Author Topic: 243 For Varmint Hunting?? (Read 3362 times)

Minnesota1 · « **on:** May 12, 2008, 07:34:29 AM »

I have a Tikka 243 win. sitting in my safe and I love it for deer hunting. I have been thinking about getting a varmint rifle, other than my 223. I've been contemplating a 220 swift, 22-250, 22-250 AI, etc. I guess I never really thought of my 243 for varmint hunting!

Does anyone use their 243's for this? If so, what kind of results do you get and up to what distance? What type of bullets do you use? I've only shot 100 gr. bullets out of mine so I'm not sure about others. I do reload. Any pet loads? Will the bullets blow a huge hole in the pelts? I guess I don't care too much about that but the more I see coyote and bobcat mounts the more I think that wouldn't be bad to have one. I'd like to shot any varmints-large or small and fuzy! Anything you want to say or share on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Bob

rex6666 · « **Reply #1 on:** May 12, 2008, 09:51:30 AM »

I personally have never used my 243 for varmints, but know folks that use them religiously
from what i here the use 85gr bullets and talk of 4-500 yard shots. Don't see why the 243 wouldn't be
perfect.

221fireball · « **Reply #2 on:** May 12, 2008, 06:27:22 PM »

I've used 6mm rem for years. The 243 dia bullet is great i had great results out of rem powerlokt 80 gr. You can use any from 55gr to 87gr. Hornady makes the 87gr v-max that's a good choice. range out to 400yds. You need to work your own load up for you gun. like they say every gun is different.

Glanceblamm · « **Reply #3 on:** May 13, 2008, 02:15:00 AM »

Those Varmint's can be hunted with impunity and at any range but the Predators are a different story...
Once you get your calling skills honed it is not too uncommon to get the Predators at or under 100yds keeping light calling and coaxing in mind and the .22 Centerfire is great.
That .243, she is getting kind of hot in the interest of fur...Should be great for the longer range shots under windy conditions though.

petemi · « **Reply #4 on:** May 13, 2008, 01:42:30 PM »

I'm not into pelts, but dedicated to varmint and pest control. I use everything I own from .45-70 to .22-250. My .308 is probably the most reliable. I don't have a problem poping a fox with an 06. The deader the better. It's kind of early to tell for sure, but I believe the .308 is proving to be more accurate over long distance than the .22-250. It is usually windy here, and I believe that is most of it.

I don't mean to come on as a hard case, but I'm a farmer, with cattle, horses, chickens and dogs and cats. Varmints for me a just trouble. We have bears (two here yesterday), wolves, now cougars, coyotes, fox, skunk, raccoon, woodchucks , porcupines and weasels. It is almost a constant battle. That doesn't include the starlings and pigeons always trying to nest in your barns.

Willie496 · « **Reply #5 on:** May 13, 2008, 02:50:49 PM »

We shoot the Ultra Varmint H&R 243. 75 grain V max factory loads out to 250 yards.
Harris bi-pod swivel mount with a 3-9X40 Cabela's Alaskan guide premium. Great shooter.

Catfish · « **Reply #6 on:** May 15, 2008, 12:44:18 PM »

The .243 makes a great varmint rifle. I have varmint rifles in cal`s. from the .17 AH to the .257 AI. and they all kill varmints. The larger bores with higher BC bullets drift less in the wind. With the lite bullets the .243 is a sizzler. I saw a coyote hit with a 55 gn. bullet from a .243. hit a rib going in and nearly cut it in 1/2. That coyote qualify as deader.

alleyyooper · « **Reply #7 on:** May 19, 2008, 08:43:56 AM »

I use a 243 on youtes some times. I hand load sierra 85gr. HPBT game king bullets with IMR 4350 powder for every thing from crows to deer . Awsome results .

Al

flintlock · « **Reply #8 on:** May 19, 2008, 03:11:54 PM »

My .243 is the only centerfire I own, it's used for everything...

Depending on my mood, I use the Federal Premium 85gr HPBT Sierra GameKing or the 100gr Remington CoreLokt...I've shot it enough to know that the CoreLokt is 2 inches high at 100 and the 85gr is 2 1/2 high at 100 and windage is dead on...

I've killed crows, groundhogs, wild dogs, foxes, deer, bear, coyotes, coons, wild pigs and other varmints...As far as pelts, I don't keep them...

With the 85gr, I'm about 3 inches low at 300 yards, dead on at 250...With the CoreLokt, I'm dead on at about 225, 2 inches low at 250 and 6 inches low at 300...

jdwolf · « **Reply #9 on:** May 23, 2008, 10:55:16 AM »

Quote from: petemi on May 13, 2008, 01:42:30 PM

I'm not into pelts, but dedicated to varmint and pest control. I use everything I own from .45-70 to .22-250. My .308 is probably the most reliable. I don't have a problem poping a fox with an 06. The deader the better. It's kind of early to tell for sure, but I believe the .308 is proving to be more accurate over long distance than the .22-250. It is usually windy here, and I believe that is most of it.

I don't mean to come on as a hard case, but I'm a farmer, with cattle, horses, chickens and dogs and cats. Varmints for me a just trouble. We have bears (two here yesterday), wolves, now cougars, coyotes, fox, skunk, raccoon, woodchucks , porcupines and weasels. It is almost a constant battle. That doesn't include the starlings and pigeons always trying to nest in your barns.

I wish I lived close to you. I'd be more than happy to bring my AR15 over and help you out with your varmint & predator problem. Do you live in Southern Illinois?

