243 Winchester for deer ?

[bcraig]

Hi, I have used a few different calibers,30-06,270,7mm Mag,30 carbine(first deer ! 40 years ago)44 Mag,mostly handguns,25-06 ,blackpowder rifles and single shot bp Pistols to take deer over a 40 year span and was always one to say that a 243 was not enough gun mainly because my dad tried one and we got some greatly different results on deer. On one buck I remember ,250 pounds weighed on cotton scales shot at about 40 yards in the butt traveled the length of the deer and exited. Another deer,a 60 pound or so doe wounded by my cousin with a 20 gauge shotgun . We walked up on this deer and dad shot her in the head from a ramge of 2 0r 3 steps. at the shot it blew the does head down on the ground then about 5 seconds later she pulled her head of the ground! he shot her in the neck then and that was that. The ammo used was Factory Rem corelokt 100 grain in both instances.and several more of the same type of inconsistancies. Really turned me off to the 243 .
Now i wonder if somehow the bulletmakers were having trouble making the bullets and their jacket thickness to a consistant standard ? And if that has any basis in truth then would the New ? 243 with the great bullets we have today be a good deer killer ?Reason i ask is I am almost 51 and getting to the point I dont like the blast and weight of even a 06 and I am thinking about getting a lighter weight short action bolt action 243 for deer hunting.Probably top it off with either a fixed 4x or 6x Leupold.
I have killed enough deer in my life that i wont be butt shooting any of themnor will I be shooting at over bout 300 yards max,I will just pass the shot if I cant get a good one.
My shots could come anywhere from 20 yards to max of 300 or little less.
most of our deer are bout 150 pounds but every now and then a 250 pounder will show up.
I am looking for some real experience from ones who have REally used a 243. Reason i say really used is that on some of the other forums (which shall remain anonamous) I get the feeling i am reading what 12 year olds are typing what with all the fussing and fighting and name calling !
I do reload but really not that interested in it anymore so i would be using Factory loads and probably ones i could buy at a Wal-mart.
Just wanting some real life experiences and oppinions based on this experience .
Thanks,Craig

[Thunder50]

My neighbors daughter used a 243 for Elk, so I would surmise that it is plenty for deer. When asked, I recommended a premium bullet, such as a Nosler Partition.

Three shots, three Elk, longest at a lased 287 yds. Elk just stood there, then fell over.

[Idiot]

I killed my first two deer with a 243 Winchester. The range was about 75 yards and the deer were two big mule deer does. Two shots later they were deader than Lincoln, one almost falling on top of the other. I also shot a big mule deer buck with one at about the same range a couple years later. It took four shots and I swore off the 243, claiming it was inadequate for anything larger than small does. I carried this anti-243 Winchester crusade for years, often using the big buck story as my example and exercising superior ballistic jargon to overcome common sense and other "stupid" peoples experience. But much to my snobbish disgust, people in my neck of the woods continued to kill deer and other similar sized game with 243's, and much of it with regular old Power Points and Core Lokts. Some even had the audacity to use cheap old red box Federal "shells" to get it done.

I even once argued on this board that one needs a big gun for elk and touted my few meager head of elk kills as examples. This, of course, all crumbled when a rancher living among herds of elk gave his elk count that tallied in dozens and told of how the 243 Winchester killed many of them just fine. After all this I revisited my old 243 verse big buck story and had to admit to myself, three dozen years later, that the reason it took four shots to kill it was because one shot missed the buck all together and the other two wounding shots were improperly placed. In addition, I had to recognize that I did, in fact, kill that buck. Oh well.

Sight your 243 Winchester in right, stoke it with at least 100 grain soft points (Wal-Mart has them), place the shot well, and it will kill your deer. I'm currently looking for another 243 Winchester - they sure are sweet shooting rifles. Have fun.

