Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Jack O'Connor on the .243 Win.

Today I am re-reading Jack O'Connor's book, "The Rifle Book", copyright 1964. I found the following quotes about the .243 Winchester cartridge very interesting. Pages 185-187:

"In my opinion the .243 has been greatly overpraised. I consider it inferior not only to the .244-6mm Remington, but to the .250/3000 Savage cartridge which it drove from the Savage line."

"As a matter of fact, both 6-mm cartridges were greatly overpraised when they came out, and for all around use on deer and varmints I'd prefer the old .250/3000 to the .243 and the .257 Roberts to the .244." "However, the .243 has been a roaring success."

"I prefer the .244 (6mm Rem) to the .243. I like the shape of the case better. The powder capacity is greater. The 26-degree shoulder is more adapted to the use of slow-burning powders than the 20-degree shoulder of the .243."

Some people have tried to claim that O'Connor was a marketing mouth-piece for Winchester because of his long support for the .270 Win. cartridge. He was a supporter of the .270 long before he had any influence in the firearms industry. His lack of enthusiasm for the .243 cartridge also reinforces the idea that he was not working for the Winchester marketing department. To this day there is much of value to be found in the writings of Jack O'Connor.

In the 60's the bullets available for the 243 were not up to the task. The old cup and core were true to their name, if you recovered the animal you found a cup and the core and many times they just exploded on impact. My brother had one and hunted with it a few years. He finally rebarreled it to 308 and was much happier.
With today's bullets, Jack probably would change his tune.

Never had to agree with another man's opinion when I could arrive at my own.

How do the three chamberings that you mention rank today?

Also,when Winchester dropped the (what is now known as the Pre '64) old M 70 for the "new" (Post '64) M 70 JOC pretty much tore Winchester a new one.

I suppose nothing has improved since 1964?.........lol.

Great new thread.

Your conclusion that he was not just marketing agent for Winchester is probably accurate. If he were here today I bet he would have a different view of the 6mm and 243. Although I think he may well still prefer the 6mm

Except the critter doesn't know alla this, and dies when hit well anyway.
Jack was just another writer, and sometimes full of it.

GeoW,

Well, today, the 243 is still a roaring success, just like Jack said it was in 1964. The 257 Roberts is more alive today than it was in 1964. The 6mm Rem and the 250 Savage are alive and maintaining their small piece in the big picture about the same as they were in 1964.

Jack's reasons for preferring the 6mm Rem case over the 243 case haven't changed. He had a custom 6mm Rem built for himself. He didn't mention having any 243's, that I saw.

I wish Jack was still around to give us his views on the scene today.

I'll take a .243 in a short action over a 6mm in a long action.

So far this thread has perhaps the highest ratio of irrational rifle-loony posts as any I've seen in a long time.

Thanks!

I've made peace with my 6mm in a short action, and I prefer it over a .243 in a short action. To each his own. Here was Jack's choice:

Jack's custom .244/6mm was "made by Al Biesen,the famous Spokane, Washington gunsmith...with a 1-10 twist barrel on a 1912 Mauser action for the 7mm cartridge. He fitted a Leupold 8-x Mountaineer scope and stocked it superbly in French walnut. I seldom shoot a group from a bench rest with it that goes over one inch, and many are in the neighborhood of 1/2 inch. I have shot many rockchucks with it at 300 yards and over. For all practical purposes it is about as effective as the .25/06, with less blast and recoil." "The Rifle Book" page 185-186.

So now we have a pretty good idea what Jack thought of the 6mm Remington cartridge. If Jack had been working for Remington, they would have introduced the 6mm with 1-10 twist in the first place, avoided the whole .244 Rem debacle, and maybe Remington would have had the "roaring success" and left the 243 Win in the dust.

Interestingly, professional hunters in New Zealand at the same time he wrote that, were shooting more red deer with their .243's in one season than Jack O'Connor did with any cartridge in his lifetime.
Having said that, I am a Jack O'connor fan.

I've gotten more blood trailing practice helping friends with 243-shot deer than any other round. It seems with a 243 the guys want to see how light (and fragile) a bullet they can load in the round. That may be a contributing factor.

Ironic that I've probably tracked more game for others using 30 cal. Next would be 338.

Jack who?

I know I'm NOT the only one who knows this but, apparently the dis-info is still present.

I've been loading, shooting, and hunting the 243 and 6mm R since the 1980s. I also HAD/have a chronograph to compare loads so what I'm about to say, I have verified and others have too.

As to the powder capacity of the two cartridges, there IS ONLY 1 grain of difference in working, safe loads between them.

As to any velocity diff. there may be 30 fps or NOT depending on the rifle barrels on the individual guns.

The 6mm case LOOKS larger than the 243 because it's longer (taller) but IF you measure the difference of the cases you'll find the 243 is 'fatter' and the 6mm is more slender, therefore the capacities are NOT that different.

As to velocities, I've graphed MANY loads in both cartridges using the SAME powders. The velocities are so close that NO loader/hunter or game could distinguish between them.

Hope this helps, it has been proven.

Jerry

It is far easier to get a 3000 fps load for the 100-grain bullets in the 6mm with a 22-inch barrel than with a .243. I have had both. I will stay with the 6mm. I shoot 100-grain Hornadys at 3000fps and it is not a max load.

The old cup and core bullets lacked performance then and still have issues today which drives the market for premium bullets.

The common hunter who doesn't want to pay for copper slugs or premium bullets to make a 243 really perform is better off shooting a larger caliber where most any base line loading works and inspires more confidence that it will work.

Well at least no one has called the .243 gay�like the .270