# .243 or .30-30?



## squirrelman86 (Nov 8, 2006)

I plan on hunting deer and wild hog when i get home. Which gun would be the best overall gun for distance, accuracy, power and ballistics? The .243 or .30-30? I own a .30-30 already but i wana get a .243. I jus want you guys input.


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## iwantabuggy (Feb 15, 2005)

I've never hunted hogs, but from what I understand of it, the 243 would be on the light side. If you used a premium bullet, it would probably do the job. I don't know why anyone would want a 30-30 unless you only plan on shooting out to 150 yards or so. You can almost throw a football flatter than the trajectory of a 30-30.

For both hogs and deer there are a lot better choices than either of those guns. The 243 is a great deer gun and also a great predator/varmint gun. 30-30 isn't great at anything beyond about 150 yards. I'd recommend picking something centered around the hogs, and then you'll have a good deer gun as well. IMO the 260, 270, 7mm08, 280, 308, or any magnum in 6.5mm to 30 cal would all be much better choices.

More than caliber, it depends on what you can handle and shoot accurately without flinching from recoil or making a bad shot. If you are sensitive to recoil, go with a 260, 7mm08, or 308. If you can handle it okay, then go for the 270 or 280. If it is not an issue at all, then go for a magnum. You can always load them down or by reduced recoil loads if you want something lighter.


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## hagfan72 (Apr 15, 2007)

iwantabuggy said:


> ...I don't know why anyone would want a 30-30 unless you only plan on shooting out to 150 yards or so. You can almost throw a football flatter than the trajectory of a 30-30...


Whoa now, the .30-30 has probably killed more deer in this country than any other rifle, and now with the advent of Hornady's Leverevolution ammo, the .30-30 is a legitimate 250+yard gun.

However, with all that being said, I agree that he should get something heavier for hog than a .243. I have been reading a lot in the new .30T/C, and that has me thinking i need to buy a new rifle.


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## huntingdude16 (Jul 17, 2007)

Neither, .30-06. Ranging from 130 grain or so to 220, it's a very versatile caliber. Remington also makes the 55 grain accelerator for varmints and predators.
Of course, if a smaller caliber is easier for you to handle, a .270 wouldnt be a bad choice either.


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## Hatchie Dawg (Mar 22, 2003)

30-30


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## cwoparson (Aug 23, 2007)

Sounds like not only never hunted hogs but never used a 30-30 either. Sighted in for 150 yards the 170 grain has only a 4.65 inch drop at 200 yards and is still running a little over 1,000 fpe. Plenty of power for hogs. The .243 though light in bullet weight is still good for hogs out to 200 yards and deer out to 300 yards using the right 100 grain bullet. Don't know why people think hogs are some kind of demon that is almost impossible to kill. With a 1894C Marlin which is a 357 magnum rifle I've take a dozen or so pigs with a 180 grain hard cast lead between 75 and 125 yards and several using just a plain 158 grain speer jacketed soft point. Down in Texas the .223 is a common caliber for deer and hogs albeit they run a little smaller down there but it gets the job done. It's all about bullet placement and a cannon that beats you to death won't make up for good shooting. Get your 243 and don't worry what the magnatitus crowd says. You'll be happy that you did.


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## Neanderthal (Oct 30, 2007)

30-30 for close, .243 for far.


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## edman1 (Dec 10, 2007)

both guns are good for the job your wanting them for 3030is the best brush gun there is and i've made 150yrds shots with 3030 (one shot drop), But 243 is good for those long shot but not in brush. the best thing to do is go look, hold them get a fill for them then pick the one that fill's the best to you.


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## hogcaller (Dec 13, 2007)

cwoparson said:


> Down in Texas the .223 is a common caliber for deer and hogs albeit they run a little smaller down there but it gets the job done. It's all about bullet placement and a cannon that beats you to death won't make up for good shooting. Get your 243 and don't worry what the magnatitus crowd says. You'll be happy that you did.


I agree and disagree with this statement. First off.....small hogs in Texas?










Maybe this will convince you otherwise, this is average size on our ranch!!! Bout 250 lbs! :wink:

Secondly, the gun that I shoot is either a 30-06 or 45-70. I like the power of these two rounds. If I'm hunting in the brush you can bet I'm takin my 45-70. If I'm hunting in a stand I'm takin the 30-06.

I have killed many hogs with handloaded 30-30. Don't let these guys knock it. It is a good round and has the same ballistics as a 7.62X39...or sks or ak47, which, I might add, is a common round for hog hunting.

