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

.270 Winchester

Come that is Gay!!!!

.270 Winchester

.243 is a fine deer caliber rifle. I don't understand why it would require an "upgrade"?

Now, if you really want is simply another rifle, that I can completely understand

Since you don't reload, I'd suggest .308. There are plenty of factory loads, which gives you a wide variety of options to find out what a particular .308 rifle likes.

Hi guys the first rifle I ever bought is a 243 and this is my all-around rifle, I use it for everything, but I'm thinking about upgrading caliber, no I don't need nothing for big game, I just need a good deer caliber. Any suggestions will be very appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Any time someone asks a question like this I like to refer them to midwayusa.com. Shop the Ammunition/Rifle Ammunition offerings and show all 176 types. The number of offerings for each cartridge is shown to the right of the cartridge name. Here is a sampling:

60 = .243 Win
69 = 6.5 Creedmoor
3 = 6.5 PRC
64 = .270 Win
17 = .280 Rem
8 = .280 Rem Ackley Improved
31 = 7mm-08
67 = 7mm Rem Mag
158 = .308 Win
123 = .30-06
82 = .300 Win Mag
2 = 300 PRC
5 = .338 Federal
25 = .338 Win Mag
2 = .358 Win
44 = .45-70 Government

My suggestion would be to choose a cartridge based on your wants and needs as well as availability and cost of ammo and/or components.

If you reload or plan to do so, ammo costs are much less of a concern but you should still look into the cost, variety and availability of components - especially cartridge cases since they are the only unique component for a particular cartridge. Prices for cases can vary from under $0.50 each to over $2.00 each.

You say you don’t need a “big game” rifle. Do you plan to hunt hogs or bear as well as deer?

What about range of shots? A .243 is fine for lots of things but factory rifles are generally not twisted for heavy-for-caliber, high B.C. bullets. If you want to start stretching your range past 350-400 yards a good place to start is with the 6.5 Creedmoor – whether you plan to purchase factory ammo or reload. A .243 Win launching a 95 grain Hornady SST at 3185fps (Hornady ammo spec) delivers 992 foot-lbs energy at 400 yards. A 6.5 Creedmoor launching a Hornady 143g ELD-X at 2700fps (Hornady ammo spec) delivers 990 foot-lbs energy at 750 yards. At 750 yards the .243 will have 57” of drift in a 10mph crosswind, and less than half the energy of the 6.5CM, while the 6.5CM will drift only 35”. Another advantage of the 6.5CM is that recoil is only marginally greater than the .243 Win you already have. As you go larger in caliber and heavier in bullet weight, recoil will increase accordingly.

The ballistics of the 6.5CM, coupled with ammo and component availability are reasons I purchased one even though I have a .243 Win, .257 Roberts, 6.5-06AI and a slew of rifles in .280 Rem and larger. For Daughter #1 I purchased a lefty .270 Win and handload 150g Nosler bullets. That handload beats the 6.5CM some but not by enough to justify the cost of factory ammo if I didn’t reload for her.

While the 6.5CM was originally developed primarily for target competition but finds wide usage for hunting, the new (2019) 6.5PRC was developed for hunting but has good application for target competition. Factory rifle and ammo options are limited at the moment, although what is available is pretty good and more and more manufacturers are supporting it. I believe it will be hugely popular in years to come as it balances performance with barrel life. As with the 6.5CM, the SAAMI spec is properly twisted for heavy-for-caliber, high B.C. bullets and it adds about 250fps to what the 6.5CM can do.

Comparing Hornady factory loads for the .243 Win, 6.5CM and 6.5PRC at 500 yards with a 200 yard zero:
.243Win/95g SST = 1950fps, 802ft-lbs energy, -38.4” drop, 22.2” drift
6.5CM/143g ELD-X = 2030fps, 1308ft-lbs energy, -44.4” drop, 14.4” drift
6.5PRC/143g ELD-X = 2248fps, 1604 ft-lbs energy, -36.2” drop, 12,6” drift

A .308 Win and .30-06 are never wrong in my estimation. If you want a lot of fun, it is hard to beat lever actions like the Marlins, especially the .45-70. Standard factory loads for the .45-70 tend to be pretty mild in recoil in spite of the heavy bullets. As they say, the .45-70 can be loaded “from mild to wild” and factory options for Marlins range from trapdoor and cowboy loads to loads suitable for Cape Buffalo and grizzly bears. My subsonic 350g handloads for my .45-70 are among the most fun-to-shoot loads I have – even my daughters love them and they are very inexpensive to build.

Another 243..........