Is the 243 the best whitetail deer cartridge?

[Snowboy]

The best round for shooting anything is generally the one you can shoot consistently and accurately. Marksmanship is what kills, no magazine add ballistics. I have tracked many 125 pound white tails hit poorly with a 300 win mag because the shooter had both eyes closed prior to the gun firing. I'm pretty sure the second largest Grizzly ever killed was shot with a 22 rim fire at about 5 yds. Now that an exceptional case but it illustrates the point. Pick something you can shoot, you're comfortable with and know it's limitations. A 243 is great round and I have seen them perform well on game and in TAC matches. I'm pretty sure George Gardner was shooting 243 for a while in matches before designing the 6 GAP.
Good on you for getting away from your regular gun and giving the 243 a try. I think if more people did that they would realize, in many cases, less is actually more.

I agree shoot the caliber you feel most comfortable with. For most deer hunters in my life time that has been something in .308 caliber. Probably the most used has been the .308 Win. It is hard to argue the accuracy is better with any other options.

 

[just_jon]

It was the best until they necked it up to make the 260Rem.

You took the words right out of my mouth. Love it.

 

[Lee Goodwin]

I think the 6.5 CM started life out of the 30 TC.
243 is just enough for deer of medium size. I use a 270 Remington 700...best $299 I ever spent.

 

[TX Badger]

25-06. Flatter shooting, higher BC bullets (now), more energy/range, still won't beat anyone up unless they are tiny.

You can also load this down with 100gr. partition bullets for a kid who isn't going to shoot far and then really get it humming when they are a little bigger.

TX deer are small. I shot a 6.5 yo WI buck broadside with a 7 RM and 168 berger with no exit. He ran away like nothing happened and dropped 75 yds away. He was dead and just didn't know it yet, but that is a different animal than the deer in TX. So some of this depends on where you hunt.

Not knocking the 243, but you said "the best" and I would give that edge to a 25 with just a little more of everything.

 

[zzchipster]

When bullwinkle is standing behind a bush at a couple hundred yards i am glad I don't have a sub-caliber round and my 300WM (i also respect the 3006) does its duty.

 

[Snowboy]

I'm with ya!!! 6mm is the go to for me most the time. 260 Rem is my next pick for all time best. I have a thread called, bigger is better fact or fiction, on here about the same topic! Every deer I've shot with a 30-06 or 12 gauge has managed to run 100 yards or so before falling vs the good ol 6mm drt effect. A lot of good info and opinions but I agree the 243 is definitely one of the best

If you made the same shot with the 30-06 the deer would be drt. In 55 years of hunting deer and moose with .308 caliber I have never had either on go more than 50 yards after impact with most falling drt.

 

[JWhitty]

Used a '63 vintage tombstone 700 in 243 until I was 25, my grandfather gave it to me and was the only gun I had untill I was able to buy my own guns. Ironically my pap on the other side of the family gave me 7 boxes of old timer reloads topped w/ 85 gr spitzers and shot sub 1/2" out of my gun.

Scoped rifle is mine going to my boy, found another one for the oldest daughter, and if anyone has a lead on a 3rd for me it's greatly appreciated. I have another one coming up now too.... This way they don't fight over the gun, as they'll all have the same one.

 

[greenejc]

I think the 243 is just a slow 6mm Remington. It works pretty good at close and medium range with the right bullet. I started using the .35 Whelen for whitetail deer in Kansas in 2005. I load it with the Sierra Gameking 225 grain bullet at around 2725fps. The results are amazing when I hit one in the chest, shoulder or neck. There's always a fist-sized exit wound through the hide, even at 450 yards, and no deer has gone more than 30 yards. Its the best cartridge/projectile I've come across in over 40 years. Also, meat damage is minimal. My back up is a 30-06 with either Gameking or Nosler BT 180's.

 

[Cbass1019]

Havnt seen 7mm08 on this list...
I didnt read every thread though

 

[Beluebow]

The 243 with a 95gr NBT is bad medicine.

 

[Otto6555]

A little background, my father in law debated me one time, 243 is the best deer cartridge. I said, naw, it's the 30-06. He said no way, the 243 kills them just as dead, sweetest shooting cartridge with no recoil, and very flat and fast.

Shortly after that, I 'd gotten on a lease and bought a 243 as a back up to my trusty 30-06 and for my father in law to use when I took him as my guest. Well guess what? I've come to believe he's right. I've shot deer with calibers up to 375H&H and pistol calibers 45 ACP and 41 magnum and nothing kills deer as quickly as that 243.

Since then I bought a small frame 243 Tikka T3 for my kids to use as their first deer rifle. That gun is a tack driver and kills deer dead right there. It's light, smooth action, relatively inexpensive, sized right for kids and comes with shims to grow with them. My buddy took his youngest of three sons out to hunt his first deer this weekend. Borrowed that 243. One shot, DRT! Loved the gun.

Just more proof in my mind that my father in law was right. The 243 is the best deer cartridge. I don't know what it is, speed? sweet-spot diameter of bullet? Just the right amount of energy? Love to hear others' thoughts and reactions, both pro and con!

The 243 is a excellent whitetail deer cartridge
But
Yeah that but
7mm-08 is easy enough to shoot with very little increase in recoil
And the 7mm Bullet can and does kill bigger game just as efficient as the 243
Just my 2 penny worth

 

[Snowboy]

Have you even killed a deer with a 243? They are DRT 95% of time...doesn't get much quicker than a SST in 95grs.

Yes 100 gr. Partitions no exit wound small entrance hole hard tracking job, thank god for a good hound in heavy bush. Sold gun never had another deer with no exit wound.

 

[nwhunter]

I've never killed a whitetail, but have killed over 50 mule deer and blacktail deer in my life.
I started giving .243 rifles to my grandkids when they were ready to hunt even though I had never owned one up to that time.
I finally bought a Sako and a Styer for myself in 243 to decide if it was an adequate cartridge for deer and killed a couple mule deer and an antelope with one and have to admit its nice to be still looking at the animal through the scope and not loose sight of it from recoil.
Is it the the perfect deer cartridge? Probably not, and not my first choice but It certainly will do the job,

 

[Gibbshooter43]

While I agree with much of what's been said so far, I have, and shoot, the 243, 250 Savage, 257 Roberts, 25:06, and 260; I chose to Ackley Improve the 243, the 250 Savage, and the 25:06, and they all shoot better, faster, and flater .