The .243 vs the .308

[Arnold S]

I recently did some research on calibers, writing some comparisons about different rounds. Next to a few others I compared the .243 vs the .308.

Covering the main aspects of both rounds, I would be interested in hearing what you are using which caliber for and in which situation you prefer one over the other.

No matter if you hunt or just use them on the range, if you shot both, let me know how they performed for you.

[dgludwig]

Oranges and tangerines. The differences are subtle yet real, but only in extreme circumstances when trajectory, bullet weight and size and penetration play a decisive role. I would argue that in most typical hunting situations, the differences don't matter much but with these caveats: for varmints, the .243 is better; for black bear, the .308 is better-with the understanding that the .243 will handily kill a black bear and the .308 would be fine for coyotes.
One bottom line might be if a shooter is especially sensitive to recoil, the .243 might be the better choice-unless you're going bear hunting.

[PatientWolf]

I have taken deer with both effectively-both Savage bolt actions. I found both to be very accurate for me. I also have experience with a model 88 lever action in .308, but it's been so long, I honestly can't remember how accurate it was for me.

The one I prefer most is the one in my hands at the time.

[Arizona Fusilier]

In my battery, the .308 is 1. an elk gun 2. back up deer rifle, but only in pursuit of western mulies, and 3. Main Battle Rifle.

The .243 is 1. Long range Varmint/predator gun 2. Antelope gun (never been drawn....but that's what I would take) and 3. Emergency foraging round.

Do I get a prize?

[Art Eatman]

For me, my two pet deer rifles have been a .243 carbine and a long-barreled '06. I've tagged two dozen bucks with each. I've generally reserved the .243 for when I don't expect shots beyond 200 yards. The '06 for probable need in Ma Bell country.

FWIW, both are reliably sub-MOA.

[Don Fischer]

I don't think it's possible to do a fair opinion on them. I've got both. I've killed three deer in my life with a 243, all one shot kills. I think that as a big game cartridge the 243 make's a great predator/varmint cartridge. And I've shot varmints and predator's with 308 and as a varmint predator cartridge, it make's a very good big game cartridge. If you went up to the 260 and 7mm-08, things would change for me. I've never shot either but have and and do now several 6.5x55's and a few 7x57. Both can do pretty much anything the 308 can do and do it with less recoil. But they do it with less velocity than the 308 when using equal wt bullet's. I think the 308 really pulls away on them when you get to the 165gr and 180gr bullet. In fact I'd even fooled with the 200gr 30 cal bullet. A good choice for really big game at reasonable distances. It's not really about the cartridge's them selves, it's about the bullet's they have available!

[jmr40]

Honestly, they are a lot closer than most people think. Or at least can be if the 243 barrels are twisted for bullets in the 100-110 gr range. If your 243 is limited to 85-90 gr bullets then there are noticeable differences in usefulness. The 243 with modern bullets is just about ideal for deer size game and with the best bullets 100 gr+ is certainly acceptable for elk, black bear and moose size game.

The 308 in reality is bordering on too big for deer and a little better option for elk, black bear and moose. I admit to having a little more confidence in 308 when bigger game is hunted, but if a 243 were the only rifle I owned I'd use it on all the same game animals I'd use a 308 for. When you start talking about 1000+ lb. animals that bite back neither would be on my preferred list.

Bullet weight is not the determining factor in penetration, in fact heavier bullets can often be detrimental to penetration. It is bullet LENGTH in relation to diameter as well as CONSTRUCTION that determine penetration. Within the same caliber heavier is always longer and penetrates better. But when comparing different calibers things often get interesting.

A 150 gr 308 bullet is 50% heavier than a 100 gr 243 bullet, but a 150 gr .308 bullet is short and stubby, a 100 gr 243 bullet is long in relation to diameter. And assuming the same construction a 243 bullet over 100 gr will out penetrate a 150 from a 30 caliber. You have to go up to 180 gr 308 bullets to get even slightly more penetration than a 105 gr 243.