[TedH]

The 243 kills a lot of deer, that's for sure. What you usually don't hear about are the ones that were shot, tracked and lost. I've killed deer with my 243 and never lost one, but like many others on this forum, I shoot a lot more than the average deer hunter and probably have a little more luck in placing my bullet exactly where I want it to go. Therein lies the rub. A larger caliber will be a bit more forgiving on a less than perfect hit.

You state you could have shots as far as 300 yards. That's a loooong way out there under field conditions. Are you certain of your ability to poke a hole through the heart or lungs at that range? Also, at 300 yards that little 100 gr. bullet has lost a lot of steam. How will it perform if it hits a shoulder?

As far as the 243 as an elk rifle I have but one experience to share. I was not the shooter, but a friend of mine was. A big 6x7 took 6 shots at 210-230 yards and never showed any sign of being hit. It was tracked for upwards of two miles and eventually found dead. All 6 shots were good hits and any one of them would have made a lot faster kill if a respectable caliber had been used.

My feeling on the matter is that the 243 is "adequate" for a good shooter out to 200 yards on big whitetails. It is NOT an elk rifle.

If you are looking for a lighter rifle for deer, I have always thought the 7mm08 was just about perfect. One of them is on my short list, but these darn leverguns keep pushing it to the bottom.

[tman]

enough gun is a gun writers gold mine. some deer shot perfectly will runaway and never be found when shot with a .338 wcf. Some moose, elk , bear will drop on the spot when shot with a .22. , some won't when hit with a.577. If you hunt long enough, you'll experience it. a good shot with a .243 could hunt NA game and never look back.

[cshold]

Hi, I have used a few different calibers,30-06,270,7mm Mag,30 carbine(first deer ! 40 years ago)44 Mag,mostly handguns,25-06 ,blackpowder rifles and single shot bp Pistols to take deer over a 40 year span and was always one to say that a 243 was not enough gun mainly because my dad tried one and we got some greatly different results on deer. On one buck I remember ,250 pounds weighed on cotton scales shot at about 40 yards in the butt traveled the length of the deer and exited. Another deer,a 60 pound or so doe wounded by my cousin with a 20 gauge shotgun . We walked up on this deer and dad shot her in the head from a ramge of 2 0r 3 steps. at the shot it blew the does head down on the ground then about 5 seconds later she pulled her head of the ground! he shot her in the neck then and that was that. The ammo used was Factory Rem corelokt 100 grain in both instances.and several more of the same type of inconsistancies. Really turned me off to the 243 .
Now i wonder if somehow the bulletmakers were having trouble making the bullets and their jacket thickness to a consistant standard ? And if that has any basis in truth then would the New ? 243 with the great bullets we have today be a good deer killer ?Reason i ask is I am almost 51 and getting to the point I dont like the blast and weight of even a 06 and I am thinking about getting a lighter weight short action bolt action 243 for deer hunting.Probably top it off with either a fixed 4x or 6x Leupold.
I have killed enough deer in my life that i wont be butt shooting any of themnor will I be shooting at over bout 300 yards max,I will just pass the shot if I cant get a good one.
My shots could come anywhere from 20 yards to max of 300 or little less.
most of our deer are bout 150 pounds but every now and then a 250 pounder will show up.
I am looking for some real experience from ones who have REally used a 243. Reason i say really used is that on some of the other forums (which shall remain anonamous) I get the feeling i am reading what 12 year olds are typing what with all the fussing and fighting and name calling !
I do reload but really not that interested in it anymore so i would be using Factory loads and probably ones i could buy at a Wal-mart.Just wanting some real life experiences and oppinions based on this experience .
Thanks,Craig

Hopefully this is considered an on topic reply tonight.

A number of years ago I cleaned out the gun-safe and went to the local fun-shop with
some odds and ends of unwanted guns. I was in the mood to pick up a bolt action in 25-06 cal. Needless to say there weren’t any in the shop at the time. Shop owner said I do have nice little .243 win. Model 70. I said well I’ll take a look at it. Never owned one before and read and believed all the terrible bad things that were written and said about the .243; not unlike the 30-30 over the yrs. Well I looked it over, and it really felt and handled nice in the hands. Worked out a sweet deal took it home launched it to the back of the gun safe where it stayed for a couple years. Last fall I decided to pull it out, slap a Leopold 3 to 9 on it, and took it to the range. As they say the rest is history. This is one sweet little rig and it will be in the woods with me again this yr. and hopefully with the same results of one round from a box of 100 gr. Federal bullets bought at good ol Wal-Mart.

