New rifle and caliber. 243w or 308w?

Renico

Well-Known Member
Ok I cant really decide so maybe some of you guys in here could help a little.

I have a Brno 270w. The rifle is heavy, and the Kaps 2,5-10x56 scope on it is heavy too. When you combine those things you get one heavy setup. But its great for stand hunting.

I want another one, it shold be a light syntetic rifle, probably a Ruger American. I just cant decide what caliber I should pick.

I have to say roehunting is my favourite and my rifle hunting is 95% roedeer. Should I then get a 243 og 308? Does the meat damage differ greatly between those two?

The good thing about 243w is that I then have a rifle only for roedeers ( here in Denmark its illegal to shoot anything bigger than roe with a 243w)

The good thing about 308W is that I could also use it on red deer.

Yes the 308w is a bigger caliber, but does it make a lot more meat damage on a roe than a 243w will? I guess that will decide what caliber to pick.

Hope you understand this little story hehe.
 
the 243 will be fine for Roe using the correct bullet to minimize meat damage,look towards a bonded core bullet or one of the solid copper barnds,it will also be OK on reds although some peole on here sau its not enough gun but dead is dead if you put the bullet in the right place.
if you cant shoot big deer get a 308 it all depends on how many reds you intend on shooting.
The 308 would be an alround calibre over the 243,gain using a good quality bullet it will minimize meat damage
 
I have both calibres and use them both on a regular basis on roe. If I was forced to just use one of them on roe I would pick the 308 although it would be a very difficult choice. Both do the job very well and there is not a lot of difference to the amount of meat spoilt. I use 100 grain in the 243 and 165 in the 308.

Mulac
 
243w is legal for roe here, but not for anything bigger. For an example Red deer. Thats why I have my 270W which I can shoot red deer with. If I get a 308w I know I have two almost identical rifles in 270W and 308. But I then have a heavy stand rifle and a lightweight stalking rifle. And both is legal for Red deer if I should get the chance. But 95% of my hunting is for roe, so dont know if its overkill to have a 270 AND a 308

Ok mulac nice to hear some experinces from someone who use both calibers.
 
My stalking is also mostly roe. I started with a .270. Have used .243,6.5x55,.308 myself and have seen quite a few other calibers used first hand. Its nice to have a .243 in the cabinet but it wouldn't be my first choice for a roe rifle. You can potentially get more meat damage than a heavier caliber. 100 grain controlled expansion bullets would be the preferred choice with the .243 but many will only shoot well with lighter bullets. Light bullets pushed fast, expect to see damage.

I would personally buy a new .270 in a lighter setup. Other calibers to consider might be 25-06, .280rem, or if you want a short action .260rem.
 
243w is legal for roe here, but not for anything bigger. For an example Red deer. Thats why I have my 270W which I can shoot red deer with. If I get a 308w I know I have two almost identical rifles in 270W and 308. But I then have a heavy stand rifle and a lightweight stalking rifle. And both is legal for Red deer if I should get the chance. But 95% of my hunting is for roe, so dont know if its overkill to have a 270 AND a 308

Ok mulac nice to hear some experinces from someone who use both calibers.

.270 and .308 are very different. You potentially have more knock down power by using heavier weight bullets with the .308 but it is a slow bullet and trajectory is an arc compared to the .270 which is faster and flatter.
 
I actually have thought of getting another 270w instead of 308. Could be quite nice to have two of the same caliber but with two different jobs to do.
 
I should say that I also have considered Calibrer 6,5x55 have heard it should be excellent for Roe and also good enough if a Red deer comes by some day.
 
Get a 308 and kill them outright........ Can use it for anything else you can find here also....
 
Hi Renico
I have .243W & .308W and now use the .308W for just about everything - the .243W just gathers dust to be honest.
As to your question about the likely meat damage.
I found that when I regularly used the .243W that it could inflict truly terrible damage, especially if using lighter bullets such as 85grain hollowpoints.
I found the .308W to be much less likely to turn a shoulder into jelly or to blow things apart but is still awesomely hard-hitting.

