Age old debate 243 for whites'

[eagle rider]

time to spur it up,..... anyone with some real experience (good or bad) please write in.  Bottom line is the 243 Win a reliable deer round up to 200 or 250 yards?

[Lawdwaz]

No fun, BTDT..............................lets debate the 6mm Remington instead.

[G-Man]

fine round for deer, seen it kill lots, little underpowered for bigger game if a bear happens by.

[ATbuckhunter]

I think 200 -250 is about the edge of the range for deer. 

[ants]

I have killed deer with it and it works . I just don't like that it leaves almost no blood trail. Small holes.  Could be the ammo I used  though. Remington cor lokt 100 grains. 

[moose]

300 win mag get it over with...... no debate!  yea a little big but no guessing.

[eagle rider]

Moose, you know I'm a fan of the big 30's!!!! 

[HuntOrBeHunted]

At the end of the day you get a good shot on a deer at 200 yards its going down. So the answer to the question is yes. But, would that really be the best cailber for that idk. I myself wound go with a 270. atleast.

 

But you can youtube some incredible shots on game and way past 200 yards made with a 243.

[eagle rider]

I think placement and construction of the bullet have just about everything to do with it.  Saw a guy Texas heart shoot a big doe once with a 338 Win Mag.  Very unethical shot under 100 yds.  He needed to put a finisher into her even with that freight train of a round. And that was after a 50 yard sprint she put on. I had a problem years back when Hornady was first developing the SST bullets with a 270.  Also a lost deer, turns out after talking to the folks at Hornady, their early SST's were very lightly constructed.  So I think if the bullet is beefy and you are gonna shoot into the boiler room (IMO the only place you should be aiming on a broadside shot), then there is little reason why a 243 wouldn't anchor a deer.  I know they will because I have used them in the past myself.  The big ding with a 243 is shot placement, but in the example above bad shot placement is bad results no matter what's coming out of the muzzle.  

[Lawdwaz]

A quality bullet from any centerfire chambering in the right spot and head stamp won't matter.

End of discussion.

Edited August 10, 2014 by Lawdwaz

[thphm]

I am loading mine with 85 gr. Nosler BUT am not going to shoot any further then 75 yds.

270 the minimum for that distance in my books.

[bubba]

I do not know how mankind ever survived in the woods before high power magnum rounds existed.  Pioneers and mountain men shoot a lot of game with 45 caliber round balls and funny thing the crttters died.  I guess they morphed into super animals that it takes a 300 win mag to kill a deer (without 10 rounds)  A lot have fallen into the bigger better faster mind set. My cousin hunts exclusively with a 243 with remington corelokt 100 grain bullets and had shot a lot of deer with it with it and a couple medium sized black bears.  No problem with killing power or trailing.  As stated shot placement is critical.  But in my books it is with any round.

[Mr VJP]

But the OP is asking about using this cartridge at ranges of 200 to 250 yards.  IMO, that is where the .243 begins to become an iffy proposition.  Even the best bullets may not perform adequately at that range in a .243, leaving much to be desired in energy and expansion.  The velocity at that range is reduced enough to cause me to lack confidence in that round.  If it were my choice, I would select a different rifle for the job.

[eagle rider]

2500 FPS and 1400' pounds at 200 yds. At the velocity I think any bullet is gonna expand.

[Lawdwaz]

But the OP is asking about using this cartridge at ranges of 200 to 250 yards.  IMO, that is where the .243 begins to become an iffy proposition.  Even the best bullets may not perform adequately at that range in a .243, leaving much to be desired in energy and expansion.  The velocity at that range is reduced enough to cause me to lack confidence in that round.  If it were my choice, I would select a different rifle for the job.

 

How much shooting have you done with a .243?  Ignorance is no excuse..............

 

The .243 has been used on deer, antelope etc since its introduction in 1955 with great success well beyond 250 yards. 

 

I don't have much experience with the 243 but have a few friends that have killed truck loads of deer and antelope with it and maybe a moose or elk too.  Although I have killed less than 10 deer with it and only a couple over 200 yards it has killed like a lightning bolt.

 

Here is a much viewed picture of an 80gr Barnes TTSX that was recovered from a roast after traveling the length of a adult doe in PA at 235 yards.  The only reason she went 15' was that was the bullet energy!

 

 

 

And this buck was shot with (yup, same bullet) at about 200 or 210 yards.  Different year but also PA............

 

[eagle rider]

I can tell you my model 14 shoots 100 gr Hornady Interlocks through the same hole all day long as long as I keep them around 2960 FPS out of the muzzle. That bullet has anchored many whities. I have messed with the monolithic bullets yet but will likely start to.

[G-Man]

if your only shooting 200-250 yards, why not a 30-30, 45-70,.444,35 rem? big bullet lots of knockdown and designed for that range? like was said earlier shot placement is everything. unfortunatly most people do not practice shooting anywhere near enough,or they suffer from a form of buck fever.. i'd rather work in a margin of error with rifle selection, and while the big 30 cal rounds are great longer ranges at closer they tend to be overkill. most guys i hunt with after starting with 300 win mags, 270's, 264 mag have all switched to 30-30 or 45-70,or 35 rem. the distances being shot consistantly 50-150 yards in the wood with an ocasional 200 yard if on a field edge.

