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sakoron Offline OP
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An old friend & hunting partner is getting close to passing. He is more than few years older than I am & I'm pushing 80. He has a couple rifles & a shotgun or 2 that we have discussed what will happen with them when he's gone....as he has had no children that he claims & his only brother has already passed.

I had put him on to the 1st Tikka closeout at Academy years ago when I was still repping for Stoeger and had sold the Tikka's to Academy to start with, and he found what he calls the prettiest 30'06 rifle he's ever owned, knowing the quality of the Tikka line, as he had repped for Ithaca for 12-15 years earlier, and has a 243 that was left over from the last previous marriage with no particular history except with the last previous wife. I think the too pretty to sell Tikka 30'06 will go to someone else in his family but he sez the 243 is open to be bought. So I'm wondering how useful a 243 is in these days of CM's, 7-08's and WSM's and so on.

So, What say ya'll about the every day usefullness of today's 243's can provide in today's new bullet designs & expanded caliber market? My hesitancy is the only WT's I've ever lost in 50+ years were ? capable bullet performance in a couple calibers ( 257 Rbt's for example ) & ? placement's with that 1st SAKO 243 & and later learning the max limitations of a 270 & 30'06, then moved on to the belted magnum calibers.These days I've begun to find other every day calibers more interesting, like the CM's etc.

My first real deer rifle was a SAKO 243 that my grandfather had acquired when the owner had borrowed $500 against the SAKO from my Grandfather, and couldn't pay even the 1st $250 became past due initial balance he left owing couple months past the mandatory 90 day loan terms or ? I picked up the unpaid $250 initial balance, and grandfather kicked the final $250 balance owed to me as a wedding present. All that occurred over 55 years ago....and I'm still married to wife #1 for 55 years....so far!

I got to hunt with grand pop a time or two more, but his already bad health caught up with him before we could make a habit of the annual trips to his deer lease in the Texas Hill Country. His trips to Alaska for guided Carabou hunts IMO kept him alive several years longer than anyone expected. These Days, with my own health issues I'm beginning to understand that drive to go hunting at least one last time as I am close to 80, and looking for something to take "with me" when my time comes.
Ron

Last edited by sakoron; 11/23/22. Reason: Clarity
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The .243 will kill deer as dead now as it did back in 1955. Lost count of how many I’ve killed with mine.
There’s not a hog or deer alive that I would be afraid to shoot with a .243. I still think 6.5’s, 7-08, .308 etc. are better big game cartridges than the .243. If he is going to give it to you or sell it to you now is probably a better time to do so than trying to get it from his estate.

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The .243 is a sure killer on hogs and deer.I too have lost track of how many deer I've killed with a .243 and just recently some hogs died in front of the .243 shooting 75 gr Vmax...

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My campmate, one of his sons, and I have done well on deer and hogs with factory Federal 95 grain Fusion and 85 grain TSX, and handloads using 95 grain Partitions and Ballistic Tips, the 95 grain SST, 90 grain Accubonds and 85 grain Speers.

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Ingwe,

How were you placing your shots with the VMax?

My 243 loves the 87 VMax and if I'm strictly "hogging" I'll take some into the field.

m

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Back before the AGFC got protective of them I shot lots of hogs with a Tikka .243 loaded with cheap ol' Core-Loks. I don't recall ever having one get away from me. I never shoulda' sold that rifle. frown

I know a lot of folks here that hunt with .243 rifles and fill the freezer every year.

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The last few deer I've killed were with .243s and .264s. Saw zero difference in a well placed shot on whitetail. Can't speak to results with hogs.

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sakoron, i've killed more than a few Deer and Pigs with a .243 and still carry one in my jeep daily, and I'm 83, don't let age or lack of a .243 stop you from hunting. Rio7

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My .243 has killed Dall sheep, moose, black bear, and caribou. They all died as easily as with .260, 7X57, 270, 30-06, and .338WM, on various like game.


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Our POS, Savage youth m111 .243, now wearing a "styling" slip on recoil pad, to extend the LOP, has killed more whitetails, than the rest of our rifles combined !

grin


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I shoot a .243 loaded with Barnes ttsx 80 grain. I call it Thor’s hammer. Deer I have shot tend to drop where they stand like they’ve been struck by lightening. Good enough for me! We don’t have hogs where I live so can’t help you there.

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I have a mid 70s Remington bdl in 243 that 7 of my grandkids have used to kill a lot of whitetails. I have 8 more grandkids coming up, and there all going to kill their first or second deer with that same rifle. Factory 100gr corelokts or federal blue box have always worked.

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Originally Posted by las
My .243 has killed Dall sheep, moose, black bear, and caribou. They all died as easily as with .260, 7X57, 270, 30-06, and .338WM, on various like game.

This thread can be closed now. What bullets do you mostly use in your .243?

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Originally Posted by mathman
Ingwe,

How were you placing your shots with the VMax?

