Thread: 243 for deer hunting

i too use the 243 for deer hunting and love it. last year i switched to the 223 short mag and love it as well.i have friends who shoot the 7mm mags and 300 calibers and when they shoot, they are more worried about the recoil and flinch while shooting. thus give up accuracy. shot placement is very critical, and i think practicing and shooting to improve accuracy is important also.

As many has said, you don't have to blow him away to kill him. Dead is dead, whether it is with a .243 or a 300 Magnum. Main thing is shot placement. Know a guy that always uses a 22 Mag, and swears that he has never had one to leave him. He shoots them behind the ear.

I hunt with a bow (only) nowadays, but during my days of growin' up in Saline County Arkansas, Daddy used a 243 all the time. It's really good because it shoots such a flat tragectory! The only drawback is that it is not a good brush gun because it is such a hot-shooting gun, if it hits a twig it just breaks apart.

It is a versital gun, as well. Because it shoots so flat, that makes it a great varmit gun. I don't remember the specific ammo loads he used except to say it was Remington stuff.

aj

Most any rifle is fine for shooting deer at reasonable distances. You can not make up for poor shooting with a bigger gun. What ever you shoot make sure and learn to shoot it well.

All true, but don't look down your nose at somebody who prefers a bigger
caliber and can shoot it well. The reason I switched is not because I ever
lost one with the 24 cal, but because of what I've seen some bucks do to
other people with lots of different calibers. Even though I don't, deer dog
running is still practiced here, and as they say, dogs can't read.
You may be sitting up in your stand hunting a deer you've been studying,
only to have a once-in-a-lifetime monster run right over you.
And at least in this part of the country, that old monster is probably gonna
be 50-75 lbs heavier than the "normal" deer, hyped up on adrenaline,
AND if you don't put it down in sight of you, you're very likely to top the hill
just as somebody else pops a shot in it's general direction and then trys to
claim it... It's a messed up deal, and part of why I don't hunt much anymore,
but a "smackdown" rifle has it's places. And if you don't think a 140-150gr
bullet going 3300 fps or so wont make a noticable difference in "put down"
compared to a 100gr at 3,000 all I got to say is

well i shoot 130 grain and this year i had a big doe come out on me openin day and she busted me and trotted back towards the woods so i shot and i missed her buthole by abt 3/4 of an inch and it ricoched off a bone and came out right below her right lung and she dropped in her tracks then another one came out and nudged her around and started to walk towards me and i done started outta my tree and she seen me and stood there and blowed and so i shot her right under her left eye and it blewe everything off the top of her head and she fell to

270/130 grain Core Loks, 30-06/150 grain Core Loks, 243/100 grain Remington Core Loks, My picks in that order for Whitetail (The deadlist mushrooms in the woods)

[QUOTE=foul hook;734665]If you are shooting does over a corn pile a 243 will work. I find it totally inadequate for mature bucks in rut . They dont just lay down. Some people are recoil sensitive and i can understand that. We are hunting not target shooting.

I agree that with it being inadequate for big bodied mature bucks in rut. I shoot a 6mm hornady 100 grain BTSP (remington's competition to winchester's 243) that I've shot a lot of does with. It will kill deer all day long. My experience is with the big bodied boys that roam huffing and puffing with saliva dripping like a mad dog. I've shot 3 big bodied bucks with my 6mm and let me tell you....they can still go quite a distance with a good heart or lung shot. I don't know about you all but 80-100 yards tracking in a cutover or thicket is a pain in the rear. I just would rather see a deer run off crouched with tail tucked than one that doesn't knows that it's been hit...then just tip over(I feel the opposite with archery). Shot placement is still everything. I guess I just hate holding my breath and crossing my fingers after the smoke if I don't see it drop in sight .

I wouldnt use a .243 for big deer, but it will work fine for regular ones.
A .270 is a little more gun, but thats if you havent bought it yet.

The Rem 6 MM is a better cartridge than the 243. Both rounds can be very accurate. The 243 can be a little bit finicky but can be made to shoot very good. Neck shots in open country at 300 yards can be a gimmy with a little practice. They cant stand a well placed shot with anything. The key is a well placed shot. Bullet construction is a major factor. I have a rather substantial ballistics library with reloading data and have been into reloading for 40 plus years. It is physically impossible for a human to shoulder a rifle that will consistantly knock a deer down every time. You cant get the perfect shot every time . Shot placement, Shot placement , Shot placement !!!!