I had similar thoughts when I changed over to the dark side (Blaser) last year. both my previous 243’ had struggled with bullet weights over 95gn and I wanted to keep options as wide as possible with any changes regarding lead restrictions. I realise there are plenty of 243 rifles that don’t struggle with heavy bullets and that some 100gn flat base lead bullets, pro hunter for example, will work very well, and that there are an increasing number of excellent lead free alternatives that will work well in a 243 under 100gns. The great thing about our sport is that there is an almost limitless choice in terms of of calibre/load selections, they all do the job but there’s a lot of fun to be had in the choosing!
One option was to rebarrell in the future with a faster twist 243, but that wasn’t an option with a Blaser which is 1-10, and I quite like the fun of more unusual calibres so the 6XC caught my eye.
Im very pleased it did tbh as I’m delighted with it. With excellent accuracy and velocity (3220fps with 87gn vmax) it’s become my go to for foxing.
Ive not used it on deer yet, but have some yew tree copper along with 105gn Berger vld to try out in the next round of load development so will give them a run then. Ive no doubt it will perform well.
Whilst factory ammo is neither cheap nor in abundance, reloading hasn’t been an issue at all, cases are pretty easy to come by, Vihtavouri have good load data on their website (mine likes n550) and it seems to be a very efficient cartridge with a wide range of bullet weights.
Some may consider you a poser if you do down the 6xc route (though I’m not quite sure sure where that leaves a 6mm Creedmoor owner
) but I doubt you’ll regret it!
