tackb
Well-Known Member
no reason you can't have a 308 , get BASC involved ? if you've had an FAC for ten years whether you have a 243 or a 308 won't be the difference between safe or not.
243 fazination???
- Thread starter MARCBO
- Start date
no reason you can't have a 308 , get BASC involved ? if you've had an FAC for ten years whether you have a 243 or a 308 won't be the difference between safe or not.
+1
My first, and for many years only, rifle was a 308 and they were happy to grant it for muntjac, roe and fallow. Reds, sadly, are somewhat more scarce down here than up there!
If you may have the chance of occasional reds - whether on your own ground or visiting elsewhere - then I'd push for a 308.
pablo.222
Well-Known Member
In time i will i think. Happy enough with .243 just now so no complaints. But u know how it is, always wanting more fire power and something new too play with.
And so, to answer your origonal question, the 'fascination' is there because it is the optimal solution to the problems confronting the average recreational hunter in this country, given all the various constraints we have to work within. I imagine if Police Licensing departments were a little more lenient with first rifles, you'd see 7X57 or .308 or 6.5X55 as the default cartridge for casual stalkers. But they're not, so there it is.
MARCBO
Well-Known Member
Of course it's a compromise - an almost unavoidable one. Excuse? Excuse for what? Living in the UK? Making rational decisions? Realising that there is more to life than arguing with police firearms licensing officers?
It strikes me that you simply don't understand the difficulty we have getting a firearms certificate, and the even greater difficulty in getting anything other than a .243 granted on it.
I might flip it round and ask you why Americans are obsessed with embracing hearing loss? Why are you all so plank-headedly obstinate that you insist on shooting without moderators?
(I will add that I shoot without a mod - in both .243 and .308 - but the rhetorical position is similar to the one you've adopted here).
Maybe.....other than in cases like mine, where I originally had (and still have) a .308 and then decided of my own free will to buy a .243.
One reason for which, that I forgot to mention earlier, is that I guide clients deer stalking for muntjac and roe on a fairly frequent basis. A number of those clients may not have their own rifle and indeed some may not have shot a rifle before at all. Not all of these "newbies" are kids, by the way, and bear in mind that the UK doesn't have the same culture around firearms that you do in the US. So the closest many may have got to a real firearm is seeing "a short chamber Boxer Henry point 45 caliber miracle" in Zulu!
In circumstances like these the low recoil and low noise of the .243 are very attractive. Combine the above with the types of deer these clients are likely to see and (hopefully) get a shot at, and the .243 is - perish the thought - optimal. The last thing you want when guiding someone is to worry whether they will flinch when pulling the trigger. You want them to enjoy using the rifle, enjoy the zeroing, and enjoy the whole subsequent deer stalking experience. Stick them behind a .270 for their first ever shot and some might not come back again!
Others who have their own rifles may elect not to bring them, and instead opt for the "estate rifle" clause and borrow mine. Again, it would be the .243 I'd put them behind, and no-one has ever objected to using the .243.
So I sort of look upon the .243 as the "lowest common denominator" of rifles for deer in the Southern Britain - and that's not meant as a criticism by the way.
Of course once those newbies have been out a few times I tell them to "man up" and use the .308
To close, I have the choice of two identical Blasers in the cabinet, one in 243 and one in 308. Unless I'm going to Scotland or abroad, I always pick the .243.
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MARCBO
Well-Known Member
Some States allow mods for hunting and others do not. Not a real problem though because no one has ever lost an animal or wasted a bunch of meat from not using a mod or not using a suitable one.
The way you put it the only choice is to use a 243 since the police won't give you a 308 or not hunt. Is that it? Other UK hunters on here seem to have all kinds of calibers, 6.6, 270, 7mm, 300WM...
SS
The deer man
Well-Known Member
It also depends a little on your local area FEO. Two friends here in Suffolk have just got their first Firearms Licence and first rifle for both of them is a 7mm-08 each.
Personally I don't think people push or argue hard enough for the calibre they want in the belief they won't get granted a certificate. Arm yourself with the correct information, know your subject and tell the FEO that's what I require. Just don't take no for an answer.
pablo.222
Well-Known Member
Depends what deer you are going too be hunting and what deer you have on the ground you have permission too hunt on. Also some feo are more leanient with giving larger calibres than others. If u battle your case you will get what you want.
