243 as a Legitimate and Humane Deer Gun?
- Thread starter yakoun
- Start date
I use a .243 for island deer. Bang flop is typical. Bullet selection (I'm partial to Barnes) and placement are paramount (as with every calibre). But I've also seen many a farm animal put down out to 20-30 yards with a .22lr head shot. Animals are made of meat, not steel. If an arrow isn't seen as unethical, why would a .243 humming along at 3000 fps be? Better a shot with a smaller calibre that you are comfortable with than one from one above your comfort level.
Also, kudos to you for recognizing your comfort level.
Also, kudos to you for recognizing your comfort level.
303EppsFan
CGN Regular
- Location
- Almonte,Ontario
I hunted with a guy who carried a Mod.100 carbine in .308Win. He always carried 2 mags. He also wounded more unrecovered deer than he killed. He was usually into a second magazine. P-ss poor shooting is just that no matter the calibre.
My 2 cents; I see that the OP has three choices from cheapest to most expensive. #1 Managed recoil ammo for the 30-06,#2 managed recoil ammo and a limbsaver or kick eez recoil pad, #3 buying another rifle in another caliber. I am a cheap SOB so i would probably go with #2. That being said if you want another rifle, .243 7mm-08 or 6.5x55swede would work very well. i am a 6.5x55 fanboy because with premium bullets it kills like a much bigger rifle. In the 6.5 the 140 grain partition will kill nearly anything, with good shot placement. The 156 gr Oryx bullet will kill moose cleanly. The downside is that you are into a $1000 for a tikka t3. Good luck with whatever you choose. You should have no issue selling a rifle in any of the calibers i mentioned , if you choose to go another way in a while. Happy hunting.
You are absolutely correct. My buck I shot this year with a 62gr .223 bonded bullet had a hole the size of a ping pong ball out the back of him and a nice cavity all throughout the heart. I would post pictures but I’m on mobile. If someone wants to host for me that would be great just to show the effectiveness of lighter calibers on big game.
Great thread, on the plus side I got to add several people to my ignore list, lol...still laughing (at them, not with them)...
Personally I would rather be a surgeon with a scalpel than use indiscriminate field artillery, how you get there and what you use to do so is irrelevant.
Perceived Recoil is a real problem for many people, myself included, and can be addressed several ways;
-muzzle brake; not cheap, increases noise and harder to keep crud out of the bore.
-heavier gun; light weights kick, it’s simple physics...need a light gun use a light cartridge.
-better recoil pad; some butt pads look good but are hardened from age, get a new one, preferably a Limbsaver.
-lighter or low recoil ammo; less gas in the tank might do it.
-thicker clothing or a pad; I find this idea to be a pita...
-fit; if it doesn’t fit it isn’t going to be fun.
-gun design; semi’s suck up some recoil to run the action.
Nothing wrong with a .243, nothing wrong with an ‘06 either. So long as they are setup right for the person packing it and the game they intend to harvest.
Personally I would rather be a surgeon with a scalpel than use indiscriminate field artillery, how you get there and what you use to do so is irrelevant.
Perceived Recoil is a real problem for many people, myself included, and can be addressed several ways;
-muzzle brake; not cheap, increases noise and harder to keep crud out of the bore.
-heavier gun; light weights kick, it’s simple physics...need a light gun use a light cartridge.
-better recoil pad; some butt pads look good but are hardened from age, get a new one, preferably a Limbsaver.
-lighter or low recoil ammo; less gas in the tank might do it.
-thicker clothing or a pad; I find this idea to be a pita...
-fit; if it doesn’t fit it isn’t going to be fun.
-gun design; semi’s suck up some recoil to run the action.
Nothing wrong with a .243, nothing wrong with an ‘06 either. So long as they are setup right for the person packing it and the game they intend to harvest.
migrant hunter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Alberta
I was with a guy yesterday who wounded a deer at about 100 yards. It ran to 218 yards and stopped, where he missed it 7 times.
When he ran out of shells, I shot it in the neck and dropped it.
He was shooting a 7 mm magnum, I was shooting my .243. Any legal calibre is fine, but only if you spend time shooting it. Standard calibers are cheaper to shoot so often get shot more.
I love Jeff Cooper's quote "owning a gun no more makes you armed than owning a guitar makes you a musician".
When he ran out of shells, I shot it in the neck and dropped it.
He was shooting a 7 mm magnum, I was shooting my .243. Any legal calibre is fine, but only if you spend time shooting it. Standard calibers are cheaper to shoot so often get shot more.
