Driftrider-
I'm saying this from personal experience. Many people look at the .243 or any other .308 based cartridge and automatically dismiss it as being too weak for long shots without ever actually shooting the cartridges. I've shot a 200 lb buck at 400 yars with a .243, not only did it put the deer down right away, but the bullet passed all the way through and still left a golf ball sized exit wound. A 7mm STW or a 338 WM wouldn't have killed the deer any deader.