rem 700 sps .243 pros /cons?

pros

Inherently accurate
Long distance
low recoil(from a medium game perspective)
readily available ammo
many styles of ammo to choose

Cons

higher recoil(from a varminter point of view)

I think the .243 is a great caliber. One day I will own one.
 
Shorter barrel life, but has a slightly longer effective range than the 308, although I will probably be flamed for that. Why Remington?

probably! wait for it...

243 good cartridge... Longrange capability 1000yrs easy. If you were to use this rifle in competition you will be tose in with the wolves "f-Open". hehehehe

308 you will have and even playing field as far a competition.
 
Shorter barrel life, but has a slightly longer effective range than the 308, although I will probably be flamed for that. Why Remington?


Have you actually gotten your first rifle yet? Seems to me you were asking the same sorts of question just a couple of months ago. Not flaming you, just seriously questioning your credentials for dispensing this sort of advice. This is what knowledge seekers need to be very careful about the quality of advice given in free anonymous internet forums.

Effective range for what?? 308 Match rifle is shot at 1200M. You would need some exceptional hardware to make that happen in a 243. Compare the ballistics of the .308 208 Amax and the 105 6mm Berger VLD. Read about Palma shooting and Match Rifle shooting.

The flaming part will come with your question Remington as a choice. Been to a long range fullbore match lately? Actually spoken with any gunsmiths lately? more to the point, have you actually owned any Remingtons - or ANY rifles?


As to the OP's original question, It really depends on what you want to use the rifle for; both will run out of long range accuracy before they run out of long range steam in a factory rifle. The 308 is an excellent versatile cartridge that is very easy to make work if you are reloading.

The SPS 243 has a twist rate that suits lighter bullets, whereas the 308 SPS has a very tight twist which is better suited to heavy, high BC bullets.

We have seen a few fellows coming out to shoot Factory class (in "F-Class" matches) with stock Remington rifles and doing EXTREMELY well.

The 308 is a fantastic cartridge, has excellent barrel life and arguably the largest selection of ammo and bullets going. It does have a fair amount of recoil, particularly with heavy bullets, and this can cause bad habits when learning to perfect shooting technique.

the 243 has less recoil, but is harder on barrels, and in the case of the SPS you are limited to bullets that are more for short-medium range varmint hunting and small game hunting.

The Remington 700 is one of the most upgradable platforms going. Investing in one is a great choice. There is a huge Savage/ Stevens cult on this board, and much of the "advice" is about validation of consumer choices, than it is about being objective. More serious shooters use Remington actions for upgrading, and more custom action manufacturers use the Remington action pattern than any other pattern. The SPS is a good choice.
 
"...Long range capability 1000yrs easy..." Not for hunting.
"...SPS 243 has a twist rate that..." Heavy. It's 1 in 9.125. The .308 twist is 1 in 12.
"...will probably be flamed for that..." Only because it's not right.
 
Pros
243 Win
Remington Action

Cons
Not a 308
Shi**y finish
Factory Barrel

243 is not any cheaper to shoot than a 308, has only slightly less recoil, and you are shooting from a factory pencil barrel and thence really only getting hunting grade accuracy.
Not that I dislike 243.

Stick with Remington but instead of a 243, why not look into a 6mmBR. They are the rifle of choice when it comes to 6mm (243) calibers.

w ww.6mmbr.com
 
I seen a factory T3 Lite do a 4.75" 3 shot group last week @ 1050 yards. Other group was just under 8". With 90gr Bergers

seems like it will do ok at longer distances
 
Try this for information on the 243 used for precision shooting.

http://www.6mmbr.com/243Win.html

I have a completely personal self interest but there is a nice Savage 12 FV 243 Win on EE :) I have no idea how it will do a really extended ranges. I really only shot it with 65 Gn bullets and I am very new at long range precision shooting.

An informed and experienced opinion I cannot offer.
 
.308 is my caliber of choice for both TR and sniper competition. It is a superb cartridge.
As an experiment, I have just put together a .243 on a 700 action, with a 26" 1-8 Shilen barrel, in a HS stock. Installed a brake.
I expect that this rifle would be competitive for sniper competition, although I don't know that I will compete with it. It would have to demonstrate a real advantage over my .308s.
I have the great advantage that I do my own 'smithing.
 
Nothing wrong with the .243 for getting out there and making the kills. Lots of bullets to choose from and easily available everywhere.
From my experience Remington has been hit and miss with quality. Some have been good shooters and other have been terrible. My last Remington M700 SPS 30-06 was a great shooter, my previous Model 700 LVSF was horrible, did'nt eject spent rounds and was eventually sent back to the dealer . Had two reputable gunsmiths look at and could not help me.
Thinking back most of my Remingtons shot OK and really improved after a trigger job and bedding, which costs extra $$. As of late Ive starting buying more Tikka's and Sako just because they are such accurate rifles out of the box.
Good luck with your buy, Im no expert just stating what Ive come across in my rifle experiences.

Cheers!!
 
I have a Remmy SPS in .243, and I'm happy with it. I've put just under 1000 rounds through it. It's a good, basic rifle. I bedded it and tuned the trigger, and before that I couldn't really get much better then 1". After bedding and tuning, the average grouping was just under an inch. That means most are <1" and occasionally they really put a smile on your face.

I really like the .243 as a cartridge. You can push 4000 fps with some loads, really friggin' fast. You can also shoot the nice big 100 grain hunting bullets, my rifle took 5 caribou over several years. The recoil is not too bad (even in my sporter barrel, plastic stock).

All in all I'd say it's a great starter gun.
 
I have a new in the box remington 40xb barrelled action in 243 single shot 1 in 8 twist made in 1994. I was wondering if a wood stock would be better than a glass one on a build?
 
Wow, so much misinformation about such a misunderstood cartridge. Have any posters actually shot a .243 to long range? And I mean REALLY LONG range? Doesn't sound like it.

If you actually look into it, the .243 kills a .308 on muzzle energy and trajectory from the muzzle out to 1000 yds where the typical .308 falls on its ass and the .243 keeps going and going and going.

I have shot a .243 varmint rifle to a laser ranged 2000 yds. Try THAT with a .308 Win.

The .243 is far superior to the .308 in trajectory and recoil and it is capable of excellent accuracy.
 
how far out do they reach and what is that cartige like . any info will be helpfull

Well, i think it says dangerous within 2.5 miles on the cartridge box so beware:eek:...

All joking aside, the .243 will deliver tight groups on paper and let the air out of a coyote/deer and occasional moose in fine fashion...Oh yeah, you can never go wrong with a Remington.

'rifle
 
I just bought an SPS-V in 243 as a budget long range shooter. Yes I know I can build something that shoots about a million times better and that day will come but for now, this is a rifle dedicated to shooting targets. I dont plan on shooting any deer or coyotes, just punching paper.

I dont have any problem shooting harder recoiling rifles but I purposely went with a low recoiling 243 so I can focus on technique.

I was hoping to shoot the 95 SMK's but cant seem to find them anywhere so I'll go with the 90gr Sierra FMJBTs for now and see how they shoot.

I'd like to get into long range shooting (not bench rest) so figured this would be a cheap/cheaper way to get into it.

Yes the finish is a bit cheap, but thats easily fixed with some bead blasting and a coat of Cerakote.
 
My friend has one in .243 and I witnessed him shoot all three shots touching each other at 100yds. I just bought a Rem 700 SPS DM in 7mm mag with detachable mag and love it!
 
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