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Many years ago, I had the desire for a .243 Winchester. It wasn’t the time to buy anything, but I had a shotgun that was not being used and a dealer nearby had a .243. When I looked at, it was apparent that it was a Remington 700, but the version was unknown to me. I asked what it was and got the reply, “It is a SHOT Show Special.” Basically it was an ADL version with a blind magazine and a black polymer stock. It shot much better than it looked.
Over the years I have added a couple of rifles that would qualify as classic sporters. To me, an elegant centerfire bolt action may well represent the epitome of rifles. The Remington hardly qualified. At one point, I bought a used stock that was taken off a Remington BDL which ordinarily has a floor plate and a push button magazine release. The problem was that the stock was not in very good shape. It was shaped nicely and had pressed in checkering and a black fore end tip and grip cap. With that stock, I was going to “make do” but it was never quite what I had in mind. However, it required getting a trigger guard and floor plate assembly so I ordered those parts. It was a simple matter to put the stock and trigger guard assembly on the used BDL stock. However, I still considered the rifle to be a work in progress as far as appearance.
But that rifle would shoot. My favorite factory load is the 95 grain Winchester Ballistic Silvertip. It is advertised to give a muzzle velocity of 3100 ft/sec from a 24 inch barrel and it is close to that from the 22 inch barrel of the Remington. Moreover, it will give a five-shot group considerable smaller than one inch at 100 yards. If and when I get a chance to end the career of a large predator, that is the load I will use although it is not easy to find and it is expensive. When it comes to handloads, the 100 grain Hornady Interlock and enough Alliant ReLoder 17 to give a velocity of approximately 2900-2950 ft/sec also gives excellent accuracy.
The .243 Winchester has always been a superb varmint cartridge. It was conceived as a dual purpose cartridge that would be suitable for varmints and medium game so the original factory loads were available with 80 and 100 grain bullets. For the handloader, bullets range from about 55 to 105 grains which makes the .243 very versatile. My Remington will give groups of an inch or smaller with several bullets in that range. There are several powders that work well in the .243 case among which are IMR 4350, Winchester 760, and Alliant ReLoader 17, which is my favorite. Most .243 rifles have an excellent reputation for accuracy, and it is not a difficult task to find a combination that will shoot very well in almost any .243.
My problem with the Remington had nothing to do with accuracy. Rather, it just did not have the panache that I wanted. I had no intention to trade for another .243 because there were many things that I liked about the Remington. One of the important things was that it had open sights. Most centerfire rifles except for large caliber rifles for use on dangerous game up close are sold without sights. I will probably always use the Remington with a scope but I want an option and I have not seen very many .243s with sights recently. It would be easier to add class to the Remington.
Since the metal components of the Remington were not what made it less than classic, a walnut stock would give the needed touch. With that in mind, I got a Boyds platinum model walnut stock with full wrap fleur-de-lis checkering, but without fore end tip or grip cap embellishments. It fit perfectly with the procedure being as simple as removing the two stock bolts holding the old stock, putting the barreled action on the Boyds stock, and replacing the bolts.
The process of starting with a common Remington 243 and making it into a classic has involved some time and effort, but I now have a .243 sporting rifle that appeals to me. It doesn’t say Rigby Highland Stalker on the barrel, but I am just as happy as if it did and to me it is a sporting classic.
PHOTO CAPTIONS
Although it was plain initially, the Remington is now a classic sporter.
The Boyds buttstock is nicely grained.
The checkering on the grip area is not only attractive but also makes for a secure grip.
The cheek piece blends beautifully into the buttstock.
The full wrap checkering on the forearm adds a beautiful, useful touch.
The range of bullets available in .243 caliber makes it suitable for many uses.
This three-quarter inch 100 yard group indicates the performance of the classic Remington.