To Rebarrel or Not?

[Long Cut]

I’m torn with re-barreling my R700 in .243 to .308 with a 16.5” Bartlein or Kreiger barrel

The Rifle:
Was a LGS trade - I traded an old Benelli Nova, PSA Dagger & Thompson Center Compass rifle for this Remington 700 AAC SD model in a B&C Tactical stock.
- The rifle was already cut to 16.5” and chambered in .243
- LGS owner advised the previous owner “put a lot to money into this rifle” …. Probably a sales pitch, but the action is extremely smooth with zero play and the rifle shoots sub MOA with Berger 95’s & 95 SST’s
- Has a Trigger tech special trigger ..

My concern-

I’ve shot 4 deer with this rifle so far and I’ve been unimpressed with the results. Granted only a sample size of 4, with 2 being SST’s & 2 Berger 95’s..
- All shots between 75-150 yards, braced in ladder stands, box blinds etc
- Killed 3 ; 1 ran 30 yards, 2 others between 125-200 yard recoveries with minimal initial blood trails that progressively opened up. 1 doe ran 600+ yards and wasn’t able to be recovered, I watched her in the scope running off and by the blood it appeared to be a lung shot. Perfect Up/Down & L/R on her body… Other 3 bullet placement was where I always aim, top Heart/ lower Lung shots..

Bullet selection could be an issue, but the 16.5” .243 has me second guessing this rifle setup. I enjoy the shorter barrels, but I’m wondering if a 16.5” .308 would perform better than the .243 with your typical 95-100gr hunting bullets.

Thoughts?

 

[BishBeCool]

its not the caliber my man, most likely some of the other factors. Could the bullet have landed not where you were aiming? its a possibility.. are the bullets your using performing? maybe not..

I really like Bergers and hunt with them out of most of my rifles, they have always worked very well from close range to as far as I'm comfortable pulling the trigger. Most of the guys I hunt with use them as well in various cartridges and calibers. Same thing, very effective, very violent. how did the Berger work for you?

I have zero first hand knowledge of the SST.

in the .243/6mm thread a lot of guys say the 95 noslerr ballistic tip is a phenomenal bullet for the .243. I have no first hand information for you from my hunts as Ive never used them. I do plan to this year though with confidence.

Just my opinion but I really believe that between the 243 and 308 that you're not going to see a crazy difference. I had a 300 win mag some years ago that I liked shooting 180 grain nosler ballistic tips, they killed well. one of my current hunting rifles is a 25-06 that I load 115 Bergers and id have to say that you couldn't tell the difference between the two when the animals opened up. with both rifles I had bang flops (high shoulder) and with both rifles ive had animals run, sometimes 50+ yards then pile up.

 

[Lionheart]

Perhaps an exact aiming point on a deer target would help you get better answers?
With that small a sample size maybe you should try a couple more bullets…like the 95 NBT mentioned above?
There is a LOT of info on RS…facts and actual hunt results… that support the .243 as equal, or even superior, to the .308 as a deer killing caliber.
Bullet selection and placement are the keys…
It looks like you have a nice, accurate rifle. I’d be slow to change it.

 

[Aussie Dan]

If its shooting sub moa on paper targets its not an issue with the gun itself.
Its either the shooter (if youre shooting sub moa on paper im guessing thats not the case) or the projectiles. Literal millions of animals have been harvested with a 243.

Look at the 6mm/243 success on game thread and see what projectiles people are having success with.
A LOT of people are doing extremely well with "match" projectiles in cartridges that have traditionally been considered marginal on big game. The pics in that thread prove that there is nothing marginal about them.

 

[xsn10s]

Hmm I guess you could go either rebarreling or just purchase another rifle. Cost to have a smith rebarrel a rifle is what, close to $600? A Bartlein or Krieger much, much more. Unless you already have a barrel vice and action wrench even a Criterion with the tools is going to be close to $600. Unless you want to get the tools to swap out barrels I'd just get a 308 Win. But I'll say that the one Texas WT I shot with my 20" Sako 308 Win with a 165 BT perfectly in the shoulder ran 70 yards. Although I believe Ken Waters like the 150 gr class of bullet more so for deer. They ran faster then 165 gr class so opened up faster. I'd give the 95 gr BT pushed fast a try first and see how it worked. The people I knew that used them liked them.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I would simply get better bullets and make sure I put them in the right spot (no offense meant). The 95-grain TMK and Ballistic Tips are great options. I don’t think you will be at all disappointed with either for whitetails.

Also, if I had the opportunity to see where a deer was hit as she headed away, I’d put another bullet in her. I once shot a buck five times with my .25-06 because he just stood there. I was reloading when he finally crumpled to the ground. When I skinned him out, I saw that I could cover all five shots with my palm and any one of them would have been fatal.

 

[Long Cut]

Obviously different rifles & calibers, but gives you an idea of where I typically aim & shoot them. Right above the elbow crease. ** 2nd pic is the exit wound, he was slightly quartering**

That being said, I’m very aware of the .243’s success on deer. I use my .223’s to shoot deer successfully and have had better results.
My 6.5 with 140 BT’s has an average “run” distance of 33 yards after the shot with dozens of deer taken.

