.243 or 6.5...

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J.kerslake

J.kerslake

Well-Known Member
Evening all, so now lockdown is being eased I’ll be putting in a variation for a deer legal calibre, currently the biggest rifle I’ve got is .222. A friend has been taking me out stalking to satisfy the fao, and I’ve been taking his 6.5 creedmoor. I thought I wanted a .243 but after hearing his views on the 6.5’s I’m no longer sure. So...what are the pros and cons of each? Realistically I’ll be shooting a maximum of 150ish yards.
 
J.kerslake said:
Evening all, so now lockdown is being eased I’ll be putting in a variation for a deer legal calibre, currently the biggest rifle I’ve got is .222. A friend has been taking me out stalking to satisfy the fao, and I’ve been taking his 6.5 creedmoor. I thought I wanted a .243 but after hearing his views on the 6.5’s I’m no longer sure. So...what are the pros and cons of each? Realistically I’ll be shooting a maximum of 150ish yards.
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What are are you hoping to shoot? Evidentially both are excellent calibers Of the two, I have only personal experience of the .243 and I have no complaints with it. Have you tried the search facility on SD? There is plenty of intel about both the .243 and the 6.5 Creedmore. May I suggest you have a look there?
 
Was looking into this myself recently and deciding whether to vary my .243 for 6.5mm CM. In the end I decided to stick for the .243

Pros of .243:
Cheap factory ammo for a deer legal gun
Wide choice of round depending on quarry
Suitable for all deer in my area
Equally capable on killing foxes

Cons of .243:
Lacks a bit of knockdown power compared to the 6.5CM (probably not an issue on common Wiltshire deer species)
Not future proof for Scotland (lead ban likely, 100gr minimum bullet weight etc)
LOUD. Get a good can for your rifle

Can't speak from experience for the 6.5CM but when I was researching it looks to be a fantastic new calibre that despite naysayers probably isn't going to go anywhere. Good choice of bullet weights, great ballistics (categorically beats .308 in every way in reference to ballistics) BUT if you are planning on using it as your jack-of-all-trades rifle like I am, might be quiet expensive to go fox shooting with as a pack of 20 rounds can cost you near £40, whereas good quality rounds for the .243 (Sako for example) is £27.

If you're ONLY planning on shooting game species like deer and maybe boar if you pop over to the Forest of Dean for an evening I'd go for the 6.5, but if you want to do vermin control with it as well I'd go for .243 which is cheaper to run when shooting stuff you aren't going to eat :p

If you're a target shooter, 6.5 is a better round
 
Realistically roe is the biggest thing I’m going to shoot, as it stand I’ve been using the .222 for foxes and the odd muntjac of which it is more than capable. I just wonder if I’d be over gunning myself with a 6.5! I’ve no interest in long distance shooting, infact part of the enjoyment in stalking for me is the getting close! Cheap does appeal to me!!
 
I was in the same dilemma. Ended up ditching my empty 243 slot in favour of the 6.5 Creed.

Main reasons were that I have some rather large red deer that I'll be shooting this season and I quite like the idea of some longer range gongs and ocassional vermin.

I'll be reloading anyway, so won't be paying for factory ammo. Incidentally, I haven't shot the 6.5 Creed yet. Need a few bits first. Don't think I'll be disappointed, though.
 
J.kerslake said:
Realistically roe is the biggest thing I’m going to shoot, as it stand I’ve been using the .222 for foxes and the odd muntjac of which it is more than capable. I just wonder if I’d be over gunning myself with a 6.5! I’ve no interest in long distance shooting, infact part of the enjoyment in stalking for me is the getting close! Cheap does appeal to me!!
Click to expand...

Famous last words ;)

Then you get the chance to shoot something bigger, and whilst the 243 is capable, you have far less head room.

6.5CM, or 6.5x55, both very good !
 
