I dunno if I’d quibble on that or not? Before I shoot off my face - let us establish our credentials. This guy has shot more animals than me and any three of the most prolific hunters I know.
I am a stubfart who’s maybe got 700 ~ 800 rounds of 243 down the pipe - through my beloved Ruger No.1 single shot. The 243 has a LOT going for it. At very close range with the right boolit I’d trust it on moose and elk too.
Prior to the 243 my No.1 was chambered in a varmint profile barrel chambered in .25-06. I killed maybe 8 or 10 animals with it. And I sent well over 10 thousand rounds down the pipe on targets. I dunno how many pounds of IMR4350 I burned through. I started out buying powder in one pound cans and then started buying 8 lb. kegs. 18 or 20 years later the barrel and throat looked like 8 miles of oil lease road, and my velocities and accuracy fell off a cliff. I almost wept when it washed out. For most of that time it grouped easily into 1/2 ~ 3/4 MOA with my pet load. It hit like a ton of bricks on game too. But it was what it was, and I had it rebarrelled for 243 in a 26” pipe spun 1:9.
Shots on yodellers produced golf-ball sized exit wounds. I really can’t see a 243 being much better in that regard? On deer and moose I never got any exit wounds with the .25 - but the boolit went off like a hand grenade in the boiler room! All my shots were taken at close range… but every animal I pulled the trigger on died on the first shot, and didn’t require any follow up shots. It was ‘lights out’ with one caress of the trigger.
I love the 243… but I think the big 25’s are the better way to go based on my extremely limited experience….
Your mileage may vary…
Tennis ball size exit on a doe couple week's ago. Kent
ReplyDeleteMy first centrefire was a Savage 110 in 270 Win because I was specifically chasing deer, and the 270 with 130 gn projectile is the minimum calibre legal for Sambar in Victoria.
ReplyDeleteI hated my 270. The stock probably didn't fit me properly, so I found the recoil unpleasant. The muzzleblast from the 22" barrel made my ears ring despite using both plugs & muffs. After a range session, I'd get a sinus headache. Never shot a deer with it, but took a frontal shot on a red fox at ~10 metres with a 130 gn Hornady Superformance. Results were memorable. Head-on-a-stick, red mist like a woodchipper accident behind the carcass. Instant & painless.
Next was a Savage Model 12 in 243. 26" barrel, laser accurate. Still have it. Just as deadly on foxes, pigs & goats with 90 gn Sako ammo, but the bark doesn't hurt with electronic muffs and while recoil is there, it doesn't hurt.
The muzzleblast from the 270 may have been similar with a 26" barrel, not sure. But the 243 has never given me a sinus headache.
My all time favourite so far is my Tikka T3x stainless Lite in 7-08 rem with 22" barrel. Use Hornady 139 gn superformance. Recoil feels more than the 243 but the stock fits me better and doesn't bruise or hurt like the 270 did. The muzzleblast is the same as my 243, despite the shorter tube. The only time it was unpleasant was when I took a fox at ~50 metres - and there was a steep hill right in front of me. The muzzleblast bounced straight back at me and made me think something had gone wrong with the cartridge.
I have read that the 270 really needs a 26" barrel to get the best from it, and maybe that extra 4" of tube would help with the muzzleblast?
With your 25-06, did you find muzzleblast an issue with the No 1? Afterall a 26" tube on a No 1 is effectively the same length as a 22" barrel on a bolt gun.
Oh that just hacks me right off! The .30-06, the .270 and similar cartridges need a 24” pipe, and I’d prefer heavier barrels too. With short pipes and light stocks they can become rude little guns that intimidate the hell out of the women and kids.
DeleteAnd ya know…? All this talk of .270’s, .30-06’s, .308s… jeez… they are pretty versatile too…
I bought my son a Remington Model 7 in .243 for a kid's deer rifle when he could hunt (age 12 in Wisconsin). He took some deer. On a Pronghorn hunt he took down a buck with one shot at 357 yards (per the laser range finder). I used it to take 2 coyotes at 300 yards. Very nice gun and caliber. Model 7 is very light.
ReplyDeleteMy wife's rifle is a Remington 7 Youth in 7-08 Remington. Great rifle for the people of young or slight of stature.
DeleteMy favorite is a Remington 600 in .308 Winchester. One of the neighborhood kids had his father buy one for him and I was smitten by it. I've probably killed over 2 dozen deer with it. I'd trust it with my Life I guess. Short and light makes me happier.
I do admit the Ruger #1 in .25-06 makes a lot of sense for small big game. I don't think I'd trust it for animals that consider me on their menu.
Agreed. I think you could take small black bears with it but the bigger ones and grizzlies… you really gotta bust them up and contend with big bones…
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