.243 ????

powdergun

powdergun

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Ok fellas I'd like to here some advice from those of you who have given this round a good testing in the fields.

I'm shopping around for a new deer rifle and am considering a .243. I love shooting this round. On paper it is very impressive but I am a small bit skeptical as to its ability on deer out to 300 yrd ( I very well may be shooting this far or a bit more)

I've got bigger rifles in the safe that do the same but I'm always looking to try something different. Also, I reload so I can have any bullet/powder combo that you may suggest.

Thanks for all input in advance.
 
i have been using my 243 for four years now . it has taken five deer that didn't go more then twenty yards, and a moose taken at 350 yards. with the rite bullets and proper shot placement a hole in the boiler room will put anything on the ground!!
 
For nearly 30 yrs my .243blr was my deer/antelope rifle. Very effective, but "close" may not do it. A shot in the heart or lungs will do it nicely(obviously). If laying, a neck shot was my choice as long as the angle was good.
Avoid shoulder type shots. A .243 will not penetrate large bones. It'll break a leg bone, but not penetrate past it.
My choice was always 87gr, but the last couple yrs went to an 85gr partition, both over IMR 4831. Lot's of guys seem to prefer a 100gr, I personally felt it was too heavy.
I should also mention prob. 90% of my shots were between say 40-150yds, and more than 1/2 running shots(sandhills/waist high brush, sorta like spot n' stock pheasant).
My summation: Great deer rifle, but realize it's limitations, and practice so you're very accurate with it.
Reason I switched calibers: son started hunting.
Hope this helps.
 
I've been using 100gr nosler partitions. Probably overkill, but its nice to know atleast half of the bullet will keep on trucking if you hit bone at close range.
 
I use a 6MM Remington. Only a bit faster than the 243, but same size of bullets. Very accurate and lethal. I have had a couple of runners, even with good shot placement, but most deer folded on the spot. Taken about 150 deer and a few elk and moose with the same rifle.

I had a 243 as well. Very accurate rifle, but I kept going back to the 6MM, otherwise it was a great rifle.
 
.243 ?

I was with a good friend & hunting partner last year on opening day. He was having some scope issues with his 6.5x55 sweede so he took his sons savage - 243 . at lunch we had a doe walk down a dirt road straight towards us with us a nice little buck sniffing right behind her. At 15 yards I made a little grunt & my bud put one through heart/ lungs on the buck. it took off & ran a good 150 yards through the bush . neither of us could believe it . It was like it was not convinced it was hit. On cleaning it we found a rib had stopped the bullet on the far side. this coastal buck was not much over a 100#'s & was nearly in the back of the truck when it was hit. Maybe this is not typical of 243 but we very very unimpressed ( dragged that little sonofa@#%$ way down out of the bush). Anyway I have read that 243 is a great deer cal. but for my own experience it left a lot to be desiered , and no ,i'm not saying you must have a 300 winmag.Btw i believe it was a remington factory cart. with 100gr. bullet - can't quote me on that though. This year were both back with our 6.5 sweedes , no questions.
 
There are cartridges that are "adequate" for deer hunting. There are some that are "over kill" or unnecessarily powerfull.

Then there are some cartridges that are great for deer hunting.

I feel the .243 and 6mm fall in the first catagory.

I have killed and seen killed several deer and antelope with a .243. They all died but I was not happy with the way they died. Some were a little hard to find even though they did not go too far (lack of a good blood trail). And one was consequently not found for two days.
 
I'd rather carry a .257 Roberts or .260 rem myself. A .243 would make a great varmint gun though, with the occasional deer hunt...
 
.243.... yes.

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NAA.
 
I have a .243 that I brought with me when I moved from the UK. I shot Red stags(and Fallow, roe, sika, etc!) with it over there, even though I had a .308 as well. This will be my first year hunting with the 243 here, and I have a load for 85 grain sierra hollow points that is flatter than my old load of 100 grain interlocks. It is a joy to shoot, and more than capable of killing deer nomatter what anyone says. My advice is go for it, and shoot it a lot. I have shot mine until I have total confidence in it, way more than the other rifles I own.
 
Here we go! The old .243 is not enough BS again. If there's one thing that's as common as air here on CGN its the story that you need more power to hunt deer.

The .243 is more than enough to take a deer or antelope and even moose. Although the later, I don't take part in, I use my 45/70 guide gun for in the woods.

.243 will bang flop but don't be one of those spray and pray hunters. Take the appropriate shot, know your rifle and use the right bullets. Make sure they are not coyote or gopher bullets and this will prevent any problems that others may have experienced. There are 85 grain coyote bullets as well as 85 grain deer bullets. CHECK THE BOX !

I use a 95gr SST and if I could find some of the Barnes Triple Shock for a decent price, I might think about upgrading, but right now the SST is just fine.

Go for it!
 
Amen Caster-p

243 has plenty of energy for taking deer. Jeebas... NATO has been using .223 to kill humans for 40 years, and they aren't much different in size!

Know your rifle and your load, know when to pull the trigger and know when NOT to pull the trigger.
 
I'm of the oppinion that a 223rem is enough to hunt deer with (with appropriat bullets, Barnes TSX, Nosler Partition), so the 243 is more than adequite for that task. I plan on trying out the 223rem with barnes TSX bullets out on deer this year in fact. Elk and moose can be done, but you need a very reliable bullet, and the right shot. I woulden't recommend it unless it was all that you had though, as it is very marginal. There is a reason for the bigger calibers. A 30-06 can take elephant, but I doubt that most sane people would choose one over a 458win mag for hunting such.
Mike
 
make up some 110 gra

powdergun said:
Ok fellas I'd like to here some advice from those of you who have given this round a good testing in the fields.

I'm shopping around for a new deer rifle and am considering a .243. I love shooting this round. On paper it is very impressive but I am a small bit skeptical as to its ability on deer out to 300 yrd ( I very well may be shooting this far or a bit more)

I've got bigger rifles in the safe that do the same but I'm always looking to try something different. Also, I reload so I can have any bullet/powder combo that you may suggest.

Thanks for all input in advance.
Click to expand...

hey the guy I bought my 243 from with 110 for moose .. with the right placed shot..
 
80gr TTSX, 85gr TSX, 95gr Nosler Partition.........all wont bounce off deer at 300 yards

80gr Ballistic tip for varmints, 80gr ttsx for deer. Hard to beat that combo. 243 is an excellent cartridge
 
At one point everyone in our camp (10 guys) shot a 243 with the exception of one guy with a .270. Never a problem from 10ft-300yrds. Of course they are all good hunters who shot on a regular basis.
 
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