I've got a few extra pesos saved up and have lately had the interest in a .243. I've found a Howa package deal and deceided it's a pretty good deal.
Before going out and getting it, I did a search on this site and a few others and it seems that the Howa's quality and accuracy are very good. The package comes with a Nikko Sterling (http://www.nikkostirling.com/content_pages/home.htm) 3-9x42 scope that I also researched, and have found reviews that compare it to a Burris or Nikon scope.

My long winded question deals with the capabilities of the .243. I plan on varmint and target shooting with it, but also would like to use it for a white-tail hunt.

For those of you who love or hate the .243; Please let me hear your comments.

Thanx in advance,
Chris~

Your desire to target, varmit and whitetail hunt with one cartridge will be well served by the .243.

It is one of the more accurate designs with lots of powders and bullets to choose from.

Used to have a Sako Forester in this chambering - a pleasure to shoot with sub MOA accuracy. Always found the Nosler bullets, both Ballistic Tip and Partition, along with Hodgdon H380 to be the best combinations. There are so many to choose from today, you could almost spend forever trying out the various loadings.

Modified a Remington 600 carbine one time to a .243 Win AI and gained about 150 fps for a 4 grain powder increase. That sucker was a loud little rifle with the short barrel!

I think you'll be very happy with this cartridge to do the things you want to do.

I've read that reloading for the 243 is "tough" as the cartridge tends to lend itself to "flyers"...any truth to that???

I've read that reloading for the 243 is "tough" as the cartridge tends to lend itself to "flyers"...any truth to that???
Most gun writers "write" because they can't make a living doing anything else. A sound cartridge design, in a rifle with a bore that is the same size on both ends, with the chamber that is straight and centered, shooting good bullets, "WILL" shoot well. Most bad shots are the shooters fault! I have ruined many good groups by not focusing, it's not the guns fault, it's mine!

m141a,
I have not had the flyer problem you spoke of, and, between my wife and I, we've owned 5 .243's over the years. All were fairly accurate, with two Rem 700's being extrordinarily so..
The only problem we ever had was bullet break-up on deer and antelope. One was a 100gr Fed factory load on a mule deer, the other was a 95gr ballistic tip on a pronghorn. We got both animals eventually, but bullet performance was clearly inferior. The cartidge is okay for deer, but you must carefully select your bullet. I like the Nosler partition - never had one fail (in any caliber).

Thanx to all who replied!

I've heard of the 243's bullets breaking up, and was concerned about such. I was also told about the Noslers as being a superior bullet choice. I tend to agree as I use them as Match bullets in my M1a and AR15.

I always believed also that shot placement was as important if not more so than the bullet and gun you select!

Bullet placement is imperative, but both of the bullet failures we had were well placed, and each could have resulted in a lost animal under other circumstances. The ballistic tip bullet hit the pronghorn on the shoulder and disintegrated - no part of the bullet entered the chest cavity. The Federal load hit the ribs and left the jacket on the outside of the ribs. The onside lung was damaged somewhat, but not a lot, and the animal might have gone a long way before dying. Luckily. both those critters were taken on the Montana prairie, where some legwork kept them in sight until a finishing shot could be applied.
In thick woods, I doubt we'd have found either animal.

Ballistic Tip = things you want to blow up.
Partition = things you plan on eating.

Simple rules to live by......

MikeG sums up bullet selection pretty well. The Partitions in this caliber should handle just about any deer. You will have to pick and choose your shots a bit, as this round doesnt excel on shoulder shots. Shots through the rib cage will put it down in reasonable short order though. If you hand load there are a whole host of options for premium bullets available that will do a great job. As for rodent control its a bit mnuch but very useable as a dual purpose rifle. Its sweet on Yodle dawgs. In these cases the Ballistic Tip is the bullet of choice in my opinion. These two bullet choices have never left me wanting. Its great for deer sized game and smaller and comfortable recoil wise to put several boxes through in a shooting session. I have yet to have any problems with reloading this round. Good choice in my opinion caliber wise. The Howa rifles are pretty good deals, and fairly well made rifles. Spent some time in Japan and own several rifles manufactured there and none of them are junk! Wheatherby, Browning, S&W, and Ithaca all had rifles made over there for years before the dollar was devaluated against the yen.

Just my thoughts on this......

OOPS..... :o My bad, i should have finished this thread. I
I ended up getting the Howa 1500 Lightning in 243. It came with an Austrailian scope; a Nikko Stirling, and a set of bases and rings that I would rate as good as any Bushnell...but that's as far as the quality of the scope goes.
The rifle is well made and has a positive feeling action, along with a crisp 3-4 pound trigger with no creep. The stock is a composite, but Boyd's manufatures the wood stocks for Howa and I have contacted them in reference to getting one---$80

Thanx for all the info fellas....I'll post the range results soon.

Chris~