What do you guys think about this Cal. .243 ? Good for yotes, I see I can get it in 55gr. I don't reload so factory loads are my choices. I thought the .243 could be used for more than just varmints.

If you are shootin 243 with 55 gr bullets you just might see coyote in "technicolor"!That weight bullet will make the 243 into one of Dimitri's"laser rifles".I have had very good results with 75-105 grain bullets and the 105 gr.bullet is sufficient for ELK.For deer you should be just fine with 85-90 grain bullets.I don't believe that I would attempt to shoot a deer with the 55 gr bullet unless you could guarantee a head shot-as the resulting blood shot of a body hit would probably ruin 1/3 of the animal.Most decent (scoped,bolt action) 243s are capable of 2" or less groups @ 100 yds-even with factory ammo!

.243 is defiantly one of my favorite calibers. There's lots of differant bullet weights to choose from, and even more if you reload.

By the way, where in Mighigan are you? I'm in Big Rapids

I've shot a .243 for years in the uk, both for fox and roe deer(Slightly smaller than your whitetails I believe). 70 gn Speer tnt or Noslet bt's just obliterate foxes and 100gn Speer BTSP for the deer. Extremely flat shooting. Home loading, getting a .464moa with Nosler's and .819moa with speer 100's, probably could do better. See the data in the data base i've posted. I think it's one of the most versatile rifles about in the UK. Good hunting for '08.

codybrown wrote:

By the way, where in Michigan are you? I'm in Big Rapids

In Tuscola Co., Millington. a small town.

I was thinking about getting another barrel for my Encore. I would use the 55 gr. load for coyotes and fox mainly. For Deer I have larger cal. rifles, but it's good to know that this cal. could be used for larger game as well.

Howdy. The 243 is a great all around gun for varmits up to deer size game with the right bullet . Balistic Tips for the varmits and partitions for the bigger stuff and it will fill your freezer
Joe

Mr/ Glockman, the 243 is a favorite out here in nor-cal for hogs and small game. I use 55gr nos for rabbits and yotes . I use rem 100gr corelocks for hogs. even coastal deer with rem100gr coelocks are greatm. like any firearm. It has a lot to do with the shooter's placement for clean kills. Just my .035 worh. Enjoy the 243. It's a great little round. DAve

TRBLSHTR wrote:

That weight bullet will make the 243 into one of Dimitri's"laser rifles".

Wait till I get the M1A only real reason I want to start reloading considering I am buying 150gr FMJ for the rifle ... is so I can order some Sabots, going to turn my 308Win into a Laser rifle shooting 55gr 223 caliber bullets shooting at 4,000+ fps. Coyote's and other pests watch out.

Dimitri

Glockman...

That little .243 bullet is capable of dispatching most every animal you are going to encounter, unless you head North into Canada, or west into Elk/Moose territory. I believe that .243 Winchester is the MINIMUM caliber allowed in Colorado to hunt ELK.

I use the 70 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip for varmint hunting in the .243, I have killed groundhogs out to 606 yards with this load. I have killed a couple deer with the 100 grain Nosler Partition with same rifle. It will do the job on deer reliably.

Great cartridge. Not to beat a dead horse but it will do all of what these guys say. Great for varmints when loaded with the light bullets. Good caliber on deer. You can shoot it all day and not feel "beat up" at the range too. It has been reliably killing deer in my family for a while. My great uncle bought a Remington 600 in 1970. He has killed deer with it. My dad killed his first deer with it. I killed my first deer with it. My 8 month old son's name is on it to kill his first deer with it. Wonderful cartridge that won't "mule kick" you.

58 gr. hornady V-max is my .243 load of choice for coyotes.

I stopped a charging hog that went 250+ dead in it's tracks with a .243 shooting 100gr rem corloct's. It's a very potent and versatile caliber.

The 243 loaded with 100gr. Nosler Partitions with IMR4350 is good medicine for deer, even larger northern Missouri deer.

It drops them where they stand.

I have not used my 243 for yotes yet but later this month I am going to try it.