ORIGINAL: zrexpilot

.243 is my favorite caliber, Ive killed tons of deer with it. Its fast, flat shooting, light recoiling, super accurate, and hits with authority.
There is no such thing as knock down power, and bigger bullets dont offer any more shock value, shock value or temporary wound cavity, or cavitation come from velocity. A bigger bullet traveling faster or even the same speed will definately cause more shock, but a bigger slower bullet will not.
Theres an article in one of our Texas magzines, the authors #1 wounding caliber he has seen here, is the 7 mag. I will try to find the article, he states bullet selection is much more important than caliber size. Put the wrong bullet in a big caliber and it will peirce a deer leaving a tiny hole, put a good controlled expanding bullet in a smaller caliber and it will lay the smack down on a deer leaving a big wound channel.