[ozarkhillbilly]

The 243 will do 95% of what a 308 will do with less recoil. For that other 5% you want the 308, but if all you do is take deer size game then go with the 243.

[jrothWA]

presented a youth hunt and a twelve-year old with a .243.
He shot a 12pt buck @ 180 yds(?) "down the throat" , and flipped the buck over on its back, DRT!

Very capable for those know how to use it.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

I wouldn't depend on a 243 to stop a charging black bear. I tried doing just that only once. That very evening having 5- empty 243 brass in hand to show my wife and the 512-lb boar hanging on a gamble in my garage shot 5 times in its face & head and 3 times thru its ribs by another hunting party member who also observed the bears charge. My 13 yr old son sitting on the tail gate of my Fathers pick-up and I leaning up against the Box side panel talking to the kid in the middle of a grown over hay field. That bear was on a lickety-split bee line for my 13 yr old when I seen it coming. "Thank Goodness." the boar dropped dead not 25 yards away from us two by the other hunter. I was taken back how fast the bear was. It must have set its sights on us two than ran across a county black top road and covered 150 yards of over grown hay field in less than 2 minuets. Non Stop thru the freshly fallen knee high snow the night before. Bear resembling a high speed locomotive pushing snow off its tracks with a V blade plow. __ Been in some pretty tight situations back in the late 60s but non of those dangerous events compares to a BIG bears determined to get ya charge.

My handy dandy 243 was retired to a wall rack that very evening and hasn't been shot or taken to the field in 30 years nor will I allow some other family or friend tote it afield.
Don't own a 308 anything. Don't have any ambition to own such cartridge rifle. Although I do have something equivalent. {300 Savage.} Never had to track any size deer shot by my 300 Savage very far in the forty plus years I've toted it afield..(maybe one or two went 50 yards Max) most collapsed where they stood.

308 & 30-06 shot deer I {can't} say the same. Lots of scenery I tracked many a wounded deer thru shot by both cartridges being plugged by some other hunter . Not yards. Miles on a couple occasions.

[Geezerbiker]

I have both and I like each of them for what they do best. If you can't afford both, get one now and the other one down the road...

Seriously can a man have too many rifles?

Tony

[kraigwy]

I like both. I built my wife a Model 70 in 243. Outstanding deer/antelope round, super accurate. She uses for hunting, though more then capable we don't use it for target shooting. I was her varmint rifle also until she went with the 204 Ruger.

I have several 308s but use them for targets. In 308 I mostly shoot my Heavy Match M1A or Model 70 target. Though capable, both are a bit too heavy for my liking as hunting rifles.

My son just bought a Ruger Precision Rifle in 308. Last fall he got deer, antelope, and an elk. It worked will on the elk but personally I think the 308 is a bit overkill on deer and antelope.

The 308 is my primary target round. For hunting, I use a 257 Rbts for deer/antlope and the 270 Win for elk.

For a long range hunting round (deer/antelop) the 243 would be hard to beat. I tried my 6.5 CM last year, found it destroys too much meat so I'm going back to my 257. My wife came to the same conclusion. After using her 6.5 CM, she's opted to go back to her 243.

If on was to only have one rifle, and didn't hunt elk, the 243 would be a good choice. If he also hunted elk, the 308 would be the choice (of the two), but should choose his bullets wisely for the smaller deer/antelope class animals.

Both would be excellent target or hunting rounds. If one couldn't choose, the 6.5s would be a good compromise . But that wasn't one of the choices.

[MarkCO]

Have several .243s, a few .260s and a few .308s. Sold the 7mm-08. I use .338-06 for elk and larger.

I actually prefer the .243Win over the .260 and 6.5CM for targets and medium game. I have shot a lot of Coyotes, Prairie Dogs, Hogs and Pronghorn with the .243 out to close to 800 yards. I shoot in in matches as well.

