Is the .243 a good deer/predetor gune, or is there a better one

[smoothsteve]

This year i used my cousins .243 on yotes and it did the trick on bringing them down, but i was wondering if it was a good deer cartridge too. Is there a better one to fit this need just curious

[wahunterinrok]

A browning BLR in 243 was my first deer rifle, and I was very successfull with it. I have since moved on, to a rifle that I fel comfortable going after elk, bear, moose or whatever else I have a chance to hunt. The one thing to remeber with the 243, as with any round, that bullet placement is key. however with the smaller rounds such as the 243, there is much less room for error, such as you hitting a deer too far foward and hitting the shoulder, the deer may go for a long ways with one hurt shoulder, where as a larger round may bust through and still tear up the vitals. My advice would be to use it, and like any gun: aim small, miss small

[douglasm]

There are probably a couple cartridges that fill the predator/deer gun a little better. The 257 Roberts is one and the 260 Remington the other. The 257 shoots a 75 gr. varmint bullet and can be had in a 117 or 120 gr. for deer.The cartridge isn't as popular as the 243 but that doesn't mean it's not better for that dual purpose role. The 260 shoots a 6.5 mm bullet ranging from 85gr. to 140 gr. in the same basic .308 case.(the 243 is a.308 necked down to 24cal. and the 260 is a .308 necked down to 26cal)Coyotes won't notice the difference in which gun hit them , but a whitetail will certainly feel the difference between 120 or 140's and the 100grainer that a 243 spits out.

[semi]

maybe a .260 or 7mm-08... I know a few people that use a .243 on whitetail deer, i just think it's too small. We hunt in brush and the woods and to be honest, getting the perfect shot is not usually in the cards and sometimes they will hold back so they don't take the chance of wounding the animal. Will a .243 kill deer, sure, many hunt deer with it. But like mentioned above, make sure your shot placement is right on.

[rybohunter]

It is an excellent deer/varmint cartridge. Very versatile. Use 100 grainers for deer and drop down to your favorite varmint bullet for yotes. One thing NOT to do is use ballistic tips on deer in that caliber.