I have shot about an equal amount of deer with the 250 Savage and the 243 and the 6MM Remington. The 100 grain 25 caliber bullet has a lower sectional density than the 243 caliber 100 grain bullet. I load the 250 Savage to about 2800 fps with the Nosler ballistic tip. It expands better than the 243 and just flat drops deer quicker and with very little meat damage. Ballistics are interesting and a good way to compare calibers on paper but in the field the 250 Savage has proven to me based on useing them both to be a better performer on deer size game. I think the reason it works better is that its not as fast. I could handload both to about equal velocity and ME but the 25 caliber bullet just does a better job for me. I even put the 250 on an equal footing with my 25-06 even though the 25-06 is faster and handles heavier bullets better than the 250. The 250 is one of those calibers like the 6.5x55 and 7x57 Mauser that perform in the field much better than their written stats say they should. Try one before you disagree.