243 fazination???

[MARCBO]

dating

Tiff may get inundated with PMs but won't have to worry about the 243 guys.

http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/showthread.php/98275-Lady-Gun!

SS

 

[MARCBO]

Tiff may get inundated with PMs but won't have to worry about the 243 guys.

http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/showthread.php/98275-Lady-Gun!

SS

err, sorry. Should have said the 22WMR guys....

SS

 

[MARCBO]

Mungo posted this in another thread!

"However, if forced to rationalise, I would go to just the .308."

Funny he would staunchly defend the 243 and then come back else saying the 308 is the best choice.

SS

 

[palmer_mike]

Mungo posted this in another thread!

"However, if forced to rationalise, I would go to just the .308."

Funny he would staunchly defend the 243 and then come back else saying the 308 is the best choice.

SS

Or maybe he's open minded enough to recognise that .243 is a good calibre even though he may choose a different one himself.

 

[MARCBO]

Or maybe he's open minded enough to recognise that .243 is a good calibre even though he may choose a different one himself.

I think Mungo has a stronger personality than that.

SS

 

[User00026]

if 80% of what you shoot are small deer like Roe, and also some vermin, with the odd sika or red deer stag thrown in, the .243 is a stunning in performance if loaded right and shot positions are appropriate. I'm off this weekend to cull maybe 3-5 red deer hinds, rifle coming out of the cabinet,.. .243Win. Why are the big guns staying home? because there's no need, the hinds, calves and yearlings usually drop just as fast, in fact, much faster than if shot with a 30-06 and a 180g nosler partition (experience this plenty), AND, the game dealer is MUCH happier.

I can see however, if you were only allowed 'ONE GUN', and you might want to go for boar or plains game, etc in your life, then that 'one' would probably not be the .243, but a .308 (or 30-06 or 7x57 for that matter).

 

[Chasey]

Makes rather a nasty mess of hares...

I'd say optimal for head shooting hares, optimal for head and body shooting fox up to roe.

Having now shot roe with .222, .243 and .308, on balance I like the .243 most. .222 is fun to use and perfectly effective, but I do still worry about it for longer shots, windy days or places where a runnner would be a problem (though not had one yet). The .308 is emphatically effective, but with 150gr ballistic tips (which I use because I like them for fallow), can cause more damage than I'm happy with - though I really like it for longer range , windy days or thick gorse scrub, where even a 10m runner means a lot of searching. .243 is the perfect mid point between the two.

When I got my .308, I thought I'd fairly quickly sell the .243 and be done with it - but I've found I just like it too much for roe to part with it.

I wonder if the critics of .243 (particularly the North Americans) really realise how small roe are!

Or a lot of the fallow shot for that matter

I must say I am laughing my tits off at all the "mans gun" womans gun" stuff

I used to shoot competatavly in the cadets with a WW2 Lee Enfield 303 with a brass butt plate. I shot it left handed, open sights, no moderator and the bolt used to smack me in the lip. Comming home brused and battered from Perbright or Bisley with a fat lip after 100 competition rounds I didnt feel particularly manley, just totaly fecked

A 243 feels like a surgical instrament to the 303s sledge hammer in comparison.

Lets face it shooting a dear in the boiler house with a Swaro 10X mag scopes isnt reely that much of a chalange for rifel skills. Do you realy need a bazooker as well?

A 243 makes you consider your target a bit more because you cant rely on brute force to knock the deer over, but for me thats all part of it.

If I were shooting rampaging zombies or being charged by buffalo then id want a 50 cal, but for the cute little bamby stuff we shoot a 243 does the job well

ATB

Mark

 

[sharkey]

if 80% of what you shoot are small deer like Roe, and also some vermin, with the odd sika or red deer stag thrown in, the .243 is a stunning in performance if loaded right and shot positions are appropriate. I'm off this weekend to cull maybe 3-5 red deer hinds, rifle coming out of the cabinet,.. .243Win. Why are the big guns staying home? because there's no need, the hinds, calves and yearlings usually drop just as fast, in fact, much faster than if shot with a 30-06 and a 180g nosler partition (experience this plenty), AND, the game dealer is MUCH happier.

I can see however, if you were only allowed 'ONE GUN', and you might want to go for boar or plains game, etc in your life, then that 'one' would probably not be the .243, but a .308 (or 30-06 or 7x57 for that matter).

What is the live weight of a mature Scottish hind? We still have some tiny red deer in the Brisbane valley QLD, but the majority of reds down here now have some German or Yugo blood. Those Yugo girls would easily go 180kg live weight, the boys 300kg. Sambar are certainly not the largest wild deer in Aust now.

I had a "Pope" in my teens. Next centre fire was a 30 06 & the 243 was gone, never to return. I now have a reasonable number of firearms but no 243. It's still a very fine chambering for dogs, but a 270 makes a bigger hole in them. I agree, I don't see the 243 as a specialist rifle at all, unless you're specialising in animals up to 50kg, its either too much, or not enough gun for most things. Yes, I have killed animals to 140 kg with a 243, but it wouldn't be my first choice for fallow deer or larger. I'm also continually amazed to read on this forum that the average Pommie male is scared of the recoil of anything larger than a 243. One variable I'm not familiar with though is market hunting, thankfully we don't sell our deer down here. I guess thats a huge cultural shift in attitude towards hunting & game species.



What are the two best days of a deer hunters life? The day you buy a 243, & the day you sell it?

