Introduced in 1955 by Winchester, the .243 Winchester is one of the most popular and versatile cartridges available. Derived from the .308 Winchester, the .243's low recoil and flat trajectory make it an excellent all around cartridge. Due to a wide bullet selection being readily available, the .243 can be applied just as well on the shooting bench looking over prairie dog town as it can waiting for a whitetail from 15 feet up a tree. The 243's accuracy potential is excellent making it a popular choice of competitive shooters.