So whats wrong with the .243 on Deer?

[Bigeclipse]

The .243 with the 105 berger is a great deer cartridge WAY past 250 yards If its only good out to 250 then so is the 270 on Elk............................This whole thing is similar to when we were in High School and there were always the guys that had to have the car with the most Horse Power, Some how you could always justify more horse power..........................Kind of like now, guys just get all excited when it has a belt or when the word Ultra appears.........................

Personally, I think its more about our ego's than anything else.

I didn't mean 250 yards max for all shots but where we may shoot at a heavy shoulder shot with a 300win or 3006 at 250 yards...you may want to avoid those type shots. I'm just saying bigger bullets always give you more opportunities but a well placed 22 will kill a deer so of course a 243 is fine. again...my wife uses a 243...but she won't be shooting shoulder out at those distances...she will be shooting just behind on a broadside shot

 

[Greg Duerr]

I use to hunt with a friend who HATED ALL 6mm's When he found out I was having a .243 AI built he told me how STUPID I was, said that the 6mm's are good for varmints only and they are NO Deer or Antelope cartridge. He said this while I was sitting in his home, and he has the right to his opinions especially in his home. So, I asked him this, " If I hit a Deer right behind the shoulder at 200 yards using a Nosler 100gr Partition, he loves the Partition, it wont kill it..................? His reply, " If your going to argue with me then get out of my house! I then asked him WHY he hated them so much. I was told that once he owned a 6mm shot three times at an antelope and nothing. I was puzzled, I said you missed him right, " No I didn't!! and that's why' I will never own one again.

There you go again, its this ego thing.............................

 

[Greg Duerr]

Two years ago my son shot a Black Bear at 211 . Now he did hit him right behind the shoulder and the damage was scary................You know if all I had was a shoulder shot at a big Mule Deer Buck I would take it ................Im sure that the 105 Berger would put him down.

I killed my one and only Bull Elk with a 300 win mag using a factory 180 Winchester. The bullet hit him behind the shoulder and broke the far side shoulder on the way out. This was a really big bull, scored 320. Now I would have thought that it would have put him right down........NO he just walked up the hill and turned around and looked back at me! Staggered and went down. He was about 275 yards out. It was a great shot the bullet preformed great and after that experience..................................I need more gun, right . NO
What would have happened if he had taken off on a run, he would have gone a bit far ......................would a larger bullet have made a difference..............?? OR maybe if I had a 338 Ultra Mag??

You be the judge.

G

 

[DKA]

It's all about shot placement and knowing your limitations and the rifles limitations!! Good to go.

 

[Greg Duerr]

And knowing your limitations. Most Cartridges will kill a lot further than we often give them credit for. Just like having a car with 500 HP when in High School so many guys like having a huge big ultra Mag for a hunting rifle. The old saying "show me a guy with only one rifle and I will show you someone who knows how to use it" A .270 in the hands of someone who knows how to use it and better yet really knows how to hunt, read sign, etc , etc,.................
I got almost blasted off this sight because I asked this queston, sure a lot of guys can shoot out to 1000 yards but in a real hunting situation with wind, just how many animals when hit ran off and you thought, I Missed. When the condtions are perfect sure with tons of practice. But, I will put my $$ on the guy with tons of field experience and someone that has one rifle and knows how to shoot it.
With winter conditions even a 400 yard shot might be pushing the limitations. I will always try and get a close as I can before taking a shot and then I often don't take the shot.....................
I will only have one hunting rifle and will only hunt with that one rifle and it will be a .243 AI 105 berger......................

G

 

[jsthntn247]

Anybody use 100 grain hornady interlock btsp? I'm gonna load up some with the bergers I have and try them on a few does.

 

[bama1]

My 243( not ai and 9.25 twist ) data shows 2081 fps and 1010 energy at 575 yards. I use hv100. 105 berger....not suppose to stabilize and not suppose to be able to kill deer with this little whimpy gun. Tell it to the dead deer
It will also make a lot of high dollar guns cry at 1000 yards. Fact

 

[West Bay Wader]

When I was in college I bought my first gun. Brimming with testosterone I just had to have a magnum. So a 7mag was in the rack. That particular gun has always had some issues and is not consistent enough for me. It is lightweight and it starts to put a good thumping on you at the range.

Once I had kids I bought my fist 7-08 which I love. Great gun great cartridge. I have 2 boys and then my little girl. Planning for all of them I bought a second 7-08 and a 243. After about 7 years of hunting everyone fights over the 243 when it is time to go hunting. My 243 will shoot an honest 1/3" at 100 while so far the best my 7-08 is 1/2".

I load the 243 with 80gr TTSX over a healthy dose of H4350. The bullet opens up very quickly on double lungs and the exits are silver dollar size. I have shot big hogs through the shoulder (DRT) with the bullet exiting the other shoulder. With a good bullet and good placement you can cover a lot of North America with the little 243. I plan to shot a hog from head to tail this year just to try and see how far the little barnes pill will make and hope to recover the bullet.

