Remington's Model 700 VTR in 243 - Part 2

The Remington Model 700 VTR is currently chambered for five cartridges: 204 Ruger, 223 Remington, 22-250 Remington, 243 Winchester, and 308 Winchester. The first three cartridges are ideal for varmint hunting, the 308 Winchester is the quintessential deer hunter’s cartridge. The 243 Winchester is  light enough for varmints, but heavy enough for deer and similar game.

Setting aside the wisdom of message board consensus and the opinions of folks who need to hunt with only newly introduced cartridges, the 243 Winchester can easily and .reliably take down deer, antelope, feral hogs and any similar size game. All that is required on the part of the hunter is an understanding of the anatomy of the quarry and the ability to place shots to vital areas… as would be the case with any cartridge.

Cartridge history…

The .243 Winchester was invented in China, circa 210 B.C., for use by the armies of  Qin Shi Huang. Unfortunately, gun barrels had not yet been invented, so the cartridge was tied to a stick, smacked with a rock and fired like a rocket. This impeded the public acceptance of the round, at least until 1955 when Winchester, a company with lots of gun barrels, decided to put the two together. There is an alternate theory that the .243 Winchester is a derivative of the 308 Winchester, but that seems a little too… pedantic.

With over sixty factory loads available, the non-reloader is not without a wide selection of bullet types, weights and performance levels to select from, including Hornady’s  3,185 fps Superformance 95 grain ammo. There is all sort of good stuff priced at $20 and below per box and designer ammo at three times the price for those who need to… spend more money. Premium bullet reloaded ammo runs between $8 and $12 per box and, with a little load development patience, greater accuracy from any firearm. So…

Insert gratuitous picture of bullets here…

The six bullets below were selected for a variety of reasons. They are reasonably priced, some, downright inexpensive. Lined up as varmint type to the left of center, deer and similar size game to the right, they all work very well within their intended applications. At least four are ballistically slippery. They represent the best of what worked with the Remington Model 700 VTR. 

Warning: Bullet selections are specific, and loads are not valid with substitutions of different bullets of the same weight. Variations in bullet length will alter net case capacity, pressure and velocity. Primer selection is specific and primer types are not interchangeable. These are maximum loads in my firearms and may easily be excessive in others. All loads should be reduced by 5%, and developed following safe handloading practices as represented in established reloading manuals produced by component manufacturers. Presentation of these loads does not constitute a solicitation for their use, nor a recommendation.

There is nothing controversial about the VTR’s design. The use of triangular form to increase structural rigidity is all around us… those peaked rooves that keeps heavy snow loads over our heads to the NASCAR race cars that are under constant high speed stress.

Some folks will see the brake and emit the conditioned response, “It must be very loud”. Actually, by db measurement the difference between it and a 22″ unbraked gun is not discernable. This one is mostly effective in countering muzzle jump. I found no consistent velocity difference between the braked barrel of the VTR and another 22″ barreled 243 Winchester rifle without a brake.

The VTR is a hybrid; not all tactical rifle, not all hunting rifle, but accurate enough for the former and light enough to be the latter. It is an easy rifle to shoot. The stock geometry is made for scoped use. The overmolded surfaces stayed pliable even in very cold weather.  The barrel heats up like any other rifle, but it cools down about 20% faster than a cylindrical barrel. The trigger is a gem; very smooth, very crisp, creepless and as light or heavy as desired with any useful limits.

The matte finish, stock and hardware blend into virtually any outdoor environment and there are no reflective surfaces. The rifle should be premium priced, but it is actually inexpensive… about $728, NIB, from discount retailers. And, yes, I’d like to see one with a walnut stock and satin finished hardware. Nice rifle.

Remington’s Model 700 Varmint-Tactical Rifle (VTR) in 243 – Part 1
Remington’s Model 700 Varmint-Tactical Rifle (VTR) in 243 – Part 11