I love Jeff Cooper's quote "owning a gun no more makes you armed than owning a guitar makes you a musician".
7 times eh? Yikes. Nerves just shot after the first attempt? Or was he trying holdover when none was necessary at that range?
migrant hunter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Alberta
He missed a chip shot 1st thing in the morning and I think he just lost his mojo after that, but I could'nt help thinking he'd have been better off with a smaller caliber. He's probably been hunting for more than 40 years. I find my .243 very easy to shoot well, so it builds confidence. I just took the shoulder off a doe I shot yesterday, and the exit side shoulder is wrecked. I put it behind the shoulder on the near side but clipped the leg bone on the way out. I could'nt go prone as I was in tall stubble and had to shoot off my knee. Did'nt have the stability for a head shot so went through the heart. I'm back to using 100 gr interlocks as I've killed truckloads of deer with them. I will never, ever sell my .243.
The 7mm-08 offers exactly nothing over .308 or 6.5x55 with similar/same bullet weights.... Both .308 and 7mm-08 use the SAME CARTRIDGE. 6.5x55 is not much different than 7.62x51 which is .308win. The 6.5 does not "kill like a much bigger rifle" it's called physics. The energy in the system is fixed and there's nothing you can do to change that.
Below are some links with numbers from Federal's website. All calibres are using the same bullet. The 6.5 is 10gr lighter(big deal) as there is no 150gr offering which is something to consider if you're after a more untilitarian do all calibre.
6.5x55 140gr
https://www.federalpremium.com/ammunition/rifle/family/power-shok/power-shok-rifle/6555b
7mm-08 150gr
https://www.federalpremium.com/ammunition/rifle/family/power-shok/power-shok-rifle/708cs
.308win 150gr
https://www.federalpremium.com/ammunition/rifle/family/power-shok/power-shok-rifle/308a
Across a standard 200 yard zero all three cartridges are producing near identical velocities with the most extreme difference being a 220 fps gain with the .308win. Out to 500 yards those velocities remain within 220 fps with the 6.5 in the lead, the 7mm-08 only 47fps behind and the .308 220 fps behind.
The trajectory between the three at 500 yards(200 zero) is within 2.4 inches. Seeing as you will either be dialing or holding off anyway at 500 it makes absolutely no difference what the drop is. From the ballistics standpoint all three are pushing similar/same projectiles at similar velocities which means they perform nearly the SAME.only
The energy between the three at 500 yards puts the 7mm-08 out front at 950, the 6.5x55 at 937 and the .308 at 807. Again, nothing to complain about and not a huge difference.
The .243 is not in the comparison as it does not have a 140 or 150gr projectile offering(from Federal). For giggles here's some data.
.243win 100gr(heaviest offered via Federal)
https://www.federalpremium.com/ammunition/rifle/family/power-shok/power-shok-rifle/243b
At 500 the velocity is the winner out of the 4 calibres, not surpising as it has a higher initial velocity but the value is within 230 fps of the slowest(.308).
Energy at 500 is 245 ft/lbs below the 7mm-08 which is the king at 500. Keep in mind that the .243 projectile is 33% lighter and is only producing 25% less energy.
The .243win is however producing around 10" less drop at 500 yards, but again you're still going to have to hold off or dial for the distance so the amount of clicks/hold off makes no real difference.
Don't hold back, Friend, just say what you are really feeling.
You are of course, absolutely correct.
Ted
Picked up a .243 Tikka T3x hunter and a Vortex Diamondback scope on sale at a sporting goods store that is going out of business here in Kamloops. Don’t have the scope mounted yet, but took the rifle out to shoot at a stump anyhow. Shooting 70 grain federal v-shock cartridges (all they had left), the difference was unsurprisingly incredible when compared to the 30-06 and bigger rounds. Actually, it was a bit surprising because the difference really was night and day. I don’t have any intention of using those cartridges for hunting deer, but it certainly seemed adequate for stumps. The stump didn’t take another step after it was hit... Seriously, I found that I was really able to focus on where the shot was going and keep my eyes on the target after shooting. My buddy had a 300 MAG that I shot - forgot to ask what ammo. Big, big difference. Really can’t wait to get to the range.
Purple shoulder
Regular
- Location
- Winnipeg MB
Best post of 2017! Cant stop laughing.
crazyjackrabbit
CGN Regular
If your shot placement is good then the 70gr pill is fine. When I had my 243 I used federal factory ammo. Had a 85gr sierra bthp for projectile. Was an awesome round, used it for groundhogs yotes and deer.