[BlueStateSaint]

As at least one other poster to this thread has said, it's all about where the bullet hits the animal. If one hits a deer in the thigh with a .500 S&W Magnum, the deer stands a far higher chance of getting away than if it was double-lunged with a .243 Winchester. If the deer is grazed with a Truball slug fired from a 12 gauge, it stands a far better chance of living to tell its herd-mates about the encounter, than a deer that was shot in the chest with a .30-30 Winchester, or a .243 Winchester, or a .25-06, or even a .223 Remington.

There's a guy in the deer camp I belong to that swears by .30 calibers for deer--even more so than a .44 Magnum, or a .45-70, or even a 12 gauge shotgun slug. He hasn't shot many, so he's just going on his opinion. What he fails to understand is that it's all about where one puts their shot, not what caliber one is shooting.

[AJMD429]

Yep - it's all about shot placement, most of the time. Bullet construction IS important, and there are rounds so weak that even a proper bullet in the proper place STILL wouldn't do the job, but a .243 should do the job if you hit the right place.

On the other hand, if you make a BAD shot in a non-lethal or less-rapidly-lethal zone, the very large hole made by a .430 - .500 bullet at even 800 fps should usually make a far easier trail to follow than a .243 at 3300 fps...

[madman4570]

Honestly, I dont like the Factory Rem corelokt 100 grain loads.(if it has to be the .243 its the 85 gr BTHP either Federal or Hornady for me.Too many darn people I have talked to say the same thing about hitting them good and they just take off with quite a few even being lost with those loads.
Thats why anymore as far as a rifle goes with any chance of long range shooting(Its the 7MM Rem Mag)
Hardly no kick,but it sure kicks the game. Otherwise for heavy woods/brushy areas its a 45-70 or a 12 gauge slug with the good old Deerslayer.(Over 32 deer with the later and never lost one yet)

[Dave]

Around here we have had great luck with 243's on deer and hogs. I use a Sierra ProHunter 100 grain bullet, some guys use the CoreLockt 100's, one guy uses some kind of bronze Barnes bullet. I have become very partial to shooting deer in the neck with the 243. They are down before the gun comes out of recoil and there is no attempt to get up. I have shot other deer double lung and they go right down. One or two steps tops.

If you get a lightweight 243 like a Remington Model 7 or Winchester Featherweight and put a Leupold Compact scope on it and place your shots you will be happy. That said if I was going to buy a new gun I would buy a Remington 700 LSS in 7-08 Mountain Rifle. That is a nice rifle. The 7-08 gives you a 140 gr bullet with surprisingly little recoil.

[CEMENTHEAD]

If you want to spend a little more you can shoot Hornady's new Superformance 95 grain SST load (3150fps) or Federal Premium 85 grain TSX load @ 3200 fps. Both are flat shootin' to be sure.

My choice would be the Federal Premium load. My Uncle and cousin both use it and it's AMAZING the amount of damage it does.

Good luck, Tom

[Don McDowell]

Have I ever told the story of the time while professional hunter herding a mule deer buck took 4 rounds from a 300 win mag loaded with black talons , all at 200 yds, all went thru vitals, and yet when we got to him he still needed head shot?
Sometimes things just happen. You can blame poor shooting or animals that weren't aware they were supposed to fall over dead, on a .243 if you want.....

