I've only had #1's in older versions prior to Ruger making their own barrels (Wilson made them I think). They were a crapshoot. 1/3 were great, 1/3 okay, and 1/3 poor (or really bad). I kept a couple that shoot well. I have one in .243 as it happens. Often the first two shots overlap off a bench at 100 yards. If I give it time to cool it continues the good results. If not it opens up some though still pretty good results. That kind of accuracy is all you need for hunting.

I hope yours is even better than mine.

The other one I have is in 45/70.

Those sent down the road? One in .223 was the worst. A 30-06 which wouldn't group as nicely as a well worn Garand. 7 mm magnum that was not as bad as the others, but not good. Each one I told the person buying them the truth of it. Each told me they knew how to tune and clean up the results. I don't know if they were successful or not.

 

This ^^^^^^. An old friend and Ruger collector said bores could vary .003-.004 from tight to big.

 

A Remington 788 in 6mm Rem got rebuilt as this 6mm Creedmoor....

6mm Creedmoor is far more available than 6mm Rem. 24" Brux barrel turned by Brux to the same taper as the factory 6mm Rem.

 

I am partial to the 6mm. It edges out over the .243 in velocity, but it’s a little long for a really short action.

 

I had a .244 Remington Model 722 for awhile. Barrel was shot out on it, one of the few rifles I've ever seen with an honest to God shot out barrel... Old farmer had owned it and shot Prairie Dogs and Coyotes with it for 40 years or more, never cleaned it I don't think.... I bought the whole outfit- rifle, Weaver 4-12 Steel Tube, sling, reloading dies, brass and some bullets for $150, he was honest in selling it and said it "just wouldn't hit no more"....

I found a brand new Remington 700 .308 take off barrel in Shotgun News for $40-there was a custom rifle maker, used to sell the factory barrels stupid cheap, brand new with sights etc...Cleaned the old gun up--- refinished the stock and cut it down a bit to add a recoil pad, bedded it and added the new .308 barrel and hunted with it for several years. It shot very, very well and was a handly, fairly lightweight rifle. Loaned it to brother in law for a couple of years and he eventually bought it off me.

 

I am a hugh fan of the 6mm cartridges specifically the 243, I think the 6mm Rem is the slightly better design but Remington screwed the pooch when they initially released it with the slow twist barrel giving the 243 Win the win. If they had of used a fast twist like Winchester did I feel like the rolls would be reverse today. But then this has all been covered by writers for years.

 

I am a hugh fan of the 6mm cartridges specifically the 243, I think the 6mm Rem is the slightly better design but Remington screwed the pooch when they initially released it with the slow twist barrel...

Yes, and they did the exact same thing with the 260rem. They offered it in lower trim grades and with slow 1-10 barrels. If they had offered it in the BDL or CDL grades and with 1-8 TR barrels, 6.5cm might not exist today...

 

Right on esldude. those early no 1 were beautiful, but most barrels were just bad.

I kept one of the bad ones because, it is a 200th Year" model with XXXX wood and it is in 7x57 which was never cataloged in 1976 when I bought it new.

 

I’ve had many 243s and 6mm Rems & 2 (.244s). The difference in the two is not enough to put one over the other.
You would have to get extra technical and be bench rest shooting to see any difference. I have never shot a deer with a 243 or 6mm. I have poured thousands of rounds out of them at varmits. I run 85-87 gr bullets. In my opinion the 243 edges the 6mm by a hair. Running my Custom 98/ Douglas premium barrel, built in 1965 against REM 700v/ 6mm the 243 Wins. Shot my PB on range with 243 at Ghog a tad over 600yds. with 16x Redfield. A very memorable shot. I admit was a little luck involved. It’s not often we get shots over 400yds in my area. My PB on deer is just 250yds with a 308. Both the 243 & 6mm did 400 to 500yd shots easily. Only lemon I owned was a Rem 760 in 244 which I bought as deer gun. Like new bought in early 70s the rifle was near 20yrs old. Might as well be using shotgun with 00.

 

I've never had them but always liked reading about the 6mm Rem in Shooting Times etc. 4x years ago. I feel like it's about flip a coin between it and .243 for performance but I feel like 6mm is a Cadillac to .243's Chevrolet.

 

Between the two choices, I'd pick the 257 Roberts ;-)

 

I have done lots of one shot kills on deer with .243’s. I have 4 rifles in that caliber. For several years after a car wreck my neck wouldn’t take any heavier recoil without a trip to the chiropractor.

I understand the desire to own the rifle of your choice, and it is admirable to have that kind of hunting ethics. I have hunted years with a muzzleloader and have had good success. Now I hunt with a crossbow more than anything.

When I comes to hunting with a rifle though, I am going to opt for my bolt actions 9 times out of 10 over my single shot, just because deer don't always know they are dead till their in the bottom of a canyon or over the fence on an unfriendly land owner. I have had them run when hit well and a follow up was required to stop them within a reasonable distance.

