Truer words were never spoken Duffy,you summed this whole thread up in that sentence.
I don' t think its so much a tire watering contest as there are simply calibers out there that have very little recoil and will handle a poorer position shot (angling/moving)or a bone contact shot and offer better results.The 243 is best suited for a shooter that doesn' t attempt poor angle shots or moving shots and pick their broadside behind the shoulder H&L or neck shots with care.A 260 - 7mm-08 - 25-06 - 7x57 - will develop little recoil with a proper fitting stock and recoil pad and yet give a little heavier bullet choice for the occasional poor shot that occurs with the best of situations.I think the 260 is real hard to beat for low recoil and excellant bullet performance on deer.Yes the 243 will work fine on deer especially with 100gr nosler parition bullets but the above calibers will do it just as well with more leeway for operator error and a MUCH better chance of an exit wound and blood trail for recovery.I shot a large bodied buck with a 243 and hit him at an angle with no pass thru and absolutley NO blood trail at all to follow,I knew he was hit good but you couldn' t tell from the sign following him down.

woods