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

[Don@Tahoe]

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

[zack30]

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]

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]

Oh man, that .243 is awful tempting.

[Subotai]

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

[DirtyDave]

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

[vern748]

.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]

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]

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]

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]

Big bit of barrel burner.

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]

.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]

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]

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]

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.