[bcraig]

Hi guys , I appreciate the experiences yall have told me about.Sounds like bottom line is the 243 will do the job just fine if you do your job.Most of the time .BUT that also applies to any catridge I suppose. I have seen shot and shot deer using the 06 that was hit well and still managed to run 100 to 150 yards ,one of them a 175 pound buck that I hit broadside with a Rem 165 grain bullet(factory load) nearly broadside at about 60 yards. he was completely unaware of my being there as far as I Know,had his head in a scrape standing still.At the shot he jumped what looked like 2 foot in the air and took off like he had never had a sick day in his life! I ran out to where he had been standing (I thought )could not find anything. then I calmed down and went back to where I had been sitting beside a big white oak tree . This was easily identifyable by the bare spot on the ground and several cracker wrappers on the ground! I sat back down and looked through the scope until I thought the scenery looked like it did when I squeezed the trigger,Then I walked to the spot and found blood all over the ground. followed the blood trail and followed it for 165 LONG steps and found the buck. later when a friend of mine and I Gutted the deer the lungs and heart just poured out of the deer. But the bullet made it out the other side.Deer was dead on his feet but It doesnt take one long to cover 160 LONG steps! other times I have seen them shot and fall over deader than puppy love with gut shots and liver shots !
I have gotten to the point that I wont shoot at a deer running full speed unless I feel like I have already hit him . I dont believe in saving ammo and if the deer is still moving I shoot again! so what if it ruins a little more meat and cost another dollar ,I would rather have the deer on the ground dead as I have seen deer that were shot and supposedly hit right get away and have a long trailing job.I aint selling my current 06 yet(a Interarms Mauser Mark X with full length stock) nor an old 98 Mauser guild rifle 8mm JS nor a Winchester 30-30 94 AE but I am going to give the 243 a try.If any thing the fact that some express doubts as to its being enough catridge will make me a little leery and I will be even more carefull and choosy with my shots and range .I would rather pass on the shot and possibly have a better opportunity later or the next day .All the fun ends once you have the deer on the ground anyway, then the real work begins ! LOL
Anyway thanks again for all the info ,Craig

[AJMD429]

Have I ever told the story of the time while professional hunter herding a mule deer buck took 4 rounds from a 300 win mag loaded with black talons , all at 200 yds, all went thru vitals, and yet when we got to him he still needed head shot?
Sometimes things just happen. You can blame poor shooting or animals that weren't aware they were supposed to fall over dead, on a .243 if you want.....

Sounds like it was on PCP to me. . .




(...if you're too young, you may have to ask a cop, medic, or ER worker who was around in the 70's why that was [sort of] funny.)

[MrMurphy]

Never killed a deer myself but .243 is one of the most popular calibers in this area for it.


that said, a coworker got one in his yard with a Blackhawk in .30 carbine (he lives out in the boonies) one day.....

[243dave]

Back in the 80's I used factory loaded 100gr remington corelokts and had problems with too little expansion. At times the exit wounds were so small I couldn't put my pinky in it. The deer usually ran 150yds before keeling over, they always killed the deer so I guess they didn't fail but they always left a bit to be desired. 100gr federal factory loads killed much better with quarter-sized exit wounds but I have reloaded since about 93 and my favorite big game 243 bullet is the speer 100gr grand-slam. It expands quick, penetrates deep and kills very quick (if not instantly) leaving a large exit hole. My old remington 700 shoots them at just over a half inch group at 100yds, not bad for a sporter weight barrel. IMO the 243 is a good deer cartridge and when the right bullet is used will kill them as well as a thirty caliber. Dave

[greyowl]

The 243 has not been a real popular caliber in the north woods. It is used by some, mostly shooters that because of small size or youth find that they shoot it well because of it's mild recoil. That I think is good thinking, accurate shooting is the first priority. I see the 243 as the 30-30 of the bolt action cartridges. Often complained about for lack of power, but easy to shoot well. You must be a little more selective about your shot choice, and pass up some angles because of penetration concerns. A lot of deer are taken with it though.

[Pisgah]

I just KNOW that everyone has been waiting with bated breath to hear my take on the .243. So, here 'tis...

