Long time reader, first time poster. I own a Remmy model 7 .243. I dont reload right now, but I'm looking forward to it in the near future. I've always wondered why folks are so hard on the .243 and 6mm on deer w/ 100gr bullets, but the 250-3000, 257 Roberts, and 25-06 are death on deer with 100gr pills? Mine shoots 100gr Hornady Light Magnum PSP 1/2"@ 100yds. So I'm very pleased with it. Haven't had it too long. Actually haven't killed anything but pasture grizzlies with it yet. I also own a SAKO Finnebar 3006. Killed several deer with it. Alot of folks use the .243 in VA and swear by it. The .243/.25 100gr thing has just always puzzled me. Thanks for your input. Ought to be interesting!

I have shot the odd deer with a 25 06 and alot with the 243. Can't imagine there would be any real differences at ranges under say 250m. Past that maybe the 25 06 wins trajectory wise with a touch more velocity but I would imagine a deer wouldn't notice the difference!

I personaly am a big Roberts fan.
But I would say the .243 is also a fine deer cartridge.
However, A hand loader can safley get a good deal more velocity from a Roberts than than a .243. With a 100 grain pill.
the loading manuals and the factory loads do not reach the power levels the Bob, is capable in a modern rifle.
If you are loading for a 22 inch rifle, lets say a ruger hawkey The preasure limit for the .243 is I think 53,000 CUP , and the Roberts is 46,000. Some of the new +P loads and data take you to 50,000.
When loading for the same rifle, its clear to me you can safly reach the same pressure levels for each rifle.
The grater case capacity and larger bullet diamiter of the .257 bore gives the Roberts an edge of about 1 to 200 FPS.
Not a huge advantage, but an advantage just the same.
A more direct comparison , would be the Roberts against the 6mm Rem. The 6mm uses the same parent case, (7X57Mauser) as the Roberts,
while shooting the same bullets as the .243.And preasure levels are I belive ,the same.
Most manuals show a 1 to 200 fps advantage to the 6mm.
...tj3006

First let me say I am a quarter-bore fan. That said, there is a small difference. IMHO this is like comparing Fords & Chevys or Chocolate & Vanilla. Which do you have or like?

while the difference is small, the difference in diameter isn't the major part of the difference, but it helps...

The big difference is the 200fps velocity advantage. and it's a secondary effect of that velocity, most people who choose the 100gr bullet for deer from a 25-06 also choose a "premium" bullet like a nosler partition.

I wish I could say the same for the guys who choose the 100gr bullet for the 243. (who most often buy whatever is cheapest at WalMart)

Though I'm an enormous fan of the Nosler partition I will admit that there are many situations where they are not "needed". Unfortunatly shooting deer with a 243 is not one of those exceptions.

Oh sure, many guys have killed deer with a CoreLokt or a PowerPoint factory load from a 243Win and they worked perfectly, most of the time, but sometimes things don't go perfectly.

I also have yet to hear about anyone stoking their 257Wby with CoreLokt's.

the smaller the bore and the higher the velocity the more important reliable predictable performance of the bullet becomes.

25-06 owners are simply more likely to be handloaders.
(I have yet to meet a 25-06 owner/shooter that isn't)

AD

For me I have the impression the 250 Sav. and the 257 Roberts kills deer size game much better, leaves better blood trails than the 6 mm's...

I have shot a lot of game with both of them and one of my favorite deer rifles is the 6x45, but you must be careful and hunt open country, as any 6 mm, will from time to time fail to leave a blood trail...

Most of the time they both work well enough...thus the popularity of the .243 Win.

25-06 and a 100gr TSX is a great 'roo and deer killer

I have a .243 and a .257 Wby Mag. Out to 250 yds or so the .257 is overkill (if there is such a thing). 250 yds and under I like the .243. Over 250 I'd take the .257 Wby any day. I have killed whitetail deer with both--never had one get away with either. But the .257 really shines at longer ranges. Both are extremely accurate rifles. The .243 and 25 calibers both have their place.

Just as a side note: I've killed more deer with my Marlin 30-30 than with all my other guns put together (under 100 yds shots).

I like to "overkill" my deer with a 7mm mag or 308 better than underkill it with my .243, however I think ether way the dear was dead!

Actually I have killed several deer with the 243/100gr/2850 and the 25-06/100gr/3100 at ranges out to 150 yards, deer fairly close in size at 120 pounds and unspooked. Same results, indistinguishable by caliber.

