243

[Cattcounty]

I have heard people say 243 is to small of a rifle to hunt deer with and others say it is a great deer gun. Im thinking about getting one and wanted some more input. What do ya think???

[stoneam2006]

Honestly IMO if I was going to buy a rifle a .270 takes the cake. If I wanted a dual purpose yote fox deer gun a 243 may win that battle.

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[growalot]

I Have a 243 and it kills fine ,that said.. you want a double lung and you won't get much blood trail 

[Pygmy]

I would never say that a .243 is too small for a deer rifle.....Too many dead deer would prove me wrong...

However, there many better choices for a dedicated deer rifle,  the 7mm08, .270 Win and .308 Win being just a few of them...

They will do everything a .243 will do on deer, and if you ever decide to hunt anything bigger than deer ( like elk) they are a much better option...

[Zag]

I'm glad u asked because I was thinking about getting my son a 243 for his first gun when he can finally hunt.

[Nomad]

I read a book by the guy who's started the leashed tracking dogs program in NYS . He was Personaly on about one thousand tracking jobs of wounded/ lost deer .

In that book he stated that the number one caliber used by guys that called him was the .243 .

Now consider that is not one of the top five caliber / gauge used , yet number one for lost deer .

I wanted to switch my daughter from shotgun to rilfe , I went 7mm08 .

[Cattcounty]

I have a 30-06 and a 270 that I use, but if I buy a .243 I probably would want to take it deer hunting that's why I asked. It sounds like a 243 would work but you would have to be right on the money for shot placement. What's the highest grain bullet for a 243

[Pygmy]

6 minutes ago, Cattcounty said:

I have a 30-06 and a 270 that I use, but if I buy a .243 I probably would want to take it deer hunting that's why I asked. It sounds like a 243 would work but you would have to be right on the money for shot placement. What's the highest grain bullet for a 243

I dunno...Used to be around 105 grain.....It is safe to assume that any .244 bullet of 100 grains or more is designed for deer sized game rather than varmints..

however, nowadays there are a number of premium bullets available weighing as little as 80 grains ( like the Barnes)  that will handle deer sized game nicely..  Don't expect great blood trails, however....

[Cattcounty]

I'm guessing they don't tend to drop in there tracks with a .243?

[Pygmy]

Sure they do if you hit the CNS or major bones, just like any other rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader...Center neck shot or shoulder shot will drop them  in their tracks..

On  a body shot where the deer runs 100+ yards, the blood trails may not be as good...

[Cattcounty]

Well I think I will definitely give one a whirl this year. 

[Pygmy]

Good luck, my friend...Make a good shot and you will have no problems....

[Core]

It's better than 243 which some people use for deer. I used 223 on one deer and in no hurry to repeat that experience.

[turkeyfeathers]

Not wanting to hijack this thread  BUT what ?! No is a ..223 big enough to kill deer thread ?! 

Many a deer have been killed with a .243 but interesting comment by Stay at Home Nomad. That’s a tough comment to argue with. 

Typically I associate a .243 with women or kids. I guess if it’s loaded right and decent shot placement it’s dead deer. 

[nybuckboy]

Bought my son at 14, a M77 Ruger in .243 and he killed his very buck opening day at 125 yds, one shot at the base of the neck and it dropped right where he hit it - dead. He used it every year but this year he will use a Tika in .270.

Edited November 18, 2017 by nybuckboy

[mowin]

Shot many deer with a 243.  But, I used to handload. Don't remember the exact recipe as I stopped handloading yrs ago.  Never had a issue with deer going more than 60 yrds if hit correct. 

 

Shot many with a 22-250.  But wouldn't recommend that either. 

A 7mm-08, however.  Great for youths, and experienced hunters alike. 

[Buckmaster7600]

Not to be redundant but I agree with most everyone else's opinion. Will a 243 kill a deer? Without question but there are better tools for the job.

I'm not much of a predator hunter but I have never understood the "varmint gun" theory but I have killed a ton of dogs with larger deer cartridges and they die just as dead.


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[reeltime]

I have shot many deer with my .243, never lost one with it. shot placement is absolutely key but as others have said generally speaking the bloodtrail can be weak or non existent. my  grandson shot his deer with it this fall in pa during the mentored youth hunt andit never took a step.

no matter what firearm you use shot placement is key to a fast ethical kill.

.