The .308W is also fairly easy to manage in terms of recoil, which is definitely something to consider if you're thinking of going for a lightly built sporting rifle.

Go for the .308W and team it up with good ammo, you're unlikely to regret it, but as has often been said on this forum - try before you buy if you get the chance.
ATB
 
Why not stick with the .308 family but go with the 7mm08? It's a great cartridge for anything from roe deer to boar and red deer. A lot less recoil than the .308 but much heavier bullets than the .243 (ie 140 vs 100 grains). Steyr-mannlicher, sako, plus all the US brands sell 7mm08 chambered rifles. Ammunition's easy too: norma, sako, remington, federal... I switched from 7x64 to 7mm08 a few years ago and have never looked back.
 
I should say that I also have considered Calibrer 6,5x55 have heard it should be excellent for Roe and also good enough if a Red deer comes by some day.

Well I was wondering why you were limiting yourself to only 243 and 308, I've had a number of both and wouldn't knock them. However I now use predominantly a 7mm-08 and 6.5x55 for mainly Muntjac, Fallow and Reds with the occasional Roe and wouldn't go back to either 243 or 308.

Both 7mm-08 and 6.5x55 are very smooth to shoot, inherently accurate and easy on the meat (which matters as the deer are my income!). They'll both do more than the 243 and the 7mm-08 will do it better than the 308. Having said that the deer won't know the difference, but you who will feel the difference in handling characteristics.

Good luck!
 
Why not stick with the .308 family but go with the 7mm08? It's a great cartridge for anything from roe deer to boar and red deer. A lot less recoil than the .308 but much heavier bullets than the .243 (ie 140 vs 100 grains). Steyr-mannlicher, sako, plus all the US brands sell 7mm08 chambered rifles. Ammunition's easy too: norma, sako, remington, federal... I switched from 7x64 to 7mm08 a few years ago and have never looked back.

+1 for 7mm-08 - I love mine.
 
Given that you have a heavy barreled long range rig and that 95% of your stalking is Roe, get either a light weight 243 and with a good soft but not too soft 85 to 100gn bullet meat damage is minimal and ideal for Roe. Keep away from ballistic tips , hollow points etc, but stick to a 243 bullet designed for big game and you will be fine. 308 will be much less comfortable to shoot. The perfect rifle may be a nice vintage 6.5x54 Mannlicher, or a nice little falling block or break action in a 6mm or 6.5mm calibre.
 
I like both the .243 and the .308, though I don't see why you are limiting yourself to these two when a lighter rifle is your main reason for adding to the .270 you already have.

Personally, I'd be tempted by the 7mm-08 or 6.5x55 as above. Factory loads for the 6.5x55 aren't always optimum load for a modern action (because there are a lot of old guns out their in this chambering.)

If there really was only a choice between .308 and .243 as my ONLY rifle, I'd get the .308. If I already had a .270 and wanted a really light second rifle to complement it, I'd get the .243win.
 
The answer to this is a simple one IMHO .308 it's versatile for larger species, dose less meat damage, & is easilly as quiet as .243 with the right mod & not much difference without mods.
 
Hi Renico
I have .243W & .308W and now use the .308W for just about everything - the .243W just gathers dust to be honest.
As to your question about the likely meat damage.
I found that when I regularly used the .243W that it could inflict truly terrible damage, especially if using lighter bullets such as 85grain hollowpoints.
I found the .308W to be much less likely to turn a shoulder into jelly or to blow things apart but is still awesomely hard-hitting.

The .308W is also fairly easy to manage in terms of recoil, which is definitely something to consider if you're thinking of going for a lightly built sporting rifle.

Go for the .308W and team it up with good ammo, you're unlikely to regret it, but as has often been said on this forum - try before you buy if you get the chance.
ATB

I am using both calibres and agree with what Geoshot says. A good heavy bullet (I use 165gn Interlock) in .308 can cause very little damage compared with some faster .243 loads. That's not to say that the .243 does cause a lot of damage, it just depends on the type of bullet you opt for and where you aim it... I do, however, like both calibres equally for their own reasons.
 
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