Many people report good success with the .243 on big game, but to me its a mouse gun, not a moose gun. As with any marginal piece of equipment, it should be the choice of the expert not the beginner. For the beginner his choice of cartridge should be a capable minimum suitable for all big game rather than just a legal minimum. In the role of a general purpose big game rifle, a 6.5 with a moderate case size (6.5X54, 6.5X55, 6.5X57) is the definition of a capable minimum. Recoil and blast are mild, and there is really no need to go bigger once you have become accustomed to shooting and taking game with it. The bullets typically weight 140 grs- 160 grs and velocity is in the moderate range. My favorite is the .30/06, not because its better than a 6.5, but because that is what I was first exposed to, and is what grabbed my imagination from an early age. It could have as easily been a 6.5X55, a 7X57, a .270, or a .308, and it is not the best choice for a youngster, a novice, or a small woman unless the ammunition is down loaded a bit. The moderate 6.5s can be used by everyone with factory ammo and the recoil is similar to the .243 in a light "youths" model.
As a pest rifle, my .243 is without complaint, being very accurate, very fast (with light bullets) and light recoiling. The light recoil means you can watch the bullet impact. Often the lack of recoil is cited as a reason to start a youngster with a .243. Recoil, within reason, should be no issue for anyone who is fit enough to hunt, and who shoots his rifle regularly. By now doesn't everyone know that muzzle blast is a greater cause of flinching than is recoil when the rifle is properly fitted to the shooter and has a good recoil pad is installed? A .243 has a pretty sharp bark, and hearing protection is seldom used in the field. Anyone who hunts should put in some range time so he has a realistic idea of what he can and cannot do shooting from field positions, on demand, and under a variety of conditions. A .243 that is capable of shooting quarter minute groups isn't much help to a 6 minute marksman. But a .30/30 that he can hold for 6 minutes will anchor a deer for a second shot that the same shot with a fast small bore might not.
The comment I read earlier that a .243 made less mess of a carcass when a bone was hit than a .30/06 is an interesting one. On deer sized game, the 150 gr .30 has the same velocity as the 100 gr .243 and both are common choices for deer sized game. The observations seems to support the idea that a .30 caliber 150 gr bullet would hold together better than a 100 gr .243 when a big bone is struck, thus bone shards are driven into the edible portions of the carcass, where as all of the .243's energy is expended on the bone with little left to create a wound channel large enough to kill the animal, assuming the bullet retains its integrity. Some think that it is fine if the bullet grenades inside the body cavity as this causes much damage to the life support plumbing and results in a bang flop. If everything goes just right it will, but if the shot is quartering away, or face on and a bone is hit, the results aren't as clear cut as would be the case when a bullet retains most of it's original weight and exits and may also result in a bang flop. If it doesn't it will result in more of a blood trail to follow-up than if there is no exit. A .243 loaded with an X bullet or premium bonded lead core bullet gives the best performance on big game, but as we have seen in these pages, many are not prepared to spend more on a game bullet than is absolutely necessary. A traditional cup and core bullet that impacts a big game animal at 2500 fps is not the same as the same traditional cup and core bullet that impacts close to 3000 fps. If you choose a small bore rifle, loaded with lighter bullets, (around here 85 gr Sierras are often the choice) chances are you have arranged for a high velocity impact.
