The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Small Calibers 243 WinGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| 243 Win | Login/Join |
One of Us |
Tell me the pro and cons of this calibre.... I want to hunt plains game up to Bles buck size using a 100gr bullet but I also want to shoot jackal at long distances with 80gr bullets.... Will this calibre do it reliably ???? What will the best rifle twist be? Thanks for the info Gerhard FFF Safaris Capture Your African Moments Hunting Outfitter (MP&LP) Proffesional Hunter (MP&LP) History guide Wildlife Photographer www.fffsafaris.co.za | ||
|
| One of Us |
The .243 will do very well for your needs. My son has killed 6 Whitetail deer with this fine cartridge. All one shot kills. The range between 35 to 175 yards. I also have killed Whitetail, and Pronghorn with the .243. I didn't think much of it untill I saw my Son take Whitetail with it. Now, it is one of my favorite cartridges. We use Sieera 100 gr. boat-tail bullets. Handloaded at 3060 FPS at muzzle. | |||
|
One of Us |
 I'm using the 100 grain Remington ultrabonded.....wow...it's a great killing machine! For jackels you coudn't pick a better round! /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
|
| one of us |
I was a fan of the 22-250 until my buddy showed up on a prairie pup shoot w/ a 243. Now I own 2 243's and not a single 22-250. I really like the accuracy and wind holding ability of the 75gr Hdy HP. My 2d choice is the 70gr Nos BT. I'd think that for Blesbok, you'd want to stick w/ the 100gr bullets though. Of course, if you shoot em in front of the ears, almost anything will work. Pancho LTC, USA, RET "Participating in a gun buy-back program because you think that criminals have too many guns is like having yourself castrated because you think your neighbors have too many kids." Clint Eastwood Give me Liberty or give me Corona. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Thanks for the info guys... What speed to you get on 75gr bullet and what twist do you need to stabilize the bullet.... Will a twist that work for 75 or 80gr also work for 100gr bullet? Gerhard FFF Safaris Capture Your African Moments Hunting Outfitter (MP&LP) Proffesional Hunter (MP&LP) History guide Wildlife Photographer www.fffsafaris.co.za | |||
|
| One of Us |
Simple enough. The .243 was the .308 (7.62x51mm NATO) necked down to .24. Most think a trifle "overbore." Making cases back when brass was cheap to free surplus... helps with popularity. The standard "twist" in USA is 1 in 10. Shoots up to the 100 grain pointed bullets fine. Always someone has to be different. Slower (1 in 12) is available for lighter bullets. Faster (1 in 9 or 1 in 8) is available for those who have to shoot the heavies. 107's are liked in the wind. I would hit a site like Hodgdon powder Company where they list data for reloading for standard velocities. I think they are running 60 grain bullets up to 3800 fps for small pests. The 100 grainers in standard barrels around 22 inches reportedly 3,000 fps right along. I am not well informed about the animals left in SA common. Not sure I would want this for "walking around" if there are big, mean beasts about, but for pests, dog sized... very good. Wide variety of ammo, etc. LUCK. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Thank you for the information... This is very help full.... Gerhard FFF Safaris Capture Your African Moments Hunting Outfitter (MP&LP) Proffesional Hunter (MP&LP) History guide Wildlife Photographer www.fffsafaris.co.za | |||
|
One of Us |
If you want a load for the jackals and other small beasties for the .243 you might want to look at the Nosler BT 55G using Varget for the powder. I have a Remington CDL with a 24" barrel and am getting 4050 fps with a generous amount of Varget. Devestating on small creatures but is affected by wind on the longer shots. | |||
|
| one of us |
My wife and I have killed several deer and she killed several antelope with it as well. I do not think I ever shot anything much over 200 yards with it, but my wife took several antelope @300 amnd one at @375 yards and one BIG bodied mule deer at @300. I recommend you get one good acurate load and use it for everything. I know how hard is is to get stuff in Africa, but the 95 or 100gr Nosler Partition would work for both animals. Also in our 243's the 100gr Sierra did well and shot to the same point of aim as the 95gr Nosler Partition. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
|
| One of Us |
