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  1. #1
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    Default .243 Winchester.

    I have been thinking about getting a smaller caliber rifle, something that shoots flat out to 300m to use on jackal, crows and other pest animals. I want to use the same rifle on springbok, blesbuck and warthog. While a .223 or .22-250 will work great on the vermin and springbok, I don't like the .224 calibers on blesbuck or fully grown warthog. I do not intend to shoot predators or varmints professionally, just occasionally as needed.

    For financial reasons, I would like to buy a Howa. The .243 seems like the ideal candidate but according to many people I speak to the .243 win is a temperamental cartridge that is difficult to reload for. My experience, years ago, with the .243 win is limited to fallow deer, impala and springbok, shot with 100 gr factory ammo. For this purpose it worked well. In my experience it is also a great cartridge for younger hunters. I can always fit it with a Hogue youth stock and use it as a loaner for kids and women. Again, I have never reloaded for one.

    Is the .243 win really such a troublesome cartridge?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: .243 Winchester.

    Tstone, why not look at the 6mm Creedmoor's when they land (Howa of course)... Alternatively, why not a 204 Ruger?

  3. #3
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    Default Re: .243 Winchester.

    No personal experience with 243 worth mentioning. From reading and acquaintances who have 243's it is an admirable cartridge once sorted out.

    One guy in particular Ackley'd his and shoots 65gr bullets at roughly 4000fps. Head and neck shots only on anything up to kudu.

    Another uses SST's in a standard 243 - also neck shots on anything up to kudu.

    Both of them go the extra mile when developing loads.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: .243 Winchester.

    Any reason your 6.5 CM won't suffice?

  5. #5

    Default Re: .243 Winchester.

    I shoot a CZ 550 in 243 win. Gun is stock standard with a silencer on. Works like a dream for warthog and jackal up to 300m.

    I load 55gr Varmageddons at 3600fps (lower node) and 100gr PMP at 3000fps. POI is the same at 100 yards but trajectory differs. Maybe I am just lucky but this combo fits my needs exactly. I wouldn't shoot anything other than head shots on blesbuck with the 55gr Varmas though.

    Ackley, dasher, CM is all great 6mm calibers and will probably even do better on vermin, but a 243 win is certainly up for the task at a decent price.

    Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

  6. #6
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    Default Re: .243 Winchester.

    T..I have never fancied the 243 or 270 but must admit that this was based on experiences in my younger years when we were shooting a lot of Springbuck and i saw the amount of meat damage caused by these calibers.
    That said,i think the 243 would be fine for your purposes. Anyone with a reasonable idea of load development will easily find an accurate load for the 243. Sure,some cases may develop 'do nuts' after multiple loadings but it is not a given.It would certainly be a good choice as a loaner,especially fitted with a suppressor. Definitely not a problem cartridge.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: .243 Winchester.

    I did load development for a friend's .243 Howa once.
    He wanted to do long range shooting so wanted the high BC of a 100gr bullet , but the best we could do was about 1.5 MOA with more than 20 different loads tried. Then we tried 85 gr bullets and all of the loads grouped under 1MOA with his final load giving him single ragged hole groups.

    So I have struggled to reload for a .243, but I dont think it was because it is a difficult caliber to reload for, just make sure that the caliber is suitable for what you want to do and then stay within the "design parameters" for that caliber/rifling/ barrel length combo
    Last edited by BEX; 14-05-2019 at 07:54. Reason: typos

  8. #8
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    Default Re: .243 Winchester.

    Quote Originally Posted by TStone View Post
    I have been thinking about getting a smaller caliber rifle, something that shoots flat out to 300m to use on jackal, crows and other pest animals. I want to use the same rifle on springbok, blesbuck and warthog. While a .223 or .22-250 will work great on the vermin and springbok, I don't like the .224 calibers on blesbuck or fully grown warthog. I do not intend to shoot predators or varmints professionally, just occasionally as needed.

