Caliber decision

[March Brown]

Trying to choose a rifle for DSC1 and use thereafter. In all likelihood this will eventually be for roe once I have gained experience under supervision. Realistically yomping over the Perthshire and Sutherland hills is beyond me health wise. So, I think a .243 is the sensible option for me, especially with the numbers available second hand. My question is, with like for like shot placement am I more likely to get runners with it than I would be with a .308. I’m ruling out what appears to be the flavour of the month the 6.5 Creedmoor, there seems to be too few second hand rifles available and the ammunition looks expensive in comparison.

 

[plonker]

243 will kill any deer if you hit the heart or brain.
Never had any issues with a 243 on munty,roe or fallow as long as i do my bit

 

[Rory]

.243 or .308 really, either will be fine and do the job well. I would personally go for .308 as it's a little longer lived on barrels and may offer greater ammunition variety if the lead ban takes hold in the future.

 

[Brave Echo Niner]

The .308 Win will do it all, ammo availability will be good anywhere and it hits noticeably harder than a 243 or a 6.5.
The other consideration is that it will handle non lead in standard barrels at a legal weight and velocity for all of the UK.


Ben

 

[lochty]

Pick something that will shoot non toxic ammo. If a .243 will do that for roe, I'd choose that.

 

[Klenchblaize]

It’s what I used when yomping all over the hills of Glenisla and Prosen as a racing snake and from what I understand the FC larder figures didn’t suffer for it.

K

 

[Malxwal]

Future proofing yourself would suggest going 6.5 or larger with factory lead free ammo available in your chosen flavour.
Not sure if or when there would be changes to the laws on bullet calibre, weight,energy etc to keep 243 as the minimum chambering for all Scottish deer.

 

[Dunwaters]

You will probably be better off with something a little bit bigger than .243, I’d nominate the 6.5x55, its easy on the shoulder, non toxic proof, available and has a good barrel life.
The Swedes use them for everything from grouse to moose so it’ll handle anything in the UK.

 

[bluesako]

so what your saying maxwell, is you can go scotland and shoot a roe deer with a 222, but cant shoot a roe deer with a 243? i for one wont be going bigger calibre and i aint changing my present load no way.

 

[Malxwal]

so what your saying maxwell, is you can go scotland and shoot a roe deer with a 222, but cant shoot a roe deer with a 243? i for one wont be going bigger calibre and i aint changing my present load no way.

The laws on roe are daft, a 222 will knock them over all day every day. But IF we were all forced to feed our rifles lead free ammo, which chamberings could satisfy the legal requirements as they currently stand ?

 

[jcampbellsmith]

The laws on roe are daft, a 222 will knock them over all day every day. But IF we were all forced to feed our rifles lead free ammo, which chamberings could satisfy the legal requirements as they currently stand ?

Have a chat with Andrew Yool and read his study on what it takes to consistently shoot and recover roe deer.
Regards
JCS

 

[User00040]

Trying to choose a rifle for DSC1 and use thereafter. In all likelihood this will eventually be for roe once I have gained experience under supervision. Realistically yomping over the Perthshire and Sutherland hills is beyond me health wise. So, I think a .243 is the sensible option for me, especially with the numbers available second hand. My question is, with like for like shot placement am I more likely to get runners with it than I would be with a .308. I’m ruling out what appears to be the flavour of the month the 6.5 Creedmoor, there seems to be too few second hand rifles available and the ammunition looks expensive in comparison.

.243 will work fine, seen as an acceptable 'first calibre' as well. If you have a '3' as the first number it can get some FEO/FLO's backs up (it shouldn't!).

A .270 will also work on anything in the whole of the UK. Some estates prefer this too.

If you want to practise and shoot targets occasionally, get a .22LR/222/223.

The 308 will tick all the above boxes but excel at nothing in particular.

One rifle to do it all is a bit of a misnomer.