I have seen deer shot with a 243Win that were lost and nearly lost using 87-100 grain SP bullets and would recommend using hollow point bullets for the game you are persueing. I believe a 90 grian HP bullet would work well and kill much better than a 100 grain SP. Just my opinion. Dennis Life member NRA | |||
|
One of Us |
The .243 with a stout 100gr pill is dynamite on deer. I have shot at least 20 fallow with my .243 no problems at all, 90gr Nosler BT and the Sierra 100gr Pro Hunter infront of 46.5gr of Re22 | |||
|
One of Us |
I have several in this caliber and handload bullets from 55 grains all the way to 105 grains... if you can get a one in 9 twist or a one in 8, that is great... the standard one in 10 twist, will stabilize all bullets except the ones over 100 grains.. velocity potential, at least using powders available in the USA.. 55 and 60 grainers can easily be made to high 4,000 fps.. out of standard Nosler load data.. next I use one of my favorite bullets, period in any caliber I shoot, the 243 with 75 grain Hornady HPs...I have loads I run that bullet from as low as 2000 fps MV to as high as 3500 fps MV... it is accurate at both extremes and every speed in between... it is also quite capable of downing game bigger than a lot of people would think... there is also a good selection of bullets from 80 to 100 grains available...instead of listing them all, I will just cut to the chase... I've used all of them, and there has never been one bad apple in the bunch.. while not my most favorite cartridge, I can tell you that I'd never be without a couple of 243s in the gun cabinet... it is not necessarily my favorite round, but it sure is a frequent "Go TO" round.. if not going after grizzleys or elephants, there is a lot of game out there that it is more than 'enough gun' for.. Life Member: The American Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Jan 20, 2009.. Prisoner in Dumocrat 'Occupied America', Partisan in the 'Save America' Underground Beavis..... James Beavis..... Of Her Majesty's Secret Service..... Spell Check Division "Posterity — you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." John Quincy Adams A reporter did a human-interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him "Why do you carry a 45?" The Ranger responded, "Because they don't make a 46." Duhboy....Nuttier than Squirrel Poop... | |||
|
| One of Us |
Thanks for the info. I will be looking for one as soon as I am back in South Africa in May. Gerhard FFF Safaris Capture Your African Moments Hunting Outfitter (MP&LP) Proffesional Hunter (MP&LP) History guide Wildlife Photographer www.fffsafaris.co.za | |||
|
| one of us |
I wouldn't mess with the eighty grain load unless you really like tinkering around. 100 grainers seem to get the most out of the 243. Work great on US varmints, can't imagine they wouldn't be fine for jackals. 243s are a joy to shoot. Very minimal recoil, flat shooting and ammo and components are pretty widely available in US. I've been told that 243s are popular in SA so I'd imagine ammo is available there too. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Seafire2 Would you care to share you 243 load recipe for those 75 grainers? I've been tossing around the idea of working up a load in the 70-75 grain category for my 243 to go along with a great load for the 55 grainers. Have you looked at the 70 g. Nosler BT's? Any particular reason why you are picking the 75 Hornady over the Nosler 70? | |||
|
| One of Us |
The first deer that I shot with the 243 and an 80 grain Barnes old style blue bullet literally vaporized 10 inches of his spine and still exited with a quarter sized hole. I wish that I had a dollar for every coyote or feral dog that I have whacked with this caliber, it is an exremely efficient cartridge. My favorite coyote load is the 70 grain Nosler BT over a case full of Reloader 19. I have two currently, an old Rem700 and a Savage 99, both shoot fantastic with anything I care to stuff down them. I have many other rifles, but invariably it seems to be one of those two that get grabbed when I head out to the desert for about anything smaller than an elk. Even the odd black bear has not been a problem over the years. (When I was a kid my father used to tell me that God hated a coward, I finally realized he has even less use for a fool.) | |||
|
| one of us |
My load is 45 to 45.5 gr H4350, Win Lg Rfl primer, and Hdy 75gr HP. I use all kinds of brass and load em till they split. Dynamite on predators and prairie dogs. My antelope bullet is also Hdy, the 89gr version + DRT. I think that the 243 is too light for our big mule deer but the 89gr Hdy is deadly on TX whitetails. Pancho LTC, USA, RET "Participating in a gun buy-back program because you think that criminals have too many guns is like having yourself castrated because you think your neighbors have too many kids." Clint Eastwood Give me Liberty or give me Corona. | |||