    For financial reasons, I would like to buy a Howa. The .243 seems like the ideal candidate but according to many people I speak to the .243 win is a temperamental cartridge that is difficult to reload for. My experience, years ago, with the .243 win is limited to fallow deer, impala and springbok, shot with 100 gr factory ammo. For this purpose it worked well. In my experience it is also a great cartridge for younger hunters. I can always fit it with a Hogue youth stock and use it as a loaner for kids and women. Again, I have never reloaded for one.

    Is the .243 win really such a troublesome cartridge?
    Hey T-Stone.

    We have a deadly accurate 243. We alse have a few friends who use a 243 as the “working rifle” on their farm without any complaints on load development and accuracy.


    We bought a Savage 243 and 30-06 about 12 years ago after they stole our rifles in an armed robbery. We struggled with the 243 and the end results was a faulty factory barrel from Savage. Savage gave us the opportunity to choose any barrel at their expense and we settled with a thick 1/12 krieger barrel(not sure what the exact model name is). That barrel was the perfect choice at that moment.

    The 1/12 barrel is great for using 55-65g bullets and finding the perfect load wasn’t difficult. However, we prefer to go for heart shots and therefor the bullet is too light. The wind also affects the bullet. We only decided to use heavier bullets after we bought the barrel. After lot of experimentation we did find a 85g combo that shoots a clover at 100m on a good day.

    And yes if you add a silencer it does feel like a .22 and a very user friendly rifle. a Great rifle to get started with for the younger ones.

    Please make sure you get the perfect twist rate and reloading wont be a problem as far as we know.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: .243 Winchester.

    I own a howa in .243Win, it is a beautiful shooter with 95gr bullets. Strangely it seems the Howas don't like 100gr bullets as I couldn't get 100gr bullets to group nor could my best friend in his. It seems that anything between 80 - 95gr is what it will like best.

    My story with the caliber comes from childhood. My dad has/ had 3 a Brno, then a custom built Mauser before buying a Remington in .270 Win whereafter he purchased yet another .243 Win, this time in a Ruger rifle. He must have shot in excess of 300 animals over the years with a .243 Win.

    My cousin is a farmer, he inherited a Brno in .243Win. This is his working rifle, he shoots absolutely everything with it from warthog up to Zebra and this with plain old brown box PMP. He can however shoot well.

    Coming back to loading. Yes, the .243 Win can be finicky but once you get a load that works it just works and is extremely accurate. It certainly punches much harder than the .223 Rem and I have successfully hunted up to Zebra with mine. I call it my scalpel, used for those shots where precision is an absolute must.

    At the moment it seems the .243 Win is regarded as the red headed step daughter in shooting circles especially with the surge in popularity of the 6.5mm cartridges but in my opinion it is still a fantastic cartridge which has only become better as bullet technology has improved. I have certainly never felt undergunned or insecure when I pick up mine.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: .243 Winchester.

    I'm on my second Howa 243, 1st barrel was shot out and is now a 6mmXC(just because I wanted one, would have gladly rechambered in 243 again).

    Between close hunting friends, I know of 7 other .243's.(3 howas, 1 Savage, 2 Musgraves and a Weatherby). All shoot below 1MOA with minimal fuss except one Musgrave.

    I wouldn't think twice about getting a Howa 243, if weight is an issues(women/kids) standard 22" otherwise 24" heavy barrel.

    If practical, two loads. One with 55gr at max speed for varminting and one with 80-100gr bullet for the rest. I have hunted with 85gt Sierra HPBT and 87gr Berger VLD-H. Both give acceptable terminal performance given impact speed, even when hitting bone. A lot of other guys use 87 VMAX with good results on springbok/blesbok sized game, definitely more meat damage but have not seen a animal lost due to bullet failure on your target specie list.

    1 in 10 twist Howa barrel should stabilise 100gr flat base bullets, but 105gr will be marginal at best. Same thing for longer 95gr bullets, like the Sierra Matchkings. Shorter 95's like 95gr Nosler BT(Hunting) and 95gr Berger classic hunters work well in my 243, haven't hunted with them.

    Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

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