mike a

I carried one for about 10 yrs, both my father and mother used .243's for about 20 yrs, and my youngest brother still carries one. Oh yeah, and my girlfriend used one for a doe and a buck this year. I've seen alot of venison fry b/c of that round, and would not hesitate to use it for deer (I took a doe with hers this year). I've never seen a penetration problem (including shoulder bone and head shots), and only rarely can I think of a time when there wasn't a good exit wound. My mom used hers on a cow elk once, but you will have to have a good shot and get in pretty close to use one this way (she droped it in one shot). I have never had to hit a deer twice with a .243 if I made a good first shot (the only animal I can remember having to hit more than once was an antelope I gut shot when I was twelve!). All of the above mentioned were Brownings (most BLR and one A-bolt). Anybody who tells you that it is too small of a round for deer has not used a .243 sufficiently. It's a fine deer round. Btw, I usually hunt muleys and shoot over 200 yrds regularily without any problems. That said, I've just bought an a-bolt 300 rum (other end of the spectrum) and am trying to find out opinions on a weaver v12 for it. Is this a tough enough scope to withstand the abuse? Thanks!
Good luck with the 243.

Quilly

frizz..

but why use a caliber like the 243win for under 125yds? especially if he already ownes a 7mm

frizzellr

Quilly, the better question is why not, especially at 125 yards.

N3YWV

I couldnt resist this one. The thing I want most in the world is for my wife to shoot a white tail buck, I bought her a Ruger 77 compact .243 to do it with. I believe in the .243 ; seen a boat load of one shot kills with the Sierra 85gr HPBT and no problem poundin hogs out past 300yds with 55gr Blitz King.. Pretty versitle all-round cartrige-IMHO.. so for the guys who dog the .243%%&&*@!<img src=icon_smile_blackeye.gif border=0 align=middle>

ALL DAY, EVERY DAY,IN THE WOODS...

Mark in NE

&quot;It amazes me that some folks will condemn the 243 Win as a deer round, but will think nothing of advocating the anemic 30-30 Win cartridge as the best deer round ever. &quot;

There are other rounds that are anemic from muzzle energy standpoints, such as the .45 Colt, .45-70, etc., but there is still something to be said for bullet diameter/weight, and construction.

The .30-30 is anemic if used for shots greater than ~125 yards; but it's 150 or 170 grain projectile of .308&quot; diameter, designed for those sedate (by .300 WSM standards)velocities, is still impacting and penetrating said critters at 50 yards with about as much energy as an -06 or .308's projectile at 350 yards. Really, in my opinion, all one gains with more velocity, is increased potential for longer shots, or a larger dust cloud caused by the exiting projectile.

frizzellr

Yes the 45 Colt and the 45-70 Govt can be considered anemic from a factory load standpoint, but both carry more bullet weight that the lowly 30-30. Also, both cartridges have potential to be improved through handloading whereas the 30-30's weak case hinders it. A 243 will outdo a 30-30 any day of the week.

BT

243 vs 30-30 inersting. i look up a 243 100gr win load and a 170gr win 30-30 load lets see now.
&quot;guns and ammo 2002
243 w 100gr (mv)2743 &quot;v100&quot;-2507 &quot;v200&quot;-2283 &quot;v300&quot;-2070 &quot;v400&quot;-1869 &quot;v500&quot;1680

&quot;me&quot;1670 &quot;e100&quot;1395 &quot;e200&quot;1157 &quot;e300&quot;951 &quot;e400&quot;776 &quot;e500&quot;626
site in and drop for 200yd zero &quot;100&quot;+2 &quot;300&quot;-8.7 &quot;400&quot;-25.5 &quot;500&quot;-52.3

now for the 30-30
&quot;mv&quot;2200 &quot;v100&quot;1895 &quot;v200&quot;1619 &quot;v300&quot;1381 &quot;v400&quot;1191 &quot;v500&quot;1061

'me&quot;1827 &quot;e100&quot;1355 &quot;e200&quot;989 &quot;e300&quot;720 &quot;e400&quot;535 'e500'425
same 200 yd site in &quot;100&quot;+4 &quot;300&quot;-17.5 &quot;400&quot;-53.3 &quot;500&quot;-113.6

now lets see a 170gr vs 100gr &quot;i will take the 170gr&quot;
me 1670 vs 1827-e100 1395 vs1355 e200 989 vs 1157. so from muzzle to 100yd they are very close &quot;i will still take 170gr&quot;
200yd zero +2 vs +4 that ant all that much differance.
i concider both to be 200yd guns at max. i like the 170gr of lead in the air vs 100



? how is the 30-30 a weak case?
L. O. D. Charter member and L.O.S.

frizzellr

It is a well known fact that the 30-30 uses weak, thin walled cases. Just pick one up and look at it. If you don't believe me take a look in the Speer reloading manual. And as for the 243 Win velocity with a 100 grain bullet, I don't know where you got your data, but I get closer to 2900fps.

mharrisatuwg

In reply to Quilly: I like my 7mm mag, but it has a wood stock, and a good bit of kick. I want a gun in a lighter caliber with a synthetic stock. I am only planning on using it at a couple of spots that have a lot of brush and are hard to get to. I was interested in a .243 and I don't know very much about them, so I asked. It may be totally wrong, but from the couple people that I have now found that use them the .243 seems to be a pretty good round. Thanks for your reply though.

Quilly

i would rather pick a slower caliber that will do more damage than a faster bullet that might not expand to it's potential.