A 243 doesn' t kick bad at all. I have a 243 and have killed many deer with it. Be warned however. A 243 is a dual purpose caliber. Some use it for varmit hunting and some for larger game like deer. Because this is the case there are a lot of different bullets out there for the 243. Make sure you buy the right one for your intended target. I' d stay away from the lighter grained or ballistic tipped 243 bullets for deer. Stick with at least a 100 grain bullet in a corelock or nosler partion. These type bullets insure better penetration on larger game.