223 or 243 -- Your opinion?

[MR. WINCHESTER]

Granted the Hornet is an 'efficient' little round, its about the midway point between the LR and the Rem 1100fps/2200fps/3300fps.... couple with the inexpensive factory and even cheaper reloads, lack of recoil.... the Rem wins

..... having said that, there are some nice 22Hornet rifles available

on the 243 front....yeah, I see the merits, plus I have a cavernous calibre deficiency between the 22 and 30cal centrefires, will fill it one day with one or more of the 6 or 6.5mm offerings...

As compared to the Hornet ?

Am I reading you right ?

[MR. WINCHESTER]

.... is almost hilarious, that everytime the topic of .223 / .243 rears its head, the pages fill quickly.

[<<Genesis93>>]

yeah it is funny.... almost as good as the 7mm is better than 30cal.. thats good for about 9 pages worth The trajectory.... 1.68mm less drop at 500m, 7mm wins

but yes, you read as written, the 223Rem is 'cheap' to run. On a good day you'll pick up factory rounds on the lower end of the 10 to 20 a box.....lot closer to the lower end.

Speaking more in generality though.... obviously less recoil with the Hornet, but at those levels the recoil is kind of irrelevant.

[NuZo]

It sounds like you want it for pest control/culling work. Get the 223. The barrel will last longer and ammo is cheaper to shoot. It's plenty accurate enough for longer shots.

use the 308 on the bigger stuff.

243 will cover everything though, just make sure you get the correct barrel twist rate for the weight of projectile you want to use.

Cheers,

Nuzo

P.S. I am biased towards 223 cause I like them. That's all.

[Gibbo]

Hi, I have a similar dilemma at the moment. I hunt mainly foxes with a .22 and 22 magnum but looking to get into some deer hunting. I have a Rem700 308 that I have used solely for target shooting but don't have time for that anymore and prefer to get out and explore the countryside.

Plan is to sell the 308 and scope and get me a nice hunting rifle. From my experience with target/tactical shooting I have spent a fair bit of time looking into the ballistics of the .260 Rem and even though the barrel life is considerably less than the .223 I think it has clear advantages as a multi purpose hunting rifle and meets my needs.

SAKO's beautiful 85 Varmint Blued Walnut comes in .260 with the 8 twist... if only they weren't bloody $2300! I sold a 223 8 twist SAKO Walnut Stainless to fund a fancy scope for my 308... worst decision I ever made!

[Oldbloke]

Gibbo, did you notice this?
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=5340

[sandgroperbill]

And pay the extra for the boyds stock...

But are you set on getting rid of the .308?

The .223 is a good caliber, but will limit you to the smaller stuff, but a .223 and .308 covers virtually everything

[<<Genesis93>>]

In Vic you'll need to keep the 308win for the deer, at least the most common variety... 260Rem is a no go except for some smaller deer

But I see why you want to get rid of it.... its a Rem

[dugachelli]

Be like me......223 .243 .308.....get them all...awesome

[Oldbloke]

"The .223 is a good caliber, but will limit you to the smaller stuff, but a .223 and .308 covers virtually everything"
That pretty much says it all.

[la101]

I absolutely love my tikka t3 in 223. Its pin point accurate and has very manageable recoil. I have not shot or used a 243 so cant give a comparison but the 223 is a great round and would be the perfect way to tame any bad shooting habits you might have. as others have said, keep your 308 and spend some time with a 223 and you will learn to shoot them both well in the future.

[RDobber]

IMHO if you're getting a flinch from a .308 the .243 won't be much better

Agree that with heavy pills it will be similar.

Depends on the cause of the flinch with the lighter ones I guess.

55gr recoil is definitely less but the report is loud as hell (as you know).

[BradZ]

Scrolled through the whole thread to see if anyone mentioned a 22-250, it seems they haven't.

Just something to think about, its right in the middle of the 2 other cals so it is worth considering.

Recoil is basically non existent but they are f***ing loud. I imagine a .243 wouldn't be any better though, and with more recoil. 55gr pill doing 3700fps is enough to knock rabbits, foxes, roos and pigs if you do your part. Yes this is speaking from experience.

It was my first caliber, yes the noise of it is intimidating to someone needing a confidence boost but once behind the barrel it's a non issue.

Ps. My 55 year old mother gets behind my 250 no worries, I think you'll be fine

[Gibbo]

And pay the extra for the boyds stock...

But are you set on getting rid of the .308?

The .223 is a good caliber, but will limit you to the smaller stuff, but a .223 and .308 covers virtually everything

Yeah i have the AAC SD barreled action up for sale at the moment. Don't mind shooting steel but would much rather spend my time walking hunting and spotlighting these days.

[Gibbo]

In Vic you'll need to keep the 308win for the deer, at least the most common variety... 260Rem is a no go except for some smaller deer

But I see why you want to get rid of it.... its a Rem

Thanks i will take that into consideration. Starting to think I am better off with a 223 for spotlighting and a separate deer rifle, my mate just bought a Sako A7 in 270 which is nice. I am a bit old school and wouldn't mind a 30-30 lever with a peep sight, don't know if anyone has any experience hunting deer with one on here. Seems to have taken a few deer in it's time in the US. Ta

[Title_II]

.30-30 is a great weapon, but it is for woods. Really about 25-150 meters tops for most people, especially with a peep sight. I know it can be stretched but it's not intended for that.

