.223 or .243 for varmits

S

sks

New member
Just curious as to which caliber of these two would be considered better suited to varmit hunting. The .243 looks to have somewhat better ballistics as far as higher fps both at muzzle and out to 500 yards. While it also retains much more of it's energy in ft. lbs. again at muzzle and out to 500 yards than does the .223. So does this really make a difference?

I've never shot either caliber but am assuming that recoil would be about equal. Is that correct?

Any of your experiences with these two calibers would be appreciated.

Thanks,

sks
 
.243, as it's a heavier bullet, will buck the wind quite a bit better than will a .22 which can make a real difference especially on those longer shots.

Doubtful the foot pounds argument will come in to play on smaller varmits - may on coyote-size stuff though, but a good bullet in the boiler room of a coyote's gonna do the trick with either caliber. Varmit shooting is pretty much in the "way over-kill" area = an explosive bullet delivering 1000 ft lbs into a 1/2 lb critter ....

.243 does kick a bit more than the .223 but you're still not getting pounded.

Both nice cartridges. Nice thing about .223 is the milsurp ammo available (these aren't varmit rounds being hardball) & the .243 doubles nicely for up to deer/antelope-sized critters.

If it was me (for what I do, not necessarily what you will), I'd go for the .243 (I'm a .243 snob) for a more all 'round caliber. It fills a niche between the .30 cals & .22s pretty handily.
 
What kind of varmits and how many? What distance? Within 200 yds, the .223 in an AR-15 setup can't be beat. Put in a 20-round magazine and top it with a scope and go to town. If you are talking about 500 yds consistently, the .243 is probably better suited, or for that matter, maybe a 6mm.
 
I shoot Rem. VS's in both calibers. (I swap the actions between my VLS stock and my VS stock.) Under 300 yds, the .223 is just one fine caliber. Negligible recoil and great reloading economics, with lots of bullet designs/weights available.

My .243 does fairly well with the 55-58-gr. varmint bullets, but performs best with bullets in the 70-75gr. size. If don't hunt deer, but if I did, I'd also be comfortable shooting deer with my .243.

If most of your shots are 300 yds and under, with some exceptions, and you can have only one caliber, (assuming we're just talking about varmints and targets), I'd go with the .223.

As has been previously said, neither will pound your shoulder, but you'll notice a little difference in recoil.
 
Thanks for the good advice and reccommendations.

As far as distance I would like to keep it around 300 meters but would also like to do some longer target shooting from time to time.

Also, the option of deer could come into play. I'm sure that a .223 will take a deer with the right shot. After all it's about shot placement right. :) But I would probably feel more comfortable doing a deer with the .243 round due to my shooting ability.

Rock Jock - I had considered the AR15 set up but it seems like you can purchase a nice bolt action in .223 for less than you can get an AR type gun. Do you think the .223 in a Model 70 would be more accurate long range than the AR set up?

Another thing I've noticed in ballistics tables is that the .223 has much more drop than does the .243 in the same bullet weight.

Labgrade, you are right, there are beaucoup bullets for the .223 out there and at a cheaper price than the .243. I will reload whichever caliber I get as this is cheaper for me and much more fun, especially when you find the load that the gun likes.

Thanks for the info.

sks
 
If deer are in the plans the .243 is the only way to go if you are only going to own one rifle. A .223 for deer is a little light and in some areas prohibited.

It also depends on what varmints you are hunting. Shooting all day in a prairie dog colony would get tiring with a .243 but for sporadic shots at coyotes or groundhogs it wouldn't be an issue.

Faced with the same question, I chose the .223 because I am familiar with the round and have a .270 Winchester for the bigger beasts.
 
I don't like to mess around with varmints. That's why I use the .50 BMG for the little buggers. Works quite nice!

Seriously,
I'd go for the .223 and be done with it. Ammo has got to be a lot cheaper in that cartrage so you can practice and shoot more!


CranialCrusader
 
My self, for little critters at 200 plus yards? A Bushmaster Vmatch or DPMS AR15. Now talk critters out past 300 and I would have to grab my Model 70 or M1A1 in .308.
Geez, I forgot. We are talking furry critters, right? Just kidding, I just shoot cardboard

MY Opinion, .243 is pricy to shoot and will be gone fast should anything happen. Go .223 and get a good .308 bolt gun. Ammo will always be cheap. You can get loads of cheap surplus for critters.
http://www.scharch.com has a deal on reloadable brass and bullets for both.
Karsten

[Edited by Karsten on 04-15-2001 at 11:14 AM]
 
If going with the "one gun" argument, I'd have to say .308 - you can always load down, tough to load up past a cartridge's capability.

If reloading, .243's got every use covered in bullet selection as does the .22 - within the range of capability of the cartridge. A "larger" selection is only a matter of semantics.

Obvious answer is (eventually) get a .223, .243 & a .308 - just like me. ;)
 
wow!!!!how can anyone make such a choice? I'm glad I don't have to make that choice....I have several calibers that I like for varmints such as the 223, 243, 22-250, 6mm PPC, 264 win mag. All but the 264 you can shoot all day long (recoil wise) and if you reload, all are cheap enough. I have shot crows, woodchucks and pararie dogs out to 650 yards with all of them. I've killed deer with the 264 & 243 but as my dear old grampa used to say .."you can kill a deer with a sling shot boy, it's all in whare ya hit em!!!!" Shot placement is the key here. Don't tell anyone but I shot a whitetail in the eye with a 22LR once and he dropped like a brick (back when I was young and needed to feed the kids, I would never condone anything illegal).But to get back to the problem here....get the 243 and reload for the type of shooting you want to do...and ENJOY!!!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top