Sure, it's not lead but is it accurate?

When testing ‘non-toxic’ ammunition in .243, the nation’s favourite stalking calibre, Graham Downing is fairly impressed

- Graham Downing

Introduced in 1955, the .243 Winchester cartridge is reckoned to be the most popular 6mm round in use today for hunting medium-sized game and for target shooting. Designed by necking-down a .308 Win case to take a .243in (6.17mm) bullet, the round is capable of achieving high velocities thanks to the large powder capacity of its case and the fact it shoots flat out to most ranges at which one might expect to engage live quarry. It is not surprising that BASC has estimated that nearly 14% of all rifles held on certificate in Britain — around 60,000 — are chambered for the .243 Win cartridge.

It is a forgiving round with low recoil. I moved to it from .308 for my everyday stalking some years ago because the lack of recoil enabled me to watch the reaction to the shot so much more easily than with the .308 cartridge, which I now reserve for larger species such as red deer.

But there’s a problem. As we all know, a wholesale switch to non-lead ammunition is now taking place, and because copper is less dense than lead, the smaller centrefire calibre bullets must be longer if they are to approach a weight comparable to that of their lead counterparts. Furthermore, longer bullets require a faster twist rate if they are to be stabilised in flight, making the shooting of a .243 bullet from a 1 in 10 twist rate barrel potentially marginal in terms of accuracy at range.

Lighter bullets must also be driven faster if they are to achieve the same muzzle energy as heavier ones, and this presents a problem for manufacturers trying to produce a round that meets the muzzle energy requirements of UK deer legislation.