For deer, I have never really cared for the .243. For my taste it seems just a tad too light, ecept perhaps with premium bullets, and I lean a bit more towards the 6.5s -- give me a choice between otherwise-identical rifles in .243 and .260, or 6.5X55, I'll take one of the latter. BUT, a .243 WILL get the job done! How do I know?

I once knew a fellow, friend of a friend, who hunted with us on my family land for several years running. This was the sort of fellow who never fired a shot during the year except at a deer, and when he would miss or wound a deer and lose it he would blame the rifle, the cartridge, or both! One year he actually traded rifles FIVE TIMES during the season because of blown shots that were, of course, "Not my fault".

Well, one year (the year I finally got sick of him and ran him off), he showed up with a brand-new Ruger 77 in .243. The first day of the season, he lost a big buck that had been hit, fell, and then jumped up and ran off. I found clear signs of a gutshot and trailed the deer for hours but never recovered it. He insisted he had hit right in the ribcage, and insisted it was the cartridge's failure and that he was going to trade for a .30-06. I had a custom Mauser '06 he admired, so I offered him a "trade-for-the-season" -- you hunt with my rifle, I will hunt with yours.

Making a long story somewhat shorter, during the balance of the season he lost 4 more deer, bagging only one badly gutshot, close-range doe -- while I racked up six neat, clean, one-shot kills with his "lousy" .243, at ranges from 20 feet to 175 yards. And , of couse, by that time he had christened my Mauser a "lousy piece of s***".

I do not buy at all the "One rifle do-it-all for everything from varmints to elk" bull hockey for the .243, or any cartridge for that matter. But I DO know that the critical factor is always, always the shooter, regardless of cartridge used, regardless of how inherently-accurate the rifle may be, regardless of action type, regardless of any-dadgum-thing-you-can-name.

[cshold]

Some .243 info. you may like to read.

http://www.6mmbr.com/243win.html

[Don McDowell]

Here's the last elk I witnessed being shot with a 243. He was using pmc factory loads, range was 210 yds, 2 shots the elk went down after traveling about 20 yds, the blood trail could of been followed by a blindman.

[gon2shoot]

I killed my first elk with a 22 Rem. single shot, ($16.00) killed the last one with a Ford F250 ($46,000), pick somthing in between those two that you are comfortable shooting, learn to hunt ( get close enough for a good shot), put the shot where it counts and enjoy your meat.

[piller]

I made a bad shot on a Scimitar Horned Oryx with a .45-70 and nearly lost it because of no blood trail, but it would have killed the animal eventually. My point is that a bad shot is a bad shot no matter the caliber. A friend who hunts exclusively with a lightweight rifle in .243 is the best deer hunter I have ever known, and he has lost 1 deer in over 25 years. Barry gets his deer and then fills a second chance tag every time. The .243 does what it was designed to do, and I can see the usefulness in it.

[getitdone1]

I think the .243 Winchester is a great cartridge.

Correct bullet for game hunted and bullet placement. That simple.

Come to think of it, I think most cartridges are great. Know what? I'm right.

Don McCullough

[JimT]

Many American hunters can discuss for weeks on end the relative merits/demerits of various cartridges, all the while those who live where they must hunt for food get the job done every day with things we would never consider.

Of course that is the difference between those who must hunt and those who like to hunt.

[Lastmohecken]

No doubt, one can kill a lot of game with the .243, but I think bullet choice is a little more important, and shot placement is critical. I do like it's light recoil, and usually fine accuracy in decent guns.

I have used a 25/06 more, and I think it like it better, but even with it, I have not been that impressed with the wound channels left, sometimes, and I have helped track a few very well hit whitetails shot with the 243, and we found them, but I was not impressed. If I was recoil shy, or a .243 is all I had, or I wanted to build up a very light rifle, then I might choose a .243, and it would make a heck of a coyote gun, but for general duty, I will stick with it's daddy, the .308 Win with 180gr Silvertips.

[Canuck Bob]

I hunted deer, both muleys and whitetail in Alberta and Saskatchewan. We are blessed with some big deer.

