Ballistics by Cartridge

.243 Winchester Ballistics Chart

Drop, wind drift, velocity and energy for the loads .243 Winchester actually shoots — solved by a real trajectory engine, not copied from a box.

Muzzle velocity
2960 fps
Bullet
100 gr, G1 0.393
Drop at 500 yd
50.1" (2.8 MRAD)
Ballistics chart: drop, wind drift, velocity and energy by range (100 yard zero)
RangeDrop (in)MOAMRADWind 10 mph (in)Velocity (fps)Energy (ft-lb)TOF (s)
100 yd0.00.00 UP0.00 UP-0.8272116450.11
200 yd-3.01.41 UP0.41 UP-3.2249513820.22
300 yd-11.53.67 UP1.07 UP-7.5228011540.35
400 yd-26.86.39 UP1.86 UP-13.920759570.48
500 yd-50.19.58 UP2.79 UP-22.818827870.64
600 yd-83.413.27 UP3.86 UP-34.517016430.80
700 yd-128.617.55 UP5.10 UP-49.415345230.99
800 yd-188.722.53 UP6.55 UP-67.813844261.20
900 yd-267.028.33 UP8.24 UP-90.112553501.42
1000 yd-367.435.08 UP10.20 UP-116.311492931.67

Solved at standard sea-level atmosphere (59°F, 29.92 inHg) with a 100 yard zero, 1.75" sight height and a 10 mph full-value crosswind. Drop is relative to your zero.

Quick answer

With a 100 yd zero, a 100 gr hunting .243 Winchester load (100 gr, 2960 fps) drops 11.5" at 300 yd, 50.1" at 500 yd and 367.4" at 1000 yd. Change the load or zero above to see your own numbers.

Keep your profiles and range cards on your phone

Atlas Ballistics for iPhone, iPad and Mac adds saved rifle and ammo profiles, offline range cards, and truing from your real shots.

Get Atlas for iPhone

Free to download. Your website inputs are not automatically imported into the app.

.243 Winchester trajectory

1002003004005006007008009001000Range (yd)-380-285-190-950Drop (in)

The .243 Winchester shoots flat inside 400 yards, but its light bullets shed velocity and energy faster than the 6.5s at distance — the chart makes the crossover point obvious.

For deer, watch the energy column rather than drop: 100 grain loads dip below the commonly cited 1,000 ft-lb threshold around 400 yards.

Ballistics charts for other cartridges

Frequently asked questions

With a 100 gr hunting load at 2960 fps and a 100 yard zero, a .243 Winchester drops about 50.1 inches at 500 yards (9.6 MOA / 2.8 MRAD), and about 11.5 inches at 300 yards. The full chart above covers every range and load.

A typical 100 gr hunting load leaves the muzzle at 2960 fps with 1946 ft-lbs of energy. At 500 yards it is still moving 1882 fps and carrying 787 ft-lbs. These figures are solved from the load data, not copied from a box chart.

A steady 10 mph full-value crosswind pushes the 100 gr hunting load about -22.8 inches at 500 yards. Wind drift grows faster than drop with distance, which is why wind reading matters more than memorizing holdover.

This 100 gr hunting load stays supersonic to at least 800 yards under standard conditions. Accuracy degrades through the transonic band (roughly 1,340 fps), so treat that as the practical ceiling for predictable precision. Terminal effectiveness on game depends on the energy column above — most hunters watch for 1,000 ft-lbs on deer-class animals.

Your barrel length, actual muzzle velocity, and the day’s density altitude all shift the solution. These tables use standard sea-level atmosphere and published velocities. Chronograph your load, solve for your real conditions, and true the result against actual impacts — the Atlas Ballistics app does all three.

More free ballistic calculators

All free, all in the browser, no download needed.