# .243 Range Report



## yfzduner450 (Dec 28, 2009)

My wife wanted to get out today and get more comfortable shooting her new rifle. It's a Remington 700 that has been worked by Duane at Shooters Services Unlimited. We sighted it in last weekend but she only put 5 or so rounds down the tube then. She started out with 2 inch groups and then as she shot it more, she worked down to .75". These are all factory loads and we were testing 3 different bullets from 80 grain to 95 grain. The 95 grain hornady's are the ticket!! I'm pretty dang proud of her and can't wait til she harvests her first antelope in a couple of weeks.


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## Bhilly81 (Oct 18, 2009)

nice job the 243 is a great rifle i am trying to work up some reloads for mine the factory ones are usually pretty good through that gun


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## Springville Shooter (Oct 15, 2010)

I love my 243, but I use it mainly for varmint. Killed a few blacktails with it and it did a great job. I like scirocco and partition bullets in the 243 for big game and 70 grain Sierra blitzkings for coyotes. Be sure to tell your wife that that's some fine shooting novice or otherwise.---------SS


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Looks like she's a shooter. The wife and the gun.

Nice.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Whoa, gotta love that cloverleaf! great shooting!

My .243s are very consistant. They consistantly group 6", like all my high-powered rifles do.


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## woollybugger (Oct 13, 2007)

.243's ROCK! Don't underestimate the .243 as a deer cartridge.


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

woollybugger said:


> .243's ROCK! Don't underestimate the .243 as a deer cartridge.


Don't knock it as an elk cartridge either. I have taken 2 elk with a .243. One was at 70yds and the other around 150yds. Dropped them both in their tracks. The ammo and the shot placement are crucial of course. I took both them with high lung shots using an 85gr Barnes tripleshock. My daughters are learning to shoot with it I am sure they will grow to love it as much as I do.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

MadHunter said:


> woollybugger said:
> 
> 
> > .243's ROCK! Don't underestimate the .243 as a deer cartridge.
> ...


Sorry, I am going to knock it as an elk gun. The fact that you have been lucky/well placed shot, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah...on a couple elk, does NOT make the .243 a first choice elk rifle! Deer rifle, I'll go along with...elk...nope!


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I can see yours doen not go allong with mine. Not trying to turn you to my side but as an FYI, the rounds I use on it have 2440fps and 1330ft/lbs of energy at 200yds. If those numbers are not enough to bring down an elk then physics need to be reworked.


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## 10yearquest (Oct 15, 2009)

oh here we go!!!


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

MadHunter said:


> Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I can see yours doen not go allong with mine. Not trying to turn you to my side but as an FYI, the rounds I use on it have 2440fps and 1330ft/lbs of energy at 200yds. If those numbers are not enough to bring down an elk then physics need to be reworked.


Just a couple more questions,
Are there numbers, i.e 2440fps/1330ft/lbs, that you would say are "not enough" for elk? 
Have you ever had an elk run off after being shot with any cartridge? 
Do you believe that the only reason an elk would run off after being shot is because of poor shot placement? 
Is there any need for any cartridge larger than .243 for hunting in the USA?
Do larger, more powerful cartridges have "more killing power"?
Is there any reason for the .243 NOT to be legal for the taking of lion in Africa? They weigh about the same as a medium size elk.
If you owned a larger bore rifle...say 30-06...would it be your first choice when going after elk?


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

I never said that the .243 was the end all cartridge. Your questions aresomewhat valid although I have the impression that if I answer any of them you will still find a way to pose more questions just to be argumentative. So my conclusion to all of this is that you will not shoot at an elk with a .243 and I will. Peace!


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## woollybugger (Oct 13, 2007)

> MadHunter wrote:
> woollybugger wrote:
> .243's ROCK! Don't underestimate the .243 as a deer cartridge.
> 
> ...


OK, 2 years ago I watched a guy poach 2 elk in three shots. (yes, we called it in and yes the guy got prosecuted  , long story for another time). The poachers gun: a .243 winchester fired from the cab of his truck 300 yards away. Those elk dropped dead where they stood. One shot was a miss, the other shots were single hits; one was a cow and one was a spike.

Point is this: a .243 will absolutley kill an elk. No, a .243 is not a 300 yard goto gun for elk, but with proper shot placement, it will certainly do. You can wound an elk with even a .338 Win mag. and poor shot placement.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

Back to the thread! Great shooting by your wife! good luck on her antelope hunt. If you do get into reloads for it the 100 gr sierra gamekings are a deer dropper in the 243. I love my 243 and so does my wife!


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## sourdoughmel (Feb 1, 2012)

There seems to be lots of misconceptions on bullet size importance. I have lived in Alaska most of my life and have used every imaginable cartridge on all of our wild game. First i will address the light weight youth and the guns kick problem from larger calibers.....When you are young and don't have the upper body weight mass the body gives with the kick and does not hurt so bad. When you get older and heavier in your upper body, the guns kick gets progressively worse. (Newtons Law) When I was 12 years old i shot a 30-06 as a rifle of choice, and never felt the kick even when target practicing. When i grew up and got a lot heavier in the upper torso, it began to hurt bad when i would target practice. Any time the kick hurts, accuracy goes south because you start to flinch...flinching is a hard habit to break at any age. 
Accuracy is the most important thing...what good does it do to shoot a 300 win mag when you cant hit anything with it. If you use a range finder which i strongly advise, and shoot a caliber that does not hurt your shoulder--- then with practice at your local gun range, you can shoot their eyes out or a good neck shot, and have all the meat to eat. Hunting season should be the culmination of all the practice you put in all year long.
I once shot a Caribou at 500 yds dead in the chest with a 243 and it fell instantly. That is one under rated cartridge if you ask me, and one that a shooter can get deadly accurate with because of the no kick.
I upgraded to a 300 win mag a few years ago, and it hurts so bad to target practice that i started flinching and i have been shooting for 50 years. I will go back down to a 243 because it does not hurt and I, as with the lady above, know exactly where the bullet will hit. What i am saying is... to use what you can hit with consistently, and have fun target practicing all year long with a gun you can afford to shoot.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Welcome to the forum Mel! Good insight; I hadn't thought of the recoil in that way, but sure makes sense to me!


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## magpie (Aug 15, 2011)

Great report and great shooting, got to love the .243 WIN. Mine is a Remington Model 660 with a 20” barrel. I took my first buck with it, and half a dozen more over the years. Mine likes the 100gr pills.


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