christ you two.....quit whining....who cares who's killed more of what with what...blah blah blah....if the original guy who posted this is still here....the 243 will work on deer.....if you think you need more and can handle it...get more of a gun....if youre the recoil shy type....try a 7x57...although i dont think remington makes that gun in that caliber...in that case get a 7mm-08...just as good.....christ if those are your average shot lengths (100yards or so) and your not set on the model 700, get a 30-30...you'll have no problems.....just get something you can shoot well with, practice, and use good bullets and you'll have no problems....a deer isnt that hard to kill.

We've got to remember that a big part of non-pass-throughs is not caliber, it is what you hit going through, and another very important factor, is too light, or too heavy of bullet CONSTRUCTION! Too light, and they blow apart on impact, too heavy, and they might not expand at all!

Lastly, I just can't resist......
The .243 or even the .22 CF's are PERFECT for ALL species up to and including Cape Buffalo.................
IF you stick the muzzle in their ear before pulling the trigger![:@]

I dunno, not much to tell. I hear how great the .270's are all the time, I bought one about 15 years ago and was less than impressed with it's accuracy, I sold it. 2 years ago my friend bought one in a Rem LSS, same thing accuracy wasnt up to par, he sold it. I dont remember if he or I even killed a deer with them. So I cant comment on results if their were any.
But a lot of people I know shoot them, his dad has Win. and its a tack driver, he took an 8 pointer last year at 60 yds, no pass through .
Then 2 different guys this year. Even the .270wsm couldnt go through the body of a deer at a meer 60 yds.Did see a .270 Win go through the neck of a axis deer, this past weekend.
Like I said theres not much to tell, I just see the .270 failing to pass through our little Texas deer to often. I dont see why one would need premium bonded bullets for our little whitetail. I have no expierence with elk, but the performance I have been seing with the .270 on deer leads me to believe it would be worse on elk.
Maybe that little extra speed the .270 has is just blowing up bullets at closer ranges, we will have to try a good bonded bullet and see what happens. But seems ridiculous to have to use such a bullet for deer.

Last year I dropped nine big mulies with nine shots from the 270. I used 130 grain Federal Fusions. All were pass throughs. None went more than 25 yards and only two didn't drop where they stood. The rifle, 700 ADL will group well under an inch at 100 yards with that load. Several 270's have been amoung my most accurate rifles. 90 percent of my shots on mulies are 200 yards+.

I shot a 270 for a few yrs and killed about 4 deer with it.One year I had a problem with some reloaded bullets. They were 100 gr boat tails my dad loaded. I hit a 130 lb buck two times in the shoulder at 70 yrds and it didn't even slow down, my third shot to the neck finally dropped him. I thought I missed the first two shots until we skinned him. With other bullets I never had a problem. The only reason I don't have it anymore is it was a loaner from my dad.I think the biggest problemwith guns is the bullets used in them. With the right bullet a 270 will drop an elk no problem, the wrong bulletI wouldn't trust them to huntcoyotes.

Sorry Mr Longbeard, I realized that I didn't answer your question....Yes, I have taken that shot and the outcome was a dead deer....I bought a Ruger .243 in 1980, its the only centerfire rifle I own...I have killed at least 150 deer with...Along with a ton of crows, groundhogs, coyotes, and other "varmits"....

We own a few farms in eastern NC and kill 40-50 deer a year...I have either killed or cleaned deer killed with just about every centerfire caliber from 22-250 to .300 Mag....With the right bullets and proper placement, they all worked...I have also had to track deer hit in the guts with all of them...One of my brothers lost a good buck last week that he shot with the .300...

If you wound a deer with a .243, it ain't the caliber....Its either the shooter or a bad choice of bullets....If you need more, use more....

Hawkeye, what have you seen with the .270. Did you notice a high rate of no-pass throughs with the .270 or not ? Or does anybody use one there on your farm

I'm also a big fan of the .270; but will be the first to admit that not all .270 bullets are the same. Some will whistle right through game on broadside rib shots and not kill very quickly. Others are a little too explosive foranything but broadside rib shots. Good deer bullets often tend to be too soft for elk. And the .243 is the same deal - except even a little more touchy, since the bullet weight is about 35% less at the same velocity.

Actually, the delimna with using the .243 on deer is almost the same as the issueof using the .270 on elk: bullets that kill well on broadside rib shots tend to be too soft for the shoulder, and bullets that will stay together going through the shoulder tend to punch right through on rib shots and not kill real quickly. They each will work on the respective game animal, but they are also each at the light end of the "adequate" horsepower spectrum.

Zrex...Yea, my youngest brother has 2, one for him and one for his son...I actually killed the first 2 deer killed with his 1st .270...He's not as "into" this stuff as I am....He bought the gun, I gave him one of my scopes and sighted it in for him...I used Federal Premium 130 grain Sierra SPBT...They grouped well and that's all he cares about...When he bought his 2nd .270 I also sighted this one in and groups were in the 1 1/4 inch range....I guess we have killed 50 deer or so with these two guns, but, he has never changed bullets....As you know the Sierras are "softer" bullets, so if the range is under 100 yards, no he doesn't usually get a pass through, over 100, it just depends on what the bullet hits...

I would have tried different bullets years ago, but he isn't that type...I clean both guns and check the sight-in each year...Heck I even buy his bullets, usually 5 boxes, all the same lot number....Guess he's lucky to have such a good older brother...

As I have said in the past, it doesn't really matter...the middle brother has a 7mm-08 and a .280...He also has a son that hunts with us....They kill deer with both, use 140 gr CoreLokts...