I used a 243 Browning BLR scoped with Nosler handloads. I eventually moved up the power range because of spotty performance. If I was looking for something similar I would put 25 caliber as my minimum deer load. The 7-30 wildcat in a lever would be a nice and unusual deer rifle. In one of those clunky obsolete old fashion bolt guns a 25-06 would be devastating, and Jack O'Connors favorite 270 really enters the all around category well. However real hunters know any big game rifle should be a lever .

I know many of you like this caliber and I am passing no judgement on your choices. I've seen it kill like lightening. I just felt it lacked something. I often hunt in heavy bush and it is heartbreaking to see a wounded animal run off to suffer.

[Lawyer Daggit]

I suggest a 257 Roberts, 250 Savage, 6.5 Mauser, 6.5 x57, 7x57. None of these rounds will punish you and offer a superior range of bullets than the .243.

If blast un-nerves you- the 243 is a calibre you will find loud and 'blasty'- try before you buy
.

[Streetstar]

I don't have a high opinion of the cartridge for larger animals after following faint blood trails for hours in one case. (not to take anything away from anyone else's experience with the rifle --- Casastahle and Don McDowell posted pics to prove it'll do the job)

That said, my .243 will never be used again for hunting anything other than smaller animals (smaller meaning pronghorn - down) -- i am already considering re-barrelling it with a heavy profile varmint weight barrel and a McMillan stock so i can get some more use out of the rifle. I know we shouldnt be superstitious, but i just don't trust the cartridge anymore

(again --many hunters, and deceased Whitetails would beg to differ, i know)

[cshold]

I don't have a high opinion of the cartridge for larger animals after following faint blood trails for hours in one case. (not to take anything away from anyone else's experience with the rifle --- Casastahle and Don McDowell posted pics to prove it'll do the job)

That said, my .243 will never be used again for hunting anything other than smaller animals (smaller meaning pronghorn - down) -- i am already considering re-barrelling it with a heavy profile varmint weight barrel and a McMillan stock so i can get some more use out of the rifle. I know we shouldnt be superstitious, but i just don't trust the cartridge anymore

(again --many hunters, and deceased Whitetails would beg to differ, i know)

So sorry to hear of your not so positive experience with the .243 Win.

No hurt feelings by any of us in your decision. I give you an A+ for at least giving it a first hand go.

I know of a guy that had a very similar experience as you with a .35 Rem. in a Marlin 336.

He gave up on the .35 Rem. as a viable deer round a year or two before and should have moved on to something else but he didn’t.

He shot and gave up on trailing a very nice big Doe do to his lack of confidence in the round.

I for one didn’t. Short story long, 300 + yrds. later, I had his deer meat in my freezer.

Turned out to be a gut shot, .35 cal. Hole in one side with a no expansion, .35 cal. Hole out the other side.

[Meeteetse]

Hunting all over Wyoming for mule deer, elk and antelope the .243 has taken it share. Is it my first choice, No! I prefer .30 calibers, but I have seen the .243 work. I believe it is the shooter as much as the gun or caliber. Lots of research by the Wyo Game and Fish Commission proved it worked and so they made it the minimum big game caliber. Minimum is the key word. If you hunt bigger game, I think you should have a bigger caliber. For what I have seen in Texas and the little whitetail, the .243 should work.

I've killed deer at the ranch with a well placed .22. So who am I to criticize the .243. Some would tell you the .308 I prefer isn't big enough. The way some people shoot, a grenade launcher isn't big enough.

[jackruff]

I've never shot a deer with a .243, but I've shot them with two different rifles in 6mm Remington, which shoots the same bullet just a little bit faster, over almost 40 years. I never had a deer go far that was hit in a good spot. The 100 grain Core-Lokt pointed soft point is devastating to an animal's vitals.

