243 in the "big woods" for deer - feedback needed

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buckchaser

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Looking for feedback from folks who have actually used the 243 for deer, preferably in short range (under 100 meters) scenarios. Blood trails and recovery been an issue?

I've read dozens of internet threads about this topic from people who have "heard" this or that. I'd like to hear from folks who have actually used the caliber in this application. From what I've read the 243 would make an excellent light weight rifle with good "shootability" with a very low recoil. If true, one may take up residence in my gun safe.
 
The 243 will knock em dead. Great little cartridge, there's a reason it remains consistently popular. I've found the speedier cartridges like the 243, 270 and my 257 Weatherby do far more spectacular damage with light bullets than my 308 ever did with 150's or 165's. The good ol' 30-30 might be another low kicking light woods rifle you want to check out.
 
I am a huge .243 advocate. But I have to say that a rib shot on bare ground can lead to tracking and recovery difficulties. I always shoot for a high centre shoulder shot and have never lost a deer. They are always DRT. When you have snow rib shots work because blood or not you can track to recovery.

Darryl
 
I shoot 4 deers with my 243 all 80m to 200m. All shots were either through lungs or heart always worked. Deer never got more then 10m from the place where it was hit
 
I regularly use a .243 on deer in northern Sask. Big deer and big country. .243 knocks 'em dead and I really like my 100 grain Partition loads.
 
Between myself and my brother, we've taken 10 deer over the last 5 years. 95gr Hornady SST. Ranges from 75-250 and only had 1 deer run, and at that he took 2 steps and flopped. Every other buck was the "Bang-flop" that I like. Its a very underrated round. And I dont shoot small bodied deer, southern grain fed deer are big animals. The AVERAGE (some above that weight) weight for them, before they were cleaned was 190 pounds. After you cleaned, skinned etc they were about 110 in most cases.

It boils down to 3 things
- Know your gun and where it's shooting
- Bullet choice
- Range

If you can have all 3 of those things in your favour, you wont ever have a problem.
 
I've taken 1 with a .243, 60 yards using Win PP 100g. Broadside shot to the boiler room, Bang Flop.
 
The .243 works very well " if " there is nothing but clear air between the end of the barrel and the hide of the deer being aimed at. Put some maple gads in the path of a 95 gr. Nosler partition and it may never arrive at the deer. Had that scenario happen a few years back. The 243 kills deer quite well in the open, but stay out of the brush with it as those light fast bullets have no tolerance for it. I have shot several deer with the .243 and 95 gr NP. The internal damage is impressive and the deer never go far.
 
Don't worry about blood trails! Just put it on the shoulder and DOWN THEY GO! I carry my dads' old .243 for deer (it's accounted for 29 whitetails so far) and have never had to track a deer I've shot with it. It's only ever shot 100gr nosler partitions, but with the new bullets out (GO BARNES) your lethality level goes even higher. Great deer rifle. Period.
 
All of the deer I have shot with a .243 have dropped nicely , pick your shots and make sure you are comfortable making them and the .243 will perform well . If you shoot minute of deer in the field then it might not be the rifle for you.If you can take the time to shoot well and have the patience to pass on a few deer because the shot is not right then you will like the round . Plus it hits the target way out there at the range with the right loads and a confident shooter .
 
I never was a .243 fan. But my buddy uses it for blacktails and when I loaded him some TSX bullets it gave him end to end capability and kills great.

That being said, the .260 is a superior cartridge in every respect.
 
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My kids have taken a pile of whitetail's with their .243's... use an 85-100 grain bullet of good construction, every company makes them... IMO, disregard the advice above about aiming away from the lungs at the heavy bone structure of the shoulder... this is bad advice with lighter, faster bullets...
 
I've taken a few with my .243. They do the job well, but the wound channel isn't as big as with a 7mm or 30 cal. One I shot in the big timber and it pretty much dropped so no tracking required. Another (the biggest buck I've taken to date) was shot while he was pushing a doe - he turned around and ran for about 50 yards or so through the thick timber. Took a bit to find him as the blood trail was almost non existent. Another I drilled did the same thing but took off for about 150 yards through the thick timber. There was a bit more of a blood trail with him, but he surprised me by making it that far.
I really like the .243 caliber and love the rifle, but lately my go to gun for blacktails has been the 7mm.
 
I don't mind the .243 I have not done any food hunting with one but have shot some wild dogs and pigs it does well... I like the .243 the .270 and 6.5x55 sweed then .308 .303 British and .300 WSM
 
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The .243 is a great round. I first ran into it when I was in my 20s (everyone I knew had 30 cals). A friend's mom had one in some version of the Handi-Rifle. I have seen her knock deer completely off their pegs with that thing although I never got one until my second wife decided to take up hunting. Now we have 2. I love the rifle but still just seem to grab my '06 almost every time.

The biggest buck she has taken was a broadside shot that hit NOTHING BUT LUNG from 140yds. There was a blood trail 4"wide all the way to the deer! The entire 12yds!!

She shoots sub-MOA with Federal Blue Box 100gn right out of the box and since she doesn't need better than that, we stayed right there. She shoots 2 or 3 deer a year with this rifle.
 
I shot a deer this past fall with a .243win from about 125yrds. good blood trail and the thing dropped about 50yrds away. got to the butcher and he thought i had used a 30-06 because of the in and out damage it left. I like that cartridge alot.
 
As with any cartridge having a potential impact velocity of 3000+ fps, next to bullet placement, bullet choice is the primary consideration. A bullet that goes to pieces upon impact can produce quick kills, or it can produce a large nasty flesh wound that is not immediately fatal. What that looks like is a fist sized cavity flecked with tiny particles of bullet metal and bone, perhaps 2" deep. The bullet that holds together, expands just enough to maximize it's frontal area while leaving enough shank intact so it's linear stability is not lost, will penetrate straight and deep, and kills nearly as well as it's more explosive brothers, but does so every time. Mono-metal bullets, partition style bullets, and bonded bullets are pretty much the gold standard when it comes to the use of high velocity small bores on big game.
 
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