[ncountry]

Like everyone has said, shot placement is key, esp at the longer ranges. at 200 + yards the bullet is likely to pencil through. I am sure it will expand some much like the picture above. BUT, if you screw up and hit them behind  the  heart/lungs , your chances of finding that deer are very slim. From what I have seen from friends that shoot the 243, I would carry it in a minute for 200 yds or less.

[eagle rider]

Arm chair philosophy. I hit a deer in the liver (pulled the shot) with a muzzle loader at 60 yards. Recovered him 3.5 miles from where he was hit the next day. So there's a big bullet for you. In fact it was 2.5x more in weight than were talking about with the 243 at 3/4 less the range! DEC still carries 243 to take out lame and sick animals. I know ECONS who have take trouble bears with the 243 at better than 100 yds. One was near Plattsburgh College. He was 270 pounds on the paw.

Edited August 10, 2014 by eagle rider

[Mr VJP]

How much shooting have you done with a .243?  Ignorance is no excuse..............

 

The .243 has been used on deer, antelope etc since its introduction in 1955 with great success well beyond 250 yards. 

 

I don't have much experience with the 243 but have a few friends that have killed truck loads of deer and antelope with it and maybe a moose or elk too.  Although I have killed less than 10 deer with it and only a couple over 200 yards it has killed like a lightning bolt.

 

Here is a much viewed picture of an 80gr Barnes TTSX that was recovered from a roast after traveling the length of a adult doe in PA at 235 yards.  The only reason she went 15' was that was the bullet energy!

 

 

 

And this buck was shot with (yup, same bullet) at about 200 or 210 yards.  Different year but also PA............

 

 

I hunted with a .243 for 5 years, long enough to find out a 7mm-08 is a much better round.  The .243 is a round designed to do double duty on deer or varmints, which it doesn't do best on either.  It's a compromise round.

 

At long range it doesn't do as good a job on wind deflection, nor does it penetrate as well if the shot has to pass through ribs, shoulder or a stomach full of food.  Sure you can load up a hot .243 cartridge to high velocity with a very expensive premium bullet for $2 a pop and get the same results you can get with a .75 cent per shot Privi-Partisan 7mm-08.  But I would only consider doing that to a .243 if I didn't have another rifle chambered in a better round to take deer hunting.

 

I don't care what anyone has ever done with a .243 in the field.  Anything it can do, there are many other rounds that can do it better.

[Hock3y24]

If I'm on a open field I like the 25.06, 243 is plenty with a smart shot selection at longer ranges

[Lawdwaz]

 

 

I don't care what anyone has ever done with a .243 in the field.  Anything it can do, there are many other rounds that can do it better.

 

Define "better". 

 

 

More dead?

 

Unless a hunter is planning to shoot much further than the OP has suggested the difference in negligible in wind drift.  You're only talking about an inch +/- in drift between the two at 300 yards with a 10mph crosswind.

 

Muzzle energy isn't enough to worry about either on any deer walking in NYS.

[Mr VJP]

Better:  

 

When you have been hunting hard all week, and the sun is going down on the last day of the season.  You finally spot a really nice 10 point buck going well over 200 lbs, but it's heading for the trees, is 250 yards out and only giving you a few seconds to shoot.  

 

To make your shot harder, it's going to be a going away shot that will require your bullet to enter the rear ham and travel through the intestines, liver, stomach full of food, diaphragm and lungs to get the bullet to hit the deer's heart.  You also estimate the wind is blowing close to 25 MPH.

 

Better be shooting a rifle chambered for something that is up to the task and you have complete confidence in, or hold your fire.  Confidence kills.

 

[eagle rider]

Better:  

 

When you have been hunting hard all week, and the sun is going down on the last day of the season.  You finally spot a really nice 10 point buck going well over 200 lbs, but it's heading for the trees, is 250 yards out and only giving you a few seconds to shoot.  

 

To make your shot harder, it's going to be a going away shot that will require your bullet to enter the rear ham and travel through the intestines, liver, stomach full of food, diaphragm and lungs to get the bullet to hit the deer's heart.  You also estimate the wind is blowing close to 25 MPH.

 

Better be shooting a rifle chambered for something that is up to the task and you have complete confidence in, or hold your fire.  Confidence kills.

Theres a lot of things wrong with that scenario, like I said I've seen Tx Heart Shots ith 338 WM's with poor outcomes...... To me unless he sticks up his head and I can get at the back of the neck he lives.  Add to that the 25 MPH crosswind, at 250 deep,....  He's likely to be a miss anyways.  

Edited August 11, 2014 by eagle rider

[Lawdwaz]

Better:  

 

When you have been hunting hard all week, and the sun is going down on the last day of the season.  You finally spot a really nice 10 point buck going well over 200 lbs, but it's heading for the trees, is 250 yards out and only giving you a few seconds to shoot.  

 

To make your shot harder, it's going to be a going away shot that will require your bullet to enter the rear ham and travel through the intestines, liver, stomach full of food, diaphragm and lungs to get the bullet to hit the deer's heart.  You also estimate the wind is blowing close to 25 MPH.

 

Better be shooting a rifle chambered for something that is up to the task and you have complete confidence in, or hold your fire.  Confidence kills.

 

That's be a foolish shot.  No deer (or ANY) animal is worth that.

 

Your ethics are questionable.......