 

[sir-lamp-alot]

Ive personally shot every species of deer with my .243 except reds which I wouldn't hesitate to do tommorrow if the chance arised, so forget the .243 isnt enough gun theory.
I also dont buy into the .243 will become obsolete once the lead ban comes in idea eithier, the .243 is one of the most popular calibres in the uk and I cant imagine that manufactures of ammo will let that section of the market drift away.
With all that said though whilst the .243 is perfectly adequate we as stalkers arnt always 100% on the ball and if I was to be taking on fallow, sika or reds on a regular basis I would swap the .243 in for somthing larger (more than likley a .308 because I have a real soft spot for them) just so as I would have a little extra knock down power for when my shot placement wasnt bang on and the .308 does have that over the .243 ive owned .308's in the past and have seen it with my own eyes

 

[March Brown]

.243 will work fine, seen as an acceptable 'first calibre' as well. If you have a '3' as the first number it can get some FEO/FLO's backs up (it shouldn't!).

A .270 will also work on anything in the whole of the UK. Some estates prefer this too.

If you want to practise and shoot targets occasionally, get a .22LR/222/223.

The 308 will tick all the above boxes but excel at nothing in particular.

One rifle to do it all is a bit of a misnomer.

Already have a 22lr and intend to set up a wee range to practice the shooting requirements for the DSC1 except the 4” target at 100yds. Going to substitute 2” target at 50yds for that.

 

[March Brown]

Future proofing yourself would suggest going 6.5 or larger with factory lead free ammo available in your chosen flavour.
Not sure if or when there would be changes to the laws on bullet calibre, weight,energy etc to keep 243 as the minimum chambering for all Scottish deer.

Given Tricky Nicky’s apparent desire to have deer almost seen as vermin and have half of them shot, I don’t think outlawing a large number of stalkers guns due to the ammo being a few grains light or a few foot pounds down on energy would fit with her plans. In fact I’d not be surprised if she said we can use sticks and stones to kill them. Her pal Alison in the Greens might back that change as sticks and stones are a more environmentally friendly option .

 

[Lateral]

When it comes to rifle weight, assuming the rifles are the same make, and model, and the barrels have the same profile, the bigger calibre will be marginally lighter, than the smaller calibre, because it has a bigger hole bored.

Personally, I'd be looking at a 6.5mm, so you have the flexibility of a heavier bullet, and head room for lead free, and a bigger margin of error, over the 243.

 

[AN DU RU FOX]

Already have a 22lr and intend to set up a wee range to practice the shooting requirements for the DSC1 except the 4” target at 100yds. Going to substitute 2” target at 50yds for that.

Ahh the reverse father ted ploy!

 

[Heym SR20]

More important than calibre is finding a rifle that you like and that fits. Handle lots and don’t worried about the cartridge or calibre per se.

243 is very good for Roe and bigger deer, and kills well, so does the 308 and so does everything in between.

There are now non lead options for 243 in a 100gn bullet which is what you need for bigger deer north of the Scottish border. South of the border no issues as 80gn works well.

6.5s, 7mms and 308 all work well as well.

Good thing about 243 is low recoil, and plenty available.

 

[rem284]

Trying to choose a rifle for DSC1 and use thereafter. In all likelihood this will eventually be for roe once I have gained experience under supervision. Realistically yomping over the Perthshire and Sutherland hills is beyond me health wise. So, I think a .243 is the sensible option for me, especially with the numbers available second hand. My question is, with like for like shot placement am I more likely to get runners with it than I would be with a .308. I’m ruling out what appears to be the flavour of the month the 6.5 Creedmoor, there seems to be too few second hand rifles available and the ammunition looks expensive in comparison.

Well, when I started out I thought, where I live there is only roe so 243 will be fine and at that time most of the shooting I done was close range stuff. So, change in circumstances meant I was shooting red, roe and sika and at times at extended ranges. So I sold the 243 and got a 25-06. After I shot the 25-06 out I got it rebarrelled into a 6.5-284. I also shoot with a 270. Out of the lot I have had the 6.5-284 is the best. More accurate especially at extended ranges and plenty power. I never regretted selling the 243 but wished I had got something all UK species legal from the start.

 

[Brave Echo Niner]

Already have a 22lr and intend to set up a wee range to practice the shooting requirements for the DSC1 except the 4” target at 100yds. Going to substitute 2” target at 50yds for that.

Aim small, miss small. If you practice so you will always hit within an inch at 50 then you will be comfortable at 100M with a DSC test.
If the rifle is capable then anyone who pays attention to their marksmanship principles and practices (even if its just dry fire) should be able to reduce group size at 100M to sub inch.

It's all about doing everything exactly the same for each shot, no more no less!

Ben