Thread: Chop a .243 ?

I have chopped my .308 to 16" and stuck a dpt can on it. I was going to chop my 243 but someone told me its best not to chop that caliber ? rifle barrel is currently 22 inches. I wondered about this as I was also told not to chop my 6.5x55.

243 should be fine anything in that 308 case should be fine at 16in but hand loading would be a better option for any rifle with a short barrel
ive seen a sako 6.5x55 at 20 and the guy was still getting decent speeds but he was 6gn over the recommended load so loading them very hot if you have an old m96 I would suggest leaving it alone

if your un sure you could go to 19in do some testing and take the other 3 inches to 16 later if you wish

I wouldn't with a 243. My dad's old mod 7 has a 18.5" tube and velocity really suffers. Below 708 on the 308 case suffers to much I reckon

I have seen an 18" 243 suppressed shooting wallabies at 400 m in South Island , using an 87 gr vmax.

Chopped mine to 20" put a DPT on it, all good.
I do handload for it, but previously used Federal Premium, with the 90 gn Ballistic Tip, worked well.
Nothing to lose, everything to gain

Had a 243 kimber at 18 inches with dpt. Used 100 and 85 grain Sierras and every deer died to 300. Never tried further but would have been OK to do it.

Ok,sweet. Never shot anything over 250m anyway. Bit hard with a fixed 4 scope

243 Winchester- Effect of barrel length on velocity | Rifleshooter.com

Good reading for you there

18inch rem700 in 243.
Roos out to 470. Rabbits and hares to 431.
Gunworks suppressor.
55gr Nosler ballistic tip @ 3690fps.

Originally Posted by Timmay

243 Winchester- Effect of barrel length on velocity | Rifleshooter.com

Good reading for you there

Thanks yes good reading.

Depends why you want to chop it for? For a bush pig it be fine. I personally only bush hunt most of the time so im carrying my rifle most of the time (rather than over my shoulder) and i find it no problem at all with having a longer barrel. My 243 is 22 inch and my 308 is 24 inch and they are both fine in the bush.
It maybe just me, but im a believer in the Cal that you choose to use getting the best perforance out of it. Everyone theses days seem to be obsessed with chopping their rifle, then going to reloading to make up for abit of lost speed etc. They end up for example buying a 3006 and getting the perforance of a 308 out of it or worst.
I suppose the difference isnt huge, and you can have for example a 18 inch 308 compared to a 24 inch 308 and they both knock over a deer at 350m with the same projectile no problem. The fact is thou the longer barrel 308 will have more speed and more energy and a edge in perforance over the 18. I for one will never chop my 308, im getting 2995fps out of SF 150sst projectiles, shooting under a inch and prob has flatter shooting and better perforance than my mates 3006 and most of the 308 out there, small if be it but at least im getting the best out of it.
For a bush pig chopping your 243 will make no difference, if you going to be using it for longer range shots it will and will need a can as the muzzle blast will be loud

Chopped my model 7 243 to 16 handload 87gn hornadys with 2206h still get av 3030fps the deer i have shot out to 200m dont notice the 200 odd fps diff