Hi has long has your happy that's all that matters , over here in England the .243 is mainly a hunting caliber , but with the correct load it will be fine for target / steel plates , if you going to start with factory loads have a look at federal , seen some consistent groups done lately with them

Check out this guy and what he's done with a 243, you will not be sacrificing accuracy….
TiborasaurusRex (youTube)…It will put your mind as ease, search for his 243 videos.

Then watch this video…I trust anything John says, he gives great information on the pros and cons of using a 243 for competition shooting…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u70fExPJ0t0

Depends on what you plan to do with it.  A .243 would not be adequate for most of the larger plains game in Africa or elk, moose, mule deer and bear in the US.  For lighter game, it's fine.  I have one for coyotes and I'd use it on similarly sized predators anywhere.

For target shooting, probably depends on the distance but it's not much smaller than the 6.5 that's becoming very popular.