I shoot and load both .243 and 25-06. My 243 has never liked shooting anything much over 75 grains, although I have killed deer with the 100 grain federal factory load years ago.

I think that with the Hornady 100 grain spire point and RL-22, the 25-06 offers a bit more than the 243 with a similar weight bullet. I have not experimented with Barnes bullets in either of these rounds.

I have shot quite a few deer with both plus my brothers also use both the .243 and the 6mm Rem.
The .25/06 shoots quite a bit flatter and kills noticeably better. The .25 cal 100 grain Sierra also penetrates better than any 6mm bullet I have seen.
Most .243s don't really get much over 2900 with the 100 grain bullet. A 25/06 will usually do 3200 with it and some loads will do 3300....

I've never been a big fan of 100 grain bullets in the 243. I shoot the 85 and 95 grain Partitions in mine, they work well

Interesting. Horady claims 3100fps for the 100gr PSP Light Magnum loads. Has anyone every tested any of the light magnum loads to see what they actually produce? I understand they use a powder that is not available to the public.

Comparing 6MM's and 257 cartridges of similar capacity it would be hard to tell any difference between the two. I use the 95 grain Ballistic Tips in my 6MM Remington and cant say I have seen a quicker killing cartridge on deer under 250 yards. I have also used the 80 grain Remington PSP with fine results. Deer are just easy to take down with just about anything.

My experience with the 243 and deer vs the 250 Savage is that with the 243 I have seen bullet failures not a caliber failure. Most of these are as already mentioned the cheapest ammo money could buy from wally world or a similar sale priced ammo. I think that even the plain jane 100gr 257 bullets were designed for a deer size animal and were also made for a velocity that matches the 250 and 257. I have had 100gr "factory" 243 bullets hit the spine of the deer at 300 yards (deer facing at about a 5 o'colck angle) and deflect off and were found under the hide near the rump, the second shot through the heart/lungs dropped him on the spot. The recovered 100 gr bullet was umdamaged except for the rifling marks and a slight "bend" in the bullet. I also think that the bad news from the 243 and deer comes from there are many more shall we say "less than expert" shooters using the 243, many using a Remington autoloader and shot placement is often less than ideal.

www.duanesguns.com

Has anyone tried the Light Magnum loads in any caliber?

I've used both the .243 and .25-06 with 100 grain ullets and both work well for me!

Tried the 75gr Hornady Custom 75gr HPBT's just the other day. They printed dead on to my deer load except 2 inches higher. Kept them all right at an inch. I was pretty impressed! Managed to get a groundhog at 140yds with it an hour or two later.

I'm with Duane. The .243 and 6mm got deservedly bad reputations in the sixties and seventies because of bad bullets. They work very well with good bullets, but were plagued by bullet failures in their early years.

The .25 cal bullets of the same period seemed much less prone to failure.

I hunt with a 257 Roberts using 120 gr bullets, 1 of my hunting partners uses a 243 with 100gr Remington factory loads. Every other year we spend a day tracking A DEER he has shot down, I have never had a deer go mort than a few yadrd with the Roberts. When Finn Advarr was the gun editor for American Rifle man he said the Roberts was at the magic break point that killed deer & the 243 was below it. I have never hunted personally with a 243, so take this as such.

this year i used a .243 on a deer for the first time.
he was a mature whitetail buck at 165 yards.
i was using the factory Win 100gr power points out of my Rem 700 sps.
i aimed at the lower area of the shoulder and that's where i hit him. i got a pass thru, entrance in the shoulder and exit tight behind the other shoulder. he ran just 40 yards and died, but i was disappointed with the blood trail, or lack of it i should say. 40 yards is not that far, but in deep south texas brush, you want a blood trail and an unexperienced hunter might have lost that deer even with the good shot placement.

i am confident that when i start reloading with he 85gr TSX, i will get better results.
based on hearing other hunters online and in person positive experiences, i now believe that 85gr TSX in .243 and a 100gr TSX in 25-06 are great deer killing combos.

I am continually amazed so many think just because they are using an X bullet or get an exit hole they will get some awesome blood trail. Shows how little they know about bullet placement. Most deer bleed some just not enough to see unless you really look. A good blood trail is often the result of a not so perfect hit involving the liver or one low in the chest that does not destroy the heart and allows it to keep pumping. I have had some good blood trails that most of the blood came from the deers nose and mouth, there being no exit.

Thus the reason I like to take high shoulder shots where the bullet punches both shoulders at the top of the shoulder blades. No tracking job