I do agree that the key to killing any larger animal...no matter what caliber, is shot placement.

The 243 is better suited for deer hunting but will get the job done on hogs! Sounds like you need an excuse to get a new gun....hahaha! Just go get the 243 and use it for deer and use the 30-30 for hogs! 8)


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## cwoparson (Aug 23, 2007)

Well that's my fault. I should have been more clear when I said small as I was talking about the deer only as compared to northern deer. Nice looking hog. had one about that size pass through the field beside the house a couple months ago. Would have got him if my lab hadn't took out after him before I could get to the gun. Always wanted to get a 45-70 but just never got around to making up an excuse to buy one. Hell I don't need all the guns I got now but...


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## hagfan72 (Apr 15, 2007)

cwoparson said:


> ...Hell I don't need all the guns I got now but...


I can send you my mailing address, and you can unload some of your "unneeded" guns. I'll even chip in for shipping. :wink:


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## cwoparson (Aug 23, 2007)

Sorry hagfan72 but I can't do that. All my guns have become personally close to each other over the years and when one leaves the fold the others become depressed. Barrels slump, actions slow down and jam, little drops of oil runs down the stocks. A pitiful sight to behold.


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## hagfan72 (Apr 15, 2007)




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## deerblazer93 (Dec 20, 2007)

30-30 all the way i shot a deer with a 150 grain remington core lok at about 170 yards and dropped it like a bag of crap and the bullet isnt pointed like a lever revolution so i think u should try farther shots and stop listening to people telling u that 30-30 is only good for 100 yard because they obviously areto afraid to take a risky shot and shot placement is good to do too and a 30-30 is ptetty flat shooting because at 170 yards i shot my deer right between the eyes and im only 14 so u should be able to do the same thing


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## hagfan72 (Apr 15, 2007)

deerblazer93 said:


> ...170 yards i shot my deer right between the eyes...


So you are saying that you missed your aimpoint by at least 2 feet, because NO ethical hunter would admit to aiming for the head of a deer, let alone at 170 yards. :eyeroll: 
Get back on your Playstation, kid, and stop spreading manure around here!! :******:


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## deerblazer93 (Dec 20, 2007)

when u are shooting a deer in a very thick brushy area and u can only see its head ur going to aim for the head and if u shoot them in the head they arent going to run away from a shot like that so it prevents wounding deer and not finding them and if i had a playstation i would get on it.


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## hagfan72 (Apr 15, 2007)

Was it thick and brushy, or was it 170yds????? :eyeroll:


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## deerblazer93 (Dec 20, 2007)

it was both old man ur making me mad cuz u dont even think about making a shot like that but i can :sniper: so shut up and practice shooting at targets it helps if there past 10 yards u need them to like 100 so practice up and then u can talk.


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## hagfan72 (Apr 15, 2007)

Deerblazer93, you have a PM.


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## jim knapp (Jan 19, 2008)

do your research and look at the specs on a 243. I can tell you that the 25 callibers are the way to go. You will get less muzzle pressure, less kick, and better performance. Even the 250-3000 will out perform a 243. If you want an awesome gun that puts elk down right now the 25-06 is sa great choice.


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## iwantabuggy (Feb 15, 2005)

jim knapp said:


> do your research and look at the specs on a 243. I can tell you that the 25 callibers are the way to go. You will get less muzzle pressure, less kick, and better performance. Even the 250-3000 will out perform a 243. If you want an awesome gun that puts elk down right now the 25-06 is sa great choice.


I mean no dis-respect, but the calculations I've done show the 243 out performs the 25-06 in trajectory (with lighter bullets at least). Because the 243 uses less powder (a major part of the recoil calculation) it should kick less than a 25-06. Please describe in more detail how the 25-06 gives less kick and better performance.

I am not sure where you are coming from here. I am not trying to be down on the 25-06 as I think it is one heck of a gun, and I wish I had one, but your statement _does.....not............compute._ I am also not trying to say that a 243 is better on elk than a 25-06 as I would pick the 25-06 over a 243 for elk also. Please explain your point in more detail.

Perhaps you look at them calibers as big game calibers while I look at them as varminter/predator calibers. As a yote killer, IMO, the 243 out performs the 25-06. When I did my analysis on those two calibers, I did it with predator hunting in mind. Maybe I should analyze again with big game in mind.


