what about the 243 cal?

[acemisser]

I never see much about the 243 cal..Why is that?
Do you suppose it would be a good target round for paper bunching?
The recoil should not be too bad as some others are.
I would like to hear some thoughts on this round...John

[John_M]

The .223 Rem and .243 Win. are my favorite rounds for punching holes in paper, hunting varmints, deer, coyotes and other mid-sized game. Neither round will kick too much. Both have been very accurate in various Remington and Savage rifles I have owned. Factory manufactured rifles are usually readily available in these two formats. Reloading components are readily available and not too costly. Both can be fired many times each day without causing a hematoma in the shooting shoulder. Both are very useful cartridges and in "choose which one" questions, both are favored for use in survival situations. Using the .243 Rem., I have shot many woodchucks up to about 500 yds.

Just my biased opinion, worth about .02 cents.

[rjtfroggy]

I personally like the 243. It is my favorite hunting round and it never fails to do the intended deed.Easy to load for, easy to find an accurate load bullet combo for,and I am still considering buying a heavey barrel for one and if I do it will be used for bench rest out to 200 yards.(longest we have)Need a new shotgun first and that is on top of the list right now.
Some say it is a barrel burner and that may be why you don't see them at matches but I am willing to bet there are plenty of them carried into the woods every year.

[acemisser]

Well,we do have one fellow that comes and shoots and he has a 243 Reminton I beleive..He does pretty fair with it.
Seems to like it..Next time I see him,I will have to ask him about it..As far as being a barrel burner,I think any barrel will burn out if you shoot it too fast and get the barrel too darn hot..I have heard of guys shooting out the 06 while it is getting too hot..But that was the shooters own fault and stupidy...John

[fgw_in_fla]

I have an assortment of .243 barrels. The one in use right now is like a woman. Hard to make happy. It's sensitive on loading. 1/10gr either way & it's not happy.
When it's on, it's right on. I've punched one holers with 55's & 75's. It seems to be especially sensitive with 90's.

I tried every slow burning powder I could come up with & it only likes fast or mid range burning powders like IMR4895 or 4064.
Recoil is almost negligible which means it won't blow the reticle out of my Barska scope. For the light recoil it has no problem pushing 55's to 3400+ on a good day.

All in all it's a pretty good little round. If I had to choose - I'd go with anything else. But, It gives me something to do in between working on other calibers...

All time fav - 25.06 Flat shooter, hi velocity, east to load for, accurate.

Frank in Fla

[darkker]

Not sure what a 243Rem is, but the 243 Winchester has a rough past.
It is notorious for having random(sometimes violent) pressure excursions for no apparent reason. Call any of the bullet/powder folks who do their own shooting; and ask them about it....
Standard 243 twists are a bit slow for current heavy match bullets, and back to the case... So you don't see many on the firing line in matches. Something like the "Six"(6mm PPC) is a MUCH better case choice for match shooting, Pretty much owns alot of the shooting matches.

I love my 308, I like my 243 for coyotes(because Z-max's are cheap) but I don't use it for much else. With light bullets, the 243 & 22-250 are only a few small grains apart for loading: Lots of powder, lots of heat, small bore to erode upon.

[helotaxi]

My experience with the .243 has been pretty much all positive. Both of my current rifles, one with a factory sporter barrel and the other with a Shilen 1:8 varmint barrel, are very even tempered and have proven very easy to load for. When I shoot development loads for a hunting rifle and all 6 loads tested are 3-shot groups under 1 MOA I can't complain. When the heavy barreled rifle puts 2/3 of the development loads under 1/2 MOA...again very little to complain about.

You don't see the .243 in competitive circles where the 6 PPC typically dominates because they are not in the same category. The PPC is a short range benchrest cartridge and the .243 is capable of putting a lot more steam behind a much heavier bullet. With the 105+gn match bullets, the .243 is a better choice for 1k competition than the .308 will ever be with less drop, drift and recoil.

fgw-in-fla- If you're only getting 3400 FPS with a 55gn bullet from a .243, you're really selling yourself short. From a 24" barrel, 4k is fairly easily surpassed and the CT Ballistic Silvertips make for a very flat shooting, very hard hitting varmint round. My loads need exactly 1 mil of elevation from 100 to 400 yds and I've had no problems hitting 2.5" targets out to 375yds with those loads.