MOGLEY · « **Reply #10 on:** May 24, 2008, 05:06:20 AM »

Remington 700 243 shooting 75 gr v-max. Shooting crows at 420 yards. Coyotes would seem like shooting elephants!! Awesome accurate. I think the 243 is largely underrated. 58 gr noslers would not shoot worth a darn so there is a limit. If it is windy where you are, I would opt for the 243 w/ 75 v-max over the 22-250.

MOGLEY · « **Reply #11 on:** May 24, 2008, 05:10:51 AM »

For the starlings and pigeons, Get a 17 mach 2. What a hoot to shoot. That small bullet will vaporize a starling and turn the inside of pigeons to jello and not be a ricochet problem. Laser accurate. I constantly amaze me with the shots I take and what dies at distances up to a 100 yards. I shot a small squirrel who decided to sit on my 100 yard target............ he won't do that again!!!

Turk · « **Reply #12 on:** June 06, 2008, 01:17:56 AM »

jdwolf wrote:

Quote

I'm not into pelts, but dedicated to varmint and pest control. I use everything I own from .45-70 to .22-250. My .308 is probably the most reliable. I don't have a problem poping a fox with an 06. The deader the better. It's kind of early to tell for sure, but I believe the .308 is proving to be more accurate over long distance than the .22-250. It is usually windy here, and I believe that is most of it.

What bullet are you using for your 308? I get really good accuracy with a Speer 125 TNT bullet. My rifle is a tact driver Springfield M-1A Super Match and I have to agree the 308 may be underated for Varmint.

Turk

jordisonkevin · « **Reply #13 on:** March 24, 2009, 11:26:47 PM »

I love my .243 for shooting coyotes. I started off loading up some lighter bullets like a 58 grain hollow point but it blew the hides all to shreds. After that I just used the 95 grain noslers that I use on deer. I get more practise in for deer season and as long as I don't hit to many bones it dosn't normally leave to big of an exit hole.

Orddy · « **Reply #14 on:** April 27, 2009, 07:30:24 AM »

I now have an AR in 243wssm......it's the ultimate long range pasture poodle blaster.......i wished i'd had this 20 years ago. I use 70 grainers for mid range and 85's for the longer stuff beyond 750 yds........what a round this is proving out to be. Friday there must have been a million pasture poodles out.......well......there is now just under a million there.......i got me a bunch of them and didn't even make a dent. Time to reload and get ready for the next bout with them.........

Silvertp · « **Reply #15 on:** April 27, 2009, 08:29:02 AM »

Ive shot a lot of critters with a 6mm and with the right bullets I think they are a great cartridge for anything from gophers to black bear. Ive also pointed a lot of coyotes "toward the bright light" with the 6.

If you want to accumulate a high body count on a wide range of varmits / predators then get your .243 out of the safe and warm up the barrel.

If you even remotely think you want to do something with the pelts (coyote or bobcat) then I'd recommend leaving the the 243 in the truck and use the .223. My experience with the 6 on these predators is your gonna make a big hole, or worse yet blow the critter in two. The .223 can be a great pelt rifle.

Silvertp

helotaxi · « **Reply #16 on:** April 29, 2009, 02:29:55 PM »

If you're worried about pelts, a well placed Barnes banded solid should be just the thing.

I've shot targets (soda bottles) with my .243 that I danced all around with my .223 at 250-300 yds. The bottle was just plain gone after the first shot every time. This is after multiple misses with the .223. Especially true in the wind. Bullet choice in the .243 hasn't been that critical for me as I've been building coyote loads and don't care about the pelts. 58gn Vmax have been really nice as have the 62gn Varmint Grenades over Reloader 19.

mjbgalt · « **Reply #17 on:** May 31, 2009, 06:18:58 AM »

i use mine with 85 grain sierra hollowpoints for everything, does a great job.

-Matt

gube · « **Reply #18 on:** July 01, 2009, 07:07:04 PM »

The 62 gr varmint grenades and the 75 gr V-max have been my main staple for varminting with my 243, T3 light. I use it on gophers, crows, ravens, magpies, and yotes. When the barrel gets to warm, I pull out my 204's. I have 3 of them now, with the latest one being a T3 light.
The 243 is pretty hard on fur though. I smacked a yote with a varmint grenade a couple of weeks ago at about 150 yds and it basically disembowled him.

For powders with the 243, I prefer Varget and H-4350

billy_56081 · « **Reply #19 on:** July 02, 2009, 01:04:43 AM »

The 55 grain ballistic tips near 4000 fps work pretty good on varmints and predators.

sscoyote · « **Reply #20 on:** July 11, 2009, 11:52:33 PM »

My 1st true long-range coyote rig was a 700 SA 6mmAI. Could never get the 87 V-Max to shoot, but the 87 Horn. HPBT did < MOA all the way out to 800 yds. on the calm days. It wasn't a bad combination since the bullet seemed to fly true to that BC--.38. Used a 6-24x Burris Sig, with Ball. MD reticle and it was 1 of my best long-rangers so far.

I'm into the SP's though for coyotes now and my next long-range post fur season rig will be an XP-100 in 243, hoping once again to get the 87 V-max to shoot (the highest BC dedicated varmint bullet made at .4). After that barrel goes it will be the best long-range walking coyote combination ever (i think) the same XP in 243/7-8 twist barrel and the 117 DTAC bullet, and when i run out of those it'll be the 105 A-Max. Ill be using a special MOA reticle that's gonna be coming out soon in a 6.5-20x FFP Leupold Mk. 4...if i have the $ for it.

I have used a Savage Striker 243 WSSM and 115 DTACs on coyotes beyond 500 yds. and had 2 one-shot kills at those ranges using a 4.5-14x VX-III/Varmint Hunter's reticle/elevation turret.