or .22-250, and it's not as good for elk/moose as a 30 caliber. .243 is a decent deer gun and a good first rifle, or for kids and women.
If you are looking for a rifle purely for deer and larger game, go bigger than .243. If you're looking purely for a varmint rifle - go .223 or .22-250.
I personally don't care for varminting with a .243 because it is too loud and too expensive to shoot compared to a .223. I do like the .243 as a deer rifle.
If you are looking for a rifle purely for deer and larger game, go bigger than .243. If you're looking purely for a varmint rifle - go .223 or .22-250.
I personally don't care for varminting with a .243 because it is too loud and too expensive to shoot compared to a .223. I do like the .243 as a deer rifle.
RememberTheSomme
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
When saying a particular caliber will replace several others,and in such a large weight range, we have to be careful of where we are in the food chain when we step up to throw our hat in the ring,..... and a .243" is a little too far down the chain, to make that bold claim, especially concerning the .308Win.
The .243 is a sweet cartridge, i've owned only one and for years loved it for it's accuracy and gentle recoil. Traded it off for a nice .308 a long tome ago, but with for years now leagl for coyote here, wish I still had it.
It doubles from gophers to deer, but finds it's niche, I believe, in a superior wind bucking, long range varmint,coyote, seal(eastern) etc. Anything around 40 -70 lbs range you want to flatten out to 300yds, and kill out to 425yds, the .243 will serve you well. Look at the family dog around 60lbs, and when hes wondered out to where you can barely see him, this is animal size and range the .243 was built for. Perfect balance.
For heavy whitetail, use the heavy bullets, and it will approach an honest 200 yd rig, though expect at times to have to look a little for some. As reliable as a .308 on deer? Sorry never was or will be. Never was meant to be.
It will never be a .223 for the economy and pleasure to shoot as a pure varminter, and anyone in the know, will tell you, it will never,ever be a .308Winchester, nor can it be. The .308 with proper bullets is a great Moose harvester to 200yds, I said harvester, not killer. You get to eat from the harvest, one that merely kills sometime in the future, but is lost,..is no good to anyone.
The .243 is a sweet cartridge, i've owned only one and for years loved it for it's accuracy and gentle recoil. Traded it off for a nice .308 a long tome ago, but with for years now leagl for coyote here, wish I still had it.
It doubles from gophers to deer, but finds it's niche, I believe, in a superior wind bucking, long range varmint,coyote, seal(eastern) etc. Anything around 40 -70 lbs range you want to flatten out to 300yds, and kill out to 425yds, the .243 will serve you well. Look at the family dog around 60lbs, and when hes wondered out to where you can barely see him, this is animal size and range the .243 was built for. Perfect balance.
For heavy whitetail, use the heavy bullets, and it will approach an honest 200 yd rig, though expect at times to have to look a little for some. As reliable as a .308 on deer? Sorry never was or will be. Never was meant to be.
It will never be a .223 for the economy and pleasure to shoot as a pure varminter, and anyone in the know, will tell you, it will never,ever be a .308Winchester, nor can it be. The .308 with proper bullets is a great Moose harvester to 200yds, I said harvester, not killer. You get to eat from the harvest, one that merely kills sometime in the future, but is lost,..is no good to anyone.
As others have stated, it's not the best for big bears and moose. But those posters either didn't read your question, which clearly stated that deer were the biggest game you want to shoot, or just feel like eing argumentative.
If deer are the biggest game you want to hunt then a .243 is a good choice. There are good deer loads available, and good varmint loads too. It is an easy cartridge to shoot and ammo is available almost anywhere.
If you wanted one gun for everything that walks i'd say get a .375 H&H (I love mine), if you wanted a deer gun that could be used for smaller or somewhat bigger game i'd say go for a 6.5x55 (again, one of my favourites) but based on what you plan to do there is no reason not to get a .243
And for the record, the ".243 is okay for women and children" comments are ridiculous and absolutely childish. If a child can kill a deer with a .243 then surely a man with more practice and experience should have no trouble. Pick your caliber based on usefulness, not based on ego.
If deer are the biggest game you want to hunt then a .243 is a good choice. There are good deer loads available, and good varmint loads too. It is an easy cartridge to shoot and ammo is available almost anywhere.
If you wanted one gun for everything that walks i'd say get a .375 H&H (I love mine), if you wanted a deer gun that could be used for smaller or somewhat bigger game i'd say go for a 6.5x55 (again, one of my favourites) but based on what you plan to do there is no reason not to get a .243
And for the record, the ".243 is okay for women and children" comments are ridiculous and absolutely childish. If a child can kill a deer with a .243 then surely a man with more practice and experience should have no trouble. Pick your caliber based on usefulness, not based on ego.
Jordan Smith
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
1:9" is the twist I would go with, and barrel life completely depends on the loads you shoot and how you shoot, but I would expect 1500 at least, if you treat it right.
Good coyote / deer gun for prairie work IMO.
We've got a large stable of calibers and it's a jack-of-all sort of a gun. And you know the next thing gets said... jack-of-all trades; master-of-none.
Good gun for coyotes and deer.
Gophers...yeah sure...whatever floats your boat. If you are shooting gophers with a centerfire...kinda silly to ##### about the cost isn't it?
And moose...I'm sure it could be done; and done better with larger calibers.
We've got a large stable of calibers and it's a jack-of-all sort of a gun. And you know the next thing gets said... jack-of-all trades; master-of-none.
Good gun for coyotes and deer.
Gophers...yeah sure...whatever floats your boat. If you are shooting gophers with a centerfire...kinda silly to ##### about the cost isn't it?
And moose...I'm sure it could be done; and done better with larger calibers.
I have an 30-06. I think my next "hunting rifle" will be a 243 because of the large enough for bigger animals in a pinch, but can be a good coyote/deer combo considering the range of bullet weights and velocities available.