[fgw_in_fla]

helo - I'm sure it's well within the capabilities of the barrel, components & shooter. I'm not much of a max velocity sort. I'm quite content with keeping them flat & tight. I'm not an real enthusiastic about the caliber. I have way too much fun with other calibers.
Besides, the current barrel will soon be a memory & it's on to the next which will probably shoot better since it's brand new.
Maybe then I'll take more of an interst in the caliber. Complicate that I just bought a .223 WSSM of another member & I'm looking forward to that being my new play toy... ya know, just like the kids. Can't live without it.. I'm gonna DIE if I don't have one... I really need one. And then, it happens. Another caliber captures your interest & it's starts all over again.
It's the Savage / Addiction /OCD way I tell ya...

Good luck & good shooting to you..
Frank in Fla

[rjtfroggy]

Ace if you realy want a short range bench gun try a 250-3000. I put one together and 100gr. smk's shoot like a laser and the 90gr. smk's are not far behind. The 25 cal. bullets make a little bigger hole also, and that matters shooting score targets.
Mine is done as a 1:10 twist 18" Douglas match in a plum colored Stocky's thumbhole.

[DanSavage]

I'm a BIG BIG fan of the .243.

I grew up with a Browning BLR .243 and when I was 14 my dad bought me a Lee reloading kit, I only loaded for a couple of years before I sold everything and got into dirtbikes and 4wheelers.

I had no one to teach me to reload when I was 14, there was no internet however I did have the Lee loading manual to go by. My dad was a farmer and knew nothing about hunting or reloading, he just had a few guns to keep the coyotes and coy dogs away.

The big man up in the clouds had an eye on me though as I remember looking in the book at a load that produced 3800 fps, I wanted even faster so I loaded a few grains extra. I knew nothing about over pressure and wondered why the lever on that BLR rifle wouldn't open after I would shoot 475 yards at a big rock aiming just a whisker high! Didn't even know it was 475 yards until I ranged it a couple years ago. But somehow I managed to get that lever pried open and do it again and again, shortly after that is when I lost interest.

About 12 years ago I bought a 110 in .243 and used it on and off for hunting everything from squirel to deer. With .243 win I've taken lots of small and big game and there will always be a spot in my heart for the .243 win. Since the past 3 years of my reincarnation of reloading I've never had a sticky bolt with my reloads for I am much smarter than I used to be. I've reloaded and shot around 2000 rounds so far, I watch the chrono and rarely exceed published max. loads.

Sorry I got off topic bud...

[helotaxi]

I'm quite content with keeping them flat & tight.

They're a lot flatter when they're going 600fps faster :D

[efm77]

I just recently got interested in the 243 but like it immensely! I have no experience with the heavier bullets as I bought mine more or less as a varmint rifle but it shoots Hornady 58 grain v-max's lights out. As long as you don't overheat it I would think barrel life would be pretty good so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

[JackinSD]

This guy seems to think the .243 is pretty good for targets http://www.accurateshooter.com/shoot...onship-secrets

[Jamie]

I believe I am quite happy with my .243 Win for targets. 100 yards and 200 yards, on a specialty pistol. Yeah I am happy.

]

[scope eye]

243 you can't go wrong It's like a mini 308 and has a good range of bullets to boot, anywhere from 55 Noslers that exit @ 4300 FPS "can you say varmint" all the way to 105 AMax's @3300 if that's your fancy,
like I said ya can't go wrong.

Tanks Dean

[darkker]

Well.... READ the story.

Whidden is OVER-LOADING that powder by 500 fps!!! That is an ARSE-LOAD of pressure!!!

and yes, I CAN get the 55's to 4300 also, and I can also throw away my brass after 2 firings because of primer pocket enlargement, and head seperations.

[Jamie]

I do not throw my brass away or over load it, still happy.

[JackinSD]

Well.... READ the story.

Whidden is OVER-LOADING that powder by 500 fps!!! That is an ARSE-LOAD of pressure!!!

and yes, I CAN get the 55's to 4300 also, and I can also throw away my brass after 2 firings because of primer pocket enlargement, and head seperations.

The point is NOT that he was shooting 105's at 3300. It's about the .243 being a fine caliber for long range target shooting.

