243 fazination???
- Thread starter MARCBO
- Start date
MARCBO
Well-Known Member
Doing a quick search for ammo the only stuff for the 300 Flanged I could locate in the US was from Kynoch with one choice of bullet at $45 per box. One the other hand saw 300 Win starting at $29 per box. Why would you want to bother with the H&H?
It is much better than a 243 though!!!
SS
Oh, this pre-64 was a regular .300 H&H, at what I thought was a stealing price in a small town. But I left it for some some other gun nut to find. I am already hooked on the .375 H&H. Now, if I could just find some 250 or 235 grain bullets to load. My heavy loads are dialed in.
MARCBO
Well-Known Member
Yes, so I am told, by a friend who restocked a CZ in .416 after a cape buffalo soaked up 4 rounds from two .375s and both barrels of a .470 through the chest, before catching a .375 between the eyes at 10 yards. He left the .375 at home for his next trip.
But I have owned about seven .375s, and hope I am settled in on this Sako L61R. It points like a 20 gauge dove gun.
Now I regret selling the pristine like .243 Forester I had to match it. Thank God, I still have the Sako .308.
But I have owned about seven .375s, and hope I am settled in on this Sako L61R. It points like a 20 gauge dove gun.
Now I regret selling the pristine like .243 Forester I had to match it. Thank God, I still have the Sako .308.
MARCBO
Well-Known Member
I am too cranky to own a .243. Give me a .250 Savage or .257 Roberts. That little Forester was in like new condition from the original owner, for $600. I just had to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. And I had two friends with good incomes who were are stuck on the .243 and still shooting ratty ones they bought when they were in law school. I had to move one of them up to something he could be proud of, and shame the other one into upgrading. So I was doing several good deeds here, If you hear a bell tingle, it may be me, getting my wings.
MARCBO
Well-Known Member
I'm starting to think the 243 is a Gun Maker conspiracy, they came out with it knowing people would soon discover it was not a very flexible cartridge and they either needed to buy another rifle or rebarrel what they had.
Daddy had a 243 he passed down to me....
Daddy had a 243 he passed down to me....
Last edited:
Stalker48
Well-Known Member
Interesting thread. I think the different cultural approaches partly reflect the history of firearms ownership and licencing in the different countries as well to some degree the style of hunting undertaken. To most hunters in the US and Canada a 243 is regarded as a good youth starter rifle or as quoted a girls gun. Most will move on to something bigger fairly quickly as that reflects the norm of hunting use for North American game. A lot of hunting in the US and Canada is different to the way we stalk deer. American/Canadian hunters are used to shooting at moving game so bullet placement can be a much more haphazard than the standard broadside heart/lung shot we would take at stationary deer. Larger calibres/heavier bullets are better at immobilizing a running animal. Also many of the US States and Canada have dangerous game that might be encountered whilst out hunting deer so having a slightly larger calibre than needed for a particular quarry species may not be such a bad idea. There are virtually no restrictions that prevent you owning the calibre you want in the US or Canada.
Conversely gun ownership is very restricted by comparison. Unless you want to go through a lot of hassle justifying why you need a larger calibre to shoot deer, then a 243 is an easy option. With the right bullets its good to adequate on everything we are going to encounter here, particularly when most are shot broadside and stationary with no idea its being hunted.
I really don't think there is much more to it than that. I have hunted in the US and Canada. I generally take a 7 -300 Weatherby firing 160 grain Accubonds over there, that's worked incredibly well on Whitetail, Muleys, Moose and looked after things when things have got sporty with bears. Here I shoot most roe deer with a 6mm PPC and virtually everything else with a 270WSM.
Conversely gun ownership is very restricted by comparison. Unless you want to go through a lot of hassle justifying why you need a larger calibre to shoot deer, then a 243 is an easy option. With the right bullets its good to adequate on everything we are going to encounter here, particularly when most are shot broadside and stationary with no idea its being hunted.
I really don't think there is much more to it than that. I have hunted in the US and Canada. I generally take a 7 -300 Weatherby firing 160 grain Accubonds over there, that's worked incredibly well on Whitetail, Muleys, Moose and looked after things when things have got sporty with bears. Here I shoot most roe deer with a 6mm PPC and virtually everything else with a 270WSM.
MARCBO
Well-Known Member
Most US hunters are taught to take a heart lung shot as well. Big, slower bullets have a definiate advantage here making large holes (without a bunch of meat damage) that allow the lungs to quickly collapse. Although a shot may be taken at moving game that is not the norm unless you are referring to hunts in the Southern US where shotguns and buckshot are often used. If I am hunting in an area where I might encounter dangerous game I am not going to be so naive to think a 300 of any sort is the right option and people are fooling themselves if they believe one will do the trick. It might at longer range where shots can be placed with great accuracy but at 50 feet that 26 in barreled rifle with a 6x plus powered scope will be neigh on useless.
We don't ususally wave a flag at a deer to make sure it knows it is being hunted.... They don't usually provide a good stationary broadside shot if you do.
7-300 with Sporty bears? Is that a bad breath range? I hope you had a guide behind you with the appropriate rifle.
SS
Ade8mm
Well-Known Member
[h=2]243 fazination???[/h]
My God.
Why would anyone want to shoot a 243, if you cannot take your game with a 22 caliber cartridge why would you not step up to a 30 caliber of some sort? Growing up in the Western US most people I knew of using a 243 were women who had trouble with the recoil of anything larger...
My God.
Over the years I have owned 4 different .243's, that should tell you how I feel about them. For vermin or varmint they are a awesome, I never needed a special rifle for coyote, my .243 always took care of them for me. For smallish deer it is nigh on perfect, Roe, Muntjac, and smallish fallow will drop easily enough. I have not shot deer in the UK yet but I have shot enough mule deer and whitetails to know what this caliber is capable of. I would not use it on Red deer even though thousands of Reds have fallen to it, I would prefer a larger caliber for those and for larger Fallow. Just personal choice on my part. It is a fast accurate round that doesn't belt you in the shoulder making it easier to shoot accurately. The question is why WOULDN'T you want to shot a .243? It gets the job done.
Troll alert.
.243 (6mm) with proper bullets quite frequently take moose here in Canada. Shot placement is what counts. With the latest premium expanding mono-metal bullets, they're better than they've ever been.
I can only imagine that an inexperienced and/or insecure as well as ignorant person would demean or write off such a cartridge.
P.S. It is spelled f-a-s-c-i-n-a-t-i-o-n.
.243 (6mm) with proper bullets quite frequently take moose here in Canada. Shot placement is what counts. With the latest premium expanding mono-metal bullets, they're better than they've ever been.
I can only imagine that an inexperienced and/or insecure as well as ignorant person would demean or write off such a cartridge.
P.S. It is spelled f-a-s-c-i-n-a-t-i-o-n.
Last edited:
Ade8mm
Well-Known Member
Well put
MARCBO
Well-Known Member
Norrie1956
Well-Known Member
I certainly wouldn't shoot a moose with my 243...personally,I'd use my Rapid 7..... Ahhhh,you're NOT from Scotland...?? 
I'll get involved, just for a laugh people take moose with .44 handguns so a .243 is fine with a nice strong bullet I'd say.
people take moose with .44 handguns so a .243 is fine with a nice strong bullet I'd say.
Last edited:
