223 vs 243 - Lithgow

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Re: Lythgow .223 or .243

Post by Oldbloke » 30 Aug 2018, 7:51 pm

Gwion wrote:Start with a 223rem and then get a 308win or 7mm08rem.
As for what rifle brand... what ever feels best to you within your budget.



Spot on.. I would go 223 then 308 and skip the 243, you won't need it
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Re: Lythgow .223 or .243

Post by Gwion » 30 Aug 2018, 8:38 pm

I'd go for the 7mm08 because that's ehat i did! :lol:

I just think the 7-08 is a bit more versitile. 100gn bullets up to 180gn if you really want, though 162gn is enough and a good balance of velocity and WHACK. Better windage and elevation ballistics if you want to play at longer range as well.
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Re: Lythgow .223 or .243

Post by Oldbloke » 31 Aug 2018, 5:33 am

Yeh, G is right but 308 bullets are generally cheaper and a bit more variety. It's horses for courses.
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Re: Lythgow .223 or .243

Post by Rod_outbak » 31 Aug 2018, 6:32 am

I'd agree with Oldbloke; the 7mm-08 might be a better 'fit' overall, but the .308 cant be beaten for the huge range (and availability) of projectiles.
And .308 isnt exactly a poor performer, either.

Plenty of times I've been in a gunshop, where they stock 5 or 6 varieties of factory .308 ammo, and usually 8-10 variants of .308 projectiles.
In the same shop, I'll be lucky to find one flavour of factory ammo for 7mm-08, and 1-2 variants of projectiles; if I'm lucky.

I love my 7mm-08; It's evolved into an absolute pearler of a rifle. I mostly use 120Gn Vmax pills in it, though a recent testing of the 100gn Speer HP's showed really good results. But I'm finding the latest .308 rifle shows me that I'd need to be wringing the most out of my 7mm-08 to appreciate the benefit of the 7mm pill(over the 7.62).
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Re: Lythgow .223 or .243

Post by bladeracer » 31 Aug 2018, 3:19 pm

Rod_outbak wrote:I'd agree with Oldbloke; the 7mm-08 might be a better 'fit' overall, but the .308 cant be beaten for the huge range (and availability) of projectiles.
And .308 isnt exactly a poor performer, either.

Plenty of times I've been in a gunshop, where they stock 5 or 6 varieties of factory .308 ammo, and usually 8-10 variants of .308 projectiles.
In the same shop, I'll be lucky to find one flavour of factory ammo for 7mm-08, and 1-2 variants of projectiles; if I'm lucky.

I love my 7mm-08; It's evolved into an absolute pearler of a rifle. I mostly use 120Gn Vmax pills in it, though a recent testing of the 100gn Speer HP's showed really good results. But I'm finding the latest .308 rifle shows me that I'd need to be wringing the most out of my 7mm-08 to appreciate the benefit of the 7mm pill(over the 7.62).


I don't go to gun shops hoping they have the bullets I want on the shelf. I order the bullets I want, and well before I'm going to need them.
Last edited by bladeracer on 01 Sep 2018, 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Lythgow .223 or .243

Post by Rod_outbak » 01 Sep 2018, 6:02 am

[quote="bladeracer"][quote="Rod_outbak"]I'd agree with Oldbloke; the 7mm-08 might be a better 'fit' overall, but the .308 cant be beaten for the huge range (and availability) of projectiles.
And .308 isnt exactly a poor performer, either.

Plenty of times I've been in a gunshop, where they stock 5 or 6 varieties of factory .308 ammo, and usually 8-10 variants of .308 projectiles.
In the same shop, I'll be lucky to find one flavour of factory ammo for 7mm-08, and 1-2 variants of projectiles; if I'm lucky.

I love my 7mm-08; It's evolved into an absolute pearler of a rifle. I mostly use 120Gn Vmax pills in it, though a recent testing of the 100gn Speer HP's showed really good results. But I'm finding the latest .308 rifle shows me that I'd need to be wringing the most out of my 7mm-08 to appreciate the benefit of the 7mm pill(over the 7.62).[/quote]

I don't go to gun shops hoping that have the bullets I want on the shelf. I order the bullets I want, and well before I'm going to need them.[/quote]

I wish my world worked like that all the time, but it doesnt.
I do order a lot of my projectiles online in advance of what I think I'll need, but I also order a lot through my local businesses, to support them.
SOME times, my need for more projectiles/ammo is governed by whats going on outside, rather than what I've planned in advance.

