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-   -   Is .243 more versatile than .223 for sporting purposes? (https://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=681085)

Subotai 01-17-2013 9:25 AM

Is .243 more versatile than .223 for sporting purposes?
 
Speaking of hunting of course. Debating which is a better all-around caliber for smaller critters. I already have a .308 for pig, etc.

HK Dave 01-17-2013 9:32 AM

Not sure if it could be called more versatile but it is a monster of a round in terms of speed. 4000 fps with 55gr bullets.

I think 223 is plenty for small critters and much cheaper to boot. But I have friends that are huge fans of 243 and looking at it's ballistics... for hunting, it looks like a total win to me.

Iloveguns 01-17-2013 11:02 AM

243 is a great overall round for medium game as well as long range shooting.

ap3572001 01-17-2013 11:38 AM

.243 is VERY good round.

Arisaka 01-17-2013 12:03 PM

.243 AR? Wonder if its ben dun befoh?

Iloveguns 01-17-2013 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arisaka (Post 10235371)
.243 AR? Wonder if its ben dun befoh?

Yup

zack30 01-17-2013 12:08 PM

What game are you looking to hunt with the .243, exactly? I personally took a 32 inch Mule Deer that fully dressed out weighed in over 180lbs from 435 yds away. So if you are looking to hunt anything around that size or smaller, I'd say you are more than good to go. Great caliber!! Second Favorite of mine all time.

Subotai 01-17-2013 12:26 PM

Yeah, looking for a good varmint gun. I haven't bought it yet. I have 223 ammo for my AR, but also wanted a nice scoped bolt gun. A 223 bolt gun would give me an advantage of a common caliber, but a 243 might be nice also since I could hunt deer or small pig with it. I'm trying to decide.

NapalmCheese 01-17-2013 12:29 PM

It seems that given the advancements in ammo more people are accepting .223 as an appropriate (if on the low end of appropriateness) cartridge for deer and small pigs.

That being said, the ballistics of the .243 are pretty darn good.

gun toting monkeyboy 01-17-2013 1:17 PM

I would take the .243 over a .223 for hunting any day of the week. I am not a big fan of anything under .25 caliber for medium game, but the .243 in the hands of somebody who knows how to use it is fully capable of taking elk. Not ideal, mind you. But I will also go with Napalm on this, .223 is becoming a full-fledged hog and small deer cartridge. Using things like the Barnes copper TSX bullets, it is bumped up out of the varmint class. OTOH, a .243 with the same type of bullet becomes a very effective medium game rifle. That was always my biggest problem with the .243. The lightweight bullets didn't hold up as well as larger diameter bullets. Then that part is removed from the equation, it makes a big difference.

-Mb

xrMike 01-17-2013 1:22 PM

Little bit of a barrel burner though?

zack30 01-17-2013 1:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xrMike (Post 10236048)
Little bit of a barrel burner though?

I have had my .243 since I turned 12 (am now 26) and I would say I shoot at least 40-60 rounds a year, as it was mainly a hunting gun (although now I have turned it into my mid range 450-750 yd sniper) and I have not seen any degredation in the functionality of the barrel or the accuracy.

I'm sure if you are shooting 500 rounds a year out of the gun its going to fry it, but who shoots a bolt action that much anyway?

Iloveguns 01-17-2013 1:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zack30 (Post 10236129)
I have had my .243 since I turned 12 (am now 26) and I would say I shoot at least 40-60 rounds a year, as it was mainly a hunting gun (although now I have turned it into my mid range 450-750 yd sniper) and I have not seen any degredation in the functionality of the barrel or the accuracy.

I'm sure if you are shooting 500 rounds a year out of the gun its going to fry it, but who shoots a bolt action that much anyway?

This guy!!! I shoot 50 rounds a day easy! But im getting 1500 rounds out of my rifle! Im shooting heavies (115) at 3000fps. I also can take it well past 1k. For the type of matches I shoot we have 10 round strings of fire in under a minute which cooks your barrel!

KrizB 01-17-2013 1:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arisaka (Post 10235371)
.243 AR? Wonder if its ben dun befoh?

Remington makes the R-25 in .243

Was entertaining the idea several months back until I saw the +$1,200 price tag.
No idea how much they are going for now.

russ69 01-17-2013 1:37 PM

"Is .243 more versatile than .223 for sporting purposes?"

It's more versatile for any purpose.

