What is a .243 good for ?

[tj3006]

I juat bought one clean and legal, real cheap.
  It is an H & R 330.  It has an FN action, and an old K4 weaver scope. I can't pick it up till Thursday, And I get 2 boxes of old factory ammo. To me it is too light for Mule deer hunting, But if I hunt Black tails on the coast, I would use it ! I will probably take it out to Cabella's and see if I can make 100.00. ...tj

   

[jeffh]

Makes a dynamite varmint rifle!

Typically pushes a 75 grain HP about 100 fps faster than the 257 Roberts, and with a slight edge in sectional density, but at significantly more pressure.

I'd be more interested in the FN action than the 243. If I'd bought the gun for the action as a donor, I'd rebarrel it with something else, but that's a personal preference thing. If you're going to leave it as-is, it's at least a useful chambering and you can get components to load for it.

EDIT: TOTALLY missed the part about maybe flipping it.  The 243 is good for that.  It seems to be very popular.

[Fowler]

He beat elk hunter I’ve ever known told me “the first 8 elk I ever killed were with a .242 before someone told him it wasn’t an elk rifle”. So it really depends on the shooter.

[bradshaw]

Apr 14, 2023 17:18:26 GMT -5 tj3006 said:

I juat bought one clean and legal, real cheap.
  It is an H & R 330.  It has an FN action, and an old K4 weaver scope. I can't pick it up till Thursday, And I get 2 boxes of old factory ammo. To me it is too light for Mule deer hunting, But if I hunt Black tails on the coast, I would use it ! I will probably take it out to Cabella's and see if I can make 100.00. ...tj

   

*****

Fabrique Nationale (FN) sold its post-war commercial 1898 Mauser receivers to numerous companies, including Sears Roebuck, Western Auto, Colt, Harrington & Richardson, and others. Far as I know, FN didn’t allow purchasing companies to put its logo on the receiver. FN manufacturered guns for Browning; the Browning 98 used a more streamlined, but not superior, bolt stop. In my experience, barrels installed by the various companies are notably mediocre. FN marketed its own version alongside the Browning, using FN barrels. Most had poorly contoured walnut stocks. The Brownings and Harrington & Richardson featured beautifully contoured stocks. The H&R FN Mauser Supreme with a Monte Carlo roll-over right-hand cheekpiece. Straight-grained walnut with Rosewood forend cap. Excellent, practical checkering. Harboted a suspicion the H&R FN was stocked by Sale or Fagen. Bought the H&R in 7mm Rem Mag for 200 skins. The H&R shipped with an all-milled SAKO trigger, adjustable to a clean 1-1/2 lbs. Doug Shilen would later install one of his #2 contour stainless 1:9 barrels.

In good hands, the .243 is a sleeper whitetail cartridge and, by extension, mule deer cartridge. Lung shots made on the Hornady 100 grain Spire Point and Nosler 100 Partiton anesthetize deer with minimum fuss.

Great rifles have been and will continue to be built on the FN.
David Bradshaw

[rhino]

Apr 14, 2023 18:13:53 GMT -5 Fowler said:

He beat elk hunter I’ve ever known told me “the first 8 elk I ever killed were with a .242 before someone told him it wasn’t an elk rifle”. So it really depends on the shooter.

A friend of mine that was an excellent shooter once told me “It’s not the arrow but the Indian”.😂

[jpw480]

I have ruger m77 6mm rem never saw the reason for a 243 win till i saw a browning low wall 243; shot winchester 100gr power points into one hole, i've killed a bunch of antelope with it.then found m77v and m77rsi in 243 both tang safety's never thought i'd have a 243win now got 4.

[tj3006]

Now that you got me thinking. It is a long action.
I could haveit re bord to .338 and the chamber reamed to.338-06. AI.

[Snyd]

I killed many whitetail and mulies with a 243 in Montana years ago. I knew a guy that shot nothing but the nosler 100gr in his in Montana as well even for elk. He said it just pokes nice hole in em. He used to come to Alaska to hunt moose but used a bigger caliber for them. I'd have used a 243 for my Dall sheep rifle over the last 20 years if it weren't for the Big Brown fuzzies running around up here. Low recoil flat shooting makes for a great mountain gun with little chance of scope bite in awkward shooting positions.

[parallaxbill]

My Ruger No. 1 in 243 worked well for a nice South Carolina 9 point whitetail a couple of years ago.
Great cartridge.

[woody]

The .243 is a great varmint round. But also a great deer round. I’ve shot quite a few deer with it in woods setting. With either 95 CT ballistic silvertip or 85 gr Partition. Very effective.

[jfs]

I remember climbing into a elevated box blind in far west Pennsylvania and found the floor littered with nothing but empty 243 brass

[woody]

Apr 15, 2023 23:58:03 GMT -5 jfs said:

I remember climbing into a elevated box blind in far west Pennsylvania and found the floor littered with nothing but empty 243 brass

They love the .243 in PA. It’s a great round.

[bigbrowndog]

With a premium bullet Nosler Partition or mono bullet I wouldn’t hesitate to take mule deer at all.

Trapr

[contender]

"In good hands, the .243 is a sleeper whitetail cartridge and, by extension, mule deer cartridge. Lung shots made on the Hornady 100 grain Spire Point and Nosler 100 Partiton anesthetize deer with minimum fuss.

Great rifles have been and will continue to be built on the FN.
David Bradshaw'

^^^^^THIS^^^^^

Way back in my early years as a deer hunter,, I started with a 30-30. It got stolen in 1977. I replaced it with a .243. The one I got was a heavy barreled one. In 1981, the year my son was born, I bought a Ruger M77 in .243. I killed 21 whitetails with it, before it got "retired" & later given to my son. I had bought it with the FULL intention of giving it to him, after putting some "family history" on it. It also accounted for many other critters. He killed his first deer with it too. Using a 100 grn Hornady bullet,, it was DEADLY on whitetails. All of the ones I shot were one-shot kills. All but one fell within sight, and we have lots of brush here.

I'd never feel undergunned with a .243 for a mule deer. And if necessary, I'd easily use it for elk too with confidence. (I say necessary only if my handguns failed to function.)

[z1r]

The nice thing about the .243 FN actions is, you can remove the pin from the bottom metal and the spacer at the rear of the mag well will come out. Now you have a standard length magazine to go with your standard length action.