.243 losing popularity?

[Lloyd Smale]

well either the 6.5s are THE gun to have or the craze is dieing. Went gun shopping last week at 4 different shops and half the rifles they had were creedmores. Was it because everyone wants one or because everyone that wants one already has one and there sitting there. Either way a PILE of them has sold. One even to my hunting partner. He picked one up for crop damage shooting. Hes not a real gun guy and told me he bought it because it was the flattest shooting sob in his safe. I had to laugh. Hes has a 257 wby a 25.06 and a 300wsm and the real comical thing is he has a ruger 264 mag. Hated to bust his bubble and tell im all he really bought was a 260 rem at best and less then a 6.5 swede. .

He doesnt shoot 1000 yards. Heck i doubt hes ever shot a deer past 400. He passes on shots i take all the time. Wanted to set him straight but its one time i sucked it up and kept my opinion to myself. If he wants to love his new gun ill let him. Basicaly it will probably kill just fine at the ranges he shoots and 5 years from now will have killed a couple hundred deer and he will swear by it. Never was there a cartridge since the 270 that gun writters got more people to drink the kool-aid then the 6.5. I guess its the reason ill never own one or detest the 270. there the darlings of wanabe gun experts. Buy yourself a 270 or your not even a rilfeman. Buy an 06 and your a boring grandpa. 308? Hardly good past 200 yard if you ask those 270 guys.

Some things blow my mind when it comes to this stuff. Like why the 280 with a MUCH wider variety of bullets died and the 270 set sales records. Why the 257 roberts never took off when the 243 sold like gang busters. Mostly the reason is like i said before. Rags like guns and ammo and there so called experts. dont get me wrong i like new things too. I love my ar15 in 6.5 grendel and just built one in 300hmr. But i love them because they make an ar into a deer rifle. The 6.5 creed really doesnt do anything that already wasnt being done by existing calibers. For the real long range crowd there already history being replaced by the 6mm creed and the 6.5 prc.(which by the way was on the gunshops shelves too) But im still kind of chuckling at my buddy. Hes got the gun. No ammo or even dies to be found anywhere. Bullets are about non existent. Only ammo he found was two boxes of some needle nosed long range hp stuff that sure isnt deer medicine. He would have been much better off with a 243 or 308. At least then he could have used my dies and if he didnt have bullets himself i sure do. Have to wonder if by september he will even have it ready to kill deer.

[mike britton]

Okay, folks.....
I'm the OP here, and we have 7 pages of opinions. The discussion is kind of teetering off the rails, and I'm asking that if you all want to continue on keep it civil. I got my answer, in spades! So carry on if you want, but y'all are starting to flog a dead horse!

[lksmith]

I owned one and it was ok. But there is no place for it in my needs. I have a few .223’s for fun shooting and varmints. No need to burn more powder in the .243. I hunt with a .308...so what would a .243 do?

The 6.5 CM is the latest fad, but no better than what I have for what I need killing. If I get so crippled up I cannot shoot a .308, I will add a muzzle brake or get a .260. At least brass for the .260 will never be a problem.

But the .243 is going to be around for a long time.

Brass isn't an issue for 6.5CM. Can form it from 308 almost as easily as 260, 243 of 7mm08, only have to trim it

[M-Tecs]

Brass isn't an issue for 6.5CM. Can form it from 308 almost as easily as 260, 243 of 7mm08, only have to trim it

Most use 22-250 brass. You have to fireform and the brass is a hair short. Using even 260 you normally have to neck turn plus cut to length.

[lksmith]

Most use 22-250 brass. You have to fireform and the brass is a hair short. Using even 260 you normally have to neck turn plus cut to length.

I've been using 7mm08 brass since I have a ton of it that I've picked up. Neck down and use my trimmer and works fine. Never thought of or tried 22-250

[Texas by God]

I seem to recall, around 1980, the talk was that the new 7mm-08 Remington would bump the .243 aside. I guess not.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[M-Tecs]

I've been using 7mm08 brass since I have a ton of it that I've picked up. Neck down and use my trimmer and works fine. Never thought of or tried 22-250

Some good info here

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-6-5-Creedmore

https://forum.accurateshooter.com/th...08-or.3917879/

[Pete44mag]

Take a close look at the ballistic charts there is a lot of over lap between the different calibers. If the manufacturers aren't selling new guns, ammo, dies and all the rest of the toys there not making money. Does a 30-06 kill a deer any more dead than a 6.5? It's not the gun its the shooter holding it that makes the difference. Some people like new toys some don't. Some people like argue what's best and some don't. If we all felt the same about everything it would be a pretty boring world with only one gun manufacturing company.

