Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles strange 243 desire... should I do it?

I think the small calibers like the .243 work better with cup and core bullets on deer..I also think the 250 savage is a better round for big game..I go now!

Buy the rifle, and rebarrel it to .358 if you don't like it.

Why? Wouldn't a lightweight TSX [or similar] at higher velocity be effective as well?

I've only used cup and core bullets in my 257R with good results, so don't have anything to compare to.


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SuperCub, I have used the 100 TSX in my .257 RBTS to kill two deer (first use was last season and very small sample). The bullets worked just as good as any cup and core bullet I have ever killed a deer with; one doe DRT on the spot, the other made a 20-25 yard death run into the briers (ouch) - should have shoulder shot her too.

I think what Ray is getting at is that c+c bullets open up wider, hence give a wider wound channel. In a small caliber it can be nice to have that wideness.

However, I have found that a light TSX pushed fast (faster is better) does an awful lot of damage and pretty much equals what a slower but wider c+c will do.

Wait for a 6.5x55!

I've had alot of c+c bullets pile up on the inside opposite rib cage with no pass through....the deer have usually died but no blood trail and in heavy cover that's not a good thing!...If you go TTSX or Partition won't be a problem......FLEM

Now here's a guy who deserves my respect. He purchased a rifle, worked with it, familiarized himself with it, and hunted with it. Then he made an imformed assessment of it.

I don't hunt with the .243 for much the same reasons. For myself, most of what I hunt with starts out at the bullet diameter that most .243 users hope theirs expands to. And besides, I don't have to buy a .243. OR Barnes bullets! I have enough bullets in stock to work up loads and hunt with any caliber or chambering I wish from .25 to .45 and to hunt any game in NOrth America for the rest of my life.

The above notwithstandng, I do own a couple of .243's and a 6mm or two, but just for casual plonking or the occaisional varmint. I have many much better rifles to hunt deer with.

GH

Strange how women and kids pile up tons of game dead as a sack of hammers with .243's and Wal-Mart Core-Lokt's and Power Points...

I don't think it's strange at all.... One might better hit a deer with a .243 than miss it or make a bad shot with a .300 Magnum. Which is why I believe the .243 to be highly sucessful.

However to my way of thinking, I'd rather opt for the big, heavy, slow bullet approach opposed to the "fast and flat" approach. Personally, I don't like bloodshot meat. And from my prospective, I care far more about the condition of the meat; than the size of the antlers. (AFAIC, antlers make pretty thin soup...)

I used to read and hang onto every word that Dr. Wayne Van Zwoll wrote about hunting until I learned that he is a vegetarian... For some reason, at that point, I lost all respect for him. To me, the act of Slaughtering one of God's creatures merely so one can brag about the trophy is morally wrong... And yes, I'm well aware that many who hunt and don't eat the meat donate it to folks who will use it. (And I "God Bless" 'em for that...)

Thus: my philosophy makes more sense to me... Tho' YMMV...

GH

That Rem 721 in 244 is a 6mm Remington with a slower rifling twist. Too slow to stabilize any bullet above about 85 grains. Winchester cleaned Remington's clock with the 243 largely because it can handle 100 gr. bullets so well. Remington finally realized their goof and renamed the 244 as 6mm Remington with a faster rifling twist, but it was too late. Winchester's 243 was off and running by then as an excellent dual-purpose rifle. But now that we have Barnes TSX and other premium bullets in lighter weights, that 244 may be a good deer executioner now, and not just suitable for varmints. Only thing is, you won't find much in factory ammo. Most 6mm Remington is core-lokt 100 gr. But a handloader likely can make the old 244 really sing, I would wager.

The 244 can sling 100 grain bullets just fine. That was gunwriter conjecture back in the day, but never was and is not true.

Never say never. My Remington M-725 in .244 Rem won't keep longer, heavier bullets on the paper at all (90 gr. Scirocco, 90 and 95 gr Ballistic Tips).

The 90-100 gr bullets that do group go 2 to 4 inches at 100 yds. I wanted to try the 85 gr Partition as a deer bullet, but it gave 3-inch groups.

The 80 gr bullets go under an inch, and 65 and 75 gr V-Max bullets average about five-eighths of an inch.

I think the M-725 is one of the nicest rifles Remington ever made. Mine was made in 1959 with a 1:12" twist. I have put over 1200 rounds through mine and taken a lot of ground squirrels and jack rabbits with it. If I ever take it deer hunting it will be shooting old-fashioned 80 gr Pointed Soft Points. If I ever wear the barrel out it will get re-done with a 1:9" twist.

I have liked the 6MM Rem better than the 243 Win ever since I used to sneak the Remington Catalog into my 9th-grade World History class in 1966 and studied that full-color cartridge section with the full size pictures of each cartridge. Instead of learning about World History I was memorizing muzzle velocities and drop figures. My fate was sealed, and I didn't even know it.

Nifty, have you tried the Sierra Gameking 85 gr hollow point boattail bullets? They'll turn a groundhog inside out and I have seen reports here that they do well on deer, too. They may be light enough to stabilize with that 12 inch twist.