Is the 243 the best whitetail deer cartridge?

[Swinehunt74]

Love my 243's within their range, and the 6Rem and AI's even better.

But the 25-06 and 257Bee notches things up a bit.

My personal choice is the 25/06. 117 VLD hunter is one of the most effective bullets I've ever used on anything under 500 lbs. 243 is a close second though......

 

[memtb]

It was the statement that the lighter bullets exploded when hitting the shoulder bone that got me thinking. (Yes I know all of you can smell the wood burning ) If your shot hits the shoulder bone, then you have essentially not hit in the kill zone. The shot is supposed to hit right behind the shoulder. The only bone it might hit if shot behind the shoulder would be a rib bone what will not stop the bullet's travel like a shoulder hit will. I doubt that many, if any of you are familiar with the book, "TOUCHING THE WILD," by: Joe Hutto. It is a chronological history of his living among a Mule Deer herd in Wyoming.
On page 152 there is a picture of a deer he has named Casper that has suffered a gun shot wound. The picture shows a crater over the shoulder bone where a bullet hit, then from the looks of it exploded on the shoulder bond and blew back without any penetration beyond the bone. It was like the bullet hit a steel plate, disintegrated and bounced back taking additional flesh with it. To me this looks like the shot mentioned above where the little .243 hit the shoulder bone instead of behind the shoulder where it would have passed into the heart lung area. The issue was not the fact that it was a .243, but the shooter did not place the bullet well, which resulted in their not getting the deer but only wounding it and allowing the wound to fester. Eventually the bullet was ejected and the wound allowed itself to then close up and heal. The deer lived on for another season or more.

The book, "Touching the Wild," by Joe Hutto is a very interesting journey into a human interacting with a deer herd, accepted as one of them. There are many insights into how the deer think and react to his presence. It is available on Amazon.com. It is well worth the money as it gives you an insight into a deer's psyche.

I agree with the premise that the shooter/hunter should've placed the bullet behind the shoulder, whereby meeting near-nothing for resistance, and taken out the lungs!

However, it is also the hunters responsibility to have the intelligence to use a bullet fully capable of penetrating the shoulder of whaever animal he/she is pursuing! Bad shots can and do happen…..contrary to what some on this forum profess!

In Robert Ruark's book "Use Enough Gun" could as easily been titled "Use Enough Bullet"! memtb

 

[Calvin45]

Well i bet anyone could follow this bloodtrail. This was a cull shot with my tikka t3 243 last year in west tx after a rare snnow.

Holy smokes. It's always snowy whew I live during deer season. The only times I've gotten blood trails like that have been with a .300 win mag!

 

[Calvin45]

Didn't read everything - but it certainly works - for the right applicatrion.

I grew up hunting in heavy timber - and the ole .32 Winchester Special - lever action - shooting 170 grain soft nose -which worked great - out to say 150 yards - but most shots were much closer.

Oooooooh…the .30-30 of cool people !

 

[gbett308]

For LR hunting (600+) of whitetails, the 243 is NOT the best rifle period end of conversation. There is no best rifle caliber, opinions as they are, we all have one.

The minimum suggested muzzle energy to kill a whitetail according to colorado parks & wildlife (and the trusty internet!) is 1000 ft/lbs which is about 300 yards for the .243. If you are the average hunter who harvests whitetails at less than 300 yards, you are in business with a well-placed shot.

At 600+ yards to enter the LR arena, might I suggest the tried and true 270, 308, 30-06, 7mm 08 or larger magnum calibers .264wm, 7rm, 300wm.

We are almost to 40 pages in this thread, let's go!

 

[kopcicle]

If .243 isn't then it's close.
We have an ultra lightweight in the family somewhere. (I'll have to check where because it makes the rounds) It was built for 100 pounds soaking wet auntie Ole somewhere around 1957. it's an early model 70 with every conceivable ounce carved off of it. It's never worn an optic. Instead it's been fitted with a three leaf express sight and a hooded blade with a gold dot. The plain butt had a recoil pad added when auntie Ole retired from the active hunt and stayed in camp with her 92 Winchester 44-40.

Most of us kids took our first deer with that rifle. The only exceptions were the 03A3, a 6.5x55 m/1894-14, and a full length magazine tube 26" 30-30 '94 take down that weighed a ton. All of these rifles along with a Remington 141 and the various 22's are still somewhere in the family.

I grew up in an age where scopes were still a curiosity because aside from durability and construction (most leaked eventually) they were a luxury item and "real" riflemen didn't need them.
The 25-20 and 32-20 were called "meat in the pot" when not in the hands of a rifleman (woman) that knew a quartering away, behind the trotting shoulder, low in the chest cavity, between the 4th and 5th rib, was a sure kill. Except for auntie Ole.

Auntie Ole is immortalized in family oral history for having taken several deer with head, if not eyeball shots. She didn't like button holes in her hides. I don't doubt it. I saw her take a rabbit at 150 yards with the 32-20 off hand with a head shot. "Didn't want to waste the meat."