[lksmith]

Take a close look at the ballistic charts there is a lot of over lap between the different calibers. If the manufacturers aren't selling new guns, ammo, dies and all the rest of the toys there not making money. Does a 30-06 kill a deer any more dead than a 6.5? It's not the gun its the shooter holding it that makes the difference. Some people like new toys some don't. Some people like argue what's best and some don't. If we all felt the same about everything it would be a pretty boring world with only one gun manufacturing company.

I dunno, I haven't got the nerve to try and shoot a deer around here with anything less than 30cal. I just don't like tracking them. Made perfect shots with ballistic tip 30-06 and had them get up and run off and not be found

[Texas by God]

To the OP- Mike, get yourself an extra .243 Win. Savage 110 barrel and do the switch barrel thing on your 30-06 110L. Easy. My son has a 110 long action .243 that came from my late brother and it always delivers. It shot very well with 80 gr Midway bulk bullets so that's what we used for everything - till we could no longer get them. Now the 90gr Nosler B tip is used. I had a 788 .243 but I let it go when I got 25-06 fever....

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[megasupermagnum]

I dunno, I haven't got the nerve to try and shoot a deer around here with anything less than 30cal. I just don't like tracking them. Made perfect shots with ballistic tip 30-06 and had them get up and run off and not be found

Geez. First the 357 magnum gets demoted to a bunny gun at best. Then the 243 Winchester became a pip-squeak varmint round. Now the 30-06 is a little weak for deer. They worked in the past, but now they don't. Is our technology failing us, or are we failing ourselves?

BTW, that is not directed at you specifically lksmith.

[lksmith]

Geez. First the 357 magnum gets demoted to a bunny gun at best. Then the 243 Winchester became a pip-squeak varmint round. Now the 30-06 is a little weak for deer. They worked in the past, but now they don't. Is our technology failing us, or are we failing ourselves?

BTW, that is not directed at you specifically lksmith.

Glad it isn't! 30-06 is far from weak, I just don't like tracking deer!

[gbrown]

I agree with Pete44mag. Shot placement. 5-6 years ago, I bought a 243, not for any other reason than I wanted one. Put a nice Vortex on it. Loaded 90 gr. Nosler BT. Got it sighted in, took it to the lease. Afternoon of opening day, 100 lb doe came out at 100 yd. Standing broadside, head down, nibbling short grass or something. Didn't want to waste any meat, shot her at the base of the skull in neck. She did an *** for head flip and never moved. Took her spine and carotids out. Thats what it is all about, shot placement.

[rbuck351]

You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong. -Bob Hagel

I don't think the popularity of the 243 will go down much as there are tons of them already in peoples hands and they are as good a long range varmint round as anything. I do believe the sales of new 243 rifles will drop off as there are so many newer similar rounds available especially those that fit the AR platform. The Ar being probably the most popular rifle now and the gun rags all promoting the newest round for the AR will probably hurt sales of the 243.

Whether or not these small to medium sized rounds are adequate for deer sized animals depends a lot on the person behind the gun and unknown circumstances. Using a "too big" round just helps insure you take home meat instead of chasing a blood trail until it disappears.

[megasupermagnum]

You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong. -Bob Hagel

I don't think the popularity of the 243 will go down much as there are tons of them already in peoples hands and they are as good a long range varmint round as anything. I do believe the sales of new 243 rifles will drop off as there are so many newer similar rounds available especially those that fit the AR platform. The Ar being probably the most popular rifle now and the gun rags all promoting the newest round for the AR will probably hurt sales of the 243.

Whether or not these small to medium sized rounds are adequate for deer sized animals depends a lot on the person behind the gun and unknown circumstances. Using a "too big" round just helps insure you take home meat instead of chasing a blood trail until it disappears.

