When it comes down to picking a round for use, you’re looking at an individual round rather than a broad cartridge family. History Introduced in 1955 the .243 Winchester is based on the 7.62x51 military (.308 Winchester) case necked down to .243” (6mm). In fact, there are still a lot of top notch marksmen that utilize the .243 for long distance competitions. What we see with the short range trajectory is that the .243 has several rounds that have extremely flat arcs. As these rounds lose velocity downrange, you can see that they really start to drag down the KE average for the .243 Win. At the time, this cartridge offered a cartridge that filled a large niche in the hunting world. This will obviously be a huge factor in the type of hunting these rounds are suitable for, and we will get back to shortly. And besides, there are still plenty of us who take factory loads out into the field. You might wonder why lighter bullets would ever be used, but increased velocities and being a little less vulnerable to gravity greatly improve their ballistic performance at least from a trajectory standpoint, when compared to heavier bullets and evens the playing field. The heavier (150gr) .270 rounds have a significantly higher sectional density than the .243 rounds. Flashing tails, leaping legs, long necks and there! are great cartridges, but which one is better? Bullets tend to be more stable at these speeds which means it should be less complicated to adjust for shots at extreme ranges (I chuckle because I don’t think that helps me out at all). Before we dive into looking at the ten selected rounds, we wanted to provide a broad look at thee cartridges trajectory that is a bit less muddled than looking at ten rounds at once (Graph 5). If you know you’re going to need more penetration for hunting something like muleys, and are for whatever reason stuck between choosing between these two rounds, the heavier .270 rounds are going to be a better option. The famous firearm and outdoor writer, Jack O’Connor, championed and pushed this caliber and its abilities in the field and brought it to the forefront of hunting calibers, where it remains to this day. Out past 300 yards, you will have to rely on your optics to make some adjustments, but that goes for just about any cartridge. Let’s take a look at the sectional density numbers generated from our expanded round list. Let’s take a look at our ten selected rounds and see how their velocities (ft/s) compare to one another. It’s not a surprising result given momentum is just the velocity times the mass of the projectile. Though a general statement, you will often hear that 20ft.lb of recoil generated is high enough to have the chance to impact your shot for even experienced marksman, especially if you are not familiar with the firearm and cartridge. So, why bother with the .243 Win? As we would assume from these differences, the .270 can hold a good deal more powder than the .243 which is needed to bring the heavier bullets up to a proper speed for shooting purposes. It might not be as prevalent as it once was, but the .243 is still seen in use today in these shooting circles and it is still winning a lot of competitions. We will be the first ones to admit that nothing compares to hard field data, but the truth is, a lot of us just don’t have the time and/or resources to compile that amount of data. Overall, the BCs of the .243 are not that bad. We can think of this in terms of penetration. Bullets that do not expand will penetrate deeply, but not cause as much tissue damage. Given the kinetic energy is generated from the velocity of the rounds as well as the mass of the projectiles, it is not a surprise that the .270 Win outperforms the .243 Win in this case. It’s just something to keep in mind as we examine the potential penetration of these rounds. Everyone’s got their go to rounds. Like with the smaller data set, the .270 Win rounds are producing a much greater amount of recoil energy than the .243 Win, on average. Even when we remove the two lightweight .243 Win rounds, the .270 rounds are carrying an average of 17lbs/ft.s of momentum at the muzzle and 13lbs/ft.s more at 500 yards. We have also extended the range out to a 700 and a 1,000 yard marker for those who like to test the limits of shooting factory loads. Winchester introduced the cartridge to the civilian market shortly thereafter in the Model 70 bolt action and the Model 88 lever action. Ask any American hunter to name his top three big game cartridges and chances are good that at least one of those will be the .308 Winchester or .270 Winchester. That is to say, .243 Winchester bullets travel 3.6 times the speed of a 737 airplane at cruising speed, while .270 WSM Winchester Short Magnum bullets travel 3.7 times that same speed. There are plenty of values that can be calculated which integrate momentum with other factors, but none that look at momentum alone. For the .270 cartridge, it’s hard to beat the Federal Vital-Shok Nosler Partition 150gr round for deer and other medium sized game. We are measuring the bullet drop (inches) from the muzzle out to 300 yards with the test firearms zeroed in at 100 yards. While the .243 Win rounds maintain a flatter trajectory, on average, then the .270 Win rounds through 500 yards, we see the trend flip at the 700 and 1,000 yard mark where the .270 Win has a flatter trajectory at 5.4 inches less bullet drop at 700 yards and 6 inches less bullet drop at 1,000 yards. * While both are fairly popular rounds, you might not find as many different options as you would for the more popular cartridges used for deer and larger game. For