Any .243 win hunters out there?

I am thinking about getting an Encore barrel chambered in this legendary round. Experiences? Pros and cons? Lets hear it!

243 Encore pistol, LOVE IT!!



I believe the bullet was a 75gr V-Max loaded over Varget powder. Scope is a 3-12X Burris.

Let me tell you I love the 243 , I have 2 of them , a 15" Encore heavy with a 3-12 Burris on it , and a 14" Lone Eagle with a bushy 2-6 on it and with 45.0 grs of H414 a horn. 87 gr boattail and both guns will shoot 2" groups at 200 yards,
I have killed deer cleanly with this load .

Here's my .243,3-12 Burris on it. Taken Deer and Groundhogs with it.
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Good stuff guys!

I have a Encore Bull barrel, 15" w/2" break. It is a rifle barrel cut down. You talk about a shooter. It likes 80 to 100 grn bullets. I have taken Prairie Dogs easily out to 300 yds with the Bushnell 2x6 scope and 100 grn Sierra Pro Hunters.
I have taken deer and I loaned it to a buddy and he took a antelope with it.
If you want a great 6mm round that is easy to load for and a good all around caliber the .243 is hard to beat. Here is mine cooling down after some hectic Prairie Dog shooting.

I use a 6mm-284, but the 6mm has taken a number of deer with one-shot kills.

A buddy has a 15" SST .243 Encore Handgun. When he won this handgun he immediately brought it to me to work up a good handload for it. I tested a couple different factory loads in it and a few different handloads. He wanted one load he could use for both Coyotes and Whitetail Deer, and I ended up loading him 80gr. Speer Hot Core Spitzers over H-4895. This load will produce 3/4" 5 shot 100 yard groups about any time I shot it from the bench.

In our special Anterless Deer Season in January or 07 I used this .243 Encore Handgun to take two Whitetail Does one afternoon. Both were slightly over 200 yards and bullet performance was quite good. I don't think any larger caliber would have worked any better. The first doe dropped in her tracks with an 80gr. Speer centered top to bottom right behind the front shoulder. The second one did need a second shot though (through no fault of the gun, cartridge or bullet) due to shooter error. This doe was walking and I hit here a little too far back. She ran a short distance, stopped and a second bullet did the deed.

I have shot a few other deer in other 6mm Cartridges in Contender Handguns over the years (6mm-223 & 6mm T/CU) and when the bullet is put in the right place the end result is venison in the freezer.

Larry