243 winchester fits just fine in an AR10

[Finster101]

243 winchester fits just fine in an AR10

And I have been wanting one. I waited too long as I am not going to pay current prices. I guess my Sako will have to do for now.

[M-Tecs]

I really like my AR10 in 243. I never knew it wasn't possible to put a .243 in an AR platform.

I am also wondering what I am doing wrong with the deer and antelope I have killed with zero issues??? Total that would be around 40 and 50 whitetail bucks and a few whitetail doe's. Plus maybe 5 or 6 Antelope and 4 mule deer 2 of which were trophy class bucks with 28" and 26" inside spreads. Every animal fell to a 243 using 100 grain bullets soft point Speer bullets or factory Remington Core-Lokt's without anything remotely resembling a difficult recovery. Same for the dozens of people that I know that use the .243 for deer. We all must be doing something wrong since we have none of the claimed issues???

From 1970 until 2006 I hunted on a large ranch that was mostly river bottom and irrigated corn. It held a very large deer population. The ranch owner hated deer and wanted them all shot off. Normally 20 to 30 hunters per season most with at least 2 tags per hunter some with the max of three gun tags. Five including archery and Blackpowder. Lots of deer drives involved with 50 or 60 deer per season killed on his land so I witnessed a lot of deer being killed or at least heard the stories. In the evening we would all gather in his shop and have a beer or two and tell the days tales. He sold it in 2006 for several million more than it was worth as a ranch to a very deep pockets individual that wanted it for hunting.

That time span covers 36 years and at 50 minimum deer harvested per season that's 1800 deer. While I was not around for all of them I was around for well over half of them. When it came to wounding/crippling/losing deer two cartridge's shared the title. The would be the 30/30 and the 300 Magnums either Winchester or Weatherby.

In both cases the cause had nothing to do with the cartridge. It had everything to do with the shooter proficiencies or lack of. The magnum guys thought they could shoot a mile and they didn't have a good understanding of deer anatomy/shot placement. The other group were mostly adjoining land owners that had land with no cover and no deer. They just wanted a deer to mix with pork for the fall sausage making. They tended to carry Grandpa's 30/30. Grandpa may have been the last one to sight it in. They were not serious hunter or shooters. Between the two groups they lost a lot of deer.

While it varied year to year there were always 5 or 6 hunters using a 243 or 6mm Remington and one hunter used a 220 Swift exclusively. With one exception they were all serious varmint hunters and shooters. After I filled my tags I would switch to a 22-250 or a 220 Swift for coyotes but if the right shot presented itself and I had permission I would fill others tags. Never had an issue with a head, neck or a behind the shoulder double lung with the 22-250 or the 220 Swift. Can't say if they ever lost a deer but I don't remember ever helping track a deer for them. I do remember helping track a lot of deer for hunters using bigger guns.

On a side note I did kill at least one deer with every standard US cartridge service rifle. That would be a Trapdoor Springfield, 30-40 Krag, 1903 Springfield, 1917 Enfield,1903A3 Springfield, M1 Garand, M1 Carbine(borrowed never owned one), and last but not least a real M-14 from the NG Marksmanship team and an actual 12 twist M-16 model 604 with the silly aluminum dogleg selector switch limiter.

I am mostly color bind so I am a poor tracker. On the other hand I have always been a very avid shooter so my job was point man when tracking. I've finished a lot of wounded deer with the lowly 243 that were wounded by much bigger guns. I don't include this in my kill totals. Same for an of the "Put out of their misery" kill's. The land across the river was deer huntable waterfowl refuge. Slugs only and mostly swamp grass. Lots of wounded deer would swim across the river. Shot of jaws and nose were common on doe's and fawns since that all you could see in the swamp grass. Bucks didn't hang around long enough for a head shot so gut and leg shots were common. One opening day or the day after they would get tagged and used. After that they normally became coyote food since no one wanted to tag a fevered animal that they didn't wound themselves. Not legal but it's the moral thing to do.

