like to know all experiences with the 243 and deer hunting with caliber for deer,getting tired of getting belteed with the bigger calibers,thought i might try a 243 this year ,times runining out,got a 30/30 trapper,308 ruger mkII and a rem.700mountain rifle in 3006 all with scopes,but i want something lighter kicking,but will do the job,like the 260 rem.(no ammo at wal-mart)and 7mm-08(likewse,no ammo at wal-mart,i reload,but like the factor you can get ammo at wal-mart at a secs. notice).so,whats the deal with 243 on deer,hear it doesn't kick much and can be deadly on deer..... all,info opinions appreciated....real experience even better.... thanks.....r(need info asap,deer season is already here)

I used my Weatherby Vanguard 243 on several trips to Hamphire County W Va hunting the wily whitetail back in the 70's. At that time I was using the 105 grian bullet with not one single animal lost. It should be noted that shot placement was always of prime importance to me. All my ammo was my own handloads that gave me one inch groups at 100 yards. I would use the heaviest bullet your 243 will group well with. The 243 is a fine shooting cartridge and you should limit your shots to 250 yards for best results on deer size game. Always know the limit of the cartridge your using and keep your shots on game within those peramatures. To many hunters wound game by taking shots at game to far away, and don't know their rifles capabilities at those ranges. Practice often in the off season and know how well your rifle will group it's bullets at that range. The 243 is the low end game getter on deer sized game. It has long been recognized that 1000 ft. lbs of striking energy is considered the least any deer cartridge should deliver to the target, the 243 is that cartridge.
If I were you and dedicated to deer hunting, the 257 Roberts is a better choice ballisticaly in the pursiut of getting deer sized game with the least amount of recoil and the enough retained energy needed to do so. If you are recoil shy as I am now, age has taken it's toll on my body. You may want to consider the 257 Roberts cartridge. The 257 Roberts is very accurate, has very mild recoil, and is also one fine shooting cartridge on deer size game. I find I use the 243 for varmint hunting and the 257 Roberts for deer hunting.

I would suggest the .308. I used a .243 for a number years on deer here in NC. But sooner or later the .243 will fail, even if you make a solid hit. Don't get me wrong, I think the .243 is a great round for varmits. But for deer sized game the .308 with 150 or 165 grain bullets would be a safer bet.

Crowrifle,
Reread his post. He DOES have a 308 in a Ruger.
I have a .243 in a Remington 700 BDL that I bought as a crossover. I can't use centerfire here in Ohio, only shotgun, blackpowder or handguns. I chose this since there are varmint loads avaliable as well as deer sized game loads also. I haven't had the opportunity to use it as I have been bowhunting almost exclusivly the past 10 years but I have it if I want to go out west meat hunting.
Good Luck

I used a 243 for years as it was all I had.I had no problems,I used 100gr. bullets and picked my shots.All one shot kills.Sometimes they would go on little death runs of up to 100yds. but I always recovered them.
I think if you pick your shots you should have no problems either.The 243 isn't what I consider ideal but it will get the job done if you do your job.Well constucted bullets available today will be to your advantage.

I have shot 243 with 1oo grain bullets since it came out, no problem. In the family we have aleast three being use now. My buddie has shot Elk with one also. You make a boiler room hit and you will have sucess. IMHO

That's all my wife uses.She has made one shot kills on deer,antelope and caribou with hers.All
died in sight.Just pick your shot.Fun caliber to
shoot.No kick at all.
Jeff

As Reloader66 stated I have used the 105 Speer spitzers and round noses over the years in my 6mm Rem. loaded at a velocity that most could get from a 243 and have had outstanding results. Three years ago a very large (by La. standards) deer at about 150 yds. hit by the spitzer behind the shoulder crumpled to his haunches like in slow motion and just rolled over. Sometimes makes me wonder why I use bigger rifles.

I have used a .243 on several whitetail(8), mule der(5) and and axis deer at ranges from 5 to 200 meters and have seen it used on several fallow deer, hogs and a Corsican ram. Use 100 grain bullets and take good shots - it is the rifleman and not necessarily the rifle

Ive used the 243 and winchester power point 100 grain ammo for 3 deer and one antelope. I now reload 95 grain nosler partitions. It never let me down but here in North MO farm country a 300 pound big buck (on the hoof) is possible. If the buck of a lifetime walked out of the brush at 300 yards I might feel a little under gunned. I'd rather have a 308 or my 280. But when I go to fill my extra doe tags the 243 is all I carry. With proper shot placement which should be the goal with any caliber I haven't had any problems. Yes the 243 will work for deer no it doesn't kick much and neither does a 260, 7-08, or 308 in my opinion unless they are in a light rifle.