Don@Tahoe 01-17-2013 1:40 PM

You can't go wrong, both are excellent small game rounds!

zack30 01-17-2013 1:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iloveguns (Post 10236168)
This guy!!! I shoot 50 rounds a day easy! But im getting 1500 rounds out of my rifle! Im shooting heavies (115) at 3000fps. I also can take it well past 1k. For the type of matches I shoot we have 10 round strings of fire in under a minute which cooks your barrel!

This guy??? .223 and 9mm are affordable enough to shoot thousands of rounds through, not high dollar .243 rounds. If you'd like, feel free to send me some ammo and I'll be glad to shoot enough rounds a year to meet your standard :)... and last I checked, you shouldn't need to shoot thousands of rounds with a bolt action rifle to do the job. If you are worth a damn, it'll only take one! hahaha

Iloveguns 01-17-2013 1:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zack30 (Post 10236270)
This guy??? .223 and 9mm are affordable enough to shoot thousands of rounds through, not high dollar .243 rounds. If you'd like, feel free to send me some ammo and I'll be glad to shoot enough rounds a year to meet your standard :)... and last I checked, you shouldn't need to shoot thousands of rounds with a bolt action rifle to do the job. If you are worth a damn, it'll only take one! hahaha

You asked who shoots more then 500 rounds a year! I was referring to myself! First thing 9mm is not a precision round! Secondly have you ever shot 223 out to 1k on steel? Can be done easily but impacts are hard to spot. Secondly Im not spraying and praying at my targets. I shoot precision rifle. 10 rounds are hopefully 10 impacts. From the sounds of it you probably have never shot a precision rifle match like a precisionrifleseries.com style match. That is why I burn a barrel a year. I am by far not the best shooter out there but I can hold my own. I like to think I'm at least worth a dam!!

Also I roll my own and it costs me around .75 cents for each round. If you check the current price of 223 right now you will see that it is cheaper for me to shoot my reloads.

edit: Actually its .61 not .75

Subotai 01-17-2013 2:27 PM

Oh man, that .243 is awful tempting.

Subotai 01-17-2013 2:58 PM

I'm still looking around for a rifle. I want to spend about 1,000 on glass and rifle.

DirtyDave 01-17-2013 3:10 PM

223 wins in price and low recoil. 243 wins in all other categories

vern748 01-17-2013 3:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arisaka (Post 10235371)
.243 AR? Wonder if its ben dun befoh?


It has. I have one...well 2
DPMS LR243
and also a
JSE Surplus on a 80%

hermosabeach 01-17-2013 3:49 PM

What can you hunt with a .223?

Per fish and game codes, is .223 allowed for big game in many states?

As you have a .308, the .243 might be more of a duplicate

What are you trying to do with the new round?

Would you be better off with another .308 in a different configuration?
Longer/ shorter barrel
Lighter or heavier gun
Faster / slower twist for lighter or heavier bullets when reloading?

The velocity delta between .308 and .243 is 400 fps.

How does this impact trajectory / zero at the ranges you intend to shoot?

gun toting monkeyboy 01-17-2013 3:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermosabeach (Post 10237355)
What can you hunt with a .223?

Per fish and game codes, is .223 allowed for big game in many states?

It depends on the game and the state. Here in California it is perfectly legal to use a .223 on deer. I know a lot of guys that use it down south for hogs. Some states set a minimum caliber or energy.

supermario 01-17-2013 4:14 PM

My daughter wants a bolt rifle and I was curious what the recoil on a 243 is? What would you guys compare it to?

Fyi, my daughter shoots AR's and AK's with no problem. A 30-30 lever I have was a bit too much for her and that's with a recoil pad.

captbilly 01-17-2013 4:29 PM

Big bit of barrel burner.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by xrMike (Post 10236048)
Little bit of a barrel burner though?

Pretty much all wildcats are barrel burners, and the .243 is certainly no exception. A good rule of thumb would be somewhere around 1500 rounds of .243 (as well as 338 Lapua, 7mm mag, 300 win mag, etc.) will cause enough barrel (throat) wear to noticeably effect accuracy. Compare this to around 5000-10,000 rounds of .223 or .308 or other similar pressure rounds before accuracy starts to degrade.

Barrels are cheap (when compared to the cost of ammo needed to wear a barrel out) but it is a lot of work to change out a barrel and get comfortable with the way the new barrel shoots (sighting in and confirming how the sighting changes with cleaning, temperature, etc.) I would stay away from .243 in a rifle that you plan on shooting a lot, but it would be fine on a hunting rifle that will only be used a few times a year.