[SMOKE JENSEN]

I,ve used the .243, deerhunting since 1976 and have never lost a deer or had to use more than 1 shot. I reload and use the hornady 100 gr spire point. The only time I had to use more than 1 shot, was hunting antelope in Wyoming in 1983. The fault wasn't the .243, it was me not doing my job. If I do my job the Remington Mohawk 600, will put 3 shots at a hundred yards in a group no bigger than a dime. I have never hunted elk with it but have talked to people who have and didn't feel undergunned if they did their part.
The .243 is a great deer cartridge if, the shooter does his part.

[86er]

I've seen plenty of 243's used on all kinds of game including native, african and exotic. It works as good as any other "deer cartridge". Like the posts prior, you have to hit them in the right place with a good bullet at a sensible range. You can kill a deer with a lot smaller stuff, faster stuff, slower and/or bigger. I know a guy named Doug who threw a brick at a doe and killed it when it hit her in the head at around 30 feet. So the potential is there for the 243 to work just fine. If you are an optimist, you can take what you think is the best shot with what you think is the best ammo for the job. If something goes astray, you will follow up with due dilegence but it is a loss you will accept it, not blame the cartridge and move on to another hunt. If you are a pessimist, you will limit yourself to perfect presentations at closer ranges using the best ammo (in your opinion) that you can buy/make. You will make every effort to fire a second shot if the animal is visible and fleeing after the first shot. You will follow up the animal with blood lights, your buddies help and a carefully marked back-trail while on hands and knees. If you cannot find the deer you will lose confidence in the caliber and get something else. With this said, you are used to '06 class cartridges for a long time. You have to match a caliber with your personality and experience. You cannot expect the same exact performance you've been getting with the bigger cartridges. For me, my less recoil-less noise cartridge for deer is a 7mm-08 with 140 gr Core-lokts for Accubonds. That combo matches my personality just fine. Best of luck with whatever you decide!

[Streetstar]

I chronicled the story last deer season about one my brother and I lost while using a .243 ------ since i went to the range yesterday anyway, i took the .243 along as i had not touched it since that day -- i wanted to make sure it was zeroed correctly at 100 yards because that thought had been nagging me occasionally too . It was perfect -- 2" high at 100 yards, exactly as it should have been. It put 3 shots in .75 inches. Granted, a 5 shot group would have grown a bit, as i am used to 1.5" groups with the rifle (standard sporter weight barrel cut to 18"), --- but dang, its a shooter for sure. Almost makes me want to leave it alone, -- almost. Anyone want a short .243 barrel? (JK-- last thing i need is more projects right now)

[Lawyer Daggit]

I do not like the .243 as a deer gun- here that means Fallow and Red Deer, which I gather are bigger than Whitetail.

I find it a 'nothing calibre' that is IMHO too heavy for light game and not heavy enough for deer.

I used to find it destroyed a lot of meat and was very noisy.

I prefer a heavier bullet say 110-140 gns making a 25 cal or 7mm a better choice for me.

If you want to use a .243 I suggest you may do well to try premium bullets.

Having said this, there is no perfect calibre or perfect rifle, and I note that there are many shooters with as much if not more than my forty odd years of hunting experience who use the 243 with great success and who swear by it and I accept and respect their judgement. I just agree to disagree.

[Idiot]

Turned out to be a gut shot, .35 cal. Hole in one side with a no expansion, .35 cal. Hole out the other side.

How in the world could you possibly know the bullet didn't expand? Did you happen to stumble across the bullet when walking the 300 yards to the downed animal?

[SFRanger7GP]

Well said 86er. You are our resident "Cartridge Psychologist" with your degree from University of "Lots of Experience" located "worldwide". Here are my thoughts on the .243 based on my limited experience and unusual personality. I used all my trapping money to buy a M700 BDL in .243 with a Leupold 3x9 when I was 14. I shot a doe with it using 100gr core-lokt bullets. Hit it four times in the lung/heart region and watched it continue walking through the mesquite with blood pouring out both sides. I easily followed the trail a 100+yds to where I found it dead. At what point did the bullet fail? That very moment when I lost confidence in it. I thought, if it ""failed during the best of times, how would it perform during the worst of times? I traded that very day for a .270.

