My Dad ended up getting a really good deal on a .243 Winchester. I' ve been reading a little about it and found out it' s a smaller caliber but it' s big enough for deer. Where I grew up and live there' s no rifle hunting so I never learned much about rifle calibers.

Can you guys just give me a little background info on it? Jus basics like maximum range, what size animals can it take, what sized ammo to use. Stuff like that.

Thanks.

First before I forget a pretty good site for just such info is www.chuckhawks.com .
The .243 Winchester was derived from taking the .308 Winchester, (7.62 NATO), and necking it down to .243 caliber, (or 6MM). It is typically considered one of the better varmint/deer cartridges. Because it is commonly used in both capacities it is loaded with a large variety of bullet weights. It is imperative to match the correct bullet to the intended use!!! That is probably one of the biggest problems with the .243 Winchester. PEOPLE USE THE WRONG BULLET FOR THE INTENDED GAME! Traditionally the best bullet weight for use on deer size game is 100 grain. Perhaps an even better choice available today is to use one of the premium bullets. (For instance: 100 grain Speer Grand Slam, Nosler Partition, Barnes " X" , etc.) These bullets will give you expansion and sufficient penetration to reach the vital organs on animals the size of deer. (In the hands of a very careful hunter it can, and has, been used on heavier game. But think of that use more as an " Expert' s" gun....not a beginner.) For use on varmints, (where you are NOT trying to save the hides), select nearly any of the lighter bullet weights. Most of which are extremely frangible. Pick the one that shoots best in your particular rifle. If you decide to " hunt for hides" there are two basic schools of thought. Either use the lightest most frangible bullet you can, on the theory that the bullet won' t exit and you are left with a relatively small entrance wound. And the second school says nearly the exact opposite. Use a FMJ that won' t expand at all but punches only a caliber size hole in....and a caliber size hole out. Needless to say when it works.....all is well. But it doesn' t always work. Sometimes the frangible exits anyway and you end up with huge wounds and worthless hides. And conversely sometimes the FMJ will catch a big bone on the way out and blow a huge exit as well.

But the .243 works extremely well on " varmint" class game....and " deer" class game. The important part is to select the correct bullet.....and good marksmanship!

Execelent caliber for long-range woodchuck hunting and a great caliber for deer with the right bullet and shot placement! I own a .243 among others and it' s a pleasure to shoot...

WOW akbound, thanks for the info. I' ll check out that site.

PaJack, don' t have many varmits around here, or should I say I don' t hunt them much, maybe with this gun I will.

So what kind of range are we talking about here? Like how far could you take a deer with say a 100gr bullet? Does it shoot flat or drop off like a 30-30.

Thanks guys!!!!

I' ve kept a 243 around for years and have killed deer over 300 yards. When there closer I neck shoot them and drop them in their tracks. Don' t do that if you don' t practice alot. Also, I agree that the 100 grain bullet is right for whitetail but dont' shoot ballistic tips. I shot a deer at about 70 yards with the 100 grain ballistic tip and it hit a rib and blowed a hole on the entrance side big enough to put your fist in but didn' t do much damage otherwise. It took all day to find the deer.
The 243 is considered a fairly flat shooting gun and with practice, 300 yard shots are not out of the question. I would sight my 243 one and half inches high at a hundred and it was right on at 300. And the great thing about a 243, it don' t kick so it' s fun to practice with.

WOW again. That site has just about everything I wanted to know about the .243

Thanks again!!![8D]

I used to use a .243 when I was a kid. I got plenty of practice with it, and used my dad' s handloaded 100 gr. nosler partitions for deer hunting. Killed 2 deer with it, bot lung shots- 1 was shot at 75 yards and ran about 200 hundred yards before expiring, but left a huge blood trail that couldn' t be missed. The other deer was a buck shot at 400 yards. It fell when hit, got up and took about 5 steps and expired. I also got a coyote at about 150 yards with the same load- right through the heart- left a fairly small exit wound- probably only big enough to put my finger in. FMJ' s might be better for coyotes, but they don' t have enough girth or stuffing to cause much expansion in a controlled expansion bullet like a Nosler partition. I would stay away from ballistic tip bullets unless you are shooting woodchucks- the bullets are too small to make an adequate wound in a large animal if the bullet starts breaking up rapidly at the surface.

Great varmit round. I would never use it for deer again with anything but Nosler Partitions of 90 grains or more or the 100 grain Hornady round nose. When I used to guide hunters I just saw to many lost wounded deer with this round.

A superb varmit rifle, flat shooting, and " no" recoil and as always use ear protection.
EKM