Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What would be a nice upgrade in caliber for my .243?

Interesting, thanks for your input. Definitely 2 hole would help.

With the right bullet the .243 leaves exit holes most of the time, IME

.243" monometals or partitions more often will exit. Exit, of itself, does not guarantee a blood trail. Fascial layers, skin overlap, bunch of reasons. Moreover, the limited expansion that makes premium bullets more likely to exit tends to make for a smaller exit hole diameter.

More likely a blood trail from .22s and .24s, such as it is, comes from the mouth.

I can think of a few myself, but I don't know anyone that would argue a .270 won't work in that situation. And some of the ones I would choose for that situation are low on the list of what I would choose for others.

Dunno. Lotta sense in a 243 and 270. That's been my choice for quite a while.

No argument from me. Just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page.

Damn. Another Texas dig. But we normally set our stands at least 100 yards from the feeder. LOL.

A real noticeable step "up" from a 243, that you can tell something different is happening when shooting deer, comes at the 30 caliber level in my experience, and a 30-06 velocity level.

So, just get a 30-06 and you won't ever have made a mistake at any range to 500 yards for deer.

Thanks, and yep, that would be a big step up with noticeable difference.

I grew up West of you on I-10, East, Tx and our deer were of similar size. I used the 30-06 a lot. I started out with Remington factory 150gr ptd Corlokt. kept my shots behind the shoulder, no wasted meat. ( That was a big thing with my dad) I later (late 70s) tried the Federal Red Box ( remember those?) with Sierra 165 SBT. They worked better for accuracy ( a jammomatic Mod 742) yet also never wasted meat on either deer or hogs. Can't never, no never ever go wrong with a 30-06, and it can be a hoss on elk with the right bullet too! After all...you have to at least "dream" of killing elk, even if it IS a long way from Florida to where they are at! Let us know what you settled on Pard, we are all rootin for you!

Thanks for your reply, that 30-06 is a beast and a very nice step up for my need, love my .243 but boy I think Alot about that 30-06.

Well then....get that aught-6!

There isn't a critter in the USA that you can't kill with it. If you're not a realoader, no big deal. If you are, even better!

30-06 is loud and kicks quite a bit more. You'll have no doubt that you have made a big step up when you fire it.

A 270 or 308 is a more docile step up. But still a substantial step up. They're both more than adequate for most North American game.

I upgraded from my trusty 243 by buying it a new adjustable cheek piece stock, better scope, using great bullets, practicing a lot and putting aside money towards the barrel its going to need shortly.

How many bullets you have to shoot before u need a new barrel?

Thousands

Ok I'm good, just got mine and shot about 120 round only. Thanks.

Depends what your accuracy expectations are. 1500-2500 rounds is a realistic ballpark for a .243.

I've toppled more deer with my older 30-30 Glenfield carbine than with anything else. I really like the short 18 inch barrel for hunting within forests and foothills of north Georgia. Accuracy with my Simmons 2-7X scope averages 2 inches at 100 yards.

Sherwood

Go pick up a Tikka in .308, go to Walmart and pick up some Federal blue box 150's or Remington corelock 150's and start dropping deer. I have been using a Browning Abolt Medallion 7mm mag for approx 32 years but lately shoulder issues limit my shooting of it anymore. After reading all the info on the out of the box accuracy of the Tikka, I picked one up. I ended up finding a deal on one with a few shots down the barrel so I picked it up. So now its ammo. Again, after tons of reading, over half kept coming back to the Fed blue box of Rem corelocks, bot in 150's. I settled on the Blue Box after they were shooting sub MOA at 100 yards. Most of my shots are 100 or less. I do however have a few places where I go where shots could be 400+. I haven't tried other rounds yet with better ballistics, but for over the counter ammo, its a shooter. Others have also used Hornady white tail 150's with great sub MOA accuracy.

My son's both have Rem 700's in 308 from Academy and they drive tacks with Corelock 150's as well. These can be bought for about $425 at academy. My Tikka T3 in stainless was about $600 if I remember. Also, .308 with factory ammo should just about have infinite barrel life.