[Lawdwaz]

I’d happily carry my .243 for the rest of my days here in NYS. 

[Cattcounty]

1 hour ago, Pygmy said:

Good luck, my friend...Make a good shot and you will have no problems....

Thanks a lot Pygmy. Good luck to you too

[TreeGuy]

I use a 6mm rem. (.244) Killed every deer I shot very quickly. Tack driver accuracy. My .02 is that there is better options out there, unless it will be multi purpose (deer, chucks, small game etc). If it's a deer only rifle there are many options that are better suited for a deer only rifle, that are not hard on the wallet or the shoulder. As far as shot placement goes, I recommend staying far away from the shoulders. Typically you won't punch a big enough entry for good blood tracking. I've done it twice with the 6mm and thankfully recovered both within 75 yrds. No blood but shoulders were blown up good.



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[airedale]

I am a big fan of the 243 Winchester and the ballistic twin 6 mm Remington, both cartridges are true dual purpose Deer-Varmint propositions, had several rifles chambered in both. All manufacturers chamber their rifles in 243 so it is pretty easy to find a weapon that suits your taste. I loved and did a lot of woodchuck hunting in my younger days and the 243 - 6 mm, hand loaded with light thin jacket fast stepping varmint bullets. They both  lived up to all the hoopla in spades that was written about them in the gun rags back in the day.  Gentle on the shoulder with a fairly mild report makes those two shells a pleasure to shoot which goes a long way to instill accurate shot placement and shooter confidence.

Both cartridges were also used for Deer hunting and both performed extremely well. When using lighter caliber rifles for bigger game like Deer I believe it is imperative to stay away from the varmint bullets and use a dedicated premium big game bullet matched especially for the task., it is cheap insurance. My favorite get serious bullet back then and still to this day no matter what the caliber is the "Nosler Partition" , it works reliably at short to extreme ranges, and it is impossible for it's design to fail.  

My brother and one of his hunting partners both own Browning BLR lever action 243s, I loaded them up a batch of 50 95 gr. Noslers using the same recipe I was using. If I remember right after using close to 10 rounds to zero their rifles in with them, their final tally from that original batch of 50 rounds through a bunch of hunting seasons was 37 Deer with no losses, pretty good I think.

Personally I would never feel under gunned hunting Deer with a 243 Winchester loaded with quality ammo.

Al

Edited November 19, 2017 by airedale

[zpicc315]

Why is no one talking about the 6.5mm creedmoore. It kicks like a .243. It out performs most calibers in its class in penetration and accuracy, and now every ammo manufacturer makes it. Cheap ammunition. Most manufacturers offer this caliber in their traditional short action options. My .02$.

 

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[grampy]

On 11/17/2017 at 7:26 PM, Stay at home Nomad said:

I read a book by the guy who's started the leashed tracking dogs program in NYS . He was Personaly on about one thousand tracking jobs of wounded/ lost deer .

In that book he stated that the number one caliber used by guys that called him was the .243 .

Now consider that is not one of the top five caliber / gauge used , yet number one for lost deer .

I wanted to switch my daughter from shotgun to rilfe , I went 7mm08 .

I've known John Jenenney, for 20 years or so and he was my Deer Search mentor. I can attest to the 243 being the #1 caliber for being the most popular for lost deer. Been on many of them myself, though not near the number John has. He once told me, it should not be legal to use a 243 on deer, after what he's seen over the years. The 7mm-08 or 270 is a much better option IMO. That said, the 243 has killed countless deer. Just much less room for error. 

[chrisw]

When everything goes as planned a 243 is certainly sufficient, but I don't want to ride on the edge personally. A 223 is also sufficient under the right circumstances, I shot a doe with my AR at 20 yds in the heart, she ran 40 and dropped but, there wasn't a drop of blood on the snow anywhere, not even where she layed, pencil diameter entry hole and no exit. I won't be using a 223 again. I want a bullet that will travel the length of the body if necessary, I primarily use one of my 06's but my favorite deer caliber is the .25 WSSM. Ballistically identical to the 25-06 but in a short action. It absolutely hammers deer, I've shot around 10 now with that rifle and none go more than 50yds. I have a long range 243 setup for yotes and someday maybe I'll try it in deer but for now I'm sticking with what I think is the best round for all of north America... The 30-06.
You should look into the 25-06, recoil is manageable and it's a deers nightmare.

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