I have taken several Whitetail with my 243 Win. and have been very please with it's performance. The largest Deer I have taken was a Kansas 220# 10 point. I shoot Nosler 100 Grain Partitions.

Good Luck and Safe Hunting

I haven't used the .243 much on deer, but all have been 0ne shot instant kills, something the .308 has never done for me!

I have three relatives that use the 243 for deer without any problem. I wouldn't be afraid to use it either. I suspect ammo selection might be more critical than say a 30-06.

The little .243 Win and the 6mm Rem seem to kill deer much better than their small size would indicate. I've been very impressed with the accuracy, light recoil and deadly effect these rifles have. Just this week a buddy's 12 year old daughter put a .243 bullet through the heart of a mulie doe and it went down immediately. I question the use of the .243 on bigger game where penetration is an issue, but it can be done. For a deer cartridge, or dual purpose deer/varmint, it's great! Regards, Guy

I've killed ten deer or so in the last fifteen years with my .243 (a Ruger 77 Ultralight), and each one has been a one-shot kill, with the longest about 170 yards. I use 100 grain Nosler Partitions also. I love the cartridge, and think it is great whitetail medicine, using good judgement in shot selection...

My 27 year old M70 243 Win has accounted for more deer than any of our guns, probably in the 20s, my father has been using it since '87. He had a detached retina and needed something with less recoil. Besides that, some slimeball(s) stole all of our other guns in April of that year.

Only one bullet failure that I can recall, a Texas heart shot on a wounded deer with a non-premium 100 grain bullet. Yes, we did recover that deer.

Currently loaded with 95 grain Nosler ballistic tips and H4831.

If you put the bullet where it needs to go it does work.

Regards, Bill

[ 10-18-2002, 18:40: Message edited by: Bill M ]

I have seen probably 20 bull elk killed in the last 10 years or so with a .243 and 100 grain bullets. My son has 3 one shot kills on cow elk with the x bullet. All within 250 yard or so. I would think it would be a fine deer round.

My family has been using 243's on PA deer for 25+/- years. Most deer taken are one shot kills. We have used a different variety of bullets, however, based on performance from year to year. Our 243's are shot by both women and men. Side by side in similar weight guns (243 in a Browning BLR and 308 in a Rem. 600, both 18.5+/- barrels and recoil pads), the 243 has less recoil than the 308 but not substantially. There was, however, a substantial difference in the muzzle blast.

It started with 100 grain NP. These were okay and penetrated very well, too well in fact. The entry and exit holes were the same size. Many deer with lung shots required a finishing shot, not to our liking.

Next was an 87 grain spitzer (Sierra, I think). These were also shelved after a couple of years. The last deer I shot with one had one entry hole and 3 exit holes after hitting only a rib. These were very accurate, though. Couple of 300+ yard groundhog kills with our deer rifles.

Since then we have gone to 100 grain round nose. For us, they are perfect. One shot kills, good penetration, good expansion.

Just our experiences, FWIW.

Rem 788 .243 + 100 grain Nosler Partitions + Proper shop placement = Dead deer with little to no recoil!!! also savage 340 30-30 very little recoil when compared to the same chambering in a lever gun. The first rifle I hunted deer with was the above 243 and it works like a charm so long as you know it's limitations. BTW another consideration you might look into is a 6.5 swede!!! gabe

Another yes vote.

Mine was a 6mm Rem. but effects are the same. Six or seven mulies and blacktails and one Mt Goat in AK. I sold it 10 years ago but will probably build another next year. I also cast another vote for the 105 Speer, very effective bullet.

JimF

amosgreg, I can read. I knew he had a .308 and that is why I suggested it over the .243. Yeah I was happy with the .243 for a number of years. Using Nosler Partitions I killed 27 deer with a Remington 788. Good gun, great load. I also know that 95 percent of the time it kills faster than a caliber that size should. But twice the bullets failed to exit ( both shots broadside at about 175 yards ) and there was absolutely no blood trail to follow. Both deer were recovered because one was standing in a creek when I shot it and I was able to find hair that the bullet cut on impact and the other because it ran 150 yards and dropped in front of my hunting partner. When I dressed the deer both were jelly inside. It is not my intent to disparage the .243. As stated earlier I consider it a great cartridge, but if that once in a lifetime buck shows himself at 150 yards which caliber would you rather be holding?

