Let’s talk about the 243win

[warmer]

Howa .243 with 85 grain Winchester Power Point factory loads. Kills any whitetail I hit correctly. I see no reason to change.

 

[wolfpup]

Hard to find a better cartridge for antelope and deer than the .243!

 

[Lota lota]

With today’s new 6mms shooting heavy bullets is the 243win even relevant?

I think it is but it’s not talked about anymore it seems.

Recently picked up two tikka compacts in 243win for dirt cheap. Pulling the barrel on one and the other went to my wife. I have to say impressed with this rifle and cartridge.

I’ve got the 95gr partition load to 3150fps and the 55gr BTs going 3750fps out of a 20” barrel. It should put a hurting in deer and yotes.

Now to move on to monos.

What’s your thoughts?

I shoot the 95 grain SST out of my mine. Have killed a pile of elk with it

 

[redhaze]

My go to coyote gun for the desert hunting.

 

[CowboyLeroy]

With today’s new 6mms shooting heavy bullets is the 243win even relevant?

There are people that will physically assault you for this

 

[idahojoe]

Go to antelope, whitetail and coyote round. Even a small black bear fell to it once, timeless cartridge and severely underrated.

 

[elkantlers]

There are a couple dozen new cartridges that will be irrelevant long before the 243Win is even close to slowing down.

It is arguably the best starter cartridge for youth and can handle any pronghorn you get in front of it.

 

[TrapperJ]

I have seen 243 slowing disappear around the stores I buy ammo from and some have so much 243 they can't sell so whether or not that means something

 

[Ringbill27]

There are people that will physically assault you for this

Good I like the passion. I just wanted the 243 to get some love!

 

[huntin24/7]

It’s a great caliber. My son killed his first 4 bucks with it and it handled them well. I have a suppressed 6.5 prc now that kicks less than the 243, so that’s what the kids use now, but I still use the 243 coyote hunting a fair bit. 80 grain ttsx do a pretty nice job on deer out of it.

 

[CPAjeff]

There will always be a .243 in my gun cabinet.



It'll get the call again later this week for a whitetail hunt.

 

[Ringbill27]

80 grain ttsx do a pretty nice job on deer out of it.

That’s awesome to hear and the 80 TTSX will be loaded in my wife’s rifle next season. Ran out of time and money this season. I had the partitions on hand loaded them to max and they shot really well. But can’t find them anymore and all my other rifles are loaded with coppers.

 

[GregoryB.]

Killed my first deer with a 243 last year. Used a 95gr NBT . Not a lot of blood but enough to follow for 50 yards to the deer. The insides were soup when I opened her up. Liked it some much I purchased another 243.

 

[6mm Remington]

Both the 243 Winchester and the 6mm Remington are great cartridges and you would think they would always be relevant. Just good solid rounds that are great on coyotes, deer, antelope, and more.
Nosler 100 or 95 gr. Partitions, 90 gr. Accubonds, or 90 gr. E-tips in either the 243 or 6mm Remington will work superbly on game.

 

[Ringbill27]

Killed my first deer with a 243 last year. Used a 95gr NBT . Not a lot of blood but enough to follow for 50 yards to the deer. The insides were soup when I opened her up. Liked it some much I purchased another 243.

I assume there was not a exit?

 

[GregoryB.]

I assume there was not an exit?

A few fragments exited. Shot was about 40 yards.

 

[Sheltowee]

Both the 243 Winchester and the 6mm Remington are great cartridges and you would think they would always be relevant. Just good solid rounds that are great on coyotes, deer, antelope, and more.
Nosler 100 or 95 gr. Partitions, 90 gr. Accubonds, or 90 gr. E-tips in either the 243 or 6mm Remington will work superbly on game.

Always felt like the 6Rem got shortchanged. Properly twisted, should have been able to beat .243 by 100-200fps with heavies. An AI version would be *real* interesting.

 

[WYelker]

I am a .243 fan as well. My kids both started with the 243. They took several elk, deer, and lopes with the .243 it is not going anywhere anytime soon. It will always have a place.

 

[Redman]

My Kimber Hunter in .243 has killed a pile of whitetails and an antelope with 95gr Nosler BT. Never had to shoot one more than once and all of them died within sight. Since I have switched to unleaded I haven't developed a copper bullet load yet. Need to dust it off and put it back to work!

 

[nrpate05]

As a guy who despises recoil and muzzle blast (need to think about a suppressor), the .243 is intriguing. I'm a big fan of the .25-06 for just a little more oomph without much more recoil. But, it is a long action and really needs a 24" barrel to develop velocity. A .243 is a short action and is useful with a shorter barrel which is very nice. I may have to look into it...