Picked up my first 243

[a j cave]

I have 2 I used on coyotes. 54-75 mostly for coyotes. 80+ better for fur friendly. Deer should have a quality bullet 85-100.

 

[Potashminer]

I shot .243 rifles for most of my life... very pleasant cartridge to shoot, very flat shooting and accurate in the rifles I owned. Bullets and brass are readily available too. I have been without a .243 for a few years now and it happened gradually over time... I found that I was doing all of my predator and the bulk of my range shooting with various .22 centerfire cartridges and my preference for hunting deer sized game begins at 6.5mm and up... so my .243 and 6mm Rem rifles were just not getting used. However, I am in the same situation as SuperCub, in that I have dies and bags of .243 brass and bullets in my shop... it is only a matter of time until I pick up another .243.

Brass - maybe back then I was "cheap" - had been given a bunch of IVI-73 7.62 NATO brass - I was able to run 50 of them through RCBS 243 Full Length sizing die - I had used an RCBS primer pocket swaging tool on all the brass - and with bullet loaded, would chamber into my wife's Rem 788 in 243 Win. So used those brass through many reloadings - is still an option to consider, if can not find 243 Win brass to buy ...

 

[jparent]

I am loving the 6mm or .243 joy.

Running the 75 gr. Vmax booolit for the coyotes , exiting around 3000 fps… nice and mild. Nothing fancy. No barn burners. Just accurate and flat enough shooting.

Also running the 95 gr. SST booolit for deer, but that’s merely a back up rig. I’m a .45-70 fan boy to the big boomers get the nod in the bushy hunting areas of WMU 47 south of the French River, ON.


View attachment 554448

Beautiful rifle! Looks like a Winchester.

Specs?

 

[RVG_Don]

factory rounds, I was shooting Hornady Whitetail 100 grain interlocks with great range success, have not put anything down with them yet. I am just starting the reloading journey and plan on working a load with 70 grain Speer TNT hollowpoints for coyote and was considering 85 grain Barnes TSX for bear. I have a Remington American Predator with a 4-12x44 Vortex on top. Its a fun rifle at the range and I am going to load some introductory rounds with trailboss to get my 9 year old behind the rifle.

Using quite a few different bullet weights and types, and powders including some powders that are faster and also slower than the typical powders speeds that you would first think of for the 243 I've settled on both the 70 and 75gr speer hp, and the 95gr sst for my Savage model 11. In spite of all of the various load combinations tried I have never actually had bad results just good or great results. The 243 seems to be very flexible and an easy cartridge to load for.

 

[Crashman]

I have been a lifelong fan of the 243, and I am sure I don't need to bestow its virtues on anyone here as most of the good folk here are more experienced than me. I am currently using Hornady Superformance 58 gr Vmax for my coyote loads, they are fast and accurate and don't seem to exit, however they can get blown around a little in the wind. I have some of the Hornady Custom in 87 gr Vmax to try, and I am hoping the rifle likes them as well, thinking they should handle the wind a bit better. I have never shot big game with a 243, but my rifle likes the 95 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips and I think that would serve well for whitetail sized game, if/when I can find a Partition in a similar weight I will try those as well.
Good luck with your new rifle!

 

[The Kurgan]

I better get setup to reload for 243 soon, factory ammo is scarce in my neck of the woods. Sold out almost everywhere.

 

[mikeyb]

Is this your first .243? For real? Well you're in for a 'yote flipping treat. Good luck on the ammo search, have you tried arsenalforce.ca?

https://arsenalforce.ca/products?searchText=243 win&inStock=true&deals=false&ammo=true

 

[The Kurgan]

Is this your first .243? For real? Well you're in for a 'yote flipping treat. Good luck on the ammo search, have you tried arsenalforce.ca?

https://arsenalforce.ca/products?searchText=243 win&inStock=true&deals=false&ammo=true

That's handy, thank you.

 

[SuperCub]

Is this your first .243? For real? Well you're in for a 'yote flipping treat. Good luck on the ammo search, have you tried arsenalforce.ca?

https://arsenalforce.ca/products?searchText=243 win&inStock=true&deals=false&ammo=true

WOW .... What a great idea! Thx

 

[freddyfour]

I load my buddies 243 for him with 55gr bullets. They are just a screaming with a good dose of H414 under it.

 

[351 power]

I like the .243 and have been able to get a stash of 90g Speer bullets to reload. They have been best in my rifle so far. Flat base bullets seem to be my rifle's favourite

 

[cdn1canhunt]

.243 you won’t get much better for small to medium size game. Like Thor’s hammer on song dogs..and capable enough for antelope, and deer. Some shoot elk and moose with it. But imo, a move up in calibre is best practice for bigger critters.
.243 Bullet and loading choices are near endless and most shoot well.

Enjoy

 

[dugasgunner]

My CZ 557 Sporter in .243 does very well with 80gr GMX and 38gr of IMR 4064. Next batch of ammo will be using 75gr VMax. It is solely used for yot hunting.

 

[obsessed1b]

If you want a fur friendly round the best I have used is the 80 or 87gr barnes. Work great on deer and cow elk as well. Kinda a one and done for all.. the lighter 55gr make huge holes and the 60-70gr Cand C designed bullets also tear huge chunks from thier hides. The heavier constructed bullets tend to just punch holes..not tear hides..