Caliber in between .22LR and 7x57 Mauser

**Koebelwagen** · 21-03-2017, 21:14

Originally Posted by karoo.vellies

Get a 243 and be done with it, very common and it will fit your needs perfectly.

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I will agree with this. The modernday hate for the .243 WIN doesn't make sense. If a bigger caliber is always better then we would all be shooting rifles in .50 BMG.

Although I would not recommend it I shot my first Zebra with my .243. Thousands upon thousands of impala, springbuck, blesbuck and warthog have fallen to this caliber, my cousin on the farm has shot anything from a duiker to a huge kudu bull with his using "gasp" PMP brown box with a few waterbuck and a BWB or two thrown in the mix but then he can shoot quite well and usually does head/ neck shots.

It is an easy caliber to shoot well owing to the low recoil making practice a pleasure as opposed to a lesson in pain endurance and rounds are not all that expensive whilst being readily available in any gunshop if you don't reload or forget your ammo at home(it happens).

The poor reputation it seems to have gained has a lot more to do with poorly prepared, unpracticed, once a year hunters than with the caliber itself.

I am not knocking the other suggestions, just giving an opinion and coming up for a caliber I grew up with and know well.

**driepootx** · 21-03-2017, 21:25

The 243 was synonomous with Springbuck. I dont know if PMP have a springbuck on their 243 ammo anymore. I suppose that nostalgia and the shooting joy keeps me promoting the 243 .

**Barfly13** · 23-03-2017, 18:52

Thanks guys.

I appreciate all your feedback. Thank you !

80% of my mind has been made up.......243 has got the bells ringing in my head.

I did have a look at the two options you guys gave me.....243 and the 6.5x55.

Personally i think the ballistics of the 6.5x55 is too close to my 7x57. Pointless having two calibers that so close.
And another reason is that i wont seldom be shooting at distances over 300m. It will be max about 250m or so. The 243 is more than capable.

The main reasons.... my daughter is 13. I guess its a great caliber for her to start out hunting with her dad and shooting her first pig of impala. Will just have a supressor fitted.

Hopefully the wife follows very shortly....

**karoo.vellies** · 23-03-2017, 19:26

Great stuff, you and your daughter will enjoy it.

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**Wesley** · 23-03-2017, 20:04

Apart from that you should get more life out of a 6.5 barrel compared to a .243, the 6.5's shoot superior bullets and are more versatile.

I am biased toward old European calibers.

I love my 7x57, but a 6.5x55 is also a must have for me. Although the difference between calibers may be small, the rifles will be set up for different applications.

Regards,
Wesley

**pigeonpie** · 23-03-2017, 20:12

I'm in a similar boat to you, I have a 22 and a 30-06. If I were to go bigger, I would get a 338 win mag. If I were to go smaller, a 6.5 creedmoore.

Creedmoore makes a lot of sense, since the 7x57 is more than enough for short to medium range, the 'gap' is with longer range. Can be loaded to similar trajectory compared to the 243, but with a heavier bullet which allows more confidence with the bigger animals on your list.

However, at the end of the day, get what excites you. With quality bullets, performance concerns are largely a thing of the past. With performance eliminated, it becomes a question of emotion. Buy whatever stokes your fire.