243 as a Legitimate and Humane Deer Gun?
- Thread starter yakoun
- Start date
Probably the same guys who say you need a 300mag or more for moose and elk.
Sakoman .308
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
.243 would be great for your needs.
....243's a legitimate and humane deer gun
...i bought my daughter's high school boyfriend a 45-70 for his first rifle...my daughter bought him a Lee hand press and a pound of Unique powder...16.5 grains of Unique gave him over 400 rounds to play with...I gave him 405 grain cast bullets paper patched...that round shoots 1320 fps out of mine and has a 1.75 MOA...I shot this when we went out that fall at 100 yards in the open and his plowed through brush at 50 yards for his first nice little buck...the slug goes through a 10" poplar at 20 yards and there is NO recoil...and last I heard he has it loaded all the way up, but still prefers the Unique loads...and there is NO meat wastage...good to a couple hundred yards...and the bullet goes all the way through...even end to end...we forget the old ways so easy...just sayin'
...243 is more than enough but will never be anything more and is marginal in heavy brush
...something with a straight wall even...cowboy loads...30-30...35 Remington...44-40...there's lots out there...that's my preference anyway
...just sayin' there are other options
IMO you shouldn't shoot anything through brush, because any round can be deflected, and the predictability of that deflection is almost zero... Therefore, and "brush busting" characteristics people claim are entirely pointless to me. If I can't get a clear shot I wont take it. And I wont even touch the claim of "a couple hundred yards" for a 1300fps load...
elimsprint
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Kelowna, BC
X2 on that
Take a look here,
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...eer-Bullet?p=14242066&viewfull=1#post14242066
It will probably work for deer, too.
Get yourself a 243 and go hunting!
Ted
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I knew a fellow, dead now that hunted almost exclusively with a 243. My dad hunted lots with him. Dad said this guy wounded so many deer it was disgusting. Technically you could kill a deer with a 22. Is it ethical? For all those saying a 243 is enough I say real world experience says B.S. In a perfect world sure. Hunting often presents less than perfect world shots. A 243 & a 308 don't kick that much different.
Purple shoulder
Regular
- Location
- Winnipeg MB
A long time friend of my dad, and mine, hunted for many years (30ish) with a 243. He always got a deer and I don't recall him ever losing one. I say 243 is a great deer rifle.
I guided two teenagers up here in 1973. They were both good shots, and killed dall rams and mountain caribou bulls (which are the size of mature elk) with a single shot on each animal. One of them also killed a huge bull moose.... with a single shot.
A 73 year old friend of theirs was on the same hunt, guided by another guide. The hunter killed a ram, but hit it several times before it was down. Same on a caribou. He also shot a moose that needed to be finished off by someone else.
Both the teens used Model 70s in 243 Winchester. The elder gentleman was shooting a 7mm Rem Mag. I know for certain because I was the guy that guided the teens, and finished off the moose.
Ted
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Nah. Gonna be way over-gunned with a 243! 
You'll be fine!
Fwiw, I have been pretty happy with the results from my 223(hint: it doesn't actually "explode just under the skin") and the clowns that try to rub your nose in their ethics are mostly full of poo.
Lots of range time to cure the flinch. Rim fire, pellet guns, whatever gets you trigger time. If you reload, look at some lighter loads, above minimums but with lighter bullets, like 125's for the 30-06, for range use.
You'll be fine!
Fwiw, I have been pretty happy with the results from my 223(hint: it doesn't actually "explode just under the skin") and the clowns that try to rub your nose in their ethics are mostly full of poo.
Lots of range time to cure the flinch. Rim fire, pellet guns, whatever gets you trigger time. If you reload, look at some lighter loads, above minimums but with lighter bullets, like 125's for the 30-06, for range use.
too funny...your opinion against my experience and that of all slow big bore shooters!
until you've shot end-to-end through an animal which was quite common and spent a couple decades doing so then perhaps you'd have a right to voice an 'opinion'
but who am i right?
tell that to the kid i took under my wing along with his dead deer
just saying
^ That’s priceless.
But anyway, your Dad’s buddy was one of three things: A bad shot, A bad hunter, or half blind.
Either he needed to spend more time at the range practicing, sighting in, and trying different distances, or he needed to learn some patience and wait for an ethical shot. Or, he needed glasses. Or all three.
There is absolutely no ballistic reason why the 243 isn’t an ideal Deer Cartridge.
Brush busting is a myth. Magnums-hit-em-anywhere-and-they’ll-drop is a myth. And your “real world experience”, is also... a myth.
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Shot my first Moose with one. Each of my three brothers as well, 5 in total.
Shot placement, and circumstance.....Greek for we got lucky. Shooting game, you are also going to encounter bears. Would you be comfortable with the 243, encountering a big black, with 60 lbs of meat on a packboard?
No shame in recoil sensitivity. Some rifles just kick. The 30-06 is the upper end of many people's range. A poorly fit, or poorly designed stock, could easily push you over your tolerance.
Shot placement, and circumstance.....Greek for we got lucky. Shooting game, you are also going to encounter bears. Would you be comfortable with the 243, encountering a big black, with 60 lbs of meat on a packboard?
No shame in recoil sensitivity. Some rifles just kick. The 30-06 is the upper end of many people's range. A poorly fit, or poorly designed stock, could easily push you over your tolerance.
Potato boy
Regular
- Location
- North of the mountain
I killed many cariboo with mine when I was in the North, these animals are quite a bit bigger than most whitetail, some even approached the size of a cow elk. I hand loaded the 95 grain partition, I never recovered one. The round doubles as a great coyote/ wolf gun. I wouldn’t bet against the kid who used his 243 all winter to hunt yotes when deer camp comes around
