Barrel life of .243 and options

[Greg_Mid_TN]

I am having to look into downsizing the caliber of rifle that I shoot. Currently I have rifles in .30-06, .308, 7.62x54r, .30-30 and .22. When I go to shoot, I stay for several hours and shoot many rounds (until my shooter's grin gets big enough!).

 

As age and damaged shoulder begin to creep up on me, recoil is beginning to take some of the fun out of my sessions at the range. I love my bolt guns and especially my lever guns, but I want to continue to shoot longer ranges and the venerable .30-30 and .22 will only go so far.

 

So here is my conundrum. I'm thinking about picking up a bolt gun in a medium caliber (.243 is currently the high one on my list), but all my reading is making me leary of buying a rifle and having to replace the barrel after (worse case) 1500 rounds. I don't reload to pressure normally so I think my barrel life would be longer than that, but was wondering what you guys who own and shoot .243s have run into.

 

Should I consider a different caliber? I want to keep the recoil down, but still want the range.

 

Thanks,

 

Greg.

[mikegideon]

Get a 6BR with a long heavy barrel. Low recoil and lots of range. Most 6BR shooters roll their own, so ammo could be pricey and hard to find.

 

.243 has a reputation as a barrel burner. I have one, but rarely shoot it.

 

You could also look at putting a GOOD muzzle brake on your 30-06 or 308. You can mitigate lots of recoil that way. Adding weight to the gun is always helpful too. Again, long bull barrel.

Edited September 3, 2013 by mikegideon

[Jonnin]

download one of your existing rifles if you have a loader?  A lighter bullet and a lighter load will still go the distance to a point, how far are you wanting to shoot?  

I have never worn out a 243 but I don't shoot it that much.  I suspect it would take thousands of rounds if you loaded them modestly.

[mikegideon]

download one of your existing rifles if you have a loader?  A lighter bullet and a lighter load will still go the distance to a point, how far are you wanting to shoot?  

I have never worn out a 243 but I don't shoot it that much.  I suspect it would take thousands of rounds if you loaded them modestly.

 

Paragraph 3. He don't reload

[Greg_Mid_TN]

Actually I do reload :) Just meant that I don't load to pressure signs. I normally find the lightest load I can for accuracy. I haven't tried downloading yet, but it is an option. Was just thinking about scratching an itch for a new rifle!

 

6BR looks interesting, but I have a feeling I would open a whole new can of worms by taking it up to that level.

 

Greg.

[mikegideon]

Build a 90 grain .223 rifle. No recoil, and is good way past 600. You'll love the 6BR, BTW

[leroy]

Build a 90 grain .223 rifle. No recoil, and is good way past 600. You'll love the 6BR, BTW

Greg:  Mike's idea here aint a bad one... I'm an older coot and it seems to me that one time there wuz a wildcat cartridge that wuz essentially a 223 necked up to  6mm.   It may be called the 6 mm by 45.  Here is some poop from Chuck Hawks re: this idea:  http://www.chuckhawks.com/6mm_military_cartridge.htm  

There's lots of gibberish in this article but the idea in included in the content if ya dig a bit. 

 

I like the idea of usin the 223 brass because ya can find it very cheaply; but it requires ya to reload.  There is also the extra work of resizin and formin the brass; but the feed material is readily available.   I think a 6 mm X 223 would be a helluva custom bolt gun; very akin to  mikes idea of the 6 mmBR gun...  

 

Ya might want to look at just a plain jayne 223 bolt gun.   We've got a 1 in 12 twist bolt gun that will shoot all day long at 100yds; and ya can lay a dime over a 5 shot group (...if ya do your part...) and there is no wind.  I suspect the fast twist 22's will shoot a longer (...heavier...) bullet (....75, grain, 77 grain, 80 grain...) longer and just as well; and a 223 sure aint gonna wear out any barrel throats. 

 

Remember, the 243 is just a necked down 308.... Tnat's why they tend to wash the barrel throats out.    As i remember, the most liked 243 bullet is an 87 grainer.  It aint far from a 77 grain 223 to an 87 grain 243...  A wildcat 223 by 6 mm would get ya there too... And, i think at least, would be a helluva shooter... .

 

Random musings from an old coot .... Have fun.

 

leroy

Edited September 4, 2013 by leroy

[trevorst]

1500 rounds would be a good average of a .243 barrel life. 260 rem is a better distance cartridge and a little easier on barrel life (can neck up all of your .243 brass also).

I like the idea of heavy .223 bullets in a 1/7 twist barrel (I have one, its fun). Distance wise or from an energy standpoint on game it's not in the same ball park as a .243/260/257, one plus though is 25ish grains of powder vs 45ish.

(Love the idea of the .25 calibers, although the 25-06 is a beast (and I truly have a soft spot in my heart for it) it's a barrel eater also... 257 Roberts is nice but never cared for the .25 bullet choices.)

