Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 20 " barrel .243--Pratical ?

a couple years ago I bought a Remington VTR .243 Win. with a 20 inch barrel for hunting. The rifle is plenty accurate at 100 yards but I was wondering if I would be better off trade it off or having it rebarreled with a longer barrel if I needed to make a longer shot ? thanks

If you've got good accuracy out to 400yds or so, I wouldn't touch it. 20" will kill just as dead/fast as 24". Shot placement is the key, if I wanted a little more steam I'd give it the Ackley punch to .243 AI and commence to fill the freezer. Just my opinion. New tubes are always exciting though

I took over my 12 y/o son's 243 that wears a 20" sporter weight barrel because it is so handy and shoots tiny little groups way out there. Seriously, 85 TSXs will hold MOA accuracy out to 400 when I do my part.

got a savage i bought a .243 barrel for and i may just cut it to 20" for the same reason. short barrels are stiffer and stiffer is more accurate, in general. it's also lighter and more compact.

Yeah I'd echo what others have said. If the rifle is accurate no need to fix what ain't broke. Shorter may mean a bit slower, but in the overall scheme of things it is your knowledge of & practice with the trajectory that results that is most important.

If it is accurate go kill some stuff with it!

PJ - It's what I run on an M7 XCR, would not have it any other way Had 600 Rem 18.5" and others 23 1/2 w/Sako Forester, anything 20-22 is going to do all you need to 400 yds.

FWIW, my LONGEST deer kill was w/a 6mmBR 105Amax at 2850mv. Your rifle may or may not spin that bullet accurate, if it's the latest twist, a hair over 9", then it will like my XCR. AND it will shoot every bit of the speed of a BR round, and then some, even in a carbine.

Load good bullets, shoot good, and bring a sharp knife

95 Ballistic tips are a good all around, near and far. Barnes are great, but you may/may not get desired expansion after 300 yds or so, IF you plan to shoot that far.

Happy Hunting !

.243 Ruger compact 16" barrel 105 Amax at 2450fps It kills stuff.

............Would an extra 80-125 fps MV (going from your current 20" barrel up to a 24" barrel) make any difference in the field for a longer shot?............Nope!

20" is just loud as hell. If you can stand that, you are good to go.

A 20" tube will take most people as far they want to go-Like the 105 A-Max