Used a .243 for over 30 years on all deer in the UK..... fantastic calibre with the right choice of bullet. Still retain the first .243 I bought and will be using it in the coming weeks but if I were starting out again, it would be the versatile 6.5 and although I've only used my latest addition, a 6.5 CM for range work, it will be my go to rifle from late summer this year until I have to hang my boots up :old:
 
JMikeyH said:
...
Not future proof for Scotland (lead ban likely, 100gr minimum bullet weight etc)
...
Click to expand...

Not to be pedantic, but as I have mentioned previously in other threads, the DWG report which recommends a move to non-lead ammunition for deer in Scotland then goes on to recommend that minimum mass requirements are reviewed and dropped to take into account the transition to copper projectiles. 80gr was their initial estimate if I recall correctly.

It is not all doom-and-gloom for the .243Win...
 
J.kerslake said:
Evening all, so now lockdown is being eased I’ll be putting in a variation for a deer legal calibre, currently the biggest rifle I’ve got is .222. A friend has been taking me out stalking to satisfy the fao, and I’ve been taking his 6.5 creedmoor. I thought I wanted a .243 but after hearing his views on the 6.5’s I’m no longer sure. So...what are the pros and cons of each? Realistically I’ll be shooting a maximum of 150ish yards.
Click to expand...
Put in for Calibre 6.5, then you have a better choice within x47, the great x55 (own one), 6.5cm (own one) & wildcats etc. I'm prrtty sure you won't be sorry.
 
Island said:
Not to be pedantic, but as I have mentioned previously in other threads, the DWG report which recommends a move to non-lead ammunition for deer in Scotland then goes on to recommend that minimum mass requirements are reviewed and dropped to take into account the transition to copper projectiles. 80gr was their initial estimate if I recall correctly.

It is not all doom-and-gloom for the .243Win...
Click to expand...

In addition @J.kerslake, you should get yourself up to Scotland. As @dodgyknees pointed out you already have the chambering that God himself uses for Roe....
 
6.5 all the way. Doesn't matter what cartridge, whichever one you fancy. I've had .243 and 6.5 and would take the 6.5 every time.

.243 is fast. Because it uses light bullets it has to be fast to be legal. Velocity causes trauma and I found I got lots of bloodshot meat with the .243 because of that. I shoot mainly roe and munties at fairly close range in woodland. No matter what you want to do, you can't slow it down and at short woodland ranges damage can be pretty severe. A 100gr bullet, which is about as heavy as a .243 can manage and some struggle with that, needs 2770fps to make 1700ft-lbs.

6.5, well you can up the bullet weight on a .243 by 60% with a heavy load. You can get crazy velocity out of it with 100gr bullets if you want to though. So the 6.5 does both. It's still not a huge round so recoil isn't an issue. A 140gr bullet needs 2340fps to make 1700ft-lbs.

If you want a possible heavy foxing rifle too then both are great, but with a 95gr V-Max there's not a lot on offer from the .243 that the 6.5 can't do. It's just so much more versatile. Then there's the possible issue of a non toxic bullet requirement coming in later on. The .243 is looking to be seriously at risk in Scotland unless the law is changed. The 6.5 however will then be one of the smallest calibres able to do the job.
 
I have 6.5x47, 6.5-284 and 270 I have had 25-06, 243win, straight 284, 260. All used for deer control. If someone said from the start of my shooting career that i was only allowed to choose one of the above and could not change it then it would be 6.5-284 as long as i could reload. If i could not reload then it would be the 270. If i had to start again and the 6.5cm was an option then i would seriously look at that but it would not be worth me changing my 6.5x47.
For me the 243 would not be on my list.
 
dodgyknees said:
Do you reload @J.kerslake ?

And not to be facetious or stir things up, but honestly this thread just highlights the ridiculous situation you fellas are in. The guy's already got the perfect rifle for roe deer FFS!
Click to expand...
I don’t reload at the moment, but it’s something else I’ve been talking about with my mate for the .222, he reloads for the vast majority of his rifles and saves him self a small fortune.
 
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