So after a long leave of absence and lotsa "life happenings" I'm here to report back on the .243 post from a few years back.

The original post was Whitetail, Pseudo-Nephew, and .243 Winchester Question.

If anyone is interested in a long drawn out novel, shoot a post back... I started writing and it just got really long so I thought I'd ask if you guys wanted to read... ;-)

REM7600 out for now...

PS: Went with a 7mm-08 vs the .243

When I was looking for something for my daughters, or other beginners, to shoot deer with I went with the .260 Rem. I wanted more bullet weight than the .243 could offer but also try to keep recoil low. There is a write up about it in the articles section.

I liked the .260 so much that I bought another for me later on!

sounds familiar to my experience... I'll check out the post...

I'm a big fan of .308 based cartridges like the .243, .260 and 7mm-08. All get the job done on deer and all do it without killing you in the process. I just recently bought my first .260 and while I'm still in the load development stage, so far I'm loving it. The high sectional density of the .264 bullets should more than make up for the lower velocity and smaller caliber of the .260. The 140gr. bullets have a higher sectional density than the 180gr. bullets I shoot from my .30-06! I'm hoping to have this rifle ready in time to try it on my next hunt.
Don

I had a .243 and a .308 and sold them both in the last 6 months. Not because of the cartridge but I didn't care for the rifle. I have heard frequently that the .243 has a short barrel life (often as few as 1000 rounds). I am very interested in the .264 bullets with their high SD and low BCs. I most likely will get a 6.5 Grendel because I'd like the capability of a .260 in an AR package. Otherwise, I'd have the .260 in my stable.

slimjim wrote:

I had a .243 and a .308 and sold them both in the last 6 months. Not because of the cartridge but I didn't care for the rifle. I have heard frequently that the .243 has a short barrel life (often as few as 1000 rounds). I am very interested in the .264 bullets with their high SD and low BCs. I most likely will get a 6.5 Grendel because I'd like the capability of a .260 in an AR package. Otherwise, I'd have the .260 in my stable.

Slimjim, if you haven,t already seen them, there are three short articles comparing the 6.5 Grendel to other cartridges in the deer-hunting role at shootersnotes.com/. Bottom line, a couple of metrics, including Hornady's H.I.T.S methodology (http://www.hornady.com/hits/calculator) tell us that the Grendel has impressive potential compared to classics like the 257 Roberts, the 243 Winchester, and the 30-30 plus beats the you-know-what out of the 6.8 SPC.

JASmith wrote:

three short articles comparing the 6.5 Grendel to other cartridges in the deer-hunting role at shootersnotes.com/.

JAS Thanks for pointing me in that direction. Interesting articles. The 6.5 Grendel is a sweet round when compared to the others.

Yup!

My youngest son has a 24" Overwatch from Alexander Arms -- admittedly a bit long for classic AR styles, but he really likes how it shoots and it meets his needs.

slimjim wrote:

I have heard frequently that the .243 has a short barrel life (often as few as 1000 rounds).

Short barrel life in most cartridges is usually a combination of an improper balance in a powder/bullet ratio and/or it’s owner abusing the barrel by heating it up !!!
Simply put, you can’t sit in a prairie dog field with a .243 and bang away with 55gr. bullets pushing the 4,000fps velocity mark.
Nor is it the best cartridge for high-power competition shooter that has to put X number of rounds down range in X amount of time.

This is the reason cartridges such as the 6.5x47 Lapua, 6XC, 6BR and the 20VarTarg got developed.
The competitive world is often the source of these claims but one needs to understand their definition of a burnt or worn out barrel.
Tony Boyer, one of the best all time bench rest shooters goes through a lot of barrels in a season. What he calls worn out are often used at smaller matches and local events with great success by other shooters.

I don’t dispute that some cartridges will burn out a barrel quicker than others but, a lot of it has to do with how it’s used and taken care of.

As for the .260.....those that jumped on the bandwagon in the competitive world also found it to be a real barrel burner!!!

Some day I hope to shoot enough to wear a barrel out. My comments come from listening to other long range shooters, bench rest, and gun smiths. I've often heard a .243 may only last 1000 to 1500 rounds and a .308 will last 10,000. Last weekend, talked with a bench rest shooter who was shooting 1-hole groups at 100 yards (1 bullet wide). He had a .30PPC. He said he chose not to go with the 6mm PPC because he wanted his expensive gun to last more than 2000 rounds. He expected to get 12,000 to 20,000 rounds out of it.

I haven't talked barrel life with any .260 shooters. Why would a .260 burn barrels? I would think it would last longer than a .243 but not as long as a .308.

Once again I’ll refer back to the definition the competitive world uses !!!
If the 30PPC guy thinks he’s going to get 10,000 plus rounds of “top level performance” out of his 30PPC he’s probably setting up for disappointment.
If he’s doing the locale thing with the occasional sanctioned match he will more than likely be ok. Your talking about a sport that requires consistent groups in the 0’s and 1’s with aggs in the 2-3 neighborhood.

The point I was trying to make was not necessarily directed at the .260 itself !!! The competitive world jumped on it and found that when abused it too suffered short barrel life as with many of the other standard cartridges.
You can ruin any barrels accuracy regaurdless of caliber with abusive heat and prolonged shooting......even a 221 !!!

You pose some interesting...and somewhat scary...thoughts Chambered old mate.

I have a .243 Weatherby Vanguard that I ma hoping will outlast me and will be still a great rifle for my grandsons. I am loading AR2208 (Varget) at 1/2 a grain below max with 80 gn Rem PSP. Don't have a chrono, so I don't really know what speed they are doing, but it isn't anywhere near max...which will hopefully ease the barrel wear.

I like the look of the 6.5 Grendel. What is the parent case? Do you think that it will offer much above the .243 Win or the .243 AI?

Cheers, Vince

Vince wrote:

I like the look of the 6.5 Grendel. What is the parent case? Do you think that it will offer much above the .243 Win or the .243 AI? Cheers, Vince

The 6.5 Grendel is one of the 7.62X39 family.

Regarding the 243 Win, the Grendel has better penetration potential per the Hornady H.I.T.S. methodology (http://www.hornady.com/hits/calculator) at meaningful ranges (see e.g., the articles section of shootersnotes.com).

The Grendel trajectory, however, won't be as flat as either of the 243's you mentioned.

To me the appeal of the 6.5mm/.260 vs. the 6mm/.243 is the heavier bullets. I think this allows for better results on deer sized game. Just my opinion and no, I haven't hunted with a .243.

Vince wrote:

I have a .243 Weatherby Vanguard that I ma hoping will outlast me and will be still a great rifle for my grandsons.

Vince, I seriously doubt you or the grandson will wear it out!!!
After X amount of rounds it will loose it's ability to shoot groups as tight as it once did but it'll retain minute of deer !!!