anything smaller than that, both the .243 and .270 have plenty of options. This data can change by increasing or decreasing the amount of powder, but we feel it is safe for comparison since manufacturers do not max out the amount of powder the casing could hold. With the lighter rounds included, the .243 Win has anywhere from 100 to a little over 200 more fps throughout the first 300 yards of the bullet’s flight, though, like the smaller sample size, we do see the .243 bleed off velocity at a higher rate and we see the .270 Win actually outperform the .243 in terms of velocity at the 400 and 500 yard range. As is the case with any cartridge comparison, less recoil often means a tradeoff with other ballistic categories which we will investigate next. Winchester rolled the .243 out as a commercial cartridge in 1955. For factory loads, we don’t think there is a huge difference accuracy when looking broadly at the .243 vs .270. I would recommend 100 grain + in weight if you want put a big hog down. In today’s market, both .243 and .270 ammunition is pretty easy to get your hands on. We leave that to you, the reader. Instead, by laying out the numbers associated with certain ballistic and performance characteristics, we would make it easier for you to determine which one suits the hunting or shooting needs to you have. A lot of shooters get a little overboard with velocity. From muzzle to 300 yards it is also still carrying over 1,000ft.lbs of force, and the Nosler Ballistic Tip provides more than enough penetration to reach vital organs and expands enough to cause major tissue damage. This is a pretty significant difference and it mirrors the distinct differences between these two cartridges that we observed in kinetic energy carried by these cartridges. While the .243 Win still has a slightly flatter average, there are flat shooting rounds for each cartridge that will provide the trajectory that you want. The .270 Winchester has a significantly longer case length (2.54″ vs 2.015″) as well as overall length (3.34″ vs 2.81″). The balance of light recoil and versatility as both a varmint and big game cartridge quickly led to the .243 being one of the most popular rifle chamberings in the world. Even so, the velocities of the .243 are enough so that the lower BC’s would not hinder performance at ranges these rounds are used for. All of this discussion is based strictly off the numbers we have looked at. Not always a fantastic component bullet The mass of the object as well as its acceleration determines the amount of force that the bullet carries. That’s a case capacity difference of 20.07% favoring the .25-06 Remington. Find the round that you are confident with and fits your rifle and run with it. We see from this graph that there is a very distinct difference of recoil generated from these two cartridges. 6.5 Creedmoor vs 243 Winchester Review & Comparison. As with all of our other categories, we also want to look at how these two cartridges compare when we do not include the three lightweight .243 Win rounds just because they deviate a lot from the performance of all the other rounds. And even though the majority of the .243 Win rounds fall below supersonic speeds before reaching 1,000 yards, the reality is that with factory loads, this is the extreme range of the rounds anyway. So for those wanting to shoot at 700+ yards, the ability of the round to remain in supersonic flight makes calculating a shot more manageable, though still impossible for a lot of us. The .243 Win is a versatile cartridge that has round options for varmint hunting to medium sized game. Longer track record. In the simplest of terms, the ballistic coefficient is derived from an equation using several bullets and cartridge variables. With factory loads, the latter is hardly ever an issue, but be aware when handloading that as much extra ft/s you can tack on is not always beneficial. Though hot, you will notice that with how light these bullets are and the small ballistic coefficient, which we will get to shortly, they bleed off speed rapidly. Both of these cartridges are popular in the hunting world for a reason. There is a range of bullet weight options for the .243 Win. vs. .243 Win. In 1963, a modified version was released for civilian use. Depending on the wind strength and the distance, there are a lot of scenarios in the field where a higher BC might be beneficial. The sectional density is simply a result of a calculation using the bullets weight and diameter. For bigger game that might have thick hide and thick bones, you want a bullet with higher momentum to drive through and allow proper wound creation and a clean pass through. * It has been used in and for shooting in One-Thousand (1000*) Yard Matches using the 115 grain bullet with Great Competitive results. Of course, we are only looking at factory loads, but it still gives you an indication of this cartridges capabilities. Factory loads of these cartridges are probably not going to be the top picks for long range shooting. These can range from 55 to 115gr, though most hunting cartridges top out at the 100gr weight. Unlike the 6.5 CM, the .243 Win has a much deeper history. Recognize what you want out of your hunting cartridge and you will find that either of these cartridges can become one of your favorites. You should enough shots in a row and recoil fatigue can also cause a decrease in your efficiency. Though most of us would deny that a little recoil influences our accuracy, the truth is that the anticipation of recoil can change out habits. We have calculated the sectional densities for the ten rounds we have been comparing