.243 vs .270 semi-auto for deer?

The obvious answer is building a stag10 in 358 winchester or 338 federal...

OP I feel like both cartridges you've picked aren't ideal for your purpose, but the 270 will recoil more so if your biggest concern is maintaining your sight picture then the 243 gets my vote. I'd rather something bigger in diameter for fast shots close in though, you just don't need to flat trajectory and high velocity that the 243 or 270 bring to the table.

Oh hell, build an SLR in the new 350 Legend! That would be a great round for a low recoil deer rifle for shorter ranges! (160 grain bonded bullet at 2225 or a 180 cup and core soft point at 2100fps sound like good close in deer medicine to me)
 
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I like 270 since it's a good size caliber for all of Ontario, even here in the south. I'm not going to bring up that 243 is a varmint calibre. But there is good discussion on the 308 and it's ideal for what you are looking for and in the long run it may give you more options with bullet choices and savings when it's on sale. Have a look @ the 308.
 
Suther said:
The obvious answer is building a stag10 in 358 winchester or 338 federal...

OP I feel like both cartridges you've picked aren't ideal for your purpose, but the 270 will recoil more so if your biggest concern is maintaining your sight picture then the 243 gets my vote. I'd rather something bigger in diameter for fast shots close in though, you just don't need to flat trajectory and high velocity that the 243 or 270 bring to the table.

Oh hell, build an SLR in the new 350 Legend! That would be a great round for a low recoil deer rifle for shorter ranges! (160 grain bonded bullet at 2225 or a 180 cup and core soft point at 2100fps sound like good close in deer medicine to me)
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Well said Suther. And really, the same effect could be had in a lever gun too. Model 94... model 88... BLR...

Or as someone said above, a fast cycling slug gun.
 
hoytcanon said:
Dogging is an old tradition in Ontario woods. I grew up hunting in deer camps that dogged. These camps see very few bolt action rifles in the field... very common to see BLR's, BAR's, M94's, M336's, M1895's, M444S/SS, Rem 760/7600's, Rem 740/7400's etc... the .308 Win is probably the most common cartridge, but also .30-30 & .32 Spl, .35 Rem, .45/70, to a lesser degree .270 & .30/06.
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Would love to see one of these hunts in action. Everything from the deer camp/cabin to the dogs, camaraderie, and ritual. Not much similar to compare around here.
 
leveractionjunkie said:
Would love to see one of these hunts in action. Everything from the deer camp/cabin to the dogs, camaraderie, and ritual. Not much similar to compare around here.
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It is a good time... my first year the old guys put me on the swamp run, when they dogged the bedding bush... we knew there were a bunch of deer, and I was on the main escape route... I have told this story here before, but I ended up emptying my M94 in about two minutes as the deer bailed out single file, jumping the fence 20 yards from me... I shot five deer. There was alot of laughing and backslapping that night in camp and I got a swollen head for a bit... but the deer and years took care of that and reintroduced a little humility. The dinners and wood fires and tall tales were a great way to spend the evenings... they were a great bunch of old reprobates... most of them have passed on, the others are well past their hunting days.
 
I hunt with a Longtrac 270.
I always see what happens in the scope when I shoot. (low recoil) had a 30-06 comfortech benelli before it and it had enough recoil to not be able to see bullet impact thru the scope.

I also hunt dogs with a benelli 223 with an aimpoint red dot. Put it on for 3-gun and have left it on ever since. Got a wolf with it last year at over 350 yards. nothing wrong with a red dot for hunting.
The only thing wrong with my aimpoint is sometimes as the day drags on, it is too bright or too dull. I also have burris fastfireIII's that have AUto mode, and I really like that feature in a red dot. Always the right brightness dot
 
hoytcanon said:
It is a good time... my first year the old guys put me on the swamp run, when they dogged the bedding bush... we knew there were a bunch of deer, and I was on the main escape route... I have told this story here before, but I ended up emptying my M94 in about two minutes as the deer bailed out single file, jumping the fence 20 yards from me... I shot five deer. There was alot of laughing and backslapping that night in camp and I got a swollen head for a bit... but the deer and years took care of that and reintroduced a little humility. The dinners and wood fires and tall tales were a great way to spend the evenings... they were a great bunch of old reprobates... most of them have passed on, the others are well past their hunting days.
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Good on you for rising to the challenge of the day! :). I can imagine the great times in camp that night ha ha. Something about hunting with groups, specially ones that have mostly been together for a while, that really makes for special times. Never mind adding dogs and the dynamic and prehistoric bond which that brings to the table.

Hope there’s enough of the old boys and some young ones getting in to carry the tradition.
Cheers
 
hoytcanon said:
In classic CGN style, my answer is... ".308 Win."

Short action, with the ability to shoot 150 - 180 grain bullets... if you are starting from scratch this is the way I would go.
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leveractionjunkie said:
I’m with Hoyt on this one 100%. 308 makes the most sense for the job you wanna do. Or auto loading slug gun I’d imagine, but that’s an even more CGN answer than 308.
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kodiakjack said:
I will respectfully disagree.

I can’t imagine pulling the trigger on an animal while thinking “this is a bad shot. Good thing I have the extra energy of a 270.” I mean, a poorly aimed shot is a poorly aimed shot. A gut shot is a gut shot.

I mean, to each his own, but I just can’t imagine feeling like the 270 somehow would give me licence to take riskier shots.


All that said, Hoyt’s right. 308’s the way to go.
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redbirddog said:
I like 270 since it's a good size caliber for all of Ontario, even here in the south. I'm not going to bring up that 243 is a varmint calibre. But there is good discussion on the 308 and it's ideal for what you are looking for and in the long run it may give you more options with bullet choices and savings when it's on sale. Have a look @ the 308.
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kodiakjack said:
You misspelled .308.

How embarrassing.
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Thank you folks.
Some get it.
 
Hoyt, I'm with you. I know the op and talked to him this weekend. Told him not to forget the .308 in a pump or lever. Just as handy and lighter than a semi. He is a neighbor, I don't hunt with him but another neighbor and I hunt at the same camp. 18 guys per week 16 watches and 2 doggers per hunt/run. Two hunts per day. Ages are from 85 to 24. We run two dogs per hunt. Anyone who hunts is missing out if they never experience this type of hunting. The stories, the comraderie, the sound of the dogs running deer. Priceless
 
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