Best .243 Winchester Ammo
Every load we price, sorted by cost per round delivered to your state
We track 24 .243 Winchester loads from 2 dealers. The cheapest delivered to AR, shipping included, is Federal Power-Shok .243 Winchester 100gr SP Ammo at $1.50 a round.
The .243 Winchester is a short-action cartridge for varmints, predators and deer, introduced in 1955 on a necked-down .308 Winchester case. It fires a .243-inch (6mm) bullet. The loads on this page run 58 to 100 grains at about 2,950 to 3,700 fps. Recoil is light, so many first deer rifles are chambered for it.
Match the bullet to the animal. The 58 to 75 grain V-Max, AccuTip and JHP loads are varmint and coyote bullets that fragment, and they are not for deer. For deer, use 85 to 100 grain soft points, bonded or copper bullets, such as the Federal Power-Shok 100gr SP or Barnes TSX 85gr. The Hornady Custom Lite 87gr SST runs slower for less recoil. Some states set minimums on caliber or bullet energy for big game, so check your state's hunting-cartridge rules.
All .243 Winchester Loads
Compare ballistics and prices across 24 products
| PRODUCT ↕ | GRAIN ↕ | VELOCITY ↕ | ENERGY ↕ | BC ↕ | USE CASE ↕ | BEST PRICE ↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Black Hills Gold .243 Winchester 58gr V-Max Ammo
58gr
• 3700 fps
|
58gr | 3700 | 1763 | .25 | — | $3.17/rd |
|
Black Hills Gold .243 Winchester 80gr CX Ammo
80gr
• 3150 fps
|
80gr | 3150 | 1762 | .273 | — | $3.27/rd |
|
Black Hills Gold .243 Winchester 85gr Barnes TSX HP Ammo
85gr
• 3100 fps
|
85gr | 3100 | 1813 | .333 | — | $3.77/rd |
|
Black Hills Gold .243 Winchester 95gr SST Ammo
95gr
• 2950 fps
|
95gr | 2950 | 1835 | .355 | — | $3.27/rd |
|
Federal .243 Winchester 85gr Barnes TSX Ammo
85gr
• 3200 fps
• Hunting
|
85gr | 3200 | 1932 | .333 | Hunting | $3.17/rd |
|
Federal .243 Winchester 90gr ELD-X Ammo
90gr
• 3150 fps
• Hunting
|
90gr | 3150 | 1983 | .409 | Hunting | $3.17/rd |
|
Federal .243 Winchester 95gr Berger Hybrid Hunter Ammo
95gr
• 3050 fps
• Hunting
|
95gr | 3050 | 1962 | .434 | Hunting | $3.02/rd |
|
Federal American Eagle .243 Winchester 75gr JHP Ammo
75gr
• 3375 fps
• Hunting
|
75gr | 3375 | 1897 | .234 | Hunting | $1.86/rd |
|
Federal Power-Shok .243 Winchester 100gr SP Ammo
100gr
• 2960 fps
• Hunting
|
100gr | 2960 | 1945 | .355 | Hunting | $1.50/rd |
|
Federal Power-Shok Copper .243 Winchester 85gr SCHP Ammo
85gr
• 3200 fps
• Hunting
|
85gr | 3200 | 1932 | .233 | Hunting | $2.37/rd |
|
Federal Trophy Copper .243 Winchester 85gr Ammo
85gr
• 3200 fps
• Hunting
|
85gr | 3200 | 1932 | .391 | Hunting | $3.12/rd |
|
Fiocchi Backwoods Hunter .243 Winchester 80gr CHP Ammo
80gr
• 3415 fps
• Hunting
|
80gr | 3415 | 2071 | .34 | Hunting | $2.38/rd |
|
Fiocchi Hyperformance .243 Winchester 80gr TTSX Ammo
80gr
• 3275 fps
• Hunting
|
80gr | 3275 | 1905 | .331 | Hunting | $2.77/rd |
|
Fiocchi Hyperformance .243 Winchester 95gr SST Ammo
95gr
• 2950 fps
• Hunting
|
95gr | 2950 | 1836 | .355 | Hunting | $2.27/rd |
|
Hornady Custom .243 Winchester 87gr V-MAX Ammo
87gr
• 3240 fps
• Hunting
|
87gr | 3240 | 2028 | .4 | Hunting | $2.92/rd |
|
Hornady Custom Lite .243 Winchester 87gr SST Ammo
87gr
• 2800 fps
|
87gr | 2800 | 1513 | .4 | — | $2.27/rd |
|
Hornady Outfitter .243 Winchester 80gr CX Ammo
80gr
• 3200 fps
• Hunting
|
80gr | 3200 | 1819 | .273 | Hunting | $2.70/rd |
|
Hornady Precision Hunter .243 Winchester 90gr ELD-X Ammo
90gr
• 3150 fps
• Hunting
|
90gr | 3150 | 1983 | .409 | Hunting | $2.27/rd |
|
Prvi Partizan .243 Winchester 100gr SP Ammo
100gr
• 2960 fps
• Hunting
|
100gr | 2960 | 1945 | .367 | Hunting | $2.02/rd |
|
Prvi Partizan .243 Winchester 90gr SP Ammo
90gr
• 3100 fps
• Hunting
|
90gr | 3100 | 1920 | .333 | Hunting | $2.07/rd |
|
Remington High Performance .243 Winchester 80gr PSP Ammo
80gr
• 3350 fps
• Hunting
|
80gr | 3350 | 1993 | .255 | Hunting | $2.38/rd |
|
Remington Premier .243 Winchester 75gr AccuTip Ammo
75gr
• 3375 fps
• Hunting
|
75gr | 3375 | 1897 | .33 | Hunting | $2.53/rd |
|
Winchester Copper Impact .243 Winchester 85gr Copper Extreme Point Ammo
85gr
• 3260 fps
• Hunting
|
85gr | 3260 | 2006 | .344 | Hunting | $2.77/rd |
|
Winchester Deer Season XP .243 Winchester 95gr Extreme Point Ammo
95gr
• 3100 fps
• Hunting
|
95gr | 3100 | 2027 | .363 | Hunting | $1.60/rd |
Dealer links open the dealer's site. Some are affiliate links, and AmmoSight may earn a commission at no cost to you.
.243 Winchester Trajectory Calculator
Calculate drop, velocity, and energy at any range
Advantages and Disadvantages
Pros
- One rifle covers prairie dogs and coyotes with light bullets and deer with 85 to 100 grain bullets.
- Recoil is light enough for young or recoil-sensitive hunters to practice without flinching.
- Fits short-action rifles, so guns are compact and light to carry.
Cons
- Too light for elk and moose, where a .270 or .30-06 carries far more bullet weight.
- Varmint loads and deer loads look alike on the box, and the wrong one fragments on a deer.
- Light bullets drift more in wind than 6.5 Creedmoor or .308 bullets at long range.
- Barrels wear out faster than on larger-bore cartridges if you shoot a lot of varmint loads.