My 243 loves the 87 VMax and if I'm strictly "hogging" I'll take some into the field.

m


Shots were all head shots/behind the ear. I find with the little guns ( i.e. the .17 Remington) the shot HAS to be directly into the brain. The .243 gives you more leeway...land anywhere on the CNS close to the skull and you are done. The 87 grain will be a sure killer. I never take body shots on hogs with anything....if they can make it 10 yards into the mesquite/thick stuff its a real PITA.


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The .243 with 80 gr TTSX is my Go To for whitetail and hogs under 300 yards. The long actions stay in the safe.

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Originally Posted by ingwe
Originally Posted by mathman
Ingwe,

How were you placing your shots with the VMax?

My 243 loves the 87 VMax and if I'm strictly "hogging" I'll take some into the field.

m


Shots were all head shots/behind the ear. I find with the little guns ( i.e. the .17 Remington) the shot HAS to be directly into the brain. The .243 gives you more leeway...land anywhere on the CNS close to the skull and you are done. The 87 grain will be a sure killer. I never take body shots on hogs with anything....if they can make it 10 yards into the mesquite/thick stuff its a real PITA.

Good point!

Nobody wants to have to recover an animal that has run off and died in a cluster of chollas, at least not more than once.

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sakoron - are you asking if the .243 will "work" on hogs/whitetails; or, are you asking if it is a good choice for hogs/whitetails? Two totally different questions, IMHO.

And, any cartridge will work for almost any game, with proper shot placement and used within its limitations.

And, the only justification needed to buy a gun is that you like it.

All JMHO.

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Originally Posted by sakoron
An old friend & hunting partner is getting close to passing. He is more than few years older than I am & I'm pushing 80. He has a couple rifles & a shotgun or 2 that we have discussed what will happen with them when he's gone....as he has had no children that he claims & his only brother has already passed.

I had put him on to the 1st Tikka closeout at Academy years ago when I was still repping for Stoeger and had sold the Tikka's to Academy to start with, and he found what he calls the prettiest 30'06 rifle he's ever owned, knowing the quality of the Tikka line, as he had repped for Ithaca for 12-15 years earlier, and has a 243 that was left over from the last previous marriage with no particular history except with the last previous wife. I think the too pretty to sell Tikka 30'06 will go to someone else in his family but he sez the 243 is open to be bought. So I'm wondering how useful a 243 is in these days of CM's, 7-08's and WSM's and so on.

So, What say ya'll about the every day usefullness of today's 243's can provide in today's new bullet designs & expanded caliber market? My hesitancy is the only WT's I've ever lost in 50+ years were ? capable bullet performance in a couple calibers ( 257 Rbt's for example ) & ? placement's with that 1st SAKO 243 & and later learning the max limitations of a 270 & 30'06, then moved on to the belted magnum calibers.These days I've begun to find other every day calibers more interesting, like the CM's etc.

My first real deer rifle was a SAKO 243 that my grandfather had acquired when the owner had borrowed $500 against the SAKO from my Grandfather, and couldn't pay even the 1st $250 became past due initial balance he left owing couple months past the mandatory 90 day loan terms or ? I picked up the unpaid $250 initial balance, and grandfather kicked the final $250 balance owed to me as a wedding present. All that occurred over 55 years ago....and I'm still married to wife #1 for 55 years....so far!

I got to hunt with grand pop a time or two more, but his already bad health caught up with him before we could make a habit of the annual trips to his deer lease in the Texas Hill Country. His trips to Alaska for guided Carabou hunts IMO kept him alive several years longer than anyone expected. These Days, with my own health issues I'm beginning to understand that drive to go hunting at least one last time as I am close to 80, and looking for something to take "with me" when my time comes.
Ron
So what's the question?


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As I have posted before, I could kill everything thing that needs killing in KY with a .243 launching 95gr Partitions...



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Originally Posted by ridgerunner_ky
Originally Posted by las
My .243 has killed Dall sheep, moose, black bear, and caribou. They all died as easily as with .260, 7X57, 270, 30-06, and .338WM, on various like game.

This thread can be closed now. What bullets do you mostly use in your .243?

100 gr., most any brand, mostly Corelokts. It doesn't seem to like any other weight as well. The 95's were more of a pattern, which surprised the heck out of me when I tried some. One would think they would be very close to the 100's accuracy. but noooooo!

These are all factory loads - tho I have a few hundred brass I could re-load. Have the dies....came with the rifle which came with the remote cabin 45 years ago - never used them. Also have all the other components, but I've never really warmed to the caliber.

Heck- it took me 35 years just to get around to fixing the 2 MOA on that thing, by getting just the right fore-end tip pressure. Nothing else worked - it didn't like the factory pressure, nor free-floating, nor full length bedding - now MOA. T.he old 2 MOA seemed to work well enough, but C'mon, man....

I should take it out and kill something with it again, now that it's finally "fixed". smile

Last edited by las; 11/24/22.

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