This .243 is a RINGER!!! [.243 AMMO TEST]

When Warren Page design the 243, he clearly told Winchester before they released it in 1955 that it was designed to kill by it's speed (not by it's grain weight of bullet) and in order to achieve this it needed to ran through a 24 inch (or longer) barrel. He strickly said the weight of the bullets themselves should be kept below 95 grains to help achieve the higher speed and 80 to 90 grains was the sweet spot. Because of it being a smaller diameter caliber, anything less than a 24 inch barrel doesn't allow enough room for it to burn up all it's larger 308 parent case powder. Shorter barrels end up wasting a lot of the powder by igniting it outside of the barrel (this is why short barrel 243s are so loud and throw such a large fireball). This causes it to loose a lot of it's speed and if your running heavy grain bullets it looses even more speed. I did whitetail depredation work for a lot of years and a 24 inch barrel 243 with 80 grain softpoints was devestating. Running 3350fps with that combo would bust both shoulders on a deer at 300 yards and honestly anchored them just as good as my 308s and almost as good as my 300 Win Mag. The majority of nightmare stories you here from hunters about how they loose deer with their 243 simply don't know the correct way to run it. A lot of rifle makers out there would rather appeal to the overall market as far as youth guns, compact guns, light brush guns, etc and don't follow it's true design guidelines in their models (offering longer barrels). However, if you run it fast and light it will shock you just how good a 243 will anchor deer and even larger game. Run the barrels longer and keep those grain weights down and it becomes a whole new beast👍

The .243 Win is the Sportster of the hunting world. Everyone says they either starteds with it, or their kids or wife shoots it. Undervalued and underated. This is really anyone needs for most deer hunting in the south. I'm as guilty as anyone else though... I got my wife a Savage Axis II youth model (in the pretty pink camo) in .243 and she got a doe with it. First time hunting for her. She used the same Federal blue box that you shot here. Thanks for the video.

I love the Minnie Pearl throwback with the tag still hanging on the gun!

The .243 Winchester is such an awesome caliber too. Talk about versatility!

Nice to see the .243 just an awesome round. My dad loved it used it for everything with great success. I being a dumb kid 45 years ago thought I needed more, I get it now Dad was right all along. Thanks for the video.

I use the 80 grain Federal ammo in my CVA Scout 243 rifle. It's a beast! Excellent ammo.

Great video,i Learnt to shoot with a 1963 Winchester 243, in 1976 as a 10 year old.🇦🇺👍

My 243 loves the Nosler Partition 100gr. All I’ve ever hunted with.

Boo yer.... finally got my first deer ever. .243 100 grain Winchester super X. Thanks for the video mate

Really appreciate you doing videos on hunting rifle cartridges. The .243 will always have a place in my heart

My first center fire rifle was a .243 model 70 I bought on an auction. Still one of my favorite rifles. Deer, pronghorn, groundhogs and coyotes. It’s dropped a lot of game in over 40 years

I've had real good experience with Federal blue box in various calibers and rifles. Great showing today!

BTW - Weatherby Vanguard is a Howa 1500 with the Weatherby name on it. They are Japanese made. Basically the same gun. Both are great shooting rifles that are very affordable. Thanks for the great videos!

I had a Savage 110 in .243. Could shoot sub-MOA all day long. Didn't matter what ammo. Loved going to the 200 yd range and pulling in sub 1" groups with my cheap Pentax scope. I put a Boyd thumb-hole stock on it and customized it to fit my hand, then modded the Accu-Trigger to feather light pull. Miss that gun...

I have this exact same rifle with 22" barrel. Mine loves the Federal Fusion 95 grain. Great trigger. Easily sub MOA. A super accurate rifle!

Great video! Well done! Most 243 rifles I have seen are shooters. They usually aren't too ammo picky either. It's a great caliber. My Marlin X7 243 shoots sub 1/2 MOA all day long with the Sierra Game King 85gr HP and a mid range load of IMR 4350. One of the most accurate centerfire rifles I own. Like your Howa, mine seems to like those 80gr-85gr bullets. They will get the job done, too. The 243 is a Hall of Fame cartridge in my opinion.

Excellent video showcasing the good old .243.... A great deer catching machine! Thanks WTW!!

My Howa loves the Federals as well.

I wouldn’t be a bit afraid to slam a whitetail with that 80 grainer ol buddy great video .👍

.243 is probably the most popular centrefire hunting rifle over here in the UK , great for everything from foxing to deer . Virtually every gun shop I've set foot in usually have a good selection of .243 and ammo for it . Thanks for the video always good to see something I'm fairly familiar with . Catch You next time , Shoot Straight Stay Safe & Stay Well.