I set up a split 16" piece of seasoned red oak about 13" tall as a base and a split 14" piece about 13"tall on top of that for a backstop @100yds.Then put up my target stand just in front of that with the middle shoot n see centered up in the thickest part and one on each side of that for the 243Win. It was loaded with a Remington case/WLRM primer/42gr IMR4831/Hornady 100gr BTSP. It blew thru the right side easily at the angle I was shooting,splintered the left side but did not pass thru,and after 5 shots split the piece but didn't exit in the middle. The top split log was heavy enough that it never fell but did scoot it back about 2".Fired out of Ruger#1.

Next up was a Savage AxisIIXP in 30-06. Target was placed at center of big split stump.Load was LC brass/Fed 210/47gr IMR4895/150gr Hornady SP #3031. It split the stump in 5 shots but no pass thru...one shot raised a splinter on the back side.It did not fall over either.

I had heard about 243Win penetration all over the net but wanted to see with my own eyes. Pretty confident it will shoot thru one deer shoulder easily.It is the backup rifle. It dropped a nice doe @ 130yds last year as a backup loaded with a 75gr VMax. Quartering to me base of the neck shot shredded lungs with the jacket behind the opposite shoulder under skin.

Primary rifle is the 30-06....pretty sure it would shoot thru both shoulders with that load.We will see what happens.

That might have something to do with sectional density. Some would argue the point. The .243 has a SD of .242 while the 30-06 is .226.

Now if you used a 260 the SD would be .264.

Re do the test with a 200gr 3006 bullet.

quote:

Originally posted by larrys:
That might have something to do with sectional density.

That's a huge part of it, of course.

SD of a 85gr .243 = .206
SD of a 90gr .243 = .218
SD of a 100gr .243 = .242
SD of a 150gr .308 = .226
SD of a 165gr .308 = .248
SD of a 180gr .308 = .271
SD of a 200gr .308 = .301
SD of a 220gr .308 = .331

So, based on sectional density alone, the 165gr 30-06 would be a better test subject against the 100gr .243 round.

However, bullet construction and expansion are other factors you cannot ignore. Sectional density is the ratio of the bullets’ mass to its cross-sectional area. While a bullet is expanding its cross-sectional area is growing so its sectional density is diminishing. The only way to rule out the effects of bullet expansion on penetration is to shoot non-expanding (FMJ) bullets. Unfortunately, those are not applicable to hunting uses.

Therefore, you will be better off comparing bullets of comparable weight for the caliber. The SD of the 165gr .308 is close to the SD of the 100gr .243. But a 100gr is on the heavy side for .243 while a 165gr is only a middle weight .308 bullet. A 200gr bullet is on the heavy side for the .308 and would be more appropriate for comparing against a 100gr .243 bullet. Using that as the criteria for comparison makes more sense and tends to mitigate penetration differences due to expansion.

With that in mind, I suggest these as more useful to compare regarding penetration:

Compare .243 70gr with .308 150gr

Compare .243 85gr with .308 165gr/168gr

Compare .243 95gr with .308 180gr

Compare .243 100gr with .308 200gr

Or, in case you noticed, take the weight of the .243 bullet and double it for the approximate (roughly) weight of the comparable .308 bullet.

And, in your penetration comparison, you will either need to factor in for impact velocity differences or use loads of equal impact velocity.

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Thanks for the info guys. I was impressed by the 243Winchester.Heckuva backup rifle.

Wood is a piss poor test media fun but no really relationship to how a bullet preforms on game.

I agree with pds about the value of wood as a bullet testing medium. However, the test did demonstrate one very important fact....five hits with a .30-06 did not knock the wood block over. If the bullets would not knock over a piece of wood, how can they possibly knock down a heavier animal? "Knockdown power" as it relates to bullet performance is a myth well exposed by this test.



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I have killed a number of whitetail with a .243 almost all with a 100 gr. Nosler Partition. Complete pass-throughs are common even with a shoulder hit. You may want to try a premium bullet of some type. Just my observations.

quote:

Originally posted by TX Nimrod:
I agree with pds about the value of wood as a bullet testing medium. However, the test did demonstrate one very important fact....five hits with a .30-06 did not knock the wood block over. If the bullets would not knock over a piece of wood, how can they possibly knock down a heavier animal? "Knockdown power" as it relates to bullet performance is a myth well exposed by this test.



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True. To launch an object with enough momentum to "knock over" a deer, the launching mechanism would knock over the shooter.

Well....it wasn`t the most productive log splitting i`ve done but it was fun like p d shooter says.

Yep,olarmy if all those foot pounds were directed at my shoulder I`d go back to bowhunting.

Yes TX Nimrod,it was an educational test. Even though they were two very heavy split stumps and pretty darn dense I thought sure the 243 would knock it over. When the 30-06 didn't knock either of them over from the impact I raised an eyebrow like Spock.

LarryS the 260 is an interesting cartridge for sure.I enjoy my Swede Mauser a lot.

Grenadier and Nordic I guess you are both right and I never thought about the mismatch involved.

My test was more about can I bust thru the shoulder/s to the vitals. At this point I think yes. I guess we will find out in a couple weeks.
The 30-06 load can be shot in the Garand or this rifle...both like it and easy on recoil.

The caliber that impressed me last year was the 30-30 Win= Bang flops. My brother said,"these deer don`t want anything to do with this 30-30".I am inclined to agree.

Well noted Nimrod308. There is another 243 in camp this year with an excellent hunter carrying it. Any dismal performance will be reported here for sure.

I on the other hand hunted with a 91/30 Mosin/Nagant open sight till the last evening there.... that's when the scoped rifle came out.

Yes,it was an interesting experiment on an awesome piece of wood. I shoulda dug out those bullets. They aint going anywhere that is for sure.