throughout the article and put them in graph form (Graph 9). Today, the .308 Winchester round is enormously popular throughout the world and rifles chambered for it can also chamber and fire the 7.62x51mm, but not the other way around. Let’s take a look at the short range trajectory of these two cartridges when we include some more rounds. .243 will kill a hog. Arguments can be heated both in person and online when you start talking about how flat a person’s cartridge of choice flies. THE BEST GUN DEALS AND HANDPICKED GEAR RECOMMENDATIONS, Subscribe to our Newsletter and we send you the best deals right into your inbox. Let’s take a look at the average kinetic energy carried by each cartridge when expanding the field of available rounds. Do you want a clean pass through, which usually provides better blood trails and conserves meat or do you want full expansion with major damage? The .243 has a slightly flatter arc, but we are only talking about a few inches. Before we take a look at our ten selected rounds, let’s just look at a general comparison of these two cartridges fired from a 7lb rifle (Graph 1). Best Concealed Carry Insurance [Comparison Chart]. When comparing the .243 vs the .270, we are looking at two well-known and popular rounds that overlap in their shooting applications. For prices, we have listed the ten rounds we have used for comparison in this article in the table below. From a standpoint of brevity and clarity, adding more rounds to graph and discuss would really muddle everything up and make the article difficult to move through. There is not a single number attached to stopping power, besides the number of animals you have harvested with a particular round, but for comparison, no such number exists. To be more secure in saying that the .270 Win rounds are going have higher BCs, we really need to look at more samples which we have done below and also see how the rounds compare when we are not including the sub 60grain .243 rounds. In the case that you don’t, this might give you a good place to start. Right out of the muzzle, the .270 rounds have nearly 1,000 extra ft.lbs of force on the .243 round. The 243 Winchester versus 7mm-08 Remington race is won by the 243, but not by much. The change is not too drastic at the earlier yard markers because the velocity of these rounds are so high and velocity is actually squared in the equation for KE. An Overview Of 6.5 Creedmoor Vs. 270 270 Winchester. They go back and forth on what’s better between a .270 Winchester, a 308 Winchester and a 30-06 Springfield. If we take a second to look at the averages for these two cartridges, we see a really interesting result. We should also briefly discuss the light .243 Win rounds. It is more than capable of medium size game and the light recoil is an added bonus. With that being said, there are some caveats to how easy it would be. So they are bringing down the average roughly 1lb/ft.s from the numbers in the table. For most experienced hunters and shooters, recoil takes more of a backseat to other performance specs, but it is still a category to consider and discuss. Please click the above links to take a look at all of the .243 Winchester and .270 WSM Winchester Short Magnum ammo we have in stock and ready to ship, and let us know any parting thoughts in the comment section below. When we look at these rounds, it appears to be all over the place right out of the muzzle. Velocity, ballistic coefficient, and trajectory all play a major role in how accurate and how well the bullet will bring down game. Our problem with this, and with any quantifiable measurements of accuracy is that they tend to depend heavily on the firearm, the person handling the weapon, and environmental factors. To compensate for clear and concise and accurate representation, we actually compiled a lot more rounds for each cartridge. There is a fine line between a hot load that improves terminal ballistic properties and a load that pushes the envelope of safety and bullet stability in the air. Just from our selections, you can see that there are some .243 rounds with BCs that stack up a lot better to the .270 rounds. There are several factors that go into how deep a bullet will penetrate. Comments have to be approved before showing up, © 2021 Foundry Outdoors - All Rights Reserved, Product successfully added to your Shopping Cart, 223 WSSM Winchester Super Short Magnum Ammo, 243 WSSM Winchester Super Short Magnum Ammo, 25 WSSM Winchester Super Short Magnum Ammo, 300 RSAUM Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum Ammo, 7mm RSAUM Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum Ammo, .243 Winchester vs .270 WSM Winchester Short Magnum Ammo Comparison - Ballistics Info & Chart. As far as bullet weights go with the .270, most ammunition is going to fall between 120-160. If we take out the lighter rounds, we still see an overall higher velocity for the .243 Win over the .270 Win from the muzzle to 300 yards, though it is much reduced. An example of how SD tells us how two bullets will penetrate is if we have two bullets with the same weight, but different diameters, the smaller diameter localizes the force to a smaller area and gives you deeper penetration. So, if you’re planning on using a factory load for these extreme, top level marksmen distances, the supersonic limit is an important factor. We saw that the .270 Win had around 150 more yards of supersonic flight than the .243 Win average.

Meteorologist Adam Clark, Craigslist Houses For Rent Scottsville, Ky, Glock 43 Double Stack Magazine, Power Wheels Gearbox Gears, Fort Hood Map Pdf, Xenophobia Quotes In Othello,