Outlaw6.0
Well-Known Member
Well I guess I really didn't help answer your question did I!? Got a little tied up in nostalgia...
As to min & max distances... that will depend on what bullet you are shooting, the 243 is a very capable round in the hands of someone patient enough to wait for a good shot. I have never loaded a Berger VLD in mine but you cannot dispute the fact that people are having VERY good experiences with them as the VLD will extend your shooting window considerably. They might make me squirm at 40yds but out here in the plains 40yds isn't very common. I plan to work with the 80grn Barnes TTSX in my 6mm Ackley, I'm think that bullet at somewhere around 3700fps would be a real gas!
As far as factory ammo goes, I used a lot of that when I first got into hunting with my 243, my experiences have been that the factory bullets do a pretty good job in that cartridge as the 243 with a ~100grn bullet isn't what most of us would call fast (which can lead to problems with the uber velocity cartridges & factory bullets ie rem, win etc.) They held together reasonably well at short range and opened pretty well at 200-300, they aren't "premium" but they did the job as long as I did mine.
My longest 6mm muley was only 300yds, (I switched to a 300 several years ago) but that 300yd shot was the proverbial bang-flop one round, one successful hunt. The only reason I ever switched up to a larger caliber was so I could use one gun for antelope, deer & elk. Had I known then what I know now, I would probably be using the 6mm of some sort for all of my hunting needs.
In fact my dad still uses the 243 for antelope & it works very well....
As to min & max distances... that will depend on what bullet you are shooting, the 243 is a very capable round in the hands of someone patient enough to wait for a good shot. I have never loaded a Berger VLD in mine but you cannot dispute the fact that people are having VERY good experiences with them as the VLD will extend your shooting window considerably. They might make me squirm at 40yds but out here in the plains 40yds isn't very common. I plan to work with the 80grn Barnes TTSX in my 6mm Ackley, I'm think that bullet at somewhere around 3700fps would be a real gas!
As far as factory ammo goes, I used a lot of that when I first got into hunting with my 243, my experiences have been that the factory bullets do a pretty good job in that cartridge as the 243 with a ~100grn bullet isn't what most of us would call fast (which can lead to problems with the uber velocity cartridges & factory bullets ie rem, win etc.) They held together reasonably well at short range and opened pretty well at 200-300, they aren't "premium" but they did the job as long as I did mine.
My longest 6mm muley was only 300yds, (I switched to a 300 several years ago) but that 300yd shot was the proverbial bang-flop one round, one successful hunt. The only reason I ever switched up to a larger caliber was so I could use one gun for antelope, deer & elk. Had I known then what I know now, I would probably be using the 6mm of some sort for all of my hunting needs.
In fact my dad still uses the 243 for antelope & it works very well....