A couple of my hunting buddies use .243s and we have to hunt for thier deer every year. My buddies who use .30-06s almost always put thier deer down.

This leads me to beleave that,if you are a good marksman, the .243 is enough, but I will always use the the .30-06 because I can rely on it.

This year will be the first year I've ever hunted without my trusty .30-06, I'll be using a .444!

I have to agree w/ crowrifle, it will do, but sooner or later you will stretch the limits of this little round & loose a deer.
I still can't understand the big deal about factory ammo? If that were my primary concern, i would go w/ the .270/130gr loads & never look back! This is coming from a guy who is not even a .270 fan! Good luck this season!

I almost forgot if you can find Big Stick lurking around here he is a big advocate of the quarter bores and can probably head you down that road. And he has the stroke to back up what he claims about them too. gabe

I too have had good success with the 243 over the years, even though most animals I've harvested have been with the 30-06.
After reading this thread, it makes you wonder why so many hunters feel they need a 300 Mag to hunt deer with.

If you hunt long enough and shoot enough animals you will, from time to time, experience animals that will not leave a blood trail. Of course, if they fall in their tracks who cares? But I've shot a number of animals that failed to leave a blood trail from either the entance or exit wounds even though either the heart or lungs or both were completely destroyed. Typically, such animals will start to "spray" blood on the ground through their mouths after 30 or 40 yards as they try to breath and blood fills their lungs but again not always.
Shot a doe last year with my bow...75 grain muzzy made a complete pass through and hit both the lungs and heart but the holes were a little high up on the deers side. She didn't bleed a drop as she ran 75 yards and finally collapsed.
There was nothing wrong with the shot or performance of the arrow. It just happens sometimes and I've seen it in all manner of wounds...
You are shooting a living thing with an infinite number of variables in any given hunting situation and to expect perfect uniform results under such circumstances is an impossible standard for any given caliber, bullet, load, or hunting arm.
The .243 proves itself every deer season as thousands of deer are cleanly harvested with the caliber. And lots of people can shoot it better than a bigger gun because of the recoil issue which, rightly or wrongly, affects the average or poor shot more than a practiced accomplished shooter/hunter.

The 243 was the only gun I had for years.Got numerous whitetails & a couple of mulies with it.Within resonable limits it workt fine but if your one to take a low percentage or long shot be prepared to do some tracking.That said I now use a 7mag for mulies & 6.5x55 sweede for whittails but its hard to beat a 12ga rifled slug in the thick stuff=CJ

I have used the 243 on game as large as Kudu, and it worked pretty well if your shots was good, so it should work fine on deer, use 100 grain bullets they work best

Just about the same to say as everyone else here; 243 is one of my favorites for deer. Never taken more than one-shot to kill and never had one go more than a few yards. I use a Browning BLR, Leupold Compact 3-9, 100gr Nosler Partitions pushed by 42 grains of 4350. Shoots .375 inches at 100 yards if I do my part.

I have taken Whitetails,Muleys, & Antelope with a 243 and never had any problems. I always use the 100gr Nosler Partition.

For many years I used a 30-06 but always thought it was too much (Texas whitetails are not very large and are usually taken inside 200 yards). I went to a 6mm Remington (243 essentially the same) and I think it is just about right. Some of my hunting buddies think a larger bore is better because they leave more blood if the animal is wounded and has to be trailed.

[ 10-25-2002, 19:42: Message edited by: fla3006 ]

.243 on deer works for me with 100 gr. Sierra
BT and 42.0 gr. Reloader 22 in Win brass with
Fed 210 primers out a SS Ruger MK2 seated
about 0.015" off the lands.

MV of around 2830 fps with a drop chart
taped on the stock for this one load that
gives me the best groups.

Probably too light for Elk, in my opinion,
unless there was a guarantee of a head shot.

Shot placement is everything.

My son's only rifle is a .243 which I passed down to him about 20 years ago; it was my only rifle for several years. It has probably taken 100 deer up to 250 lbs., 1 elk, several antelope, and coyotes.

I shot a Muley buck a couple of days ago that went farther than any deer I've ever shot through both lungs. This was a 300 Win. A .243 would have probably done as well.