|
| One of Us |
I have picked the 75 grain HP Hornady basically because originally, it was carried at the local store and the 70 grain Ballistic Tip was not... however, they were cheaper, were highly accurate, and explosive on little stuff, penetrated well on bigger stuff... I still wish they were $10.00 per box of 100... I still use it over the 75 grain V Max... as far as a load for it... I use the load I have seen on several reload manuals...47.5 grains of H 414...That is 1/2 grain more than what is listed on Steve Riccardelli's sight... after testing 15 powders with this load also, it gave the least consistent velocity spread, ranging as high as 100+ fps SD.... however it was by far the most accurate of the 15 powders tested... and that was consistent results on targets at 100, 200 and 300 meters... makes no sense, but it works... so I can live with the idiosyncracies of it... Life Member: The American Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Jan 20, 2009.. Prisoner in Dumocrat 'Occupied America', Partisan in the 'Save America' Underground Beavis..... James Beavis..... Of Her Majesty's Secret Service..... Spell Check Division "Posterity — you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." John Quincy Adams A reporter did a human-interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him "Why do you carry a 45?" The Ranger responded, "Because they don't make a 46." Duhboy....Nuttier than Squirrel Poop... | |||
|
| one of us |
Most .243 threads seems someone says marginal at best on deer and if used--use a premium bullet. My personal experience and observations make me believe that was written by someone that has not been there and done that. For several years my grandson,son in law and myself have used the .243 on a bunch of deer and thinking back they were all one shot kills. I agree use a premium bullet---if premium bullet means one that will hit the correct spot. I have done the reloading on all the ammo used by the three of us and I use chepaer Winchester bulk packed 100 grainers.(Oh and my nephew got his first deer this year with .243) I agree with those that said select a bullet weight and stick to it--I also think 100 grain is the bullet weight to select in .243. If I'm going for smaller stuff and want to step down, I don't use lighter bullets in my .243---I use my .22 centerfires. Much of this "stepping down" is shooting jackrabbits wich is mostly done at night with a spotlight(legal here) and from inside a pickup. For this shooting the blast becomes more critical than the recoil so I step on down to cast bullets in .22 cal---work great. The .243 gets er done has been my experience--I think the twist in Win mod 70 is 1 in 10--that's what I use. | |||
|
One of Us |
Gerhard, My son used his .243 1 in 10" twist with 100 grain Partitions on Blesbuck, Steenbok, Impala x2, Bushpig x2 and Porcupine.   Entry hole on Blesbuck.  If I could take two rifles with me in June I would use it for Springbok too. You will have no worries with this combination. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Try Sierra 85 gn HPBT with 40 - 45 grains 4350. Very accurate bullet that punches above its weight. | |||
|
| One of Us |
agreed. i use the 85 grain sierra and shoot 37.5 grains of varget behind it. -Matt | |||
|
One of Us |
Try the 85 gr. barnes TSX. We used it on Impala and Grants and it worked perfectly. Tanzania in 2006! Had 141 posts on prior forum as citori3. | |||
|
| one of us |
36.0 grains of IMR 3031 and a 75 grain Speer HP was a staple load for me back in the 70's. Never messed with many 243's from then until about 2001..............VARGET!!! never thought that any company would invent a more versatile powder than IMR 3031 (.222Rem-whatever you want to insert here!) until VARGET! Now we have VARGET and 41.0 grains of VARGET in a .243 behind a 70 grain Nosler BT will thrill you! 3410-3416 fps from 4 different 24"barrels and all shooting under 1/2" at 100 yards! And a myriad of other .243 owners I've given the load to that give glowing reviews. For the 308 family of cases, VARGET is the "dream machine"! Shot placement on ANYTHING.........groundhogs to Cape Buffalo is critical(NO NO NO!! I am not talking of using a .243 on a buff!! It was a generalogy!!) The plains game will faint at the sight of you with the trusted .243 in tow! And just think...........you could had a 6mm Remington!   Charlie (GHD)Groundhog Devastation(GHD) | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
Visit our on-line store for AR Memorabilia