I hunt with a .308 most of the time these days, it’s the last new rifle I bought. But I have zero problem hunting deer with my .243 Ruger 77 Hawkeye. And it is usually in camp in case I want to use it.

 

It's pretty much academic. I have a few 243s and like them. The 6mm can be a little faster, but at the expense of barrels going to pot a little sooner. The 1:12 244 was updated to 1:9 6mm. The 1:12 244 shoots Nosler 95 grain partitions fine, but 100s were barely stabilized in a couple friend's rifles. I shoot mostly 87 grain varmint bullets out of my 243s.

I got the first one because my friend was having trouble calling shots with 22-250 shooting chucks. You can burn the barrel out of either in an afternoon on a prairie dog town. Loaded 6mm ammo is kind of hard to find on the shelf.

I was shooting cucks with a friend and shot a colony that hadn't been shot in a long time. The rancher who invited us to come shoot his place went into town and bought every bit of 223 and 243 on the shelves when we about ran out. I ended up shooting chucks with Federal Premium loaded with 100 grain partitions that day.

I shot with a guy that had a 40X in 6mm back before the laser range finder days. It was a very good long range prairie dog rifle. Better way out there than my 22-250, but I was shooting the Sierra #1390 55 HPBT w/big gaping hollow points.

 

I have several rifles chambered in both, one a .243 red-pad Ruger 77 with what I believe is a Douglas barrel. As I’m reaching the age and stage in life where I’m beginning to scale down my operation and sell things off, keeping my 6mm Cooper - as much as I like the .243 Win chambering - is pretty much a no-brainer; and I have enough brass stashed away for it to last until i croak, lol.

 

For years I had a Ruger M77 tanger in .243 that went everywhere with me in my pickup. All I ever shot was the 100 grain Corelokt factory ammo. I shot coyotes a plenty, several feral hogs (including my first), and a few mule deer. I eventually inherited a Remington 700 .25-06 that did everything the .243 could and more.

To me there isn’t a finer choice for a combo varmint/deer rifle than a .243 Winchester. It is the cartridge that Newton always intended the .250-3000 to be; a mild recoiling rifle flinging a 100 grain bullet to ~2850 fps. Ammo and guns in .243 are as common as can be, and anyone can learn to shoot one well.

 

There was an older club member who lived by himself and didn’t have any family who thoroughly enjoyed going chuck shooting. I was shooting an Ultra Wildcat in 17 Remington and an 1958 Sako 222 out to about 400 yards and 22-250 from ~350 on out. He shot a little, but preferred spotting for me more than shooting himself. That worked out fairly well until he began having trouble seeing the bullets hit. I bought a factory HS Precision Kevlar stocked Model 70 SA Heavy Varmint in 243 and shot 87 grain V-max or 90 grain Ballistic Tip bullets and that made all the difference. When shooting with others it’s probably a toss up which I will take. I like both cartridges about equally well for that purpose.

Maybe the 6mm Remington has a bit of a velocity advantage, but I’ve shot next to them and have never felt I’d have been better served by a 6mm Remington.

 

The Savage 99 was chambered in both .243 Winchester and .250 Savage. I chose the .250 because the rifle it came in was well used and shot well. Ammunition IS harder to find though.

 

I don't believe there's any real difference between them. But if you're on a trip and for some reason need a box of ammo, you're far more likely to find .243's in even the smallest local stores.

 

both work thru a short action, but the 244/6mm Rem has about 4% more powder capacity.

My long range varmint gun is a 243 win Sako Heavy barely, bought in 1966. still goes out to 600-700 yards with a unertle 10x

 

This was another Winchester/Remington disputes where Winchester guessed right. I have a Remington 600 in 6mm that a GI friend of mine sent me from the Philippines, with 6x scope for $100 back in 1968. Ammo got too expensive if you can find it.

 

It almost appears the 6mm Remington and .250-3000 Savage are becoming obsolete. But the users of them know that they aren't.

In the Olde Days, established gun writers would pick a certain round and proclaim it the best choice because of reasons listed. Another writer would take issue and choose another as the true king. Camps for this or that would be made and good natured arguments would be made for why this was better than that.

I don't see that anymore. There are so many different rounds out there competing for what could be narrowed down to three or four - max.

 

I don't see that anymore. There are so many different rounds out there competing for what could be narrowed down to three or four - max.

Ain't it the truth, that is what I decided to do ages ago, narrow it down to a few with availability of the ammo being paramount. There a many new cartridges out that I think might be fun to try out but not at the expense it would take to do so. I would truly hate to be an ammo manufacturer having to decide which to produce.

 

In looking at new cartridges, I first check what existing round is closest. Take the population Creedmore, just duplicates the 6.5 Swed, the 260 Rem, or my 6.5-08. nothing new there!

 

If the only rifle/ caliber combination available was the .243, would anyone feel slighted? Versatility, accuracy, low recoil, economical, etc - what is there to want? And as has been stated, calibers in this category all do about the same thing - I would hate to have to live on the difference. Arguments or preferences in this category for most except for precision target shooting are academic for sure.