6.8 vs 243

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wormy

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I need a deer rifle and I like the the AR platform. I have a RRA Predator Pursuit in 223 for coyotes. Im looking at a 6.8 or 243 for deer. Mostly for use in the mountains shots 200y and less. So which is better 243 or 6.8.
 
The .243 has way more choices in bullet selection options. It will win out in all categories I would think except your AR platform will be a little heavier.
 
I have a Rem 700USR in 6.8 and love it for antelope and white tail out to about 250 yrds.

I would trade it for a comparable .243 in a heartbeat because of the comment below, I.E. ammo selection.

Originally Posted By: venaticThe .243 has way more choices in bullet selection options. It will win out in all categories I would think except your AR platform will be a little heavier.
 
In an AR platform I'd opt for the 6.8 since it uses the lighter AR-15 platform rather than an AR-10. I'd take the .243 in a bolt action rifle over a 6.8 though. I have a 6.8 AR and love it for coyotes. It's not as fast and flat as my .243's but for called coyotes it's hard to beat. There are plenty of bullets suitable for whitetails readily available, and Federal is tooling up for 6.8 production in 2013.
 
I have the 6.8 AR 15 plateform and perfer it over the AR 10 plateforms,but if I was going AR 10 (large frame), .308 would be my choice.


.243 would be my choice in a bolt action.

Because sometimes things can happen (forget ammo, etc), picking a cal that ammo can be found almost anywhere could make a difference over other choices.




 
I've always wanted a .243 in the AR-10 platform. Otherwise, try the Rem 750 in .243. Semi in a non-tactical platform.
 
For the ranges you're looking at either would be fine. I've never had a 6.8, but most who have them seem to like them.

I recently built a .243, and to date it's my favorite AR. With the right parts you can make them acceptably light, mine is 9.75 lb WITH a 4.5-14x Zeiss and empty mag, but still not as light as the smaller platform though. I used a 22" barrel to keep the performance up. I've had a 25 wssm in the AR platform, and the performance was very impressive, 200 to 300 fps faster with any bullet weight than a 243 win. But for reasons of brass and fickle reloading traits I probably wouldn't go there again.

Another good option would be the 308. You could get a shorter barrel to save weight and not lose quite as much performance as you would with a short 243.
 
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I am going to go against the crowd.

I would go 6.8 even in a bolt gun because I don't want a barrel longer than 16".

IMHO the 6.8 is king when it comes to efficiency in barrels 11.5"-16"


I think you will be surprised at the selection of 6.8 bullets out there not only to mention the ar15 platform is lighter and smaller

YMMV
 
I have a 6.8 RRA Coyote Carbine. I would take it over a AR 10 platform. I have shot the 243 RRA and it was heavy. halling that around would suck. My 6.8 has a 16 in barrel and is as light as my 223 and it has the power to take down a white tail at 200yrds with ease. Granted the 243 does to but if you want to haul around a 10lb gun plus scope then 243. If you want something light 6.8. Ammo is kind of hard to get ahold of. The internet can take care of that [beeep]
 
If I wanted .243 like performance out of a small frame AR, I get a 6WOA or similar cartridge. It's a wildcat but, if you make the investment to load for it you get a smaller VERY efficient cartridge that is with in 200 FPS, of a .243 win. It would probably be even better then a .243 in an AR10 as far as from a high pressure hot rod cartridge stand point.
 
I'm new to the 6.8 this year but I love it.90 gr. bullets @2700fps from 16"AR whats not to like.I also have a 20" barrel bolt gun thats way to muh fun too shoot steel with.
 
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