Look into the 6.5 offerings you may be surprised at some of the articles and reviews. Edited September 4, 2013 by trevorst

[Caster]

Cast for it. Throw about a 100g cast boolit over 10.0g of unique and the rifle will last longer than your great grand kids.

[peejman]

6BR is a good one.  A friend has a rifle in 6BR that put three bullets into 1 hole at 200 yds.  I think they called it a 1/4" group.  Ammo isn't cheap.

 

I'd look at a high speed .22.   .223, .22-250, .204 Ruger, etc. 

[gregintenn]

If you can afford enough ammunition to wear out a 243 barrel, the price of a replacement barrel is quite minimal in comparison.

[dcloudy777]

Buy a Savage .243... they're a darn good rifle, they're cheap, and you could rebarrel one with a pipe wrench and a dummy cartridge if you needed to. 

[mikegideon]

If you can afford enough ammunition to wear out a 243 barrel, the price of a replacement barrel is quite minimal in comparison.

 

That depends on the barrel. If you shoot out a high end barrel after 1500 hand loads, even using good bullets, you're gonna feel the sting.

[Luke E.]

I think .243 gets the "barrel burner" rep from folks shooting at the lighter faster end of the spectrum. You can load 100gr way down in the 2000's and you can also load 52gr bullets up around 4000fps. Something tells me the man shooting those hot 52gr loads is going to burn one a lot quicker than the man loading the 100gr bullets. If kept within normal speeds I believe you will find that it will wear much closer to that of other calibers that you are comparing to. I love my .243 and it is possibly one of the most versatile cartridges out there IMO. I can't speak for the barrel life as i've not shot enough to know yet but mine has seen more heavy bullet loads than anything else so i'm not to worried.  

[deadeye111]

I toured the Sierra Bullet factory in Sedalia, MO a couple of years ago and part of the tour was the tunnel where they shoot the bullets from a lot number for accuracy. They use a stationary Universal receiver and change barrels depending on the caliber. I got to watch as they fired a group for accuracy and I asked about barrel life. The tech said for the most part they got about 3500 rounds through the barrels before they got a flier and had to replace the barrel. I didn't ask about the amount of powder used but doubt they load light. I would think they use the accuracy load listed in the Sierra manual but could be wrong. Edited September 11, 2013 by deadeye111

[glockster157]

I doubt anyone is going to shoot out a 243 barrel unless you live near a prairie  dog town. I love to shoot bolt guns but I doubt that I will shoot more than 50 rounds through any bolt gun in a year.  

[Luke E.]

I doubt anyone is going to shoot out a 243 barrel unless you live near a prairie dog town. I love to shoot bolt guns but I doubt that I will shoot more than 50 rounds through any bolt gun in a year.

I know a lot of others put more through their bolt guns than I do and I can put 30-40 rounds through just my .243 in a range trip and I usually shoot pistols, semi auto rifles and bolt rifles.

[trevorst]

I stated that 1500 rounds was a good average but I personally know someone that had a rem700 open up from sub MOA to about 6 MOA over the span of 700 rounds. That's not a lot of shooting really and those were done with moly coated bullets... To this day he still jokes that the 700 in the rem 700 stands for good for that many rounds.

Personally I would just re barrel when the group starts to open (and a savage makes this ohhhh so much easier). For a reloaders though there are better cartridges available than .243 with little to no recoil and better ballistics.

[Greg_Mid_TN]

I stated that 1500 rounds was a good average but I personally know someone that had a rem700 open up from sub MOA to about 6 MOA over the span of 700 rounds. That's not a lot of shooting really and those were done with moly coated bullets... To this day he still jokes that the 700 in the rem 700 stands for good for that many rounds.

Personally I would just re barrel when the group starts to open (and a savage makes this ohhhh so much easier). For a reloaders though there are better cartridges available than .243 with little to no recoil and better ballistics.

 

What calibers would you suggest? I reload everything I shoot (except rimfire), so I'm willing to give just about anything a try.

[gregintenn]

223?

[trevorst]

I am telling you 260 rem or 6.5creedmore is the perfect distance rifle, very low recoil, good barrel life, bullets cheaper than .30. At distance the 260 rem is ballistically comparable to 300 win mag without the recoil.

http://www.snipercentral.com/260.htm


Easy to make brass from .243 7mm-08, or .308. Lapua makes brass now for it.... 6.5mm bullets have a great selection and in tough times are much easier to find than the .308, inherently accurate. Creed more is easier to shoot the longer vld bullets but brass is my issue.

My 14 year old shoots my 260 with ease, my 8year old has shot it.....i can see impacts from my semi auto 260 and my bolt. 800 yd shots with it are pie compared to .308 and trying to shoot a .223 those long ranges unless you live in a vacuum is an exercise in futility.
The 260 shooting a 140gr bullet at 2700fps is still supersonic at 1400 yards.... The round will do everything you want to do and then some.

Go find a savage .260 and reap the rewards.


******if you don't reload then the 243 isn't a bad choice******* Edited September 14, 2013 by trevorst