243 Archives

Introduction

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 cartridge introductions, there are senior cartridges that simply won’t relinquish their spot on the roster. Today we are talking about one of those; the incredibly versatile .243 Winchester.

Winchester was very busy in the years following the Second World War, and in the 1950’s the renowned model 70 picked up the new .243 Winchester chambering. The case was formed by necking down the 308 Winchester to a smaller six-millimeter (twenty-four) caliber. By narrowing the powder flow of the 308’s case into a six-millimeter bore, the spicy little .243 became very well known for its velocity. Bullets from 55-grains up to 100 or so grains found a very fast home in the .243, with velocities exceeding 4000 feet per second when loaded right.

this Sako L579 Forester is a typical heavy barreled .243, read more about it HERE

Today we will take a close look at the 243, and see what has made it such a long-lasting chambering. Primarily used as a hunting caliber, we will also see what makes it tick, and its potential relevance in a world filled with newer six-millimeter cartridges.

The .243 Winchester

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

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

With propellant and bullet technologies having come a long way since the fifties, 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 for youth to get started with. One reason is likely because of the soft recoil of the 243, making it significantly more pleasant to shoot than many popular 30 caliber options.

I love small and fast cartridges, and pushing them to the edge of their purpose is a not-so-secret hobby of mine. Besides the 243, I am also very fond of my 6 ARC and 6 GT chambered rifles. Though the 243 seems to stand tall as the largest 6mm sibling in common use.