.243 losing popularity?

[perotter]

The .243 will be around, and still be 'on the job' longer than any of us will.

And any place that sells ammo, will always have a few boxes of it on the shelf.

Around here for years on the rack in the shops, the most common NIB bolt rifles have been in .243.

But as of a few weeks ago no .243 ammo on the shelf.

[Winger Ed.]

Around here for years on the rack in the shops, the most common NIB bolt rifles have been in .243.

Back to their popularity:
As any store/business owner will tell ya, "We stock what sells".

[Finster101]

Around here for years on the rack in the shops, the most common NIB bolt rifles have been in .243.

But as of a few weeks ago no .243 ammo on the shelf.

I don’t think a lot of places have anything on the shelves these days.

[flint45]

I bought a Remington 700 with a scope in 243 At a yard sale I didn’t really want a 243 but it has been a very good rifle Fun to shoot and very accurate and very easy to get ammo for plus I had about 200 empty cases in 243 that I got when I bought a large reloading supplies that someone was selling. Now .243 win.is a favorite of mine.

[Pressman]

All this talk about the 243 going away prompted me to get mine out and give it some love. It's been setting in the safe since 2000 unfired. I need to rectify that this summer. As a young beginner in 1966/67 I decided that I needed certain rifles in various calibers, just as the gun writers told me I did. The 243 was the neatest, best wonder cartridge of the time, so I picked the 6mm Remington.

This is my first 243 rifle and it's a good one. Accurate and pleasant to shoot.
Sporterized Arisaka action, unknown barrel, Herter's stock and Herter's scope. I was given the rifle in 2000 because it had a broken extractor. Easy fix and my love of the 243 began. And, yes there is a sporterized 98 Mauser in the safe in 6mm Remington.

[Texas by God]

Oh- I like that Arisaka, Pressman. Give that thing some exercise!

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[Winger Ed.]

It's been setting in the safe since 2000 unfired.

I've heard a vicious rumor that if you don't fire guns fairly often, they'll get 'lot rot'
like a car does if it sits too long without being driven occassionally.

[mike britton]

I have an Arisaka battlefield pick up that, unfortunately is too far gone to do anything with.
Shame too, I hear they are good actions to build a sporter on.

[PhatForrest]

243 is a versatile cartridge for the hand loader. You can make screaming lightweight rounds or great long range rounds depending on your barrel twist. Yes, barrel life is shorter.

I picked up a nice 9.125 twist HB 700 from a friend of a friends estate sale a few years ago and fell in love with it. Topped it off with EGW base and rings and an SWFA SS 10x mil/mil scope. Little recoil, fast velocities, and a little bit cheaper to reload for than 7.62 cartridges. There's always 6mm bullets on the shelves.

The creedmoors may be popular, but in the northeast woods where there aren't 1200 yard shoots to be had, I'll stick with the 243.

[dh2]

there is to many 243's out there for supply's to go a way, that would be no worry.
Yes the 6.5 Creedmoor is the latest fade but it a lot of people try to reinvent the wheel, I to take an older way about it, to me the 25-06 has done more deer killing than any other round, I see no way for the 243 or the6.5 to take its place with me.

[parson48]

.243 remains popular here- has been since I bought my Savage 110 back in the mid 80s.

[winelover]

The smallest centerfire in my safe is a 243 Winchester. It's not going anywhere. Tack driver with handloaded 55 grain Nostler BT's. Killed multiple deer with 100 Grain Nostler Partions and Hornady Interlocks. Few were bang flops. Speer 70 grain TNT's, if you preference is for middle of the road bullet weights. Kills everything from small varmints to big game. What's not to like?

I don't own or plan to own anything chambered in .223/5.56 NATO. Don't even stock SRP in my stash.

Winelover

[Three44s]

Seems we have a lot of loyal 243 owners here, what a surprise! LOL!

Three44s

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I have a couple/a few Savage 99's in .243. I find the .243 is one of the easiest rifles to develop extremely accurate loads suitable for hunting deer and lighter stuff. I would not stay home during elk season if my only rifle was a .243. I know a couple packers, guides and cowboys who shoot their meat elk every year with the .243. My wife has a very long string of one shot kills on antelope with her featherweight Savage 99 .243. We use the Nosler 95gr Partition for the deer and antelope. I think the .243 is the cartridge that replaces the .30-30 for the saddle scabbard and pickup truck in places where the AR15 comes up light, lions, wolves, bears, OH MY remember the S...S...S...

[curioushooter]

Maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time believing anyone could tell the difference on an elk between a 243 win with a 100gr Nolser partition at 3100+ FPS, compared to a 6.5 CM with a 140gr bullet (including partiition) at 2700+ FPS.

I wouldn't use either one for elk since I own a 308 win, but I don't doubt the 243 win and 6.5 CM would be ethical choices as well.

I disagree. Bullet construction is an important variable and it isn't magic. Some bullets are constructed more sturdily than others. The more sturdy the bullet the less it expands at a given velocity and the deeper it can go. The more weight a bullet retains the deeper it can go. Bullet construction is often tailored to certain velocities.

For example many 30 caliber bullets meant for use in 30-30 have thin jackets and are meant to open up at relatively lower velocities. Same caliber, same weight, and different application. Few if anybody would think of these as ideal for big game let alone dangerous game. They are however good for deer.

Hornady is one of the most forthright of the bullet manufactures stating what game it is meant for and appropriate muzzle velocities.

