Effective hunting range of .243 win

[SofaKing]

Wasn't able to find any threads about .243 win when I did a search. So here it goes.

When I es in Wyoming last year a local guide took a bull elk at 320yds with his 243 win . What's the effective hunting range with a .243 win for coyote to whitetail? I've always been curious on this since I have a die set and some 100 gr hornady hp's already and can get a good deal on a savage. Not looking to shoot a 1000 yds. But wondering what are they capable of?

 

[Kurt]

spitin 105 coyote at 1000 would be dead and deer to 700 or 800 not out of the question. elk are a whole different story.

 

[Jud96]

+1 was shooting 100gr Sierra SPBTs at 3050fps for a backup deer rifle and was confident out to 700yds with it.

 

[Deleted member 25294]

I'm not going to try bashing the 243, but a good friend that I grew up with used one for years with good success on whitetail. That is until he learned how to shoot beyond 250 yards, in North central Washington long shots were the norm.
Anyway he lost a deer at 300 yards with a rear shoulder hit, and barely recovered another with a lung shot at just over 300. He still whacks tons of coyotes with that 243 but he switched to a 7mm mag for the Mullies and Whitetail.

I know the 243 can be stretched out there, but if it was me I'd look into one of the 6.5's for deer beyond 350 yards. Wounding an animal sucks, a little bit of error and that 100 grain bullet isn't going to make it through a shoulder bone like a 140 at long range. Just something to think about when considering those long shots..

 

[Jud96]

I'm not going to try bashing the 243, but a good friend that I grew up with used one for years with good success on whitetail. That is until he learned how to shoot beyond 250 yards, in North central Washington long shots were the norm.
Anyway he lost a deer at 300 yards with a rear shoulder hit, and barely recovered another with a lung shot at just over 300. He still whacks tons of coyotes with that 243 but he switched to a 7mm mag for the Mullies and Whitetail.

I know the 243 can be stretched out there, but if it was me I'd look into one of the 6.5's for deer beyond 350 yards. Wounding an animal sucks, a little bit of error and that 100 grain bullet isn't going to make it through a shoulder bone like a 140 at long range. Just something to think about when considering those long shots..

I don't know about a 100gr not busting through a whitetail shoulder at 350. Their shoulders are pretty thin, at 350yds the .243 with a Sierra 100gr SPBT has close to 1200lbs of energy and is going around 2300fps at my altitude. That's the same energy as a .30-30 at 100yds and more velocity than a .30-30 at the muzzle! And everyone knows how many deer the Winchester .30-30 has killed!

 

[ZSteinle]

I'm not going to try bashing the 243, but a good friend that I grew up with used one for years with good success on whitetail. That is until he learned how to shoot beyond 250 yards, in North central Washington long shots were the norm.
Anyway he lost a deer at 300 yards with a rear shoulder hit, and barely recovered another with a lung shot at just over 300. He still whacks tons of coyotes with that 243 but he switched to a 7mm mag for the Mullies and Whitetail.

I know the 243 can be stretched out there, but if it was me I'd look into one of the 6.5's for deer beyond 350 yards. Wounding an animal sucks, a little bit of error and that 100 grain bullet isn't going to make it through a shoulder bone like a 140 at long range. Just something to think about when considering those long shots..

What he said. coyotes you can kill them at 1000 all day.

 

[SofaKing]

Alright guys. Thanks for the input. Think I'll buy the savage. gun)

 

[valleyloader]

I killed a whitetail with a double lung shot at 432 yards with my 243 win. loaded with 80 grain barnes ttsx, went about 30 yards before piling up. The wounds (entrance & exit) were very similar to what I have seen from my buddy's 30-06 at 100 yards with 150 grain TTSX. Use a good bullet and put it where it counts and you will be good to go, however I will say that a larger bullet will fare much better with marginal or poor shot placement. I mostly hunt with a 300 wm if I know there will be opportunities for longer ranges. The situation mentioned above was basically a spur of the moment when I happened to have my 243 in the truck while at my buddy's house, there happened to be a deer in the field in front of his house at the said distance in season, and he happened to say "you can't hit that" (he is not into long range shooting, just deer hunting). The shot was not hard to make by any means, however I was very impressed with the terminal performance of the bullet.

243 win. is good to 1,000 and beyond on coyotes IMO.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqFXmNr5M_s]338 lapua and 243 win make amazing 1380 yard kill part 2 - YouTube[/ame]
This is not my video and I don't like that they were shooting toward buildings, but the video shows what the 243 is capable of.

 

[d11r529]

840 yards 243 105 grain AMax, same bullet I used this year to take a 163+ inch whitetail at 548 yards, yes the deer ran - about 50 yards but both lungs were totally destroyed

 

[adam32]

500 yards thru both shoulders of a whitetail doe with a 105gr Berger out of a .243 AI, dropped in her tracks. I wouldn't hesitate to whack a deer out to 1000. gun)