.243 or 6.5...

[Dan Newcombe]

I’d go 6.5 out of the two personally.

I’ve just got a .260 and really like it so far but I’d imagine it’s no different in the real word than a creedmoor or the swede I used to have.

If I was just going to have to one rifle it would be a 6.5 over a 6mm at the moment. My .22-250 hasn’t been out of the cabinet since I got the .260 and I love that old rifle.

 

[25 Sharps]

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.

can of worms buddy.

I’m going to read the thread now but you know my opinion

 

[25 Sharps]

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 !

The Op has shot both

 

[25 Sharps]

You’ve just thrown a spanner in the works I was all but convinced to go 6.5 until you said that!

6.5 can do flat, 129 gr accubond long range loaded fairly hot will do it, both the rifles you shot last week are point and shoot to 235 yards on a roe sized target.

 

[25 Sharps]

Agree. Looking at cartridges supplied by Sako in each of those chamberings reveals a sub 5% difference in MV for same weight projectile.View attachment 166957

...but ammo availability for the 6.5x55mm Swede is widely stocked. That said, CM is getting more popular, and if you reload commercial availability is a non-argument.

Dauntsey guns carry more options in creedmoor than 6.5x55

 

[njc110381]

Dauntsey guns carry more options in creedmoor than 6.5x55

I need to nip in and see them at some point soon. I'll have a word! What's the world coming to?!

 

[User00040]

I think everyone is missing the point and giving bad advice here, the OP should sidestep both these poor choices of mickey mouse chamberings and get a proper one.

.308

 

[25 Sharps]

I think everyone is missing the point and giving bad advice here, the OP should sidestep both these poor choices of mickey mouse chamberings and get a proper one.

.308

Pffft!

 

[User00033]

I think everyone is missing the point and giving bad advice here, the OP should sidestep both these poor choices of mickey mouse chamberings and get a proper one.

.308

Without actually realising it, @caberslash has inadvertently given some good advice.

Kind of.

What I mean is this. The .308 is an infinitely flexible cartridge, with a vast selection of bullet weights and types. It is dead easy to download to modest velocity; it’s far far easier to do this with a .308 that with a .243 or 6.5 because you can use bullets specifically designed for lower velocity, like the 30/30 bullets. In typical UK roe hunting environments, there’s no ballistic penalty to speak off, with the correct zero range you’re still dead on at well over 200m.

It is something to think about, after all I do exactly this myself. I have several loads for the .308 ranging from subsonic to a super-fast 125gr, a heavy and slow 180gr, and a general purpose 165gr. A bullet that would be fantastic for small roe deer is the Speer Gold Dot at moderate velocity, I’ve shot small yearling fallow does with this at 2,600fps MV and it mushrooms perfectly with next to no bloodshot, knocks them flat as a pancake. Another great option for roe is to follow my cuz’s method and use the 125gr Sierra FN 30/30 which in a .308 is about as perfect a bullet as you can get for an animal that is quite a bit lighter than a Labrador Retriever!

 

[cjs66]

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.

If he’s saving money he’s not doing it right

cjs

 

[25 Sharps]

If he’s saving money he’s not doing it right

cjs

He shoots 100-200+ cf rounds a month (COVID permitting), is loading .22 hornet for around 80 p a pop saving, .308 for 40p saving, 6.5x55 and creedmoor for around £1.-1.50 saving a pop, .357 for 20p a pop (shooting 3-400 a time at gallery rifle) and is loading deer ammo for 25-45 for 42p a pop.

Plus all the loading kit paid for itself a long, long time ago...........

 

[njc110381]

I don't see how you can reach that conclusion? My figures at last count;

.416 Rigby - £41.80/20. To buy a box of factory with the same bullet at that time was £149.95.
6.5x55 - £14.76/20. To buy a box of factory with the same bullet at that time was £38.95.

Say I fire I fire twenty rounds of .416 per month on average. And the same from the 6.5x55 and .22-250 which will be similar in cost. How much could I spend on reloading kit after a year? More than I did at the start that's for sure. The 7000 rounds of .22 Hornet that I fired back in the early days of my shooting career covered that. It used to cost me 25p for home loads vs 75p for factory back then.

Saving 50p per shot was a big deal then. Saving £5.40 per shot is an even bigger deal now!

 

[User00025]

If it was me I would hang on to Grandads .222 and I'd buy what I got from my Grandad a 7x57 (.275 British).
I would guarantee you would love it. Soft recoil, wide range bullets, kill anything in this country or Africa ( Bell and his elephumps). A one off calibre.
One of those and my Hornet, sorted.

 

[Chikentikka]

if you are keeping the 222, go for the 6.5. may aswell jump up to the next bracket rather than 5.5 to 6mm

 

[DCG]

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

If you're a target shooter, 6.5 is a better round

A friend and I recently had the same conversations.
Outcome, same as you’ve derived, especially if it’s going to be used mainly in England, or should that be, not Scotland, or then again is that now not politically correct. Heck I don’t know, I’m all confused again

 

[Colonel]

I agree with caberslash, go for a 308 especially if you reload

 

[Konnari]

6.5 no brainer if you already have the fabulous 222. I would pick the 6.5x55, 260rem or 6.5 CM

 

[Gm81]

I just purchased a creedmoor in a tikka ctr. I have a. 243 tikka xlite . If I had started again I would have gone for a 6.5 cal first off.my father steered me to. 243 and he loves his and I like mine. But 100gr is the limit.
A friend has 6.5x47. What a round. Its not fussy to load for. The accuracy is incredible. I chase his groups with my 243 with 100gr and I can't get them. No matter what I try. I can shoot the group with his rifle though.

I went CM as its popular in the states. So thats good for costs overall. I want to shoot some longer range gongs. I like reloading.
My 243 is light weight and is a great woodland rifle. It's shot a fair few deer now. Hit them in the wrong place it gets messy. But isn't that the case with most things.
To me the CM is a modern cal. Which looking at data will fire a larger bullet for similar charge weights. A lot of bullets and energy will be deer legal.
In my 243 my accurate 100gr rounds aren't to the required energy but id rather have accuracy. If I push the speed more my groups open up. It's on the limit. CM won't be.
This is all my take really. Things move on. I bet back in the day when 243 was coming out it was similar conversations.

 

[Tazz]

243, great choice of rounds from 50gr for foxes all the way through to 100gr Fallow capable, my mate shoots Reds with his 243 less than 200 yds and in the right place no problems. Also every gun shop will carry a range of 243 ammo. It’s not one of the most common calibers in the country for nothing and has stood the test of time, IMHO

 

[Mungo]

If you’re shooting just roe, to a max of 150 metres, it makes absolutely no difference.

Base your decision on the RIFLE and the ammunition availability.

I have shot .243, and currently run a CM and a .308. If I’m honest with myself, I really couldn’t point to a single genuinely detectable difference in outcome or experience between the 3 when shooting roe at sensible ranges.

You start to notice a few differences as you stretch the range and/or start shooting bigger things, but even then you need to shoot a lot to really detect consistent patterns.