Hornady lists NO BULLET under 6.5 caliber rated for big game. The 6.5mm 140 grain SST and Interlock, the 143 grain ELD-X, and the 160 grain Interlock are all rated for big game. The 129 grain Interlock, which is a fantastic deer bullet, is not rated for big game.

Sierra is the same deal. The 6.5mm 140 grain Gameking is rated for "heavy game." No lighter bullet (like the 130 grain Gameking) or smaller caliber is rated for "heavy game."

Lapua also lists the 6.5 mm 155 grain Mega bullet for big game. Again no caliber smaller than 6.5 is rated for big game by Lapua.

Speer and Nosler are both more vague, though the 140 grain Hot-Cor is considered a medium game bullet (I've called Speer and asked).

Many would consider 6.5 under caliber for big game. I say it is a minimum based on the very makers' recommendations, who, after all want you to be satisfied with performance. I certainly wouldn't chance things buy using a bullet not even recommended by the manufacturer for the intended purpose, and to date I have found no maker positively rating the use of .243 caliber or even .257 for anything besides medium game.

To me this is a decisive disadvantage to .243 Win vs 6.5 Creedmore. Both are based on the same case, the .308 Win, though unlike the 260 Rem, the 6.5 Creed can actually handle the long heavy bullets and has an appropriate twist rate.

[Garyshome]

Nobody shoots a 243 around where i live.

[am44mag]

I think .243 is losing popularity, but I don't think that means it's going anywhere. I also don't see 6.5 Creedmoor going anywhere. Some might think it's just a fad, but it's a fad that has been going on for 13 years, has probably outsold every other 6.5mm cartridge combined, and has found widespread acceptance as well as some minor military acceptance in some places. If you think it's just going to die off, I feel you are mistaken. I don't think there's a rifle maker out there that doesn't offer it as a clambering unless they focus solely on AR-15s.

[curioushooter]

I normally detest new chamberings in the same caliber that roughly overlap with existing cartridges. So I initially thought the 6.5 Creed was a fad. However, I have been a long time user/admirer of the 6.5x55 swedish mauser and when I wanted to get a 6.5 left handed bolt action I spent a lot of time looking for one in 6.5x55. Turns out that I could get exactly what I wanted (a controlled round feed action in left hand in 6.5mm) in 6.5 Creed Ruger Hawkeye. On paper, 6.5 Creed is equivalent or slightly exceeds the venerable swede. It gets better or equal velocity with the same weight bullet often with lesser powder charges. The sharp shoulder/low case taper design is well known for its accuracy and case longevity and also allows the key advantage (long heavy bullets) of the long action swede work in a short action chambering. The other short action 6.5 chamberings, like 260 Remington, are stillborn in my mind as they cannot do what a 6.5 is supposed to do...launch a 140 grain or heavier projectile and still fit in the action/magazine and not be seated so deep that the ogive comes to full diameter behind the mouth. The 6.5 Creede is the bomb...in my opinion. I don't believe it can be improved upon.

The 6.5 Creed and Ruger Hawkeye are so excellent they are almost dissapointingly boring. The very first loads I tried managed sub MOA without issue (40 grains of H4350 with 140 grain speer Hot cor and standard OAL). These weren't even fire-formed cases either...they were out of the bag...

Then I tried some of that Alliant 16...a powder practically tailor made for 6.5 Creed. Same boringly awesome results, plus another 100 FPS and a baked in copper fouling eliminator!

Varget is an outstanding powder with lighter bullets (130s and less) and often gets away with surprisingly light charge weights. Too bad the stuff is hard to come by lately!

[Lloyd Smale]

looked at two list of top ten rifle calibers sold today and the 243 landed #6 on both. WAY about the creedmore https://chuckhawks.com/best_selling_...cartridges.htm https://gunnewsdaily.com/best-caliber-for-deer-hunting/ Ive never been a cheerleader. But did love my 6mm rem which is about the same thing. Ive killed a truck load of deer with that gun with shots out as far as 400 yards. Dont recall ever thinking to myself after a shot that it was inadequate. I bought 4 cheap 243s for my grandkids. Did so so that i wouldnt have to load a for bunch of different guns for them and so that if i died they could buy ammo ANYWHERE. One howa, 2 savages and a mossberg. I shoot the same load in all three. A 100 grain interlock with 4064. The worse one shoots 1 1/8 5 shot groups and the best one shoots just under an inch. Pretty amazing for 4 different guns shooting the same load which by the way was the first load i whipped up. I had 5oo hornadys and a 8 lb jug of 4064. Figured even if they shot 2 inch it was good enough for what they would do with them. Ill add that i dont recall ever seening a 243 that didnt shoot well or even hearing someone complain about them. My guess is in the REAL world there very little differnce between a 6.5 and a 243. Out to at least 500 yards and even if i know the range will certainly be over 300 id leave both in the safe and grab more gun. To many read those silly guns and ammo articles that writers are paid by gun and ammo manufactures to praise something new so we all go out and buy it. Dont get me wrong theres nothing wrong with the creedmore. I dont own one but do own a grendel and love it. Its just that its no game changer over a 243 or 708 or even a 308.

[mike britton]

Wow! Never thought that I would stir up so much conversation! But I like seeing differing opinions on a subject, and especially when it doesn't turn into a name calling circus.
Thanks to all for a courteous, informed discussion, we can all be proud of ourselves.

curioushooter, I have always liked the Ruger rifles, owned an M77 once, regret letting it go.
I may have to look into the left handed Hawkeye. It's a bit above my pay grade, but if I build my own I'll easily spend that much money.