Cheers!!
Sharkey

 

[Tulloch]

I have to say this as it is amusing (well to me it is)

This convo has lasted for over 6 moths now lol

OK I dont understand this fascination with my gun is bigger than your gun, I have shot just as much Red with a .243 as I have done with the .270.. Now a few facts that .243 haters forget,,, the .243 holds a similar trajectory as a .308 except your not throwing a brick at 2306 fps like your doing with the .308 , at 210 feet in high cross wind the .243 works just as well as a .308 (neither can match the stability and trajectory of the .270), and finally a hole is a hole if the shot is in the right place but you have to think how big do you actually need that hole? as if the hole is just too much its just a waste.

but in the end shoot what is legal and what you feel comfortable with, what really does it have to do with anyone on which rifle, make, calibre , round , moderator etc etc shoot what you can afford , shoot what is legal but whatever you do is shoot well.

 

[MARCBO]

I must say I am laughing my tits off at all the "mans gun" womans gun" stuff

I used to shoot competatavly in the cadets with a WW2 Lee Enfield 303 with a brass butt plate. I shot it left handed, open sights, no moderator and the bolt used to smack me in the lip. Comming home brused and battered from Perbright or Bisley with a fat lip after 100 competition rounds I didnt feel particularly manley, just totaly fecked

A 243 feels like a surgical instrament to the 303s sledge hammer in comparison.
If I were shooting rampaging zombies or being charged by buffalo then id want a 50 cal, but for the cute little bamby stuff we shoot a 243 does the job well

ATB

Mark

IF you were consistantly coming home with a bruised lip I would say your instructor was not doing his job!

Shooting running rabbits with a 22 lr is surgical, 243? Not so much, just underpowered for larger deer.

SS

 

[MARCBO]

I noticed my evil twin was on here and posted some real crap! I have to watch for him sometimes but I cannot monitor everthing he does. Anyway, I am not confused and meant every word previously posted about the complete waste of gunpowder and lead involved in shooting 243s.

SS

 

[Mungo]

Mungo posted this in another thread!

"However, if forced to rationalise, I would go to just the .308."

Funny he would staunchly defend the 243 and then come back else saying the 308 is the best choice.

SS

I may be a staunch defender of the .243, but I think you'll find that at no point have I claimed that it is a BETTER all round cartridge than .308.

I like the .243, and like it as an all purposr vermin/roe/small fallow round. But I'm very happy to acknowledge that the .308 is a better all rounder.

But that does not lead me to condemn the .243 outright, and I'm happy to acknowledge that there are many (usually better, more experienced shots than me) who are confident and effective with .243 as their all round rifle.

 

[Mungo]

I think Mungo has a stronger personality than that.

SS

Strong personality does not preclude open mindedness!

 

[User00026]

Average weights on hinds and calves and yearlings head and legs off and gralloched is 42kg. Average on stags is 70. That's where I shoot of course and will vary depending on location and food available. For those deer, a .243 with 100g SP or a partition does the job cleanly and quickly

What is the live weight of a mature Scottish hind? We still have some tiny red deer in the Brisbane valley QLD, but the majority of reds down here now have some German or Yugo blood. Those Yugo girls would easily go 180kg live weight, the boys 300kg. Sambar are certainly not the largest wild deer in Aust now.

I had a "Pope" in my teens. Next centre fire was a 30 06 & the 243 was gone, never to return. I now have a reasonable number of firearms but no 243. It's still a very fine chambering for dogs, but a 270 makes a bigger hole in them. I agree, I don't see the 243 as a specialist rifle at all, unless you're specialising in animals up to 50kg, its either too much, or not enough gun for most things. Yes, I have killed animals to 140 kg with a 243, but it wouldn't be my first choice for fallow deer or larger. I'm also continually amazed to read on this forum that the average Pommie male is scared of the recoil of anything larger than a 243. One variable I'm not familiar with though is market hunting, thankfully we don't sell our deer down here. I guess thats a huge cultural shift in attitude towards hunting & game species.



What are the two best days of a deer hunters life? The day you buy a 243, & the day you sell it?

Cheers!!
Sharkey

 

[VSS]

Cripes, this thread has been going on so long I can't even remember if I've already posted in it!
It's just the sort of thread that helped me make up my mind to buy a .243
Any calibre that generates this much passion and discussion has gotta be worth having!

 

[jackfish]

Yep, got the .243 put back on my ticket last month as its a great caliber to have available. I won't be shifting on my 6.5 anytime soon but the .243 will always have a spot in my cabinet, now decisions on which model to buy!

 

[9.3x64]

Interesting thread.
For the last 40 years I have stayed away from the the 243 or any 6mm bore at all.
My thinking was I had no need for one if I had a 223 and a 7x64.
However recently I purchased a 6XC barrell for my Blaser R8.
It's essentially the same ballistics as a 243.
What a lovely little round it is, so pleasant to shoot and ideal for medium game without any extra noise.
It is simple to put 5 rounds into under 1/2" with factory ammo all day long.
I'm starting to think I have been missing out on a great little bore size all my life.

 

[User00026]

I'm starting to think I have been missing out on a great little bore size all my life.

and you would be right Sir!

 

[Sinistral]

Cripes, this thread has been going on so long I can't even remember if I've already posted in it!
It's just the sort of thread that helped me make up my mind to buy a .243
Any calibre that generates this much passion and discussion has gotta be worth having!

Me neither. This reminds me of Gone With The Wind.

Seriously, everyone should have a .243 but it is tormented with self-doubt and longs for company.
It's unkind to leave it on its' own.

 

[Muir]

I recently re-read an old article titled "Varmint rifles for Big Game". Starring, you guessed it, the 243.
I have one.
It's broken.
I may fix it someday.
No rush....~Muir