This does get us back to the .243 somehow. Although all the 22's and a sub caliber lever guns were our primary education, auntie Ole's .243 was out graduation. Once we got older our first rifles were out of the trash can at Sears and Roebuck or Montgomery Wards or some such. There were a variety of side by and pump shotguns as well as a lever or three and the pump Remington.
It all came back to the skills that we learned from that .243.

Open sights.
Minimal recoil.
Flat to 250 yards.
Relatively inexpensive to shoot.
All kinds of .308 to convert .
Good bullet selection then and even better now.
With a bit of mucking bout some very good cast boolit loads.
Easy to carve weight off of without compromising safety, reliability, or accuracy.
And memories of auntie Ole? Priceless.

Afterthoughts.

I find myself returning to those early days. All of my big bore magnums are gone and I primarilly use a .270 Winchester or Ackley Improved. I've had a few twilight thoughts centered on the .277-08 which is basically a necked up .243. Some of the sub .30 caliber thinking is the weight of the weapon and the rest is either modern bullet and powder development or the experience of where to place a shot. I may even build a lightweight .243 just to leave an heirloom behind.

 

[Dirtrax]

For LR hunting (600+) of whitetails, the 243 is NOT the best rifle period end of conversation. There is no best rifle caliber, opinions as they are, we all have one.

The minimum suggested muzzle energy to kill a whitetail according to colorado parks & wildlife (and the trusty internet!) is 1000 ft/lbs which is about 300 yards for the .243. If you are the average hunter who harvests whitetails at less than 300 yards, you are in business with a well-placed shot.

At 600+ yards to enter the LR arena, might I suggest the tried and true 270, 308, 30-06, 7mm 08 or larger magnum calibers .264wm, 7rm, 300wm.

We are almost to 40 pages in this thread, let's go!

6mm creed pushing a 108 gr bullet gets me 715 yds max at 1000 ft lbs. That's not even a max load. It is an accurate load though.

 

[kopcicle]

and 100gr @ 3200 is only 12' of windage 10 mph full value @ 1000 yards.

 

[del2les]

For LR hunting (600+) of whitetails, the 243 is NOT the best rifle period end of conversation. There is no best rifle caliber, opinions as they are, we all have one.

The minimum suggested muzzle energy to kill a whitetail according to colorado parks & wildlife (and the trusty internet!) is 1000 ft/lbs which is about 300 yards for the .243. If you are the average hunter who harvests whitetails at less than 300 yards, you are in business with a well-placed shot.

At 600+ yards to enter the LR arena, might I suggest the tried and true 270, 308, 30-06, 7mm 08 or larger magnum calibers .264wm, 7rm, 300wm.

We are almost to 40 pages in this thread, let's go!

While I understand what you are saying and agree with some, the "old" 1,000 ft/lb argument went away years ago. Many of us have killed deer sized game with too many calibers, muzzle loaders and handguns that have far less than 1,000ft/lbs at the muzzle let alone at impact.

 

[memtb]

While I understand what you are saying and agree with some, the "old" 1,000 ft/lb argument went away years ago. Many of us have killed deer sized game with too many calibers, muzzle loaders and handguns that have far less than 1,000ft/lbs at the muzzle let alone at impact.

Meaning that …….ft/lbs energy is "fake news" that has been around and believed by many for decades!

But, to say that on a public forum…..is equivalent to heresy or blasphemy! memtb

 

[epoletna]

Love my 243's within their range, and the 6Rem and AI's even better.

But the 25-06 and 257Bee notches things up a bit.

Interesting comparison -- .243 and 25 calibers. The very first time I went deer hunting was on a very large ranch in central CA. That would have been some time around 1958. The owners son, who was about the same age, was hunting with a .257 Roberts, saying it was the best deer caliber ever. The next year when I went back he was showing off his new caliber -- the best deer caliber ever. It was a .243 Winchester. I was impressed with this newer, faster, bullet.

 

[Calvin45]

Interesting comparison -- .243 and 25 calibers. The very first time I went deer hunting was on a very large ranch in central CA. That would have been some time around 1958. The owners son, who was about the same age, was hunting with a .257 Roberts, saying it was the best deer caliber ever. The next year when I went back he was showing off his new caliber -- the best deer caliber ever. It was a .243 Winchester. I was impressed with this newer, faster, bullet.

.243 vs 257 roberts (especially if factory loaded) is one thing…the .257 weatherby isn't even a sensibly comparable beast to pit against the .243! I have one of each, so for once i just might know what I'm talking abouT

 

[Calvin45]

While I understand what you are saying and agree with some, the "old" 1,000 ft/lb argument went away years ago. Many of us have killed deer sized game with too many calibers, muzzle loaders and handguns that have far less than 1,000ft/lbs at the muzzle let alone at impact.

Moreover there are no doubt certain projectile/cartridge combos that are hauling a lot more than 1000 foot pounds and still might be slower, less effective killers than a bullet of appropriate construction that is going fast enough to perform as advertised regardless of terminal energy.

 

[kopcicle]

regardless of terminal energy.

That's why it's called terminal ballistics instead of terminal energy.