Firstly, I'll say that if you're around here much, you're better off saying you hunt deer with a .22 LR than you are a .243. "Lack of killing power", "no margin for error", etc.

At the core of hunting with ANY caliber is something called marksmanship. I know guys who can't "kill" deerwith .270s and .30-06s - their solution is to buy a fancy new WSM or something bigger. Huh?

I normally hunt deer with a .30-06. I cut my teeth on a .243 and to this day wouldn't hesitate taking it to the field. A .243 is THE most forgiving caliber I own. I learned to hunt with it. My Mom hunted with it. I've loaned it to friends so that their sons and daughters could learn to hunt. I've had more offers to purchase or trade my .243 than I've had for any other rifle in my battery, simply because it HUNTS!

The .243 is perfect for deer (yes, even big western mulies have fallen to mine) and pronghorns. There's something about the balance of bullet weight and velocity that just knocks the stuffing out of deer I've taken with it, which I can't say for the .308 (the .243,.260, and 7mm-08's parent) thatI've also used under nearly identical circumstances.

A more important consideration for smaller-statured shooters is how well the rifle itself fits them.Not knocking the other calibers, but if the only platform that fits yourwife that you can get your hands on happens to be a .243, the world is NOT lost.