I have been looking into a bolt gun for a while. I first started thinking in 308, then I read and article on the owner of GA Precision, and his straight 243. Once I started looking into the 243 I realized with a new barrel something like 1 in 7.75 twist, and the 115s the 243 can compete with most any short action caliber out there.
So im asking you guys with more experience is there something im missing? Im not worried about ammo I reload so thats not a problem, and at most this thing would see 2000 rounds a year. Its hard to get to a range that is longer than the one in my backyard, so it would only get shot on the occasions I get to shoot past 300. The 2000 rounds a year at this point may not happen in 2 years. Being able to shoot in my backyard I do shoot frequently. I just could not justify shooting something like this more than once or twice a month at home.
So any info from anybody on 243 that I could be missing please chime in.
Plain and simple - accurate as hell, mild recoil and a sh*t ton of outstanding bullets to choose from. Thats the up side…
Downside - it’s a notorious barrel burner and considered and overbore cartridge - brutal on throats. 2000 rds?? Thats 25% into your second barrel.
Look at all the other “accurate” 6mm’s - 6X, 6XC, even the 6 x 22-250 only uses 30-32 grains of powder to get in the upper 2800-2900 velocity range.
Most 243 loads use 30% more powder that the 30-32 and achieve the same velocities.
There are a lot of far better, more efficient 6mm’s out there than the old 243.
Plain and simple - accurate as hell, mild recoil and a sh*t ton of outstanding bullets to choose from. Also tons of brass - easy to feed through mags as it is an offspring of the 308. Thats the up side…
Downside - it’s a notorious barrel burner and considered and overbore cartridge - brutal on throats. 2000 rds?? Thats 25% into your second barrel.
Look at all the other “accurate” 6mm’s - 6X, 6XC, even the 6 x 22-250 only uses 30-32 grains of powder to get in the upper 2800-2900 velocity range.
Most 243 loads use 30% more powder that the 30-32 and achieve the same velocities.
There are a lot of far better, more efficient 6mm’s out there than the old 243.
It is still regardless of the negatives above an extemely accurate round and very popular - capable of competing / winning in almost any game.
Barrells burn out that fast. 2000 rounds being 25% into the second barrel. I knew it would toast barrels pretty quickly, but a barrel every 1600 or so rounds is crazy.
Can those other 6mms you listed push the 115s to 2800-2900fps. I would like to use the 115s for this. I plan on running one bullet, this set up will serve only one purpose. Beginning long range shooting. I have shot mid ranges at steel, and can score regular hits out to 500 on targets just shy of 2 moa. My plates 8 inches square.
Now I would like to try shooting some groups on paper and working on fundamentals. If those cartridges you listed can at least get the 105 amax to the numbers you posted, I will pick from one you listed.
In a word - yes. You can drive the 115 to that velocity fairly easily. However - this is dependent on bbl length. I’d say minimum length would be in the 28" range.
If you want more data - read this - http://www.6mmbr.com/6XC.html
The 6XC is a very very capable round.
Most of the 6mm cartridges that push the 105gr bullets to the 3000fps mark are going to be pretty rough on barrels. If barrel life is a concern maybe on of the 6.5mm offerings like the creedmore would be a better fit.
That being said I just got my first .243 back from the smith last month. Launching 105gr berger hybrids at 3000fps using h1000. I don’t have the time or funds to shoot very often. So I imagine the barrel will last me a while. I primarily got it for predator hunting and smacking steel. I think it will fill those rolls perfectly.
most matches put a velocity limit on the 6 / 6.5 mil projos at 3150 or 3200 for a reason. not hard to hit those numbers with short actions and cases smaller than 308win
the 20* neck means more brass flow/ case trimming
it’s also a long case and short neck.
a shorter case and longer neck is generally preferred.
I was looking at something based on the 308 case, but with bullets that had a better bc for there weight. Im going to look into the various 6mm, and maybe the 7-08. I was not to worried about burning out barrels, but if I could get the barrel life closer to 4k I would be ok with that.
6mm Creedmoor and 6x47 Lapua are more efficient than the .243 Win. That being said, at 2k rounds per year as an average, you will most likely be re-barreling every 8 months or so. Still a small price to pay for Performance. There are no free lunches. Everything is a Trade Off.
To your original post jstone, if not 308 and just plinking out back @ 300
why not just a real nice 223 (cheaper)(lotta choices) however if ammo is not an issue…
Unless you want a bit more knock down power say for hunting
243 is a round you can drive tacks with all day long
Does make a very nice varmint rifle also
I have 223, but it is not a bolt gun. I plan on putting an adjustable gas èn my spr, and converting a barrel for my mrp with no gas port. So I can use them as straight pull bolt actions essentially. This is what I would use while shooting in my backyard. Whatever caliber I end up with it will be for when I can get to a range with longer distances. Our local range only goes to 300 yards, and I can walk out my door and have access to 300. I was hoping by the end of summer it would be 500, but I have had some setbacks. Hopefully by next summer I will have 500 yards.
This first bolt gun will be strictly a range gun, it will see no hunting. I plan on putting this in a j allen enterprises rem 700 chasis. I would go with a tikka or Winchester model 70 if the j allen chasis became available for one of those models.
I would like to stay with the short action in some flavor of 6mm. I would like to do a 7mm, but from what I have been reading says none of the 7mm short action calibers can push the heavy 7mm bullets fast enough.
I think I may still just go with the 243, and just buy a few barrels at a time. This project is just in the tthe planning phase, i need to get my other projects finished up
After reading some more I think I will end up going with the 6xc. It is only has 7 grains less capacity then the 243. What I like about it is the OAL when loaded with the 115 dtac. I will just order 2 barrels at a time. The only thing im not liking is the length of barrel. It looks like im going to need a 28" barrel.
I was planning on going with a very heavy barrel at 22-24 inches. If I go to 28 I will have to slim it down. At least I have some time before this project gets going.
Thanks for all help guys, im definitely going with one of the 6mm’s I will just deal with the short barrel life. I just see to many positives with the only draw back being barrels will be needed frequently.
