243 pistol distance

DOes anyone have an idea what kind of accurate distance u can get out of a 243 savage pistol?

I hunt with a Contender and most of my barrels are 16 inch lengths, no specific experience with the Savage, but with similar barrel length I think we can extrapolate some basics.

In general, your actual velocity with a pistol-length barrel is going to be at least several hundred fps lower than the “stated” velocity of the load because that assumes a rifle-length barrel. How much lower depends a whole heap of factors.

But the biggest factor is you. Accurate handgun hunting distance is HIGHLY dependent on the guy pulling the trigger and how good of a shot he is in HUNTING situations. By that, I mean that unless you have a stack of 10 sand bags in your deer stand and your bucks always emerge at distances of even 100 yard incriments, you have to practice more and be much better than the average hunter. Most people VASTLY underestimate how difficult it is to shoot a pistol well. My .223 Contender will shoot in the .78 range for a 5 shot group, but then turn it over to somone who’s a good rifle shot, but not experienced with a pistol and they will seldom do better than minute of tennis ball.

So I would say that a .243 Stryker is theoretically capeable of 200 yard kills, but that doesn’t say anything about what you are capeable of. My 7-30 Waters will shoot very reasonable sub 2 inch groups at 200, but there’s no way I’d ever take a poke at a deer at that distance. IMO, it’s a 150 yard game because off of shooting sticks and with less than ideal body positions that’s the longest hunting shot I feel I’m capeable of taking.

Obviously, your mileage will vary. The way to know for sure is to take your gun to the range and shoot 100 rounds from hunting positions. Rest the gun on something that simulates a tree stand rail. Shoot off of shooting sticks either standing or on one knee. In other words, anything but off of sand bags or a benchrest. That way you’ll know what you and the gun are capeable of.

Grouse

IM just thinking about buying one from a friend and he says u can shoot deer all day at 250 and he has made longer kills to. Is that crazy or no?

Quote:

---

IM just thinking about buying one from a friend and he says u can shoot deer all day at 250 and he has made longer kills to. Is that crazy or no?

---

It’s not beyond the realm of possibility, if some/all of the following conditions apply:

– First, are his “250 yard shots” really 250 actually measured yards? I’ve see a lot of “300 yard” shots that I lasered at 225 or less.

– He’s shooting out of a stand like a tower blind with an exceptionally stable rest.

– The deer are out in fields or food plots, or in other controlled locations where they are exposed in the open and the shooter can take time to line up a perfect shot, wait for the wind to settle, etc.

Under controlled circumstances, I can see where it would be possible. My question is are his hunting conditions the same as yours?

I can tell you that from a quickly deployed ground blind where I’ve had to shoot quickly at deer as they briefly appear on a weedy fenceline during the last few minutes of daylight, even 50 yards is hard enough with a handgun. Under ideal conditions distance can increase.

Have you shot the pistol? Do you like it? How well do you shoot it?

I can tell you that the comments I get when most people first try to shoot my scoped Contenders are a) how hard it is to be steady with a scoped handgun. Every tiny movement is magnified. And when shooting the 7-30 b) Wow! Does that thing bark and kick. Ouch!

It’s terrific fun to hunt with a handgun, IMO, because it’s like blackpowder or bow hunting. The limitations of the weapon are part of the challenge. It’s not about “how far can you shoot” it’s about “how close can you get”.

Grouse

YEa ive shot it a few times its got alot of up kick to it but it has a tripod on it that also when folded up you can draw it back and shoot it more like a rifle.

Honestly, how big of an issue is range really for you? How many deer have you killed at >200 yards?

It’s great fun to hunt with a handgun and I get a kick out of it just because so few people actually do it. Also, to be honest, I got bored with any deer that I could see being as good as meat in the freezer when rifle hunting. It just got a little too predictable, but I don’t have time to take up bow hunting, so I was looking for a little more challenge.

I enjoy the fact that now I HUNT a lot more. If I see deer at 300, I now have to figure out how can I get closer or will they come closer on their own.

The Stryker is an interesting handgun.

Grouse

DUring the rut when u see them laying out In a field at 400 yards I just thought it would be nice to have that in the back seat so u could sneak alittle then flip the pods down lay down and reach out and touch em with that other then that I probebly wont use it much deer hunting but maybe shoot some yotes with it

I had a savage stryker .243 for about a year and sold it. Fun gun to go out and target shoot with.

I had a bipod and leupold vx-3 scope with extended eye relief on mine. Personally I don’t think you will be making 400 yard shots with it but with lots of practice and the right scope maybe you could. I honestly could only shoot about 150 yards accuratly with mine.