My wife shoots a tikka t3 in 243 and she hammers everything she shoots with it. The other thing about this old cartridge is ammo can be had just about anyplace or someone has a box laying around when you need it. From prairie dogs to deer and big hogs it just works.
Is the 243 the best whitetail deer cartridge?
- Thread starter bigdogone
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
bert2368
Well-Known Member
I should specify: These perforated primer/ringed primer dent cases are 1X fired (factory loaded) ammo, NORMA "Whitetail" 6.5 Creedmoor, 140gr SP.
For the 6.5CM, CIP max pressure spec is 63,092 psi. For SAAMI, 62,000 psi.
7.62x51 NATO mil spec pressure: 60, 091 psi. SAAMI spec for.308 Win is 62,000 psi. Mostly interchangeable, except when they're not.
NORMA of Sweden are european, their 6 .5CM loads probably conform to (slightly higher) CIP spec. And apparently, right to the TOP of it too. Because everybody thinks they can reliably kill deer with a 6.5CM at (proof of size XXL wedding tackle # of yards), it's MAGIC.
Possibly NORMA loaded these with some rather softer cup primers than would be used by, say, Federal, too?
These cases were fired in an AR 10 VARIANT built by by AlexPro Firearms of Alexandria MN. This rifle came out of the box with the same bolt they build their 7.62 NATO/.308 Win rifles with. I plugged the hole and mic'ed the pin tip to confirm that-
If you decide to get yourself a 6.5CM AR10 family rifle, ask first of the maker: What is Dia. of your firing pin tip? What is Dia. of aperture in bolt face firing pin passes through?
Because some will ship with that standard .308 bolt face and a matching (mil spec?) firing pin, both those cartridge heads are the same, that should work???
Nope. You will probably be happier with a HIGH PRESSURE bolt with a SMALLER, TIGHTER FITTING hole in bolt face and matching SMALLER DIAMETER firing pin. Because NORMA isn't the only one pushing the top end on this cartridge, trying to live up the hype or whatever.
If whoever makes the rifle of your desire does not agree on desirability of smaller bolt face aperture & pin tip Dia.? Consider what else they might not know about building (non 7.62/.308) AR variants
slas
Well-Known Member
I like sierras they seem to shoot well and perform at most ranges. My favorite for deer is the old 85 grain Nosler Zippedo's. I picked up several hundred 20-25 years ago and they shoot well out of my 6mm and my wife's 243. They perform really well on deer and hogs. I'm going to hate it when I run out.
GAHunterJim
Well-Known Member
Nothing against the 243, I started my sons with a 250-3000 and could see what 100 gr bullets at moderate velocity (2,700 FPS) could do but my personal experience has lead me to believe that the 270 win is the best "deer" cartridge.
Calvin45
Well-Known Member
For 90 percent of hunters and hunting I'd have to agree even though I don't use mine much anymore. There's little room for improvement upon the .270 win as a dedicated deer gun.
Dead is dead. There are many cartridges that i subjectively have seen to be less effective in making deer sized game get dead fast, and there really aren't any that do it much better. A .300 RUM doesn't make it any more dead. But IMO your right, with a less perfect hit a .243 won't bring it down as fast at all.
GAHunterJim
Well-Known Member
My hunts these days are expensive, what I mean by that is time away or money spent, and I typically choose a rifle based on worst scenario, not "most likely" or one where I'll pass a shot if it's not perfect. My go-to rifle for years was a 7mm RM and it never let me down, my current go-to is a 308 I build DIY with pre-fits. The 308 with 165s will get the job done if I do my part. My kids killed 10+ deer with the 250-3000, all one shot kills, but the range and conditions were limited to their skills. Deer aren't hard to kill but bullet weight does matter sometimes when angles, distances and tracking matters. Still, the 243 is a great cartridge!
These threads always go on into infinity as there's no such thing as "best". It's an emotional thing. Dad said/did this and a couple people have good experiences - so it's the best. It works, sure. I've seen and had it NOT work, too. Thing is, there are other dad's, uncles, hunting legends that give different answers, so it's all subjective. The dude running the gun has a lot to do with it...and bullet choice, etc... I like my heavier options, but a 243 with something like one of the new monos would be excellent medicine no doubt. Trying to quantify something of this nature to an absolute, diminishes one's credibility as an objective opinion.
I shot cow elk with the 243, 100g Partitions, hot load of IMR 7828, no problems. We rode mules, shots were not long. Light recoil, accurate makes for some super shot placement, and stuff dies quickly.
95g Partitions seem to be more accurate than the 100s, and large corn-fed Nebraska bucks folded up, way on out there. Same for large Kansas Bucks with 100g Hornady btsp.
Put a bullet where it is supposed to go, properly constructed, and stuff dies quickly.
6 Rem equals the 243 AI = 80g Barnes TTSX at 3500-3600 depending on the barrel
6 AI shoots the 105g Berger hunting and 105g Hornady bthp at 3350 fps, and 95g Nosler ballistic tips/partitions/Hornady SST at 3500, 80g Barnes TTSX at 3800.
95g Partitions seem to be more accurate than the 100s, and large corn-fed Nebraska bucks folded up, way on out there. Same for large Kansas Bucks with 100g Hornady btsp.
Put a bullet where it is supposed to go, properly constructed, and stuff dies quickly.
6 Rem equals the 243 AI = 80g Barnes TTSX at 3500-3600 depending on the barrel
6 AI shoots the 105g Berger hunting and 105g Hornady bthp at 3350 fps, and 95g Nosler ballistic tips/partitions/Hornady SST at 3500, 80g Barnes TTSX at 3800.
41Magnum
Well-Known Member
I've toyed with the idea of a 243AI I an Encore pistol, 16" with a brake. I've taken scads of deer with a standard 243 Model 700 Rem using 85, 95, and 100 partitions, a couple with the 95 Ballistic tips. It shot the 85 and 95 grain partition the best. Never lost an animal. My longest shot was around 330ish yards.…Still thinking about the 243AI though….. 
I like the idea of the .243 AI but... in a pistol, I'd lean into something like the 6XC and just drop the AI part altogether, I use the 6XC and it is a very efficient hunting cartridge in the bullet weight you describe. My second pick would be the 6mm International, pretty much nothing more than a .250 Savage necked down or a .22-250 necked up, either would also accept the "AI" treatment if a shooter wanted to, but again... I don't believe it would be necessary for a 16" inch barrel. Good luck Cheers.I've toyed with the idea of a 243AI I an Encore pistol, 16" with a brake. I've taken scads of deer with a standard 243 Model 700 Rem using 85, 95, and 100 partitions, a couple with the 95 Ballistic tips. It shot the 85 and 95 grain partition the best. Never lost an animal. My longest shot was around 330ish yards.…Still thinking about the 243AI though…..
Outlaw6.0
Well-Known Member
The .243AI was my very first "wildcat" & will always have a special place in my heart. I was running a Sierra 80gr? Blitz for Coyote & such somewhere around 3500fps. Great little cartridge in my opinion.
t
t
fast_dbennett
Member
Yes