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## varmit b gone (Jan 31, 2008)

A 243 is plenty big enough for texas hogs I shot a hog witha 20 ga. And my uncle who owns many ranches and has hunting operations in southern texas (who hates hogs cause the tear up his fields) shoots them with a 22 mag and kills them clean and a 243 is abouth the best caliber you can get


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## whitehorse (Jan 28, 2008)

I have and love the .243, and would recomend it over the 30-30, because as everyone other than that child will agree, it lacks distance. I watched a hog get killed with a 10/22 at about 75 yards. plus, the .243 has great balistics as stated, which will cover many different species of hunts, from prarie dogs up to deer. Any thing bigger, stick with your 30/30.


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## Snipedog (Jan 26, 2008)

I Agree, good advice!


cwoparson said:


> Sounds like not only never hunted hogs but never used a 30-30 either. Sighted in for 150 yards the 170 grain has only a 4.65 inch drop at 200 yards and is still running a little over 1,000 fpe. Plenty of power for hogs. The .243 though light in bullet weight is still good for hogs out to 200 yards and deer out to 300 yards using the right 100 grain bullet. Don't know why people think hogs are some kind of demon that is almost impossible to kill. With a 1894C Marlin which is a 357 magnum rifle I've take a dozen or so pigs with a 180 grain hard cast lead between 75 and 125 yards and several using just a plain 158 grain speer jacketed soft point. Down in Texas the .223 is a common caliber for deer and hogs albeit they run a little smaller down there but it gets the job done. It's all about bullet placement and a cannon that beats you to death won't make up for good shooting. Get your 243 and don't worry what the magnatitus crowd says. You'll be happy that you did.


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

> I mean no dis-respect, but the calculations I've done show the 243 out performs the 25-06 in trajectory (with lighter bullets at least). Because the 243 uses less powder (a major part of the recoil calculation) it should kick less than a 25-06. Please describe in more detail how the 25-06 gives less kick and better performance.


buggy, did you take this info from your own shooting or did you find it some where? I am just curious. You said with the ligher bullets the .243 out performs the 25-06. I have only found tables that match for 3 bullets. 2 100gr and 1 90gr. In all three it shows the 25 being superior out to 400yds, the tables turn at 500 slightly. I want to know how these two really stack up for my own piece of mind. My bro-in-law kept telling me to get the .243 not the 25-06. I want to see if, ballistically any way, I made a poor choice.


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## iwantabuggy (Feb 15, 2005)

319,

If you purchased either gun, you did not waste your money. Both are excellent.

My statement was based on data I collected on my own. I was primarily looking for a 500 yards Varmint/Predator gun. I picked the lightest bullets in every caliber I analyzed and I used max velocity minus 50 fps from my books. If the bullet weight was listed in more than one book, I used the Nosler book as a standard. From previous studies I have done, I found that out to 500 yards the lightest bullets always seemed to have a slight edge in trajectory over heavier bullets due to increased velocity. (Based on what I have caliculated, this does not hold true beyond 500 yards.)

The flattest gun I found using the above criteria was a 240 WBY. The second flattest was a 243. If you want a long range gun (meaning longer than 500 yards) I would do the analysis differently selecting the bullet with the highest BC in each caliber.

I don't think it is fair to judge a "light for caliber bullet" in one gun versus a "heavy for caliber bullet" in another gun. If you try to compare a 243 100gr bullet, to a 25-06 100gr bullet, and a 260 100gr bullet, and so forth, your are not IMO comparing apples to apples any more. You cannot expect a 243 to push a 100 gr bullet as fast as a 260 would, or a 270.

Anyway, right or wrong, that is how I did my comparison and that is how I would do it in the future as well. Based on that, I deemed the 243 to be superior to the 25-06.

Now that I have said that, I just went back and did a second comparison, this time using the highest BC bullets in both calibers, the 25-06 did come out superior by a pretty good margin. So, I would deem the 243 to be a much better varmint/predator caliber than the 25-06, while the 25-06 is a much better big game caliber than the 243. Cool, they both win a brownie button.


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## Savage260 (Oct 21, 2007)

buggy, thanks for the info. I did exactly what you said you didn't want to do. I went though my hornady and nosler books and plugged in their numbers for bullets of equal weight. I didn't think it came out right because for example the 75gr V max shows a 3300fps max for the .243 so I used the 3300 fps info for the .25-06. This way the .243 was a slight bit better. At max of 3600fps for the 25-06 against the max of 3300 for .243 the 25 was superior by a good margin, just as you stated. I am very happy with the rifle, was just curious as to how you did your testing. I now have a ballistics program, and a chrono, and I want to start keeping records of loads so I have data to compare when looking to buy new rifles. Thanks!


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