My boys shot their first big game animals with a .308 (Deer and Elk) but use .30-06 for elk and the .243 for Deer on down. My .308 bolt gun rarely gets shot and my AR pattern gets shot about once a year at the He-Man Nationals.

Only one gun? I would likely choose a 6.5 or 7mm over the .308. Two guns, a .243 and something in .33 caliber would be my preference. Any caliber can be accurate enough, what makes the difference to me in hunting is retained energy downrange and having plenty of velocity for targets.

[Dufus]

A 243 Win will burn out a barrel way before a 308 Win will. Experience has taught me this.

[T. O'Heir]

There is no ".243 vs the .308". Any more than there is a .308 vs .30-06. Or any other cartridge.
The .243 is for up to deer sized game including black bear. Bullets up to 115's are available, thanks mostly to the bench rest guys. Nothing bigger than 105's when I started with the cartridge. The .308 will kill any game in North America including big bears. With the right bullet.
"...sensitive to recoil..." Means use a semi-auto.
"...243 Win will burn out a barrel..." Absolute myth. And a false myth at that.
"...to stop a charging black bear..." A .458 Win won't do that. Nor will a 12 gauge slug.
"...my Heavy Match M1A..." We had a Super Match in .243 in the shop, long ago. Sat forever until this young guy with too much money came along. The guy went CF regs a few years later and almost got mobbed when he walked into a Montreal gun show with it over his shoulder.

[zipspyder]

I've shot both and would always chose the .308 for the fact that you can always use recoil reducing loads for kids/women in a .308 while jumping up to Elk and Moose caliber loads when needed. I do agree it's more where you place the bullet than the caliber but I'm old school in that regard.

[Arnold S]

Thanks for all the input, I really appreciate it!

[Rmart30]

Have multiples in both. But split the difference and use my 7mm08 more than them.

[TimW77]

" But split the difference and use my 7mm08 more than them."

Was a day or 2 from ordering a 7mm-08...

Until I "discovered" the .260 Rem. Somehow I totally missed the introduction of this cartridges.

The 6.5mm cartridges are almost exactly HALF way between .308" and .224" cartridges...

T.

[flashhole]

I don't see any sense in owning either caliber but have had and sold both over the years.

The 243 won't do anything in varmint land that the 22 cal cartridges can't do better.

The 308 was designed to kill people. Since I don't shoot at people I prefer other calibers for game I eat.

[dgludwig]

The 308 was designed to kill people. Since I don't shoot at people I prefer other calibers for game I eat.

I guess the .30-06 is also on your "not for hunting" cartridge list.

[flashhole]

You might think that odd but yes. I'm not a 30 caliber fan. I like and use 7mm and 45 caliber rifles.

[dgludwig]

I wasn't referencing caliber size. I was addressing your stated aversion to hunt with calibers "designed to kill people". Guess what your stated caliber preferences (7mm-as in Mauser and .45-as in .45-70 Government) were originally intended for...

[flashhole]

Good point but these are not the most popular calibers in today's genre of shooting.

I hunt.

I explore inefficiencies of different calibers.

I see no practical use for 30 cal cartridges for hunting.

I understand you can make a case for the 30-30, 30-06 and 308 and other cartridges.

My personal belief and opinion is there are better choices for hunting. That includes better rifle choices.

Regarding the 45-70, I think it is the single most versitile cartridge on the planet for hunting. Even though that was not its origin.

And ... I respect others opinions.

[dgludwig]

Even though that was not its origin.

But that's the only point I'm trying to make! You said:

The 308 was designed to kill people. Since I don't shoot at people I prefer other calibers for game I eat.

And now you seem to be saying that a "caliber" originally "designed to kill people" (the 45-70 Government) is one of your favorite calibers and is one of the best cartridges on earth for hunting.

I'm not understanding why, in your mind, that the .308 cartridge is inappropriate for hunting because it was developed to kill people, yet the .45-70 Government cartridge, also developed for the purpose of killing people, is the best caliber ever for hunting.

And...I also respect others' opinions-but I have to understand them first.