 

[Warden]

On our property the .243 has dominated all other guns! My kids use it and have unquestionably brought home more whitetails than the big guns! 95 grain NBT and now the 87 grain bergers! Why, because we shoot all the time and they understand anatomy, shot placement and the art of shooting! The 270's, 300's, 30-06's have lost more deer than my 243's! Why, opposite of why we are successful, Not because they are bigger! Have we ever lost a deer, yes but not because of the 243, the early years we didn't understand all of the important aspects! Since I got into reloading and shooting it has been nothing but success, and I mean nothing but! Multiple 200+ lb deer! It it so easy on the shoulder, don't care to use anything else! If you master the 243 it won't let you down!

 

[idaho elk hunter]

While touring in Scandinavia 8 yrs ago we decided to go on a moose hunt. Not planning for this we did not take our personal rifles. We paid our guide for the use of 2 rifles and were shocked that he handed us 6x 55 sweedes. He laughed at us Americans stating we all use to much of everything. We both collected our moose. They died just as quick as the Wyoming moose that we have shot with 300 Win Mags. I do not know if this is to state the 300 win mag isn't all that it is cracked up to be or the 6mm cal is just as good?

 

[Jamesonj]

Not a thing.

 

[MNhunter86]

I'm a fan of a rifle that I can and do use on all big game 30-06 is my go to. Now I'm definitely not saying everyone should only own 1 rifle that is for sure as I don't but I just like to always shy on the large side rather than the light side. In Minnesota the legal size caliber for deer is a .22 center fire so I'm positive a .243 is perfectly capable of taking down a deer in its tracks. It's all about shot placement. Why do you think a lot of poachers use .22lr quite cheap and lethal to the head. My all time favorite deer drive gun is my .45-70 lever action its fairly light and very fast to shoulder and drop dead lethal.

 

[Deleted member 46119]

I expect most hunters here are pretty good shots. Family and friends too.

Minimum caliber regulations are for "average" shots, with the intension to have as little lost game as possible.

Bickering amongst our selves gains us nothing and gives fuel to non-hunters who would say we need more...

 

[dogbuster0006]

I've killed dozens of deer with a 243win at ranges from 20yd or so to over 400 I've never failed to recover a single one of them and never had one run more than 100yd tops. Just behind the shoulder shots which resulted in DRT on all but 3. Of them it was with the 100gr cor-lock I blame not shot placement. I assure you I can hold minute of deer vitals too wayyy out there. First example was at about 30yd bullet gave great splash effect but no blood trail and the deer made it about 40yd before piling up. The second was about 120yd and she made it about 100yd down hill to die. In both cases I waited about an hr before trying to recover "I didn't push the animal in any way". I was confident with my shot in each case and knew the animal was hit, and hit hard. I don't like the inconsistent results I've gotten with that load, exit wounds would vary greatly from animal to animal.
I did shoot one large built deer for my area he was 220lb field dressed he was hit 25-30yd right behind the shoulder quarter slightly away the bullet hit right where I was aiming and stopped just under the skin on the far side. He ran about 15 steps to his death, he was dead and never knew what hit him, vitals were quite literally juiced. I will never shoot a 100gr cor-lock again I've found a more consistent loads that I have more confidence in Hornady 95gr sst, and recently with 96gr Berger vld so far love the results.
Regardless of caliber shot placement is king period!!! The newest wiz bang magnum may give you a touch more margin for error but, you'll not shoot it as well because of the recoil and cost to get the practice you need. I can and have shot three or four boxes in one sitting with a 243win with no ill repercussions to my shoulder or developing a flinch. The heaviest recoiling gun I have is a 7mmrem mag, it's hell on everything I've shot with it but, it's not fun to shoot. I will never sit down and fire more than one box of ammo from it before I see I'm tensing up and not taking my time to break each shot.

There are people out there who can fire a magnum all day and if you are one of them I applaud you for it you're a better man than I. Heavy recoil is not my thing. Will a 243win kill everything from whistle pigs to elk just as dead as the biggest baddest magnum? With proper bullet selection and shot placement yes it will. I'm not going to chase a big brown bear or hunt african game with one because there are better choices for that, for deer the "little" 243 is just fine. It will do it with less cost and punishment than a heavy magnum and the ability to shoot more, which means more practice and that's always a good thing.
My first deer rifle was a Ruger m77 243 with a 3-9x40 Leupold Dad bought me when I was 12-13 it has killed more game than anything I own except maybe my 20ga 870. "I've had that since I was 10 or so". I've got bigger rifles that shoot a little flatter or faster and have more energy than my "little" 243 and I will shoot them because they take a little less adjustment for distance and give me a little more margin for error. Are there "better" calibers for uber long range deer killing out there yes, are there smaller caliber which will work up close yes. Would I shoot elk at 600yd with "my" 243 no, I've got a 7mag with a bigger scope which will do that just fine, once again giving me a little more "wiggle" room. Will I give anyone crap for doing it with "their" 243 nope, if they've taken the time and got the confidence to do it go for it.
Bottom line; if you know your gun and shoot the right bullet the "little" 243win will kill deer quickly and reliably. May not give you the DRT results which we all like every time but, you show me a caliber/bullet combo that will without exclusively taking head shots.

Good luck and happy hunting.
I was 15-16 when I killed this buck he was definitely dead enough when I got to him.