My thought was to try some 95BT’s in the .243 before washing my hands with the barrel, but I wanted to run it by y’all to gather some more input. I’m also slightly biased to try out a Bartlein barrel lol

As far as my shots and the placement, the 3 recovered deer were all top of the Heart and part of the lungs. The unrecovered Doe was 100% lung blood that I was following. All shots felt “good” I.E. I didn’t feel like I pulled them or rushed them.
* No I didn’t have a chance to put a second shot in her, she was running at Mach-Jesus into a pine thicket from a powerline*

 

[Jstumbaugh]

I've killed a pile of deer and the bear in my avatar with basic 100gr federal powerpoints. My daughter uses the same gun with 80gr Hornady CX copper bullets and we have yet to need to track any of her deer. That 80gr is pushing 3200 fps and drops deer like a lighting bolt. Change up your projectile and test it out.

 

[schmidty3]

I dont think a 308 fixes the "issue"

243 is one of the best deer rounds ever created. The generic soft points have always done well from what ive seen.

Try those or the 95 BT.

If you really dont want them to run put it thru the center of the shoulder meat

 

[wind gypsy]

Was the unrecovered doe with the Berger?

 

[nm.otter]

I may have missed it, but what twist rate is your current barrel?

 

[Steve300xcw]

Hey guys, I keep shooting stuff in the lungs and they arent dying in their tracks, I think I need a bigger gun......

Bumping up to a 308 isnt going to change anything.

 

[Floridave]

I’ve only downsized to the 243 17 inch barrel for the last 3 years so not tons of experience with it but i’ve found 108eldm, 105 berger vld and 112 matchburners all to be like a lightning bolt to 9 deer and 4 hogs. From 20 to 290 yards.
Nothing has moved more than 50 yards and most much less than that. After a lifetime (40 years) of 7mm mag,30/06, 444 marlin, 338 win mag, i’ve had better results as far as zero tracking jobs with the 243. ( and 2 deer 1 hog with 223)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HandgunHTR]

Obviously different rifles & calibers, but gives you an idea of where I typically aim & shoot them. Right above the elbow crease. ** 2nd pic is the exit wound, he was slightly quartering**

That being said, I’m very aware of the .243’s success on deer. I use my .223’s to shoot deer successfully and have had better results.
My 6.5 with 140 BT’s has an average “run” distance of 33 yards after the shot with dozens of deer taken.

My thought was to try some 95BT’s in the .243 before washing my hands with the barrel, but I wanted to run it by y’all to gather some more input. I’m also slightly biased to try out a Bartlein barrel lol

As far as my shots and the placement, the 3 recovered deer were all top of the Heart and part of the lungs. The unrecovered Doe was 100% lung blood that I was following. All shots felt “good” I.E. I didn’t feel like I pulled them or rushed them.
* No I didn’t have a chance to put a second shot in her, she was running at Mach-Jesus into a pine thicket from a powerline*
View attachment 1085781View attachment 1085782

Based on the pictures, my recommendation would be to put that bullet much closer to the front leg. Even if the second deer was quartering away from you, that shot placement is about 6” too far back.

 

[Macintosh]

The does that ran 600 yards—was that a berger? Or was that the sst?

Asking because ime with other cartridges sst’s have VIOLENT results. More so than the ballistic tips people are suggesting. If that bullet isnt killing them quickly, I dont think a different bullet is going to do anything massively different, even the much-vaunted nuclear exploding tmk’s. Different, maybe, but not night and day different. Maybe something different about 243 (my experience is with 7mm08 mainly) but thats a pretty destructive bullet.

 

[Long Cut]

The does that ran 600 yards—was that a berger? Or was that the sst?

Asking because ime with other cartridges sst’s have VIOLENT results. More so than the ballistic tips people are suggesting. If that bullet isnt killing them quickly, I dont think a different bullet is going to do anything massively different, even the much-vaunted nuclear exploding tmk’s. Different, maybe, but not night and day different. Maybe something different about 243 (my experience is with 7mm08 mainly) but thats a pretty destructive bullet.

Yes it was the Berger.

 

[Long Cut]

Hey guys, I keep shooting stuff in the lungs and they arent dying in their tracks, I think I need a bigger gun......

Bumping up to a 308 isnt going to change anything.

Dude drop the SA comments

I chose the 308 because it fares better in short barrels than my current .243

 

[schmidty3]

Dude drop the SA comments

I chose the 308 because it fares better in short barrels than my current .243

Im building a 18" 6 creed. If an elk is standing broadside at 500 im sending a shot with full confidence. Plenty of guys are running a 16" and doing the same. Barrel length really isnt an issue for terminal performance at whitetail distances. Your 243 is probably pushing a 95 gr bullet at minimum 2850 fps or so. Thats plenty.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Dude drop the SA comments

I chose the 308 because it fares better in short barrels than my current .243

Theres nothin wrong with a 308. You're still going to have runners though.

I do apologize for my comment. I did not realize you were that fragile and not able to pick up on the point I was trying to make.

 

[Steve300xcw]

243 is probably pushing a 95 gr bullet at minimum 2850 fps or so.

That'll do a lot of work