The river bottom ranch owners to the south of the ranch I used to hunt on was also a good friend of my dad’s. Dad, Mom and him all were farm kids gowning up in the Depression. Their parents all raised cattle but that was too valuable to eat. The only beef that ate was from old or injured and that was very rare. They did eat a lot of pork, chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese that they raised. Both mon and dad were on the prairie on all the deer had been shot off. Dad didn't start deer hunting until 1950 he moved to an area the had deer. The friend on the river bottom lived on deer during those times. His job as a kid was to shoot about one deer a week for the family. All he had was a single shot 22LR. He got a beating if used more than one shot per deer. He only remembers getting beat a couple of times and he killed hundreds and hundreds with a 22LR. I asked him one time and he figured he killed over 500 deer with a 22LR.

My now deceased father in law tells of growing up in very remote Alaska bordering the Yukon Territory. He was 14 before he saw another person other than his mother and father. It was a seven day walk to the nearest trading post. He was not a hunter or a gun guy but he thought the 25/20 was the best moose cartridge ever. They also had a 303 Brit. My guess is all they had was ball ammo for that. Their method of moose hunting was to wait to the moose they wanted was happily eating in the garden and to shoot it 2 or 3 times in the ribs from the cabin with the 25/20. The little 25/20 would not spook the moose and it would just keep on eating. Once it started getting wobbly they would chase it out of the garden so the gut pile wasn’t in the garden. If they used the 303 he stated the moose would run a long ways and they would have to pack it back.

I do know I have killed a fair amount of slaughter hogs and steers with a 22 LR and one horse that had several broken legs due to a horse trailer rollover. From day after my 15th Birthday I worked as the only gas station open on weekend. Got my driver’s licenses and first tax and SS pay job day after my 15th B-day. Both were legal at the time. That meant I also drove wreck on the weekends and evenings. The state only had 7 game wardens and highway patrol were very rare. While not legal both OK'ed the wrecker drivers dispatching vehicle struck animals as long as we didn't take any. The wrecker normally had a cheap 22 boltgun and cheap single shot 12 gauge. If they were close I would use a head shot with the 22 to put them out of their misery. If they crawled too far away for a head shot if you could get a 3 or 4 into the lungs that would end their misery.

Due to where and how I hunted from 1970 - 2006 I have been part of or seen the recovered animals of many very challenging recoveries and/or almost lost deer. In some cases it was bullets that didn't expand or the bullet blew up on the surface. Of the surface wounds small branches or brush being hit before the deer impact was mostly the cause.

Irrespective of claims of a perfect shot I have never seen a deer that was a difficult recovery or nearly lost that had the said perfect claimed hit with exception of the rare lack of expansion mostly due to poor bullet selection. I have been guilty of that myself with a 270 Win, .338 Win Mag. and a 375H&H. That being said any animal that is adrenaline charged is capable of covering surprising distances. Hearts shot in particular can go a long ways. First Antelope I shot was with a 30-06 using 150 grain soft points. It went about 450 yards without a heart. Never seen an animal with shredded collapsed lungs make it much past 60 yards.

Within reason shooter proficiency and understand shot placement are for more important that cartridge/caliber selection.

[farmbif]

nah, 243 aint popular no more, feel free to send me all your unpopular brass, bullets and guns and you can get yourself some new fangled super duper buck getter.

[oldsalt444]

I shot my first buck, a California black tail, with a .243 at 200 yards so it will always be popular with me. Dropped like an anchor on the spot.

While the 6.5 CM is a good cartridge, I see it as just a fad. It won't do anything that a 260 Rem or 6.5x55 Swede won't do. The Swede was invented over 100 years ago. Just seems like re-inventing the wheel to me.

[rbuck351]

Well that settles it. If the slob hunters next door had just used a 243 instead of the 300 mag or what ever they would have drt instead of losing them.

I believe a good hunter can harvest deer easily with a 22lr especially if drive hunting or shooting them in the garden. The deer that rob my garden could be shot at ten yards with just about anything if one can hit a pop can at 15 feet. People that can't hit their rear with either hand probably shouldn't be hunting at all. However I think a larger round with a proper bullet would help them lose fewer animals.

I also don't think most folks should use a 243 for hunting deer on Kodiak island. Lots of deer that would go down fairly easily
with the 243 but there are also lots of griz that think a gun shot is a dinner bell.