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Is the 243 the best whitetail deer cartridge?
- Thread starter bigdogone
- Start date
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TX Badger
Well-Known Member
Only take head shots with a Kenworth. Too much blood shot meat otherwise.
John215
Active Member
Kenworth's have definitely killed more deer than most if not all cartridges.
Savage99man
Member
I think that the aluminum hood on a peterbilt mushrooms out better than the fiberglass hood on a kenworth and is therefore a more effective deer killer.
Love those Barnes bullets. Great shot and big bodied deer! thanks for the pics
John215
Active Member
Well since you're bringing in the sectional density and the ballistic coefficient into the equation...I'd have to agree. Peterbilt does out perform.
No caliber is worth much if you can't place the bullet in the right place. I have seen .243 in action. They work just fine on deer. If you are a poor shot, then cut the distance down and increase the bullet size to do the damage need to put the animal down. Target practices is what it needed. Teaching the persons to shoot correctly. A young person first deer or animal they are going to be nerves (buck fever) Now I am having a .243 or 6mm being built. The 6mm-280AI should do the job out to 600yds possible even more. It not about the rifle, it's about the person using the rifle. Young kids should be taken out the shoot ground squirrels, P. Dog or on that line to start with. That will teach them about what it takes put down an animal using a firearm. What happens by not placing a shot in the right place. Control the rifle to do the job at different ranges. It's the teacher not the shooter problem.
I've seen here where adults are doing poor shot placement, and then can't track the animal after that. I know that it happen to everybody, but some seem to do time and time again. SAD!
I've seen here where adults are doing poor shot placement, and then can't track the animal after that. I know that it happen to everybody, but some seem to do time and time again. SAD!
Brandon Starkel
Well-Known Member
Got one a couple years ago at 70 mph in a W9. Head shot, off the right front corner, the Heard Grill Guard saved the front end , but she must of spun around and under the drivers, the pup I was pulling finished off what the drivers didn't get.
Thee is no best. Ballistics aren't magic, you have a projectile traveling at a speed and if it hits with sufficient size, mass, and velocity in the right place it will get the job done. I think your story is just anecdotal. I have a buddy who sold me back my 30.06 (traded to him years before) switching To 7mm mag because he felt it put the feral Pigs down better. I imagine he just had better hits a few times with his 7mm mag and the performance variation was not real
243 is a great high velocity rifle with low recoil with enough power for deer sized game . If I were hunting heavy brush , shooting big muleys at a long distance I'd choose otherwise. It , .243, has proven very effective on whitetails in Nebraska with my experience, those shots are almost always 100-300 yards where we hunt. With msr's being all the rage, the 20:something's are shooting 6.6 Grendel and feel it is a great round for whitetail in the ranges we hunt there.
Hunting with a truck is cheating. They just stand on the road and wait for you. Simply no sport. Given a choice of the two, I would lean toward the .243.
John215
Active Member
Less expensive and better meat quality as well
HeadedWest
Well-Known Member
If I had it to do all over again I'd be shooting deer here in Michigan with a 243, not a 06. Ought 6s are for HeadedWest, along with a 300 Roy. Shot placement and Bullet design is more important than the cal. but I speak as a fool . I know nothing.What I' seen a 243 do made almost no meat damage , from daughters whitetail in northern Michigan.
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Muley hunter
New Member
I've harvested 4 mule deer and 2 whitetail bucks with my Kimber m84 (less than 6 pound rifle and a joy to carry) in 7-08. 130 grain Speer boat tail over Varget at about 2700 fps. The cartridge is "minute of deer" out to about 370 yds. Not one of these deer took a step out of their tracks at ranges from 120-305 yards. Every bullet has been recovered on the offside hide. Needless to say I am a fan of the cartridge. I had a 95 gr 243 blow up on a whitetail with a high shoulder shot at about 35 yards (at that range, not really the cartridges fault)which resulted in a long tracking job and required a follow up dispatch shot. The experience soured me on the .243 for deer. I have a 243 AI that is my go to for coyotes so I still like the 6mm bullet for thin skinned critters. The 7-08 doesn't recoil much more than the .243, has a great selection of 7mm pills, and IMO performs very well on deer sized animals. My wife has a 7-08 in a model 70 compact and has never once complained about recoil, so I believe it is an extremely manageable cartridge for a smaller framed person, with better down range performance. Best of luck in your search for the perfect whitetail cartridge!
Lee Goodwin
Well-Known Member
243 is good at many things. It may not be the best cartridge on big deer, but, everyone needs one in their arsenal. It is magnificent in what it is capable of, and , minimal recoil.