Flash forward several years. My wife shoots a .243 now. I bought it for her. We always hunt together. She has killed several deer and hogs out to 100yds with one shot and all dropped immediately....dead. I have shot several hogs and deer out of the same stand with her using my "artillery piece" as she calls it (Shiloh Sharps) and only one has dropped immediately....dead.

Summary: the .243 works fine, but it is a girl's cartridge.

[Idiot]

Summary: the .243 works fine, but it is a girl's cartridge.

You nailed it! That's should be the heading and summary of every discussion and article about the .243 Winchester.

[cshold]

Turned out to be a gut shot, .35 cal. Hole in one side with a no expansion, .35 cal. Hole out the other side.

How in the world could you possibly know the bullet didn't expand? Did you happen to stumble across the bullet when walking the 300 yards to the downed animal?

I repeat, a .35 Cal. Hole in one side of the deer with an exact duplicate sized exit hole out the opposite side of the deer.
This = no bullet expansion I would think.

[Idiot]

Turned out to be a gut shot, .35 cal. Hole in one side with a no expansion, .35 cal. Hole out the other side.

How in the world could you possibly know the bullet didn't expand? Did you happen to stumble across the bullet when walking the 300 yards to the downed animal?

I repeat, a .35 Cal. Hole in one side of the deer with an exact duplicate sized exit hole out the opposite side of the deer. This = no bullet expansion I would think.

Yeah, that's probably right. I used to tan a lot of deer hides and the skin is so elastic that expansion can occur, say from 35 caliber to 45 caliber, but the holes will look exactly the same. Once you begin to stretch the hide the actually holes size differences can be seen. I only asked the question because some folks will read the post and say "the 35 Remington is a rotten cartridge because the bullets don't expand," when the only way you can really know whether a bullet expands or not is to recover the bullet. In addition, one of the best bullets, the Nosler Partition, fully expands right after impact, sheds its frontal lead and jacket, and returns to its original diameter leaving a small exit wound similar to the entrance wound. However, the bullet fully expanded, did damage, then exited. Anyway, I'm sure you know all this.

I don't have enough fingers and toes to count all the people I've unintentionally mislead making similar statements, or the amount of erroneous conclusions I've jumped to after reading similar statements. Anyway, this is just a discussion, not a challenge. Thanks for the response.

[cshold]

I stand corrected.
That 200 gr. Bullet probably did expand perfectly as it was supposed to.
I sure don’t want to mislead anyone.

[El Chivo]

the skin is so elastic that expansion can occur

I can corroborate this; I shot my only deer in the ribs with a 35 Remington at close range. I found an exit wound in the skin that was about the size of a quarter.

Later, when butchering, I found the exit wound in the ribs, it was much bigger.

[Old Savage]

Of course the performance of the Partition must depend to some degree on the size of the animal - even on big antelope side to side the offside blew out a 2 inch hole from my friends 270 much like my 6mm with Sierra Pro Hunters.

[L_Kilkenny]

I got a question for you guys. I've been looking to buy/build a crossover deer/varmint/maybe black bear rifle for about a year now. My first choices on calibers have been a .250 savage or one of the 6.5's. Never had much love for the .243. But finding a low dollar rifle in the preferred calibers is proving to be difficult. Like I said, I've never had much love for the .243 but the question of why keeps cropping up in the back of my mind. When it comes to differences in bullets we're only talking a few hundredths in diameter and in the case of the .250 Savage, traditional bullet weights are identical. The .243 will push equal weight bullets faster than a .250S. Even if I go with a 6.5mm I'll still stick on the lower end of the bullet weight (100gr +/-) most, if not all, the time.

So tell me......why would a .250S or a 6.5 be better for me than a .243?

LK

[KSFlatheadhunter]

My daughter and I have shot 3 or 4 deer in the last couple of years with the .243 shooting a Barnes Triple Shock 85 grain bullet. We have not recovered a single bullet. We are pleased with the .243's performance, given we are using a good bullet that will stay together.

Darin