.243 Winchester - Best one to go with

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 4/8/2019 | C Cocoles

[w1n1]

Something that hunters and semi-seasoned hunters talk about is the best deer rifle/caliber. For the non-hunters most will only think of the 30-06 or 308. All the old favorites are normally there, like the classic Marlin, Remington and Ruger rifles.
They go back and forth on what’s better between a .270 Winchester, a 308 Winchester and a 30-06 Springfield. But, some experienced hunters will tell you go with the .243 caliber rifle. This hunting rifle may be smaller than most, but it packs a pretty good punch on whitetail.

The .243 Winchester cartridge was initially designed as a target/varmint round, it may be used for animals such as coyotes, black tail deer, whitetail deer, mule deer, pronghorns, and wild hogs. This .243 is light, small and perfect for beginning deer hunters. However, this rifle caliber doesn’t just stop there. Read the rest of 243 Win caliber.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

My youngest sister has killed several elk with a .243. She prefers neck shots, and is probably the best rifle shooter in the family.

[eastexsteve]

I will say that I have passed down my last .243 rifle to my offspring. But, I have killed some really big deer with it at LONG distances. The .243/6mm bullet bucks wind a lot better than a .223. Longest shot on a deer: 416 yds. Longest shot on an antelope: 550 yds. Longest shot on a coyote: 565 yds. Favorite bullet: 105gr BTHP.

[Mariner]

It’s THE round that should be in the AR-15.

It would make all the difference, and resolve all complaints.

[lgjhn23]

When I first started deer hunting as a kid, I got a Remington 700 in .243 for a birthday present one year. It was a sweet rifle for me at the time: low recoil, easy to shoot, accurate, etc. So I, too, grew up around it and also became a kinda “.308 cartridge guy”. Today, I still shoot the .308 cartridge. However, for years now, I’ve been necking the .308 down (or one could neck up the .243 cases, I suppose) to 6.5mm. I’ve been reloading this combo for a long time...well before the expensive Remington .260 cartridge ever became commercially available. With the right bullet/powder, I find this combo extremely accurate for some long range shooting without burning out the barrel, low recoil and somewhat economical by utilizing widely plentiful brass. For those that may be interested in that kind of stuff, one can do an internet search for: The Case for the .260 Remington

[Mouton]

I love my .243 Browning.

I tried to find a decently priced AR in 243 cal.

My favorite round is the federal 100gr SP. Relatively cheap but lethal.

[TMN78247]

The .243 is FINE for WT mainly because WT just aren’t that hard to kill.
(Literally THOUSANDS of deer have been efficiently taken over the last century with the “old-school” .32-20WCF & .32-40WCF.)

Here in the South TX “brush country” you generally cannot SEE your target beyond 100M & often not beyond 50M, as the brush is just that thick.

Nonetheless, my favorite rifle for deer hunting is a circa 1954 Model 760 Remington in .300 Savage & using the 180 grain JSP bullet.
It wears a 2.5X Leopold.

Just my opinion, TMN78247

[lurk]

I took down a young bull elk with a .243. Plenty of power if you hit the vital spots.

[CommerceComet]

All calibers have limitations, some more than others. As long as a person is aware of the limitations of the .243 and doesn’t try to exceed those limitations, it is fine caliber.

[ASOC]

.243 win = 6x50 mm (based on the 7.62 NATO
odd

6mm Remington 6x57 (based on the Mauser 7x57)

Split the difference with a 6.5x55

All of these calibers are favored in the West where most shots are long distance.

But folks will buy what they think will work best for them and not so web-pundit.

[mylife]

Good points.

[mad_as_he$$]

Yes, there are editors - in Pakistan.

[Charles Martel]

It’s THE round that should be in the AR-15.

It'd have to be the AR-10, due to the magazine well dimensions of the AR-15 being too small for the .243 - and some manufacturers do offer AR-10 clones in .243. Nice caliber; my first "bought it myself" deer rifle was a Remington 788 in .243. It put lots of venison in the freezer - still does, on occasion.

[mastertex]

I have one for sale.....what will you give me for it??

[mylife]

Guns are like girls and cars, there will always be a fight. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiSxaddm2OY

[mylife]

I was gonna pay $565

[mylife]

Not $1600 LOL, still they get rarer.

[saleman]

I have a Model 70 featherweight in .243. Built in 1955. Wears a Zeiss 3x9 Conquest scope. It’s my go to deer rifle here in Central Alabama. Fine trigger. Slick action. Federal Fusion 95 grain drops them well. Longest shot was a bit over 200 yards. I would trust the Federal loading out to 350 or so. Not a huge fan of the .243 on deer much past that.

I think the newer bullets have made the .243 a much better deer cartridge. Older factory loads had a reputation of “blowing up” at short range and not opening up at long range. I wouldn’t know. Only been hunting with .243 for about 6 years or so and never used anything but the Fusions.

[Trailerpark Badass]

Won’t fit.

[Paal Gulli]

America’s Shooting Urinal hires some of the absolute worst writers in gundom. I’m not even sure that clown was a native English speaker. In fact I’m not too sure that was written in English.