Is the 243 the best whitetail deer cartridge?

[NDAR15MAN]

If you are going to buy a new gun buy the gun that you can find / buy 500 rounds of ammo for. If you own a rifle that can kill a deer , find / buy 500 rounds of a ammo for it.
Things have changed the last couple years.
It's all about ammo today. MD

 

[Sobewan]

And then,.. Squeezed it back down and ADDED, the 30* shoulder, to create,.. the PERFECT, Deer / Antelope, Cartridge,.. the 6.5 Creedmoor !
Yup,.. I succumbed to, One of, these Baby's ! And,.. My Man bun, is growing,.. longer !

I to have taken up the Creed and it hasn't disappointed me... at least not when it comes to whitetails. Now about that man bun... is it really required anymore?

 

[J.J. Weiland]

Dead is dead. Shot placement trumps caliber. How quickly they die is largely based on how quickly the brain runs out of oxygen and caliber has little to do with that. Internal bleeding into the lung cavity can deprive the animal of blood to the brain just like a good blood trail can. Sure some fall where they stand with a double lung hit, but it's more chance than anything.

243 is a fantastic cartridge, as are most of the other 17,497 cartridges that are on the market. The best caliber is the one you like or even the one in hand when you see a deer. Deer are easy to kill.. even the 223 is capable (but not always legal) if the deer isn't too far away. Definitely something to choosing a low recoilong cartridge when it's more than capable. You don't need a magnum to kill deer unless you are reaching way out there.

Agree completely, I use 6mm creed with 105 gr on very tough hogs. Gives me great results so I like it best. Others with different calibers and good results will like theirs best. Gotta love the choices out there.

 

[spladi]

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 Amish community in my neck of the woods use many different calibers except the .243. They are AVID hunters, perhaps more so than we English but after reading these posts I think I would try the .243

 

[Calvin45]

Have you ever killed one with a 30-378 Roy with 180gr bullet doin 3450fps.???

Pffff! That's nothing!


The real destruction begins when you hit them with a f350 going highway speed!

 

[Scooter 45ACP]

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!

Your father in law is right I'm 72 years and have been hunting deer since I was 10 years old, killed deer with about every cal.available and my .243 model 70 featherweight wins the trophy, I know dead is dead but theres just something different about .243 dead when it comes to whitetails, love that little cal. and would not even consider taking anything but when hunting whitetail.

 

[skipglo]

And then,.. Squeezed it back down and ADDED, the 30* shoulder, to create,.. the PERFECT, Deer / Antelope, Cartridge,.. the 6.5 Creedmoor !
Yup,.. I succumbed to, One of, these Baby's ! And,.. My Man bun, is growing,.. longer !

Now you did it!

 

[dgp3006]

Great cartridge and I've had two of them. After using them for a couple of years a long time ago, I moved on to larger calibers. Just my opinion but I tend to use what I feel is needed for the worst scenario. I also believe it's personal preference as well. I've used a lot of calibers but my favorite deer rifle in the Georgia woods was a Remington Mountain Rifle in .375 H&H. Loaded with 235 grain Speer Spitzers or Nosler 260 grain Partitions. Now I hunt in South Georgia near the Florida line and the farm deer there get really big.
Wouldn't see many unless you could open up the thick stuff so the stands have 5 to 8 shooting lanes 100 to 450 yards. The big bucks rarely venture into the lanes unless the rut is on and there are no easy shots. If a twelve pointer with tall tines and a body the makes his rack look small stops on the edge of a lane quartering away at 250 yards, you have to put him down or risk never seeing him again. Happened many times. In that moment I'll have a .300 Winchester or something similar shooting a real hard bullet fast as I safely can.

 

[skipglo]

Your father in law is right I'm 72 years and have been hunting deer since I was 10 years old, killed deer with about every cal.available and my .243 model 70 featherweight wins the trophy, I know dead is dead but theres just something different about .243 dead when it comes to whitetails, love that little cal. and would not even consider taking anything but when hunting whitetail.

My granddaughter will testify to this...she's 14 this year, couldn't make it this year but she shot three in two days last year....her First year...now she thinks it's easy ....all DRT

 

[SEJohnson73]

243 Winchester.... too big for coyotes...too small for deer...and plenty of muzzle blast to replace the recoil. haha That said, one cannot deny the 243's commercial success... kinda like Nickelback... ;-)

 

[pioneerguy20]

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!

I'm kinda shocked the 250 Savage didn't get an honorable mention!

 

[pioneerguy20]

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!

I'm shocked the 250 Savage didn't get an honorable mention, or maybe I didn't read far enough!

 

[Raudy707]

I killed my first buck with a 243. Excellent cartridge in the hands of an experienced rifleman. My favorite deer cartridge is the 257 Roberts and 25-06. Filled a lot of freezers with those two quarter bores over the years.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

Now you did it!

Big, Idaho Mulie's,.. "Need a Lil' Moor",. IMHO ! I'LL probably use some, 129 - 130 Grainers in my 6.5 going, in Excess of,.. 2,850 FPS .
( Close to, the .270 Win's Velocity / Power, but not, quite ! ) LOL !
I think, the 6.5 Creed is just about,.. RIGHT for Deer & Antelope and yup,.. NO, Man Bun for, me !
THIS "subject" has got to be good for at least,.. 20 MORE, Pages !