My buddy, whose eyes are failing, can see bullet splashes when I use my Win HV 243 instead of a 22-250 when I take him with me rock chuck shooting. And old friends are the best friends, so when you have to make accommodations and they don't even effect the bottom line... It's accurate enough to close the deal at 550 or so. Recoil is negligible.
I generally use it because I am familiar with it now days even though I have a 22-250 788 w/Lilja, MPI stock and Canjar that can shoot rings around it.
I guess it just is what I have been shooting a lot as late. It is accurate enough to kill rockchucks out as far as were I shoot them at and it is the rifle I am most familiar with these days.
I have a MPI stocked 788 243 that has a Timney and is a fairly decent rifle too. I haven't shot it enough to even defend money what I have into it. I think I will cut the stock and give it to the kids.
I shoot a Win Mod 70 300 wby at big game and set the light barreled 788 243 up for coyote calling but never grab it. My Lilja barreled 22-250 is what I am comfortable with. But, one day each of walks into a gushop and sees something that would be "that much better" and walks out with it and it just sits.
That's my experience with the 243 Winchester. Basically, it can be boiled down to: It is a good choice for rockchucks, but if it were not for the fact that my nearly blind buddy sees 243 bullet splashes better, I could do without it.
When the kids actually use it on big game my opinion may change. But for me, I could start paring the fifty plus center fire rifles I own down and the 24's would not be among my last choices to go. I have a Winchester Winlite in 300 Wby (push feed, McMillan stock) and although I have other rifles sitting around, I always set that rifle up when I am going big game hunting.
They are not that useful to m, and they are not really interesting rifles like my old mod 86's and 71 or my 65 Winchester 22 Bee that I never even take out in the field anyway, but I sit and fiddle with.
Just my