Jarhead 01-17-2013 4:30 PM

.243 is a better round than the .223 period, especially out of an AR-10 ( 90-100 grain bullets )

It's also easier today to find bullets and brass for reloading.

Now the .300 AAC is a completely another story.

Subotai 01-17-2013 4:54 PM

Yeah, it'll mostly be a range gun, maybe I'll pop a varmint or two. I think I'll stick with .223. Thanks!

Noonanda 01-17-2013 5:48 PM

243 is a great cartridge,n and one of the few ones you can still find in stores. I reload my own ammo so price isn't an option

zack30 01-17-2013 7:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankm (Post 10236930)
I'm still looking around for a rifle. I want to spend about 1,000 on glass and rifle.

I'd suggest either a Thompson Center Venture or Tikka T3 Lite in whatever caliber you go with. Top it with Nikon glass and you have a great budget rifle for dual purpose.

sigstroker 01-17-2013 7:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arisaka (Post 10235371)
.243 AR? Wonder if its ben dun befoh?

Armalite has had it in their AR-10 for years.

Annex138 01-17-2013 8:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arisaka (Post 10235371)
.243 AR? Wonder if its ben dun befoh?

You can find AR10s chambered in .243 Winchester.
Ar15s can be chambered in 6x45/6mm-223 which is a .223 case with a .243 bullet.

ar15barrels 01-17-2013 9:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zack30 (Post 10236129)
I'm sure if you are shooting 500 rounds a year out of the gun its going to fry it, but who shoots a bolt action that much anyway?

I wear out a 243 barrel every 8 months when I am actively shooting precision rifle matches.

Horton Fenty 01-18-2013 5:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by russ69 (Post 10236177)
"Is .243 more versatile than .223 for sporting purposes?"

It's more versatile for any purpose.

Agree.

Quote:

Originally Posted by supermario (Post 10237633)
My daughter wants a bolt rifle and I was curious what the recoil on a 243 is? What would you guys compare it to?

Fyi, my daughter shoots AR's and AK's with no problem. A 30-30 lever I have was a bit too much for her and that's with a recoil pad.

Recoil is pretty much what I consider non-existent, even with a light bolt action around 7 lbs. My 17 year old daughter shoots 243 no problem.

zack30 01-18-2013 6:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ar15barrels (Post 10240985)
I wear out a 243 barrel every 8 months when I am actively shooting precision rifle matches.

I believe the starting subject of this thread was hunting? Refer back to the TS first post. If u are "hunting" and shooting your barrel out in a year, you obviously need to learn how to shoot. I am not referring to matches, life does not revolve around shooting competitions.

ar15barrels 01-18-2013 8:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zack30 (Post 10243392)
life does not revolve around shooting competitions.

That's like telling a professional race car driver that life does not revolve around racing.
It all depends on your station in life...

tuna quesadilla 01-18-2013 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zack30 (Post 10243392)
I believe the starting subject of this thread was hunting? Refer back to the TS first post. If u are "hunting" and shooting your barrel out in a year, you obviously need to learn how to shoot. I am not referring to matches, life does not revolve around shooting competitions.

How about "This is America and we're allowed to shoot however much or little we want"?

What the heck is with you trying to tell people how little they should shoot?

I use the same rifle for hunting, home defense, and target shooting; does that mean I'm in violation of your laws?

:facepalm:

Subotai 01-18-2013 10:34 AM

Ok guys. No use fighting about it. I'm going with the .223 and if I sell another AR, I might pick up a .243 too!

Wrangler John 01-18-2013 10:38 AM

If you want a 6mm/.243 then get a .243 WSSM upper. It puts the .243 Winchester in the obsolete category. What, don't want a .243 WSSM? Then how about a .257 WSSM? Or maybe a .300 WSSM or .358 WSSM? I have been living with the .243 WSSM for quite some time in my home made varmint rifles, and can declare it superior in accuracy to all the others. After all, it has the short fat case shape lauded in the 6mm PPC, superior capacity and efficiency with medium burn rate powders such as Hunter and the 4350's. If you like something with a 1:8" twist that can obliterate ground squirrels like a Klingon disruptor and take everything else with Barnes TTSX bullets, while shooting sub-MOA groups, then what are you waiting for?

http://www.dtechuppers.com/ar-15-wss...receivers.html

Drivedabizness 01-18-2013 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DirtyDave (Post 10237009)
223 wins in price and low recoil. 243 wins in all other categories

This +1


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