[Gibbo]

.30-30 is a great weapon, but it is for woods. Really about 25-150 meters tops for most people, especially with a peep sight. I know it can be stretched but it's not intended for that.

Thanks, I am new to deer hunting so will need to check out with my mate what sort of ranges we are looking at. He has always been a bowhunter so hopefully we are looking at taking closer range shots. I have always wanted a nice lever action in either one of the pistol calibres or 30-30.

[Title_II]

They are really sweet, no doubt. You will love it.

For hunting, all the pics and video I see from you guys is open desert out to 20 km spotted with snakes and sharks. So I just wanted to point out the range.

They are very light, small and handy, almost no recoil, and blast the crap out of stuff within the design range. Just check up on the range.

[Gibbo]

They are really sweet, no doubt. You will love it.

For hunting, all the pics and video I see from you guys is open desert out to 20 km spotted with snakes and sharks. So I just wanted to point out the range.

They are very light, small and handy, almost no recoil, and blast the crap out of stuff within the design range. Just check up on the range.

Thanks. I think I will stick to my plan of getting a scoped bolt gun with a nice wood stock for deer hunting and save for a nice lever in 357 for fun and maybe some smaller game hunting.

[MR. WINCHESTER]

Granted the Hornet is an 'efficient' little round, its about the midway point between the LR and the Rem 1100fps/2200fps/3300fps.... couple with the inexpensive factory and even cheaper reloads, lack of recoil.... the Rem wins

Maybe , just maybe.

The deciding factor, for me .... is 'muzzle blast'.

I shot a million bunnies ( a more than a few foxes ) with my old Anschutz Hornet without HEARING PROTECTION.

Noise IS an issue,

[BradZ]

.30-30 is a great weapon, but it is for woods. Really about 25-150 meters tops for most people, especially with a peep sight. I know it can be stretched but it's not intended for that.

Thanks, I am new to deer hunting so will need to check out with my mate what sort of ranges we are looking at. He has always been a bowhunter so hopefully we are looking at taking closer range shots. I have always wanted a nice lever action in either one of the pistol calibres or 30-30.

Totally agree. I've used a friends lever action 30-30 and they're fun but definitely close range calibers.
That being said I'd like a big bore lever action but only as a 'fun' gun.
But while there's money to be spent on longe range hunting rifles that's where it's going.

And if you're anything like me you're useless with open sights haha

[Seik]

And if you're anything like me you're useless with open sights haha

They're fun but definitely takes some practice over using a scope.

[duncan61]

if you have a .22 long rifle and a .308 you most certainly need something in the middle..223 is perfect.,243 is very similar to .308

[in2anity]

Depends whether you handload; if so, choose the 243. Otherwise stick to 223.

[Gwion]

Depends on your intended use. If you're culling pests, for instance, you'll need to change barrels almost twice as often in a 243 and also burn close to twice the powder.

If on the other hand you go hunting occasionally for anything from foxes to goats to pigs, the 243 is probably the better option to cover different quarry with different loads.

There is never a simple answer or fixed rule to choose a caliber or chambering.

[Lorgar]

Depends on your intended use.

Exactly.

.223 is a pest control cartridge. .243 is a small-med game cartridge.

.243 is very versatile and yes you can load lighter bullets for pest but it's still massive over kill.

I think people who haven't used a .243 themselves and are just giving information based on paper-knowledge think a .243 with 55gr loads is similar to a .223 because they fire the same weight pill. (That's not aimed at anyone here, just commenting for the OP's future reference).

Anyone who's used both knows they're not at all. I'm not knocking the .243 either... I had one, liked a lot about it, but as OP is focused on beating the flinch they picked up from the .308 it wouldn't be my pick.

.243 recoil with 80gr - 90gr bullets is too similar to .308 to be much benefit I would say. And with any load the audible report is loud as hell.

Adding a .223 to the .22 and .308 would give a good lineup IMO. .22 for pests at short range, .223 for some longer range varminting, .308 for hunting. Sorted.

[Lorgar]

There is never a simple answer or fixed rule to choose a caliber or chambering.

*cough* 7mm, best for everything!

[scotty87]

Not sure if the OP decided on anything but thought I'd post my experience with dealing with my .308 flinch.

Projectiles, start with a lighter projectile OSA 135gr hollow point factory ammo is a good place to start, cheap when purchased in large quantities and 1 MOA accurate in my sporter HOWA.

Stock, I replaced my synthetic Hogue stock with a Boyds laminate stock and bedded the action to accurise the rifle as much as possible. Get a limb saver recoil pad, almost halves felt recoil IMO.

Scope, use a lower power, I find I stick to 4-7x even though my scope is a 10x Power.

Trigger, should be light, under 2 pounds and have minimal creep. Creep is the enemy, do all you can to eliminate it from your trigger.

Technique, most important part, practice your breathing and trigger squeeze with your smaller calibres and try to repeat it on your .308, HOLD your foreend if shooting over a pack or solid rest, I feel wih sporter style rifles this is important to control the recoil and you don't need to be thinking about what the foreend is going to be doing after you fire off your shot.

Just my experience for overcoming my flinch, still not there yet but bought my worst groups back to 1.5-2" at 100m an my best groups under an inch.

[Tinked]

Get a limb saver recoil pad, almost halves felt recoil IMO.

Agreed, a squishy pad makes a surprising difference.

[dpskipper]

.223 is more a varmint round. It still is 20 caliber like your .22 but its flying out much faster. .243 is very versatile and in the heavy pills can be used for deer.