Overloaded by 500 fps? Not really. 300 fps over what I shoot in a barrel that is 4" shorter than his 32 incher. Granted, I would not push that high out of my equipment. But, I am sure the Mr. Whidden knows a bit more about it than you or I.

[acemisser]

You guys should all write comic books....Funny-interesting-etc....Gotta love it...John

[scope eye]

All my loads and numbers were done with a 27 inch McGowen in 12 twist and it did not ruin the brass, I am sure I won't get ten reloads out of them but I find it is a good balance between speed and attrition.

Tanks Dean

[nsaqam]

Well.... READ the story.

Whidden is OVER-LOADING that powder by 500 fps!!! That is an ARSE-LOAD of pressure!!!

and yes, I CAN get the 55's to 4300 also, and I can also throw away my brass after 2 firings because of primer pocket enlargement, and head seperations.

With a 32" tube there are 18 different powders which when loaded into a .243 case will exceed 3300fps with the 105 Amax. All of them under 65K pressure as well. N570 will do 3360 at only 60K.
At 60K brass life is almost unlimited.

[darkker]

The point is NOT that he was shooting 105's at 3300. It's about the .243 being a fine caliber for long range target shooting.

Overloaded by 500 fps? Not really. 300 fps over what I shoot in a barrel that is 4" shorter than his 32 incher. Granted, I would not push that high out of my equipment. But, I am sure the Mr. Whidden knows a bit more about it than you or I.

With a 32" tube there are 18 different powders which when loaded into a .243 case will exceed 3300fps with the 105 Amax. All of them under 65K pressure as well. N570 will do 3360 at only 60K.
At 60K brass life is almost unlimited.

Whidden Listed his bullet AND powder. By Lapua's info(10-twist, 24" barrel), Whidden is pushing THAT powder 500 fps faster than the data for the powder. Now CAN that much barrel length add that much? Maybe

I think my point stands: What Whidden has for a gun & load is a stout load, in an extremely long barrel, on a custom action, stock and optics. If the Original question is can a 24-cal be set-up for long range duty, then certainly; as can anything. If the question is is there a production rifle in 24-cal that is a good long range shooter, I stay with my original answer.

So what is the actual Question? If you want to throw money into a deal and have a specific tool, YES.
If you want to buy a LRP(or other production rifle) and get world class results, NO.

[bootsmcguire]

I have had several 243's over the last decade or so. For a fast flat Varmint shooter, its hard to beat. 58gr V-max's at over 4k is the way to go. If you plan on reloading for the 243 I suggest going with the 243AI just to give you added brass life and almost no trimming. I just love mine, and it is my go to rifle for Varmints. Very accurate and has been easy to load for.

[nsaqam]

As always, Lapua is limited by the SAAMI MAP applied to the cartridge for their loading info.

The SAAMI MAP is a rather low 60K.

Just the change in barrel length from 24" to 32", when running at 60K, accounts for 200fps.

Push the pressure up to 65K and you pick up 200 more.

Push the pressure to 70K, a not inconsiderable increase but one which is likely safe in a strong action, and you get all the way to 500fps faster than the published Lapua data.

Definitely doable if you are comfortable with 70K. I'm not but I'm perfectly comfortable with 65K.

[JackinSD]

Whidden Listed his bullet AND powder. By Lapua's info(10-twist, 24" barrel), Whidden is pushing THAT powder 500 fps faster than the data for the powder. Now CAN that much barrel length add that much? Maybe

I think my point stands: What Whidden has for a gun & load is a stout load, in an extremely long barrel, on a custom action, stock and optics. If the Original question is can a 24-cal be set-up for long range duty, then certainly; as can anything. If the question is is there a production rifle in 24-cal that is a good long range shooter, I stay with my original answer.

So what is the actual Question? If you want to throw money into a deal and have a specific tool, YES.
If you want to buy a LRP(or other production rifle) and get world class results, NO.

Once AGAIN. But, "Do you suppose it would be a good target round for paper bunching?", as asked by the OP.

If you are going to shoot "world class" as you are stipulating, then yes you will be throwing money at it. No matter what caliber you choose.

I don't think anyone is saying that you MUST have the same load, rifle, scope, etc. as Whidden to shoot the .243 precisely.

I only am stating that the .243 is used by at least one person (and more) to punch targets and done very well.