Originally Posted by
alleyyooper
I also own a 243 and a couple 7mm08's. I will not say that one kills better than the other. Of course I hand load my own recipes for both and shoot both a lot thru the year.
I love comments like proper bullet placement used when talking about The 243.
Seems to me that is the object with what ever round you use from the 22 center fires to the 300 magnums. Yes there are a lot of people who use 22 center fires, Just read a article this morning on what a great round the 220 swift is on deer. Of course it was wrote in the late 1940's.
Wouldn't think any hunters I know that would aim for the butt of a deer just because they were carrying a 300 Wetherby mag.
Al
That right there is one of the problems in the world of hunting today Al. Too many guys think they have a magic super duper magnum and can hit a deer or elk anywhere and it will be a bang flop. They think that proper bullet placement can be made up for with the bigger magnum power. They also seem to think that just because they now have this magic magnum they can shoot out to 700 yards as easily as they once did 100 yards. All that being said, proper bullet placement is key BUT proper bullet size, weight, and power is most definitely second. I can take a .220 swift and place it behind the ear of a whitetail all day long and twice on Sunday but that does NOT make it a PROPER caliber to be whitetail hunting.
In the .243 vs. 7mm/08 competition, the 7mm/08 will win hands down in ALL factors of whitetail hunting. Longer range capability, heavier bullet options, better sectional density options, and dang near the same recoil as the .243. I own both cartridge choices in a various assortment of rifle configurations and have dropped tons of deer and hog with both. Yes the .243 will kill a deer just as dead but in all reality, with a heart lung shot, the 7mm/08 will have a faster effect because of the size and power difference. That's not to say that the .243 is ineffective and shouldn't be used. I've used it, all my kids have at one time or another used it and it's a definite deer killer. Either choice for his daughter would be fine.