Winchester 243 how good or bad for deer and range

[G-Man]

Actually outdoor life and field and stream like  it.. but again professional hunters writers  pushing  it..  at least this guy gave his honest opinion even with it dropping deer dead..  

All i know is  lot of people calling for tracking dogs  make good reads but seems no one has tracking  skills anymore either so they should shoot a larger caliber  may help with leaving  blood on iffy shots..  not everyone is one shot one kill .. face it  almost everyone  on a hunting site that post  hunts a lot or shoots a lot  the average  joe  is a lurker who doesnt want to be eaten alive by "experianced " guys when asking a question.  Eskimos kill polar bears with a .223  would  you? 

[onlybrowning]

I shot my heaviest buck to date with a Browning Mountain Ti in 300WSM with a hand loaded 150grain Nosler Ballistic Tip over a healthy dose of H4350 at about 7-10 yards. The bullett put a huge hole on the entrance side, but really lacked penetration. Luckily, a great dog and tracker helped me find it. I almost never hunt that rifle now, but if I do, it’s with a 165 Accubond. I use the same in .308. My point, as others have said, is to use the right bullet. Those Ballistic Tips were way over the recommended max of 3000 fps impact velocity out of that rifle. At 200 yards, it would’ve been a very different outcome. At that close distance with that velocity, that bullet “blew up.”


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[Lawdwaz]

3 minutes ago, G-Man said:

 Eskimos kill polar bears with a .223  would  you? 

I'd feel marginally better with a 243 and Barnes 80gr TTSX and happily give it a whirl.

[G-Man]

2 minutes ago, onlybrowning said:

I shot my heaviest buck to date with a Browning Mountain Ti in 300WSM with a hand loaded 150grain Nosler Ballistic Tip over a healthy dose of H4350 at about 7-10 yards. The bullett put a huge hole on the entrance side, but really lacked penetration. Luckily, a great dog and tracker helped me find it. I almost never hunt that rifle now, but if I do, it’s with a 165 Accubond. I use the same in .308. My point, as others have said, is to use the right bullet. Those Ballistic Tips were way over the recommended max of 3000 fps impact velocity out of that rifle. At 200 yards, it would’ve been a very different outcome. At that close distance with that velocity, that bullet “blew up.”


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Again showing  knowledge and experiance in knowing to choose proper round..the average joe looks as a box sees a pic of a deer and grabs it good to go...  a fine gun in hands of an experiance shooter imo but not a great deer rifle for the masses.

Even when the round was created  it was by experianced shooters wildcat put i to production ..  

[TreeGuy]

I just want to see the pics of this bear that was shot a half dozen times !!!????

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[G-Man]

8 minutes ago, TreeGuy said:

I just want to see the pics of this bear that was shot a half dozen times !!!????

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Its in the bear section  my 1st bear.  Full body mount in my basement. 

[suburbanfarmer]

Not mines but interesting review

 

[luberhill]

1 hour ago, suburbanfarmer said:

Not mines but interesting review

 

That’s pretty much my experience with the PowerPoint 100 grain

[phantom]

5 hours ago, G-Man said:

Its in the bear section  my 1st bear.  Full body mount in my basement. 

Let me ask another  Question did he shoot that deer  in a field or in the woods is it possible  The bullet hit a branch or  something before hitting that deer and because of that less force was left over when it hit the deer ?  Just wondering how much energy is lost when a small bullet like that hits branch or something but still hits the deer by chance .   Wonder how often that happens.

[mowin]

13 hours ago, G-Man said:

Dont aim for shoulder  always pop lungs.  No meat loss unless you really clean up ribs....

Well that's obvious. 

I was responding to the post that the 243 will ruin the shoulder at close range if hit. 

[Kmartinson]

Funny fact.... I went to hunt bears in Maine and the owner of the guide service never used any other firearm, just changed his ammo. That means for him everything from rabbit to moose can be killed with the same weapon. I can attest his trophy wall was complete, bears included. .243 is awesome if your responsible!

[mowin]

I keep hearing " in experienced shooters hands" 

Yet, most of those that I know using a .243 are youth hunters or women.  Couple of the ladies are better shooters than most men, but most hunt 3-4 times a yr and probably shoot a few rounds before the season.  Most of the youth shoot more often, but neither are experienced shooters, yet they kill deer just fine with the 243. 

[Lawdwaz]

I’d bet dollars to donuts that the majority of naysayers have never popped a primer on a 243 or 6mm, paper or game.   

[Shoots100]

38 minutes ago, mowin said:

I keep hearing " in experienced shooters hands" 

Yet, most of those that I know using a .243 are youth hunters or women.  Couple of the ladies are better shooters than most men, but most hunt 3-4 times a yr and probably shoot a few rounds before the season.  Most of the youth shoot more often, but neither are experienced shooters, yet they kill deer just fine with the 243. 

"Experienced" shooters know that you don't need a Magnum to drop an animal, unless you always take Texas heart shots.

It takes a few years in the field to get that experience.

 

[phantom]

12 minutes ago, mowin said:

I keep hearing " in experienced shooters hands" 

Yet, most of those that I know using a .243 are youth hunters or women.  Couple of the ladies are better shooters than most men, but most hunt 3-4 times a yr and probably shoot a few rounds before the season.  Most of the youth shoot more often, but neither are experienced shooters, yet they kill deer just fine with the 243. 

One thing i find little strange people rag  on small calbier like that but than go hunt with bow which is harder to use . Guns bows  only good if you can be  Accurate with them anyway.   You can have all the power in the world and if you're not hitting where you're supposed to hit  aint gonna make much of a difference  got to try and make a good shot what im saying  Not rely  On the extra power of what ever you are using.  I know guys that miss or take bad shot  And then go bigger and bigger and still  Complain that what they used didn't do the  job when it's just their marksmanship that's the problem.

[mowin]

14 minutes ago, Shoots100 said:

"Experienced" shooters know that you don't need a Magnum to drop an animal, unless you always take Texas heart shots.

It takes a few years in the field to get that experience.

 

I agree.  But most of the "experienced" comments on here is that is adequate in experienced hands, yet most of those I know that use a 243 are far from experienced, and have no problems killing deer. 

[Enigma]

A 243 was the first rifle I bought. 35 yrs ago. Bought it mostly to hunt woodchucks. Killed some deer with it with some 100gr handloads. Most didn't go far. Its my backup now to a 308.

I'll give up a couple pounds of shoulder meat for a short tracking job. Crush a front shoulder and get two holes. End of story regardless of caliber. Someone told me that once . . .

Know your rifle and ammo. Know their limitations. And know your's. 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Enigma

[Nytracker]

My uncle was a man of modest means..  He has only ever owned one rifle . Remington 700 bdl chambered in 243 . He is arguably the best shot in the family. He has killed well over 100 deer with it . Thousands of chucks, foxes,  yotes and  turkeys .. yes he lives in PA. He has killed 2 black bear . He has reloaded for that gun and has always said  premium bullets and stay off the shoulder. He fed a family of 7 with that one rifle. He still kills his buck every year  but he does it off the back porch now not in the woods .

[luberhill]

On 10/31/2022 at 10:14 AM, biggamefish said:

For a bear skin and some fat to stop a .243 round seem crazy. Neither is that tough. I wonder if they were dud ammo for some reason. Sounds like the cartridge didn't perform and wasn't the bullets fault.

Agree, something doesn’t add up