Hedgehopper
Well-Known Member
Maybe.....other than in cases like mine, where I originally had (and still have) a .308 and then decided of my own free will to buy a .243.
...
To close, I have the choice of two identical Blasers in the cabinet, one in 243 and one in 308. Unless I'm going to Scotland or abroad, I always pick the .243.
I have a .243 and a 30-06 in the cabinet, my ground is a mix of fallow and roe. My go to rifle is the .243 9 times out of 10.
Why? I am certainly more confident in the accuracy of the .243, I can keyhole factory loads at 100yds, I have not found the 30-06 factory round that I can do that with yet. I am not a pro like many here and have shot less than 50 deer in my life but a well placed bullet always seems to get the job done (so far). Also, as I primarily shoot deer on my pheasant shoot, I will always shoot a fox if I get the opportunity and I love the .243 as a foxing round.
However, if I were to find myself after reds on the moor, I think I would opt for the more manly gun.
Perhaps I am just confident in my own sexuality!
hedgehopper
MARCBO
Well-Known Member
Back in my competitive shooting days (sniper competitions) I used to wear pink socks, they distracted the hell out of a couple of competitors from the FBI. Never intended to have pink socks but one night after a large number of beers I decided to do my laundry, everything in the machine at once. Turns out a red canvas shirt makes white socks pink and they stay that way. The FBI guys were apparently not so confident in their sexuality...
SS
So the .243 would be the perfect match to your socks then
alberta boy
Well-Known Member
What happens at Wolf Lake stays at Wolf Lake............... and why does my pillow smell like chloroform ?
AB
stalker.308
Well-Known Member
Shhhhhh....................sleep now
alberta boy
Well-Known Member
That's it , from now on I sleep in the truck........... with the doors locked......... and the keys .
AB
MARCBO
Well-Known Member
So the .243 would be the perfect match to your socks then
Bare in mind the socks were like a halloween or fashing mask, meant to distract (BTW: shooting a 7.62N, 330WM or 338L while wearing them). Much different from the bloke that must ensure his pants are up to prevent someone seeing his pink G-string before firing that next punishing round of 243.
SS
jackselby3000
Active Member
Just my opinion and only based on my experience but I rather like the .243 win. I have to admit my first one was a very cheap second hand one that I utterly hated. It was light and i could be more accurate with a tennis ball. I soon let it go and vowed never to have a .243 again. After some time back down to just a 22LR I decided I needed a centre fire as the deer numbers on the farm were up and foxes were no longer willing to climb into the truck to be dispatched. Despite all my vows and fears the only logical choice was the .243. I got a heavy barrel Howa with the recoil reducing stock and a mod. It's got an 8x56 and is zero'd for MPBR with 58gr V-Max. This means I can point and squirt as long as there is ginger in my scope and have taken foxes to 300+. I equally have used the rifle for deer and have had one large fallow stumble, make a dash and drop. I believed that here was one round for all that could cover my bases. I think now that I was wrong. Firstly with a heavy barrel and mod it's a terrible item to shoot free hand, off sticks and to carry about in general. When you make a clean kill and the adrenaline of it all kicks in this is fine but when you lug it round the wood without seeing a single deer and wishing you had a trailer that is a different matter. I also found myself zeroing (usually under pressure) for deer cartridges in order to go for a stalk, seeing nothing, then getting the call up to go after the fox and having to zero again. I know I could have used the deer round for fox but my Howa loves the zippy little V-max and that added weight was too much. I thought about getting a lighter weight .243 but the Howa has become an old friend so asked nicely to add a deer specific .308 to the cabinet which I have duly done. Interestingly I was given Fox and Boar as part of the deal on the .308 conditions (Thanks Glos Pol). I now have the ability to take a deer with the .243 if I want but then it really is there as a pure out and out fox rifle and comparing a lot of ballistics with the smaller .22 centerfires it holds it's own. It's a wonderful calibre for fox in the lighter V-max and I think with a lighter rifle a very competent deer calibre. However my accuracy comes largely from a nicely made rifle and not my ability so when taking the larger deer species I am very happy to know the .308 will do a nice job. It all comes down to bullet placement. But if liking my .243 makes me a girl I hope that at 6'5" I still look good in a skirt!
