RE: .243 for whitetails
My son and I both use .243's for deer hunting in the Texas Hill Country. Deerin the Hill Countryare small by comparison to Midwestern corn-fed monsters. Bucks weigh in the 140-180 range. I used to use a .30-06, but switched to .243 after shooting my son's Model 7. I've found that bucks don't go any further when hit through the vitals with a .243 than they did when hit through the vitals with the .30-06. I've had just as many drop in their tracks with the .243 as with the .30-06. So, I've had the same performance, with less than half the recoil...