RL .243

[kcdusk]

My brother in law is a gun nut. Went down the range at Christmas time and his hunting rifle is a .243 (goat, rabbit, fox, deer).

I was shooing a basic .22 at 50 meters and then 100 meters. At 100 meters, it took me 6 shots to figure out i was falling a bit short. Adjusted, and then hit a twirler (about the same size as the bottom of a coke can) 4 out of 5 times.

Anyway. The .243 shot at the twirler which is 8mm steel. And punched right through it from 100m. So although only a .22 or close to it, this thing would put a person down in real life, yes? And a car door would not be something to hide behind!

[Sanjuro]

The .243 round is not only slightly larger calibre than the .22, but a considerably longer bullet with a hugely more powerful propellant. Compare the Wikipedia pages:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.243_Winchester
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.22_Long_Rifle

In muzzle energy terms, .243 delivers between 8 and 20 times the energy; the bullet is more aerodynamic so more stable at increased ranges, with a flatter trajectory. That doesn't mean the .22LR cannot be lethal- in fact it can kill at far longer distances than it is accurate- but it cannot be relied on.

[unkated]

The .243 was developed as a necked down .308 cartridge. So it's has quite a punch. Its bullet obver the years (since the original 1955) has become heavier (5.5 gm to 10+), balanced by slightly lower muzzle velocity.

Plugging its values (including those for a Ruger American in .243) into the T2K formula, it's seems comparable to a 5.56 NATO round.

I'd say the lighter rounds would be morelikely to wound than kill; the heavier end more likely to kill.

A simple way of looking at it is if it can bring down a medium sized deer, it will work on a man.

Uncle Ted

[unkated]

Originally Posted by unkated

The .243 was developed as a necked down .308 cartridge. So it's has quite a punch. Its bullet obver the years (since the original 1955) has become heavier (5.5 gm to 10+), balanced by slightly lower muzzle velocity.

Minor correction; the bullet weight doe snot vary quite that much:

55 grains to 105 grains (3.56 gm to 6.8gm). The lighter end are "good for varmints" - groundhog, rabbits, etc; the heavier ones for deer.

As a T2K weapon (first decimal added to show differences)

Ruger American Rifle (.243 Win) - 2.84 Kg (6.25 lbs) Bulk 5 Mag 4 internal
.243 Win (75gr/4.5 gm): Dmg: 2.8 Pen: 2-4-6 Rcl: SS: 5.4 Rng: 45
.243 Win (105gr/6.8 gm): Dmg: 2.7 Pen: 2-4-6 Rcl: SS: 5.2 Rng: 45
in either case, played as
.243 Win: Dmg: 3 Pen: 2-4-6 Rcl: SS: 5 Rng: 45

[pmulcahy11b]

I've long been thinking about treating the .243 (along with the .270) as a magnum for range, but the bullets are so light, I can't see any extreme or long-range accuracy -- the bullets would get blown around fairly easily.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by unkated

A simple way of looking at it is if it can bring down a medium sized deer, it will work on a man.

Quite so.

[jester]

Rule 1. Don't use high power rifle rounds on .22 twirler targets....it ruins them as you learned.

As the others have said, a .22 is a low velocity round, as are most straight walled cases.

A .243 is a pointed projectile, necked cartridge. So they do tend to have much greater chamber pressures and velocities.

[Brother in Arms]

of course it would kill a man. its more powerful than 5.56x45mm