for legal deer-stalking. Firearms that would normally be chambered in .308 Winchester/7.62×51mm NATO are sometimes available in .243 in countries–such as Spain–whose regulations restrict or forbid private ownership of so-called military calibers (restricted to bolt action-repeating rifles). No military is known to currently designate this round for service. In a non-sporting context, bolt-action rifles chambered for the .243 were utilized by the Los Angeles Police Department's special weapons and tactics (SWAT) unit during its early years. A specialist 115-grain projectile can move up to 3,150 fps from a 28-inch barrel, or over 3,000 fps from a 26-inch barrel. P. O. Ackley created an improved version of this cartridge called the .243 Winchester Improved (Ackley). Like other improved cartridges, this created a steeper shoulder and blew the sides out, giving about 10% more powder capacity, and some small improvement in velocity. Performance Performance-wise, the .243 Winchester closely matches the 6mm Creedmoor but the .243 Win has more bullet and casing options, as well as more factory loadings and firearm options available. The .243 Win also has slightly more powder room, while the 6mm Creedmoor is usually loaded to slightly higher pressures. With very little recoil, even less than that of the .30-30 Winchester cartridge introduced sixty years earlier, the .243 brought higher chamber pressures, larger powder volumes, and sharply tipped bullets, which all combine to lend the .243 more muzzle energy and far greater downrange energy than the .30-30 is able to achieve. The .243 Winchester has also been found to shoot flatter and more accurately than the 7mm-08 Remington out to 500 yards, with less recoil yet also less terminal energy. The recoil has been measured to be so light that it "can be shot by anyone that can handle a rifle." Among popular small-bore rifle ammunition the .243 does have approximately three times the recoil factor of the .223 Remington and twice the recoil factor of the .22-250 Remington, but only half the recoil factor of the more powerful long action .25-06 Remington (without muzzle brakes). As the .223 and .22-250 are not recommended for deer hunting, the .243 has the lowest recoil factor among small bore deer hunting cartridges. Lack of overpenetration on medium game has traditionally been perceived either as a problem (lack of exit wounds and blood trails) or as a feature ("uses up all the energy in the deer") of traditional lead .243 cartridges versus