For 243 Handi owners?

[James B]

A few months ago I saw a stainless steel Handi 223 in a gun shop and I put it on layaway. A short time later I came across a 223 Ultra Bull Barrel Handi at a good price and bought that. I continued to pay on the layaway because they told me I could pick another caliber when it came time to pick it up. The time is about here now. I called them today and they have three 243 NEF rifles in stock. One is a 243 Ultra. One is a 243 Stainless Synthetic and the last is just a standard 22 inch pallet wood stocked Handi rifle. Has anyone had more than one of these or know if any one of the three has a better track record for accuracy? Does anyone have a 243 Handi that really shoots well with deer bullets such as the 95 or 100 grain Partition. 95 grain Ballistic tip or any of the Barnes X bullets from 75 grains on up? He also has a standard 25-06 Handi Pallet wood stocked NEF. The price on all but the standard 243 is close enough to the same that it does not make much difference. The standard 243 is on sale for 175.00 which is about the normal price a Walmart. He thought he might have a 500 S&W by now but no cigar there. I don't know accuracy wise if there would be much difference. I sort of hate to have a 243 that won't shoot deer weight bullets. The other problem if you can call it that is that I already have a Ruger 25-06 that is a tack driver and I just had the trigger done and put a new scope on it. Otherwise I would jump on the 25-06 Handi.

[cheatermk3]

Just get the one you like the best, for whatever reason.  Does one look better to you? or maybe you like the heft or one over another, or the way it shoulders.  Or maybe the idea that you saved some $$ or got a better deal trips your trap.  That's always part of the equation for me.

I think it's luck of the draw on which one'll shoot better with the bullet you think you want to shoot.  I think that an 80gn bullet out of a 243 will be great deer medicine as long as the bullet is constructed as a big game rather than a varminting bullet.

[James B]

I had a 243 Ultra for a while but traded it off due to to many irons in the fire a few years back. It shot really well with PMC 80 grain bullets but would not shoot the 90 grain Barnes bullet. The standard SB2 would save me some money but the stainless Synthetic may win the battle. I like the looks of those real well. I may even just pick up the 223 stainless in the end. But right now the stainless 243 makes the most sense for me. What a fun problem to have. :grin:  I think I will send my 280 in for a barrel or two. 30-30 and if they still have a 357 barrel I may get it too. It could use a trigger job as well.

[Bis]

I have a 243 Ultra and love it, it will not shoot the 100 grain stuff but will shoot clover leafs all day long at 100 yards. The 100 grain stuff will key hole. I sent it back for repair ( also a good excuse to order a 308 barrel while they had the gun). I got the gun back with a picture of a target with 3 nice holes in it. I fired 4 rounds of Rem. 100 grain ammo, 2 key holed. Called H&R and talked to the supervisor of repair. He was surprized, said that they fired 8 rounds of Fed 100 grain HP with no problems. He said that he would be happy to replace my barrel but could not guarantee that the new one would shoot as good as mine. He also said that most of the Handie's are not as accurate with the 100 grain ammo but really shine with the lighter stuff.

 I did take a buck this year with mine using Sierra 85  grain bullets and the thing never took another step, this was at 70 yards. Of course our deer are on the small side.

 I hope this helps.

[James B]

My Ultra shot good with 80 grainers. I have heard smoe good stuff about the 85 grain Sierra HP. This even though Sierra recommends it as a heavy varmit bullet. I will have to try the Barnes 75 grain X bullet.

[Good Keen Man]

I bought a SS .243 before CHRISTmas - sight unseen, as it was the first one to be imported into New Zealand. It seemed at first to be a little unbalanced due to the heavy barrel and very light synthetic buttstock and would tend to tip forwards when held in one hand just in front of the trigger guard or slung over the shoulder. It has improved now that I have put a bigger scope on it (Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40) and a Beartooth Stock guard that carries 6 rounds of ammo. Still, I intend to pack a few bits of survival gear into the stock to get the balance just right. Have not shot it yet with new scope but will post once I do this - probably a week away.

[James B]

Good to hear from the other side of the world. :grin:  What will you mainly hunt with your new rifle? I loved the looks of the Stainless rifles. Good luck with yours and let us know how it shoots.

