Short-action cartridges are perhaps the most tumultuous genre of rifle cartridges. There is always something new and exciting, but even with a steady influx of new cartridges, some senior cartridges simply won’t relinquish their spot on the roster. 

Today we are talking about one of those: the incredibly versatile .243 Winchester. Primarily used as a hunting caliber, we will see what makes this long-lasting chambering tick, and investigate its potential relevance in a world of newer 6mm cartridges.
 

Table of Contents

A Brief History
The .243 Winchester Cartridge
Bullet Selection
Hunting Applications
6mm Competition
Why .243?
Conclusion

A Brief History

Winchester stayed busy in the years following the Second World War, and in the 1950s, the renowned Model 70 picked up the new .243 Winchester chambering. The case was formed by necking down the .308 Winchester to a smaller 6mm (.24) caliber. 
 

Related: Winchester Model 70 Bolt-action Rifles – For the Rifleman
 

By narrowing the powder flow of the .308’s case into a 6mm bore, the spicy little .243 became well known for its velocity. Bullets from 55 up to 100 or so grains found a very fast home in the .243, with velocities exceeding 4,000 FPS when loaded correctly.
 

The .243 Winchester Cartridge

The .308 Winchester has spawned dozens of wildcat and legitimate cartridges since its inception, whether necked down to 6.5mm to become the .260 Remington or necked up to become a .338 Federal.

It seems 6mm cartridges were popular in the 1950s, with both the .243 Winchester and 6mm Remington coming to market. While very comparable cartridges, the .243 seems to have become more popular.

Propellant and bullet technologies have come a long way since the ’50s, so the modern .243 is even more useful than the one your grandpa used. The smaller-than-average cartridge has long been looked at as a “ladies’ gun” or something to get youth started. One reason is likely because of the soft recoil of the .243, which makes it significantly more pleasant to shoot than many popular .30-caliber options.

Bullet Selection

As with any cartridge, bullet compatibility has everything to do with barrel twist. In the past, the .243 was outfitted with 1:10 twist barrels, which did well with bullets and propellants of the time. These days, you can squeeze a lot more out of the .243 by using modern barrel twists like 1:8 or even 1:7.
 

Related Review: Sako L579 Forester – Finely Tuned Finnish Bolt Action
 

This allows you to use modern bullets like 107, 109, and even 115 grains. The .243 has plenty of case capacity for powder, and when filled with some of our more modern propellants, it can really whip them at impressive speeds.

Even with older models, you can get some impressive performance out of the cartridge. Some states recommend a minimum of 6mm cartridges for hunting Rocky Mountain elk, which may sound a bit light for the job. But I know of quite a few .243s that have brought down elk.
 

The heavier 100-grain bullets have impressive impacts on many big game animals and will easily bring them down. If you are hunting some of the smaller big game animals like pronghorn antelope or javelina, even smaller bullets can be used with lightning-fast kills. Something like a Hornady 87-grain soft point or Speer 85-grain spitzer will take these animals down quickly.

The .243 is also great for hunting varmints and predators. Whether you are after coyotes, rock chucks, or prairie dogs, the .243 will coax them into your photos – especially when you use lighter bullets like 75-grain V-Max or 55-grain Blitz King from Sierra Bullets. These bullets offer a complete energy dump of the .243’s blistering speed.
 

Hunting Applications

As I mentioned, there are a great many hunting applications for the .243. A huge selection of light and explosive 6mm bullets are ideally applied to varmints and small predators. But beware as you choose your bullet. If you are hunting coyotes and bobcats for the fur, the fast .243 might do excessive damage.
 

Or, if you’re like me, you don’t care about pelts when you hunt small varmints like marmots ground squirrels and prairie dogs, so the explosive impact is exactly what you are looking for. Bullet selection is always important for the animal you intend to hunt, so when looking at bullets and ammunition for the .243 make sure you don’t get the wrong type.

For example, the 75-grain V-Max is a bullet built for thin-skinned varmints. It will kill a deer (I can confirm), but it is not exactly ideal. You’d be better off selecting one of the more robust bullet designs for your deer hunt. They haven’t made a deer yet that can take a 100-grain .243 through the boiler room and waltz off.

In general, due to the size of the .243 Winchester, most ammunition you will find at retailers will be either a varmint-type load or a load made for shooting deer. If you stick with what is applicable to your purpose, you will do fine.
 

6mm Competition

The .243 Winchester and 6mm Remington once stood as the only common 6mm cartridges in the U.S. market, but today there are nearly too many to mention in one article. The competition is thick in the 6mm market these days, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
 

The .243 is what I would consider a slightly overbore 6mm compared to all the others we have today. Very popular options like the 6 ARC and 6 Creedmoor have undoubtedly taken some market share from the ol’ 243, but there are pros and cons to every choice. 

For example, the big case of the .243 has a healthy appetite for barrels. I’ve heard of people burning up a .243 barrel in a single day of heavy use. Some of these other cartridges offer more long-term shooting time due to their smaller powder column. Cartridges like the 6 ARC and 6 GT do much better as far as barrel life, without giving up too much.
 

Related: 6mm GT – Is This the Newest Precision Ammo Niche?

Basically, there is no free lunch. If you want to go fast, you’re going to go through barrels. You can gain some longevity by compromising on case size, but you won’t have that hot-rod speed, either. There is a reason so many competitive shooters use smaller 6mm cartridges like the 6 Dasher and the 6 BRX.
 

Why .243?

I’ll start out with my opinion, as I think it’s a fair one. There is a whole host of 6mm cartridges for all kinds of uses, but I think the .243’s best use is deer hunting. A .243 won’t last long as a match rifle, and shooting high volumes of varmints might burn it up prematurely. 

As a deer or goat gun, it could last a lifetime. In my opinion, I’d rather shoot varmints with a 6 ARC or even a .223 than burn up a good .243 barrel.

And if you are going to shoot a rifle sparingly, as you would with most deer rifles, I wouldn’t feel bad about cranking it up to the max. Of course, this is just one way to look at it. Some folks love changing barrels. If you’re the kind of shooter who doesn’t care about barrel life, then rock what you’ve got.
 

Conclusion

The good news about .243 Winchester is that it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Regardless of where you shop for ammo, you will likely find some .243. It still seems to be a fairly popular chambering in many rifles, so its future is somewhat secure.

Winchester’s little .243 has done well for almost 70 years, and there is a plethora of information about it, as well as case data. It’s basically about as safe a bet as you can make if you want a 6mm hunting rifle. Tell us your .243 story in the comments section below.