However, I get back to why I'd reccommend one cartridge over another.
Performance is one factor, but commonality/availability is another, and 7mm is less common than .30 cal (in outback QLD at any rate..)
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Re: Lythgow .223 or .243

Post by bladeracer » 01 Sep 2018, 3:48 pm

Rod_outbak wrote:I wish my world worked like that all the time, but it doesn't.
I do order a lot of my projectiles online in advance of what I think I'll need, but I also order a lot through my local businesses, to support them.
SOME times, my need for more projectiles/ammo is governed by whats going on outside, rather than what I've planned in advance.

However, I get back to why I'd recommend one cartridge over another.
Performance is one factor, but commonality/availability is another, and 7mm is less common than .30 cal (in outback QLD at any rate..)


I absolutely agree that common availability is an important consideration when choosing a cartridge for the majority of shooters. I understand that people are different, and lots of shooters will finish off a box of bullets and go shoot them without considering taking one minute or less to order more of them (nowadays we can order bullets via smartphone while walking up to shoot the ones we just made), but that sort of thing would drive me crazy :-) For the sort of shooter than only realises he needs ammunition when he arrives at the shoot then yes, being able to buy ammo easily is important.

But nowadays with online ordering, it's fairly easy to get anything but the strangest brass and bullets, and within a few days, delivered to your door. It's usually cheaper and quicker than going into town to pick them up after ordering them via your dealer's distributor. I have ordered what I would not consider strange bullets (and die sets) via my dealer several times, waited for them, ordered more online, received them, and tested them before my dealer finally has them in hand. I like to support my dealer, but locking himself into those archaic distribution systems is not supporting his customers - it works both ways. Same thing with rimfire ammunition occasionally. I understand that dealers prefer to place large orders to save on shipping costs, and when I don't want to wait I'm happy to pay the cost of immediate shipment. When I find I'm down to one or two boxes after a loading session I immediately order more to refill the shelf. I keep at least a thousand bullets on hand for each caliber I load, and am always ordering new ones I've spotted for testing. Another problem that does occur is that when I've done my research to determine the bullet I want, the dealer has not and may be totally unfamiliar with a new or unusual bullet. He may not know that Hornady do three different 140gn bullets in that caliber, so he, or his distributor, just orders the first one he scrolls to in his list instead of selecting the SST version. This is not just a problem with components, it happens with magazines, scope mounts, scopes, and probably even with rifles. This does occasionally happen with online ordering as well though.

Because I love the milsurps, ammunition and component availability is irrelevant to me. If I absolutely had no option then I would turn up the required brass on the lathe myself, anneal it and shoot it. Similar with bullets, I'll turn them on the lathe if I want something special, otherwise I'll cast, size, and powdercoat them to fit what I want to shoot.

I'm waiting on some unusual brass from AV Ballistics, that he is making specially for me. That is taking some months, and costing some money, but 6.5x58mm is not available anywhere else in the world (although it is fairly easy to make from 8x57mm/.30-06 brass - without the correct head stamp). But when I have it, I'll have enough to ensure I never need go searching for more of it. My Type38 Arisaka Carbine is fairly shot out so I'm trying some cast larger-diameter bullets (powdercoated .267" jacketed bullets improved it marginally, the bore slugs at .270" although it is still rifled). So large that the neck of the case won't fit in the chamber when loaded conventionally. So I'm having to essentially make healed bullets, with a narrow base that fits the case, but a much wider bullet to fit the bore. If I can make it work I'll throw hundreds of them so I won't have to find any more in a hurry, at least not until I've found another rifle or barrel.
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Re: 223 vs 243 - Lithgow

Post by WookyMysta » 16 Oct 2019, 6:20 pm

Just drop the coin and buy all 3. and then another 5. No point in having an 8 gun safe with only 3 bang sticks. hehehe
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