[MSP Ret]

James B, are you completely sold on the .243 caliber? If so, and it's what YOU want, by all means buy one.
Cheatermk3 gave you the best information there is, buy the one out of the 3 that YOU like the best and want (if your sold on a .243)...it's great to ask what others think though, I do it all the time myself.
Since you already have a .223. check out the thread right above this one about a youth rifle in either .243 or 7mm-08, I know yours is not a youth rifle but the comments regarding the caliber still hold true. My opinion and recommendation is to go for a caliber that will stabilize and shoot a bit heavier bullet, I think that is what you want and what will make you happy. In short, for a great versatile caliber go for one of the 7mm's, and the 7mm-08 Handi is easy to shoot (low recoil), accurate and light. I have a 7x57 Handi and it's a sweet deer gun. I also have a .280, but after reading your post and tying to see what you want, the 7mm-08 gets the nod, it shoots heavier bullets GREAT and fills the bill in every respect....<><.... :grin:

[Badnews Bob]

Looks to me like if you already have a .223 and a .25-06..... you need a .45-70.  :twisted:  Otherwise I like my standard blued  handy .243 with syn stocks but, it dosn't get shot near as much as the .357s or the .45-70.

[James B]

Thanks guys. I do have a 45-70 Handi rifle and the Buffalo Classic in 45-70. I have long been a 45-70 fan. I have lost track of how many I have had. I also have a Browning A Bolt in 308 so I have the bases covered pretty well. I have a lot of brass and bullets from other 243's that I have had. The guy at the store is expecting some more handi rifles in soon as he ordered quite a few at the big Shot Show. He thought he might have a 500 S&W by now but they have not showed up yet. I was going to go get it today but we had a little snow storm this morning and the roads were not to good. Maybet tomorrow. :grin:  Man I wish they would chamber the 250 and 300 Savage cartridges. The 250 is another favorite of mine. I should convert a Handi to 30-40 Krag.

[Good Keen Man]

Message for James B - What do I intend to shoot with my SS 243? Where to begin! In New Zealand we have just about every deer from Whitetail thru to Elk - all are introduced as we have no native deer  here. This coming fall season (your spring) I have booked in hunts for a Fallow Buck (small with palmated antlers) and a Sika Stag (a Japanese Deer that whistles and barks). Most common is the European Red Deer and I had to turn down a 13 point wild Stag offered to me by an outfitter because I don't have enough time/money! He reckons it will run to approx 280 DS... Best of all/worst of all is the fact that we have no closed season so you can always get some meat but the bucks are sometimes not given enough time to reach their full potential. I will be posting photos as soon as I have some success...

[Greysky]

I have a standard .243 Handi that I've tweaked into delivering superb accuracy with handloads.

I'm in the process of purchasing a standard 30-30 Handi. But I really don't expect to achieve the excellent downrange performance with the 30-30 that I do with my .243.

[Good Keen Man]

what weight bullet are you using? Is 100 grain too heavy for a 243 Handi?

[gwhilikerz]

what weight bullet are you using? Is 100 grain too heavy for a 243 Handi?

I have had good luck with Remington core-loct 100 gr. But the Rem. "Premier" 100 gr was terrible in my 243.  lighter bullets seem to work better in most Handi's. But I wanted 100 gr bullet and shot as many as I could before deciding the core-loct shot the best, even better than most of the lighter stuff. But for what you are wanting to hunt anything from 75 to 100 should be fine. Just get a quality bullet that will hold together a little better. The velocity of the 243 makes up for a lot of weight. my opinion .

[yukonjim]

James,

I picked up a .243 Handi (plank wood model) at the local gun show a couple weeks ago plus some 100 gr. soft point PMP ammo to try in it.  PMP ammo is made in South Africa.  Mounted a Simmons 3x9x50 scope on it.  Took it to the range yesterday.  Took 3 shots to get it zeroed at 25 yards.  Moved the target to 100yards.  3 more shots.  All hit 2.4 inches high, dead center and could be covered by a quarter.  Done.  Who says Handi's don't like 100 grainers.

Yukonjim

[Zero]

Does anybody know what twist rate is in the .243 Handi..??
I know that a 12 twist will not support 100 grainers, I have
two contenders with one haveing a 12 and one with a 10 twist
the 12 will tumble the 100 grainers every time, but they
seem to do just fine with the 10 twist....{thease barrels are
6mm TCU......}

[deerman12]

The guy at H&R told me that 80 grain remington is what use to group check the .243.  They sent me back a picture of a nice 3 shot group of about 3/4 inch.

[James B]

Lanny. Have you tried the 100 grain Round nose in the 1 in 12 twist. They shot good in my first 6MM Rem which I believe also had a 1 in 12 twist. The twist rate is the only reason that the 243 thrived while the first 6MM Rems failed to stabilize 100 grain bullets. By the time Remington changed the twist to a 1 in 10, the 243 had a unsurmountable lead in the market.

[MSP Ret]

H&R/NEF uses a 1 in 10" twist in their .243's (from the FAQ's)....<><.... :grin: