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243 winchester vs 44 magnum for deer which would you pick ?


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Which one is going to wreck more meat if you fire it into a deer’s hip or shoulder from 30 yards away ?

Where you hit on the hip or shoulder matters way more than what caliber you hit it with. The most meat damage I’ve ever seen was on my 227lb 8 that a 225gn Barnes ttsx hit directly in the ball of the rear shoulder. I lost the an entire ham and half of an inside loin.

That bullet was running 2650fps from my carbine. The shot was about 40yds. The bullet wasn’t recovered, all the shrapnel that destroyed the meat was bone fragments. It was by no means the jello you talked about but it was ruined.


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41 minutes ago, mowin said:

Either caliber will result in the hinds being toast. 

Not quite in equal proportion though.  The .243 bullet would hit at more than double the velocity of the .44.  Since bullet energy (and meat damage) is proportional to the velocity of the bullet squared, that means that there would be a lot more “grape jelly” from the .243.
 

I have personally butchered well over 100 whitetail deer, with the vast majority having been killed with shotgun slugs.  Dozens of those were struck in the front shoulder, and several were struck in the hip.  None of those had “grape jelly” even close to that of the .243 killed buck that I talked about up above, and all of those bullets were much heavier than a .44 pistol bullet.  
 

if you just want antlers and a dead deer, no problem with a .243.  If you want meat and a good short range deer gun, then dumb move, compared to the .44.  Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Edited by wolc123
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8 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

Not quite in equal proportion though.  The .243 bullet would hit at more than double the velocity of the .44.  Since bullet energy (and meat damage) is proportional to the velocity of the bullet squared, that means that there would be a lot more “grape jelly” from the .243.
 

I have personally butchered well over 100 whitetail deer, with the vast majority having been killed with shotgun slugs.  Dozens of those were struck in the front shoulder, and several were struck in the hip.  None of those had “grape jelly” even close to that of the .243 killed buck that I talked about up above, and all of those bullets were much heavier than a .44 pistol bullet.  
 

if you just want antlers and a dead deer, no problem with a .243.  If you want meat and a good short range deer gun, then dumb move, compared to the .44.  Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Never seen the .243 be an issue as the majority here have echoed !

Edited by luberhill
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10 minutes ago, luberhill said:

Funny… just pointing out that it seems YOU are the only one seeing an issue with the .243 .

Im sure your vast experience trumps all the others here :)

Hope that posted clear for the guy who seems to never make a mistake :)

I am very thankful that I didn’t make the mistake of getting a .243 for a deer gun.  I would have never known that, had I not been blessed with that gifted buck my neighbor hip shot with his.  
 

That said, it is a fine choice for the women, children, recoil sensitive, and trophy hunters, just not so hot for a big meat guy like myself. 
 

ps, ask g-man what he thinks of the .243 as a deer and bear gun.

Edited by wolc123
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27 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

I am very thankful that I didn’t make the mistake of getting a .243 for a deer gun.  I would have never known that, had I not been blessed with that gifted buck my neighbor hip shot with his.  
 

That said, it is a fine choice for the women, children, recoil sensitive, and trophy hunters, just not so hot for a big meat guy like myself. 
 

ps, ask g-man what he thinks of the .243 as a deer and bear gun.

And we are all thankful too ..you are really a “ big meat guy “ lol

And why would I ask g-man ?

I know what I have seen and done with my .243 

And many others here agree …

Use what you choose , it’s not the arrow ….

Brush up on skills of shot placement :)

 

Edited by luberhill
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I am very thankful that I didn’t make the mistake of getting a .243 for a deer gun.  I would have never known that, had I not been blessed with that gifted buck my neighbor hip shot with his.  
 
That said, it is a fine choice for the women, children, recoil sensitive, and trophy hunters, just not so hot for a big meat guy like myself. 
 
ps, ask g-man what he thinks of the .243 as a deer and bear gun.

Cut the crap man, if you gave a crap about meat you wouldn’t shoot 60lb BB’s, just think a 120lb doe has double the meat.


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2 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

That’s still 59.9999 pounds more than those little green tags.  If you could only have one or the other , which would you pick ?

Id rather have the tag !

But that hasn’t been an issue ..

Thought you were a BIG meat man :)

Edited by luberhill
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@Wolk I like you. I like a man that does his own thing and doesn’t give a crap what others think. If you want to hate 243’s have at it. If you want to put your opinion based on a test data of 1 that’s fine. But you really make yourself sound extremely ignorant when you try to go against others with way more data backing their decisions/feelings than you.

Have a good day, did your daughter win her game?


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1 minute ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

@Wolk I like you. I like a man that does his own thing and doesn’t give a crap what others think. If you want to hate 243’s have at it. If you want to put your opinion based on a test data of 1 that’s fine. But you really make yourself sound extremely ignorant when you try to go against others with way more data backing their decisions/feelings than you.

Have a good day, did your daughter win her game?


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Thanks,  I feel the same way about you, and appreciate that you are not a nit wit, like some of the others here.  There is hope for all of them though. 
 

her final four game starts at 2:00.  I am waiting for my older daughter to come down out of her dorm (she goes to college in purchase) and then we are driving out.  

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First, I have never killed a deer with a 44mag in a rifle I have killed 11 with a 44mag handgun. The only Quigley I’ve ever made was with my VH8 Dan Wesson 44mag. I also have a 6mm rem. And have killed 5 deer with that and none have gone more than 50yds.

Here’s what I’ve learned with over 40 years of reloading. Once a bullet has passed though and object all remaining energy is wasted. Then there’s knock down power there is 2 ways to look at that momentum and energy. You can measure momentum as KO index energy as foot pounds.

This Info came out of the Ammo & Ballistics 4 book.

243 win: 100gr sp. 2960fps 1945fp of energy KO Index 10.3

44mag this is out of a rifle 240gr HP 1760fps 1650fp of energy a KO Index of 26.3.

Both are well suited for white tails if most of your shots are 100yds or less I would go with the 44mag over the 243. Here’s why the 44 is almost twice the Dia. Of the 243 so the hole is bigger to start with and it has more momentum. With the right bullet it will crush bone and push though. Longer shots I would go with the 243. Seeing I have both calibers I don’t have to pick one.

I would go with the 44 in a lever gun it would be fun to hunt with.

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The fact that the op is going with a scout indicates that he may be looking for a short range deer gun, advantage .44 (nit wits see previous post for technical  reasoning).

You’re showing your ignorance again my friend. The gun he’s taking about is a cva scout single shot much like a tc contender. Not really a short range deer gun.


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6 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:


You’re showing your ignorance again my friend. The gun he’s taking about is a cva scout single shot much like a tc contender. Not really a short range deer gun.


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Maybe the op will post back and say if he is looking for a short range or an all round deer gun. I would go along with a .243 for the latter if he is recoil sensitive.

Edited by wolc123
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2 hours ago, wolc123 said:

Not quite in equal proportion though.  The .243 bullet would hit at more than double the velocity of the .44.  Since bullet energy (and meat damage) is proportional to the velocity of the bullet squared, that means that there would be a lot more “grape jelly” from the .243.
 

I have personally butchered well over 100 whitetail deer, with the vast majority having been killed with shotgun slugs.  
 

 

Between myself, dad, brother, nephew's and cousins, plus the few yrs I've cut for a buddy during the season, I've butchered several hundred whitetail. I've seen just about every shot placement from just about every caliber out there. 

Trust me, you have no clue what your talking about. 

Also, you already let us know about the vast experience you have with the .243 and deer being 2 that were badly hit, and your acting like your a ballistic expert. 

Is the .243 a good short range brush gun? No. Is the .44m a good long range gun? No.  Make a bad shot with either and your wasting meat. PERIOD.  

Edited by mowin
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19 minutes ago, mowin said:

Between myself, dad, brother, nephew's and cousins, plus the few yrs I've cut for a buddy during the season, I've butchered several hundred whitetail. I've seen just about every shot placement from just about every caliber out there. 

Trust me, you have no clue what your talking about. 

Also, you already let us know about the vast experience you have with the .243 and deer being 2 that were badly hit, and your acting like your a ballistic expert. 

Is the .243 a good short range brush gun? No. Is the .44m a good long range gun? No.  Make a bad shot with either and your wasting meat. PERIOD.  

I think we